What I've been eating

So, I have no cooking tales to report, but I have lots of tales about eating! Cristiana and Alfredo are both fabulous cooks and they not only share their talents with us, but are very responsive to my nosy questions asking how they did this or that.


For example, yesterday, Cristiana made tacos. Yawn, you're probably thinking, aren't you tired of tacos yet? And truly, the answer to that question is that I could NEVER tire of tacos. But, these aren't any simple, boring old tacos. No, I would call these enchiladas, even though Cristiana doesn't. Anyhoo, let's begin.


The tacos are rolled around a filling of barbacoa and in a green sauce (doesn't that sound like enchiladas?). They were delicious and tasty and I ate all 4 of the ones on my plate. Yum yum.


At dinner last night, I asked Cristiana how she makes them, what's the secret. We've had a few of the conversations so far, and they typically end with, special ingrediant that doesn't exist in The Middle (although you on the coasts might fare better). This time, as always, this was the case. The secret ingredient is barbacoa - not BBQ, but a slow roasted meat in it's own juices so it's tender, not drier like BBQ (no charred bits etc). To make barbacoa, meat is stewed placed in mamey leaves and then placed in a hot earthen oven (like tandoori almost I think). This makes a little packet and the leaves impart their own flavor. Then the meat is cooled, chunked, and the tortillas (fresh from the tortillaria of course) are filled and rolled. THEN, and here is where it gets interesting... the rolled tortillas are quickly dipped in hot oil - not until they get crunchy (that would be flautas or taquitos) but just to soften them. Then, you pile them up on a plate to wait for your hungry family. As they arrive, you place three or four of them in the bubbling plate of green sauce (tomatillos, chiles, garlic, onion) until just heated through. Then move them to a plate and top with crumbled cheese.

Several new techniques stuck out at me that I plan on trying. First, is the not baking the enchiladas in the oven for a long period of time. Cristiana noted that they can get a bit mushy (and PEter and I noticed this the last few times) and that tey just needed to be gently heated through. Also, she made her own sauce so quickly and easily, that I'm convinced I can do it too... and without perservatives and other strange things!

We have a great carnitas recipe at home (but I haven't posted it yet, will do when I get back!) that I think would make an excellent filling for these tacos. I'll experiment and keep you updated!

Notes and Next Time

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Ingredients/Recipe

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Sometimes simple is the way to go

There are times for fancy complicated meals and times for easy, quick to whip up meals. Tonight, it was time for the latter. I threw together a quick meal of quesadillas and a pomegranate soda.

Quesadillas are one of my favorite easy things. I recently found 1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat tortillas at the grocery store and heartily recommend them. They aren't as heavy as straight whole wheat, which I've tried but can't get excited about. And they have more healthy things than the straight white ones (which I need!). I always cook my quesadillas in the cast iron skillet, and I don't use any oil or butter. I'm sure I don't have to give anyone directions for making them, so I'll just record what I filled them with this time.

We had 1/2 an avocado left over from lunch, some preshredded cheese blend, and part of a tomato that all needed to be eaten. I added to this some baby shrimp (the bay or salad shrimp size) and finely minced serrano peppers. I had to go easy on the cheese, since there was little left (maybe 1/3 cup max). I spread part of it on the tortilla, topped with the rest of the toppings, flipped it when the bottom was nice and toasted and ate.

Oh and that pomegranate soda? 2/3 pomegranate juice, 1/3 soda water or tonic water. Yum yum.

Quick, easy, tasty...


Notes and Next Time

• yum
  

Ingredients/Recipe

• tortillas
• cheese
• fillings (peppers, shrimp, chicken, tomato, avocado, etc etc)
  

Enchiladas

Mmmm, enchiladas! I started making these way back in my post-college vegan/vegetarian days and have just kept messing with the recipe ever since. My current take on them involves chicken and green sauce, but they've included tofu, black beans, pork, turkey, various veggies and various sauces over the years.

I start out by sauteing an onion and some peppers until the wilt a bit. I like to use a combination of peppers including red, green, pasillas, and anaheims if I can get them. Canned green peppers will work in a pinch. Then I add the chicken. This time around I marinated the chicken for a while in a mixture of cayenne, paprika, salt, and crushed garlic for extra flavor. I nestle the breasts on top of the onion mixture, add about a half cup of water, and put the lid on the skillet, turned down to low. This way the chicken cooks slowly and seems to be less dry. Once the chicken is just barely cooked through (the whole dish will bake in the oven, so no need for it to be completely done), I pull it from the heat and take the breasts out to cool slightly on a cutting board. Then I shred them using a pair of forks (although I'm sure cutting them in chunks works fine too). So now, we're basically done. The shredded chicken goes back into the pan and mixed with the onions/peppers. Taste the mix for seasoning (salt, pepper, spices) and we're reading for putting it all together!

A while back I discovered the layered enchilada. So much easier than the rolled version, although not quite as pretty. So, to put my enchiladas together, I start with a big baking pan and spray it with cooking spray. Next goes a spoonful of enchilada sauce (I like the canned green one right now). Then a layer of tortillas. On top a layer of the chicken mixture and some cheese (whatever you like, cheddar, jalapeno jack, queso blanco etc). Then a few spoonfuls of enchilada sauce and start the layering over. I rip up tortillas to make an even layer is necessary (just like with lasagna). The top should be tortilla with a generous amount of sauce (so the top layers don't dry out) and topped with cheese to brown.

Bake at 350 until bubbly, brown, and the center is hot. Anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on the number of layers and size of the pan! Tasty topped with lime, cilantro and served with spanish rice and/or beans.


Notes and Next Time

• it's nice to add mushrooms, corn, black olives, or beans to the filling mix.
• tempeh might be nice too

Ingredients/Recipe

• chicken (maybe 2-3 breasts for 2 pans)
• onion
• peppers (green, red, etc)
• garlic
• spices
• enchilada sauce (at least 2 15 oz cans)
• cheese
  
• garnishes