Latin American food fiesta featuring…Chiles. Jalapeños in the guacamole. NM Hatch in the sausage. Guajillos in the salad dressing. First try at arepas was surprisingly easy. I baked mine rather than frying to save some calories. Only to be completely negated when I topped them with the wonderful hatch chile sausage I recently found at Food Lion !! Of all places!! Very close to a Mexican style chorizo without as much paprika/annato. Topped with a little cheese and some crema, these little corn pillows are my new faves!
Here is the recipe:
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, finely ground in a rocket-type blender
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, mozzarella)
1/2 cup milk
1Tbsp butter + 1Tbsp vegetable oil
Warm milk, butter and oil in a pan or microwave. Pour over remaining ingredients. Stir well. If too loose add more cornmeal. Mixture must be thick enough to roll into a ball. Let mixture rest,covered for at least 15 minutes. Roll mixture into approximately 6-8 balls. Flatten balls into 3 inch discs about 1/3 inch thick. Place on greased pan and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until puffy and lightly browned on bottoms. Top with chicken, or sausage as mentioned above..or just cheese, if desired.
I rounded out the meal with a simple salad dressed with a guajillo dressing that is a knockoff of a recipe from “Pati’s Kitchen” that is simpler and yet so good you’ll want to put it on EVERYTHING you eat! 
My guacamole is a fan favorite around here….Psst…the trade secret for great guacamole….crush 1 clove of garlic for every two avocados with some coarse salt and pepper in a mocajete or your favorite shallow bowl BEFORE adding the avocado, jalapeños, scallions, lime juice and a pinch each of cumin and chili powder.
Finally, this most excellent guajillo chile dressing:
Blend together in a NutriBullet 3-4 guajillo chiles cut into 2-3 pieces, with stems removed
1/2 cup oil (I like to use a blend of olive and vegetable oil)
2Tbsp water
1/8 cup cider vinegar
2tsp turbinado sugar
1/2 clove garlic
1tsp salt
Blend until a beautiful bright orange shade with peppers in tiny pieces
This dressing is good on salad but can be used to top bruschetta, as a drizzle in soups, as a sauce over rice and noodles, over a taco, over mac and cheese, as a bread dip…you get the point, it’s addictive!
Betzabroad...My personal recipe for tasting our big, fat, wonderful world 