• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

chile-italian seasoning

MAKES ½ CUP

2 tablespoons crumbled dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon garlic salt

¼ teaspoon celery salt

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons Anaheim chile powder

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

This smoky rub has endless possibilities: sprinkle it on potatoes before roasting, rub it on chicken breasts before grilling, or use it to season steaks before searing or halibut before roasting. For a garnish, mix a couple of tablespoons of this spice mix with half a cup of crème fraîche and drizzle it over soups.

Combine the oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, salt, garlic salt, celery salt, onion powder, sugar, chile powder, and pepper in a glass jar. Screw the lid on tightly, and shake until the mixture is well blended. Store at room temperature for up to 6 months.

Butternut Squash—Chipotle Bisque

Manchego and Poblano Soup

Chilled Avocado Soup with Scallops

Grilled Corn and Poblano Potato Salad

Mango, Papaya, Shrimp, and Crab Salad in Honeydew Cups

White Bean and Grilled Octopus Salad

Jícama, Beet, and Árbol Chile Slaw

Cucumbers and Radishes Sprinkled with Lime

Cactus Salad with Avocado Dressing

Golden Beet Carpaccio with Gorgonzola and Chile Oil

Lobster, Mango, and Avocado Salad

Martha’s Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Because they usually involve relatively few ingredients and a short amount of time in the kitchen, a soup’s or a salad’s success relies mostly on the quality of Its Ingredients. Luckily for me, I’ve had the privilege of growing up In Tijuana, right on the U.S.-Mexico border, where endless varieties of fresh fruit and produce, as well as seafood, meats and poultry, chiles, and exotic ingredients, are all within a 15-mile radius of my home. Needless to say, the sleek supermarkets of San Diego and the thriving street markets of Tijuana provide two very different kinds of grocery-shopping experiences. The greatest thing about growing up smack on the border of two different countries is the access you have to both worlds—not only to the ingredients to cook with but also to both cultures.

I cross the international border to grocery-shop when I need a veal shank, frozen puff pastry, fine French cheese, and any of the many ingredients I am accustomed to cooking with that have not found their way into the Mexican markets, probably because of their higher cost. (Or maybe because they just wouldn’t sell, regardless of their price. Little Italy in downtown San Diego is the place to go when I need fresh gnocchi, but it’s best if it stays there because the poor little gnocchi would dry out before anybody bought them in Tijuana!)

Shopping in San Diego is a delightful experience—everything is so organized. The supermarket is at the perfect temperature (sometimes I even walk a little slower down the grocery aisles before venturing out into the summer heat). Everything is precisely labeled. Signage leads you to every ingredient. You can find frozen everything: ready-made dinners, pastries, vegetables, fruits … Fresh fruits and vegetables come in from all over the world, putting all sorts of ingredients at your fingertips. How could I run into a tower of gorgeous golden beets in one aisle and then an array of imported cheeses in the next and not dream up the Golden Beet Carpaccio with Gorgonzola and Chile Oil?

Then there are the street markets in Tijuana. You can find American-style markets in most cities in Mexico, but to get a true feeling of the local color you must visit a mercado. I go to Tijuana’s Mercado Hidalgo every Monday. It’s divided into about eighty different stalls where you can find anything from piñatas, Mexican candy, fresh produce, any kind of chile (seriously, there are too many to count, both fresh and dry), exotic fruits, salted plums, and chile-coated dried mango to fireworks and cooking utensils like molcajetes, hot-chocolate frothers, and tortilla presses.

Dried fish and candied fruits (and even sweet potatoes), hibiscus leaves, tamarind