Chicken Enchiladas

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chickenenchiladas

I think if my husband had to choose his favorite dish, aside from a big honking steak, it would be enchiladas. I had never had them before meeting him. My mom was a great cook, but ethnic dishes were few and far between in our house. The first time I had them, my father-in-law made them for a football game.  I took one bite of that saucey-gooeyness and realized what I had been missing my whole life. He was a fan of using pork, which, I really would like to try.  But, we always have large quantities of chicken in the freezer here…

This recipe originated from America’s Test Kitchen, but I’ve changed quite a few things over the years. It is certainly a favorite in our house, and I’m sure it will be one in yours as well. Don’t be afraid to play around with the ingredients. Sometimes I add diced green chiles, sometimes chopped black olives. Or, this time of year, when I have jalapenos overtaking the garden, I’ll throw in a couple of those that have been diced. The only limit with these is your imagination!

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

1 medium onion , chopped fine
1 tsp. vegetable oil
3 medium cloves garlic , minced
3 tbsp. chili powder
3 tsp. ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
3 tbsp. pickled jalapenos, chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas
Vegetable cooking spray
Salt
Ground black pepper

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the onion, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions have softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

2. Nestle the chicken into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and the thickest part registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside to cool. Strain the sauce through a medium-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, pressing on the onions to extract as much liquid as possible. Place onion mixture in a large bowl and set aside. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Add to the bowl along with the onion mixture. Add in 1/4 cup enchilada sauce, 1 cup cheddar cheese, the chopped jalapeños, and the cilantro. Toss to combine.

4. Stack the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave on high until warm and pliable, 40 to 60 seconds. Spread the warm tortillas out over a clean work surface. Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla. Tightly roll each tortilla around the filling and lay them seam-side down in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish.

5. Lightly spray the tops of the enchiladas with vegetable oil spray. Place in the oven, uncovered, for about 7 minutes until the tortillas are starting to slightly brown on the top. (If you dont’ like a bit of crunch in your enchiladas, just skip this step completely)

6. Reduce oven temperature to 400. Remove enchiladas from oven and pour remaining sauce over to coat them thoroughly. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheddar down the center of the enchiladas. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.

7. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese browns, about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Fresh Peach Pie

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It was one of those days. Nothing seemed to be working for me. I went from one task, to the next, to the next last Saturday…yet, nothing seemed to get done. I had gone to the local orchard and picked some peaches the previous day. The peaches you pluck off a tree do not last as long as those you would buy at your local grocery store, so I knew I had to get this pie made. I followed Cooks Illustrated’s recipe, and it turned out great. However, I had issues with the lattice-top.

The recipe had me freeze strips of dough to use for the lattice before “weaving” the top together. I guess I left it in there too long, or my freezer is too cold…but the strips were just snapping and breaking at every turn. I was getting ready to throw the whole damn pie out the back door. Thankfully, my husband talked me into putting it in the oven. I’m glad I did, because it really was delicious. The prettiest pie? No. But, sometimes the best things to eat certainly aren’t the prettiest now, are they?

Lattice-Top Peach Pie

1 recipe Pie Dough for Lattice Top Pie (recipe follows)

Flour for dusting the work surface

6-7 medium, ripe peaches (7 cups sliced)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

pinch salt

3-5 tbsp potato starch or Minute tapioca (see note)

1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Roll the larger piece of dough to a 15 by 11-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick; transfer the dough rectangle to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a pizza wheel, fluted pastry cutter, or paring knife, trim the long sides of the rectangle to make them straight, then cut the rectangle lengthwise into 8 strips 15 inches long by 1 1/4 inches wide. Freeze the strips on the baking sheet until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. Roll the smaller piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface or between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to a 12-inch circle. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling the dough around a rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan. Working around the circumference of the pan, ease the dough into the pan corners by gently lifting the edge of the dough with one hand while pressing it into the pan bottom with the other hand. Leave the dough that overhangs the lip of the pie plate in place; refrigerate the dough-lined pie plate.

3. Remove the dough strips from the freezer. If they are too stiff to be workable, let them stand at room temperature until malleable and softened slightly but still very cold. Form lattice top crust on a parchement lined baking sheet, then place in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, place a rimmed baking sheet on it, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan and fill a large bowl with 2 quarts of cold water and 2 trays of ice cubes. Peel the peaches by blanching them. Cut a small “X” in the bottom of each peach, dunk them in the boiling water for about 40 seconds, remove them and place in the ice water. The skins should slip right off. Halve and pit each peach, and cut into 3/8 inch slices.

5. Toss the peach slices, lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and potato starch in a medium bowl.

6. Turn the peach mixture into the dough-lined pie plate. Remove the lattice from the freezer and place on top of the filled pie. Trim the lattice strips and crimp the pie edges. Lightly brush the lattice top with 1 tbsp water and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar.

7. Lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Place the pie on the baking sheet and bake until the crust is set and begins to brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Rotate the pie and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees; continue baking until the crust is deep golden brown, and the juices bubble, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Cool the pie on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

* If you don’t have or can’t find potato starch, substitute an equal amount of Minute tapioca ground for about 1 minute in a food processor or spice grinder.

Source:  The New Best Recipe Book

Pie Dough for Lattice-Top Pie

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

7 tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled

10 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

10 tbsp ice water

1. Process the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter the butter pieces over the flour mixture; cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with the butter bits no larger than small peas, about ten 1-second pulses.  Turn the mixture into a medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle the 10 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down on the dough with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tbsp more ice water if the dough will not come together. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other (If possible, weigh the pieces; they should weigh 16 oz and 14 oz). Flatten the larger piece into a rough 5-inch square and the smaller piece into a 4-inch disk; wrap seperately in plastic and chill as directed.

Image updated 7/19/12

Primavera Risotto

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risotto

I have a confession: I was a risotto virgin. I know, I know… How could call myself a “foodie”, and not yet experienced a delicious masterpiece like risotto? Alas, I have now found it, and plan to keep it in my repertoire for a long time to come. It was ridiculously easy; not only to cook, but also to clean up as it is a “one dish meal”.  I can easily see it becoming a “go to” meal for those nights when I just don’t feel like cooking anything. You can pretty much throw anything in there with equally delicious results. A great way to clean out the refrigerator at the end of the week!

I was concerned that this dish would need a protein to go with it. So, I served it with seared scallops. Now, the scallops were delicious, don’t get me wrong. I made a balsamic reduction in the pan that I seared them in, and drizzled that over the whole mess. It definitely added an extra oomph, or “kicked it up a notch” if you will. But, both my husband and myself agreed that it could certainly stand on it’s own as a satisfying dinner – sans meat.

So, if you haven’t tried making risotto at home yet – do yourself a favor, and please do. I kick myself for waiting as long as I did!

Risotto Primavera

3-31/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 1/4 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used  Chardonnay)

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch  strips

1 yellow squash, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 lb asparagus, top 2 inches cut into diagonal 1/2 inch pieces (freeze bottoms to save for vegetable stock)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to achieve a gentle simmer, and maintain over low heat.

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and mushrooms and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and add the bell pepper and 1 cup of the hot stock. Cook, stirring often, until most of the stock is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and asparagus and another 1 cup of the hot stock and simmer, stirring often, until most of it has been absorbed. Add another 1 cup of the hot stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it has been absorbed and the risotto has a creamy consistency, about 20 minutes. Taste the rice; if it is hard in the center, add the remaining 1/2 cup stock and simmer, stirring, until absorbed and the grains are tender but slightly al dente.

Stir in the Parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma Italian Favorites



Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

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sdtpasta

This was my first recipe to try with Barefoot Bloggers. I love Ina Garten. She can come off a bit pretentious. But, her recipes are always wonderful. I could look at her cookbooks all day long. The photographs of the food and table settings are always just stunning.

At any rate, we really enjoyed the pasta salad. I must admit, it isn’t something I would have picked out on my own to try. But, I’m glad this recipe was chosen this month because it truly is a keeper!

Mix in a chopped grilled chicken breast, a can of tuna, or even a bit of salami and it’s a great summer dinner. Or, it keeps well for a few days to eat for lunch through out the week.

Ina’s Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

1 lb dried pasta
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
1 pound whole milk mozzarella, medium-diced
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed basil leaves, julienned

For the dressing:
5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Family Style