Enchilada Night

After a three week hiatus from the blog, we are now back in action.  This is slightly out of order but alas... we present to you: Enchilada night :-)


The menu: Tortilla soup, chicken enchiladas, Mexican salad with honey lime dressing
Guests: 10

Tortilla soup

Ingredients:

Serves 6 

4 large plum tomatoes

1 small white onion, peeled and quartered

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 medium dried Mexico chile, stemmed and seeded

6 cups chicken broth

2 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch pieces

6 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips

Vegetable oil for frying

sour cream for topping

1 avocado for topping

1 small container feta cheese for topping

Heat a heavy saute pan over medium high heat. Add the tomatoes, the onions, and the unpeeled garlic. Note: Do not cut the tomatoes.  We did and they shrank almost instantly.

Roast, turning frequently, until the garlic is soft (about 10 minutes). Remove the garlic. Peel and set aside. Add the chiles and continue to cook for another 4 minutes. Remove the onion and set aside.

Continue to cook the tomatoes until charred. Put the tomatoes, garlic, onion, chile, tortilla strips, and 2 cups chicken broth in a blender.  Blend until smooth. Pour into pot and add the remaining broth.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

For the tortilla strips: Heat a 1/2 inch high layer of vegetable oil over medium high heat until very hot. In batches, fry the tortilla strips and then let dry on paper towels. 

Serve the soup with the strips, avocado, cheese and sour cream.

Chicken enchiladas

Ingredients:

Serve 4-6

9 tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1/2 medium white onion

1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped

1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup loose cilantro leaves

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 (6 inch) tortillas

2 store bought rotisserie chickens, skinned and shredded

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

 

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Put the tomatillos, onion, serrano, yellow chile and 3/4 cup water in a medium, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and boil until the tomatillos turn olive-green color, about 10 minutes. Transfer the tomatillos, onion and chiles to a blender. Add the garlic and cilantro and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. 

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the tortillas until golden but still pliable, about 10 seconds per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain.Put the tortillas on a work surface.

 Divide the shredded chicken evenly among the tortillas and roll up each like a cigar. Spread 1/3 cup sauce in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the enchiladas, seam-side down, in one layer snugly inside the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Drizzle with the sour cream and sprinkle the cheese all over.

 Bake until the cheese melts and starts to brown in spots, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Side note: our enchiladas, given it was the first time we've ever made them, were slightly dry.  We think that next time we will make more sauce and layer it on the inside with the chicken as well.  

 Mexican salad

Ingredients:

Salad:

2 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup seeded tomato, chopped

3/4 cup chopped peeled apples (the original recipe called for jicama. As we couldn't find it, green apples are a good substitute)

1 small can canned corn, drained

3/4 cup thinly sliced radishes

half a ripe avocado, diced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup feta cheese

Dressing:

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (The Sun added way too much lime juice and we had to adjust for a while)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbspns honey

2 tbspns chopped cilantro

1 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 tsp jalepeno, seeded, minced

Toss all the salad ingredients together.  Blend the dressing ingredients.  Serve.

 

                                                       Dinner :-)

 

The Hunter and The Wolf

After last week's dinner, The Hunter was feeling pretty great about the cooking experience.  The Sun, on the other hand, was feeling uninspired and tired.  In order to recharge, The Hunter decided to step in and cook with The Wolf.  Together they came up with: lightly breaded basa with garlic ginger soy drizzle, vegetable low mein, and sauteed garlic with fresh spinach.  Cooking for many people can be stressful, but despite a few slight meltdowns, everything turned out just fine. P.S. thank you Johanna aka The Witch for taking pictures! And thank you, Michael, for making guacamole to start! 

Guests: 11
Price: $48
*Insane amount of fish left over

 

 Ready to cook - Stations set up:

Noodles:

For the Sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Remaining Ingredients:
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrot
6 oz Chinese egg noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

Cook the egg noodles or spaghetti according to package instructions,
drain and set aside.
Stir all sauce ingredients together in a small saucepan set over
medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until thickened
and glossy, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, set a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When the
pan is hot, add the two teaspoons of canola oil and swirl to coat. Add
the bean sprouts, mushrooms, cabbage, and carrot. Sauté for about 3
minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the cooked egg
noodles and the sauce, tossing to combine. Serve immediately.

*Note:  the sauce was a bit too thick when first made. . . adjust liquids according to personal preference with water. 

Fish:

Sauce:

olive oil

fresh minced garlic

soy sauce

seasame oil

fresh grated ginger

water

Fish:

Fillets

3 eggs

3 cups flour

Sauté garlic in olive oil, add soy sauce and water, add ginger, bring to boil then reduce, add sesame oil.  Wash fish fillets, bread with flour and egg, brown fillets in pan with olive oil.  Serve fillets with sauce.

*Note:  The Hunter was super excited about the fresh grated ginger.  His trick: peel the ginger and freeze it whole overnight.  Grate frozen ginger slightly ahead of time and allow to thaw.  By freezing it, it doesn’t lose it’s moisture and is significantly easier to grate.

                                           The Potato beering The Wolf as he breaded

 

Sautéed spinach:

olive oil

fresh thinly sliced garlic

fresh spinach

Heat olive oil in pan, to almost smoking, add spinach and immediately stir, add garlic and sauté until spinach is bright green.  Serve.

                                           End of the night :-)

** This upcoming week there will be no dinner as The Sun's birthday was this past weekend and the house needs some spring cleaning.  But we will be back next week on our new night: Tuesdays!

The Return of The Wolf

After several weeks without cooking, The Wolf was happy to return to the kitchen.  We decided on a menu that was easy, quick, and new.  Staying within our budget, we were happy with our choice to make: spinach, bacon, and roasted mushroom salad, linguine with clams and mussels, and basil pesto bread.


Guests eating: 10
Total cost: $47

Spinach Salad with Bacon and Roasted Mushrooms- recipe by Rick Bayless

Serves 8

8 ounces bacon, cut into ¼ inch pieces

4 cups oyster mushrooms

1 large red onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

juice of one lime

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

8 cups spinach

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spread bacon onto baking pan.  Scatter mushrooms and onion over bacon.  Roast until the bacon is crispy, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

                                                         Before going in the oven

 

In a small microwaveable bowl, combine olive oil, lime juice, oregano, salt, and 2 tablespoons water.  Microwave high for 30 seconds.

Place spinach in a large salad bowl.  Spring mixture over spinach.  Dress, toss, enjoy.

*Note: we lined our baking pan with wax paper.  This is not recommended as some of the food almost stuck to the wax.  

 

Linguine with Clams and Mussels

Serves 4-6

1 pound linguine

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large shallots, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio recommended)

1 cup vegetable broth

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

12 littleneck clams, cleaned

12 mussels, cleaned

      Mussels waiting to be cooked (The Sun had a small emotional breakdown with this one)

 

Pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the past and cook for time indicated on the directions, stirring occasionally.  Drain and return to pot.  Add butter and parsley and toss. 

Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add shallots, salt, and pepper, to taste.  Stir frequently until soft, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until aromatic.  Add the wine and simmer until liquid has reduced by half.  Stir in the broth, red pepper flakes, clams, and mussels.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Bring the mixture to a simmer.  Cover the pan and cook until all the shellfish are opened, about 5 minutes.  Discard any open ones. 

Using tongs, remove the shellfish from the pan and set aside.  Pour the cooking liquid over the pasta and toss.  Remove the shellfish from their shells and toss into the pasta.  Serve.  

*Note: because of our budget, we could not afford fresh clams.  We used canned clams and added them in with the cooked mussels at the end.  While we are sure that fresh clams would have been better, we worked with what we had.

Basil Pesto Bread

1 baguette

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2 clove garlic

2/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

½ cup Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except the bread in a food processor.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  Meanwhile, toast bread.  Spread basil over warm bread.  Eat.  

 The Sun was much less diligent than normal as she was too busy sitting outside enjoying the weather to cook very much or take many pictures.  So guests are missing, as is the final presentation. But alas...

                                                     Michael Nep wore these...

                                            The Hunter wanting to be left alone with Facebook

                                                             Matt and The Witch

                                                                 The Sun and Chrissy

                                                                    Hello??

                                                       The Hunter attacking Bo, late night

                                                                     Goodnight!