Not Raw Enchiladas

One of my friends has a bi-weekly potluck at her place. I take a lot of pride in going there and blowing away the competition with whatever I'm making that week. Some people might say that a potluck is not a competition. Well, for me it is. I can't stand knowing that someone else made better food than I did. "You're food is soooo good" might be a good enough compliment for the less competitive, but the only comment I want to hear is "your food is the best thing here". That is why I was so angry last night when my friend took herself out of the running completely by allying herself with my old nemesis: The Raw Food Diet.

For people who don't know me, this requires some back story. A while ago, before Uzy moved from left coast to right coast she mentioned to me that she was going to start doing the Raw Food Diet, the rules of which are that one can only eat fresh, uncooked fruits, vegetables or nuts. I, being a sensible person, told her that just because food was "raw" doesn't make it any more healthy, and that there's no evidence that a diet of raw fruits and vegetables will make any more healthy than an average rabbit, whose life expectancy is about 8 years. We argued about the raw food diet until I finally told her that I'd do it along with her, the point being to disprove all of the raw food nonsense. To make a long story short, Uzy quit after five days admitting that she was no healthier than when we began.

And now the Raw Food Diet was back, ruining my chances for potluck glory. Sure, I got plenty of compliments from other people there, but I don't value their opinions the same way that I do the opinions of my friends. Why even bother going to this potluck if my friend won't even taste my food? Anyway, these Enchiladas were a big hit amongst people who were not on the Raw Food Diet. It was a victory, but an empty one.

I got this recipe from Tyler Florence. I added ketchup to the salsa, for no reason other than that I add ketchup to everything.



Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa:
1 pound tomatillos, husked
1 white onion, peeled, sliced, quartered or whole
4 garlic cloves
2 jalapenos
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 lime, juiced

Enchiladas:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken stock, storebought
Chopped cilantro leaves
1 deli roasted chicken (about 3 pounds), boned, meat shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 large flour tortillas
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 cups sour cream
Chopped tomatoes and cilantro leaves, for garnish

Guacamole, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For the salsa: On a baking tray, roast tomatillos, onion, garlic and jalapenos for 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and any juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.

Enchiladas: Meanwhile heat a 2 count of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized - this should take 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin then cook for a further minute. Sprinkle on the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn then gradually add the chicken stock to make a veloute. Continue stirring over a low simmer until the flour cooks and the liquid thickens. Turn off the heat, add half of the roasted tomatillo chile salsa, some additional fresh chopped cilantro and fold in the shredded chicken meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Change the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F and begin assembling the dish. Take a large baking dish and smear the bottom with some of the reserved tomatillo salsa. Now take the flour tortillas and briefly flash them over the stove-top flame (or put them briefly under the broiler if using an electric stove). Using a shallow bowl, coat each tortilla lightly with the reserved salsa mix. Put a scoop of the shredded chicken-enchilada mix on top of the tortilla followed by a sprinkle of the shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling and roll like a cigar to enclose it. Using a spatula place the tortillas in the baking dish and continue to do the same with all the tortillas. Finally pour over some more of the salsa and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cracked on top. Garnish, cilantro and tomato.

Jambalaya / Measuring is for losers

I needed to make a dish for a potluck that would rock people's socks off. This jambalaya totally did the trick. There wasn't a sock to be found by the end of the party.

This recipe is courtesy of Rachel Ray, who is one of my least favorite food network hosts. The girl can cook though.

I made a couple of changes to this recipe to make it a little more how I'd cook. First off, I don't like to measure ingredients while I'm cooking. My measuring cups are by far the least used things in my kitchen. Measuring always makes me feel like I'm doing science, and that's not why I cook. I like to just feel it out, use the force. As such, the recipe is really more of a guideline for me. So, included with this recipe is how I went about measuring the ingredients in the dish. In general, my rule for spices is to put what looks like how much the recipe calls for, then put a little more.

The other change that I made was that I put some of my secret ingredients in there: Ketchup and Tabasco sauce. I have yet to find a recipe that this won't improve.

2 cups enriched white rice (a little more that half a pound, and about a 10 count of water)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, once around the pan (once around the pan)
1 tablespoon butter (more than I'd put on bread)
1 pound boneless, skinless white or dark meat chicken
3/4 pound andouille, casing removed and diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
Several drops hot sauce or 2 pinches cayenne pepper (or? both!)
2 to 3 tablespoons (a handful) all-purpose flour (a few shakes of the packet)
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1(14-ounce) can or paper container chicken stock or broth (half a box)
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) cumin (a shake or two)
1 rounded teaspoon (1/2 palmful) dark chili powder
1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) poultry seasoning (i used a bouillon cube)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (i probably used way more than that)
1 pound medium shrimp, raw, deveined and peeled (ask for easy peel at fish counter)
Coarse salt and black pepper
Chopped scallions, for garnish
Fresh thyme, chopped for garnish.
(four squirts of Ketchup)



Cook rice to package directions.

Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Cube chicken and place in hot oil and butter. Brown chicken 3 minutes, add sausage, and cook 2 minutes more. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay, and cayenne.

Saute vegetables 5 minutes, sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cumin, chili, poultry seasoning, and Worcestershire. Bring liquids to a boil and add shrimp.

Simmer shrimp 5 minutes until pink and firm. Remove the pot from the heat and place on a trivet. Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls. Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of rice on to the center of the bowlfuls of jambalaya. (I just added it to the Jambalaya and mixed it up) Sprinkle dishes with salt, pepper, chopped scallions, and thyme leaves.