Crisco: Chicken Enchiladas in Red Sauce

Back when my family first moved to Texas, we had to learn about Tex-Mex.  See, we came from the East Coast, and the only exposure we had to things like tacos and enchiladas was the local Taco Bell.  So in flipping through a cooking magazine one day, we happened to come across a Crisco ad with a recipe for enchiladas.  Looked simple enough, so we plunged right in.  Now, these are certainly not authentic anything, but they are 1) delicious, 2) easy to make, and 3) good for leftovers.  I still make them when the family gets together since I know everything will enjoy it and happily munch away.

Note: I have doubled the enchilada sauce recipe because, well, I like things saucy.

Chicken Enchiladas in Red Sauce
Adapted from Crisco

Enchilada Sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
½ cup thinly sliced green onion
¾ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup sour cream
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
Canola oil, as needed
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas

Spray a 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare the Enchilada Sauce.

In a medium bowl, mix chicken, green onions, ½ cup Cheddar cheese, ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, chiles, and cilantro. Stir in ½ cup Enchilada Sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat ½ inch of oil in a pan. Fry the tortillas, one at a time, until soft (10 seconds per side). Drain on paper towels. Spread a small amount of the Enchilada Sauce on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spread 2 heaping tablespoons of chicken mixture in each tortilla and roll up. Place seam side down, side by side, in prepared dish. Pour remaining sauce over, top with remaining cheeses, and bake until bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with extra sour cream, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro.

Makes 6 servings

Enchilada Sauce
4 tablespoons canola oil
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 teaspoons sea salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Heat oil in a large saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder; cook for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Makes 6 cups

CDKitchen: Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow it was decided that for Mother's Day, children should cook their mother breakfast and serve it to her in bed.  No matter the age or cooking ability of the children.  Hopefully with Dad's help.  Normally we all get together and plot out some sort of breakfast for Mom, and as we got older and a little more skilled, the breakfasts got a little more interesting.  But since the entire family was in different places for Mother's Day morning, we opted not to make breakfast this year.  Instead we did dinner.

My sister made herb-crusted pork tenderloin (ie. took an herbed pork tenderloin out of a package and roasted it) and sweet potato casserole with a brown sugar pecan butter topping.  We added steamed fresh broccoli and some wheat yeast rolls.  Why is it that when holidays like this roll around, I'm never very motivated to make something amazing?  Something to ponder.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

From CDKitchen

3 large sweet potatoes

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup packed light brown sugar

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Peel and slice sweet potatoes into ¼-inch slices. Boil in water until soft, drain and mash. Beat with electric beaters, stopping every so often to remove any strings that may collect on beaters. Add butter and sugar to warm potatoes and continue mixing. Add milk and vanilla extract. Mix well and put in a 8x12-inch buttered casserole dish.

Mix the topping ingredients together and crumble over top of casserole. Bake 30 minutes at 350°F. Freezes well before or after cooking.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

Binnur's Turkish Cookbok: Firinda Meyaneli Tavuk (Chicken with White Sauce) and Acma (Soft Turkish Bagels)

Even though I spent a couple of days in Turkey back in 2001, the food that I ate there must not have been memorable, because I can't remember any of it. I figured it had to be better than that. I searched some Turkish recipe websites for some inspiration, and I finally came up with Chicken with White Sauce, called Firinda Meyaneli Tavuk. It seemed filling and pleasing without needing ingredients I had never heard of. I decided to make some Soft Turkish Bagels to go on the side, but I substituted poppy seed for the black sesame seeds called for in the original recipe. While the Chicken with White Sauce came out bland and rather tasteless, the Turkish bagels were delectable.

Firinda Meyaneli Tavuk (Chicken with White Sauce)
From Binnur's Turkish Cookbook

1 (4-pound) chicken
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 zucchini, cut into medium-sized chunks
6 to 7 white mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Kashar cheese (or Mozzarella), shredded (for garnish)
Sauce:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup warm milk

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Boil the whole chicken with water in a large pot. Take the chicken out of the stock and let it cool down. Discard the skin and all the bones from the chicken and tear it apart in medium sized chunks with your fingers.

In a large skillet, cook the onion with olive oil over medium-low heat for a few minutes. Then add the garlic, salt and pepper. Sauté until the smell of the garlic comes out.

Add the flour, stir and slowly pour the warm milk in it while stirring constantly. The milk and flour should blend very well. Turn the heat off. Mix the chicken, zucchini, mushroom and green onions with the flour sauce and arrange them in a baking dish. Sprinkle the shredded cheese on top.

Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.

Makes 4 servings

Acma (Soft Turkish Bagels)

From Binnur's Turkish Cookbook

7 grams instant yeast

¼ cup lukewarm water

2½ tablespoons granulated sugar

½ cup lukewarm whole milk

½ cup sunflower oil

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

Glaze:

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Nigella or black poppy seeds

Mix the yeast with warm water in a large bowl. Stir well so the yeast dissolves, then add the sugar, milk, and sunflower oil. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the flour and salt slowly and knead. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap over the rim and let it rest for about 2 hours until the dough rises to twice its size.

Take a small-size ball from the dough and make it longer by spinning it. Then close up the ends to make a ring shape. Brush with the egg white and sprinkle Nigella seeds on top.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place parchment paper on an oven tray and arrange the dough rings on it. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 375°F. Then, bake 15 more minutes or until the tops turn a golden brown.

Makes 8 to 9 bagels

Giada de Laurentiis: Pollo alla Fiorentina (Chicken Florentine Style)

At first I thought that Giada was just a pretty face.  Someone cute to stick on Food Network so that people would tune in.  Enough of those stiff Le Cordon Bleu graduates.  That's what I thought.  Until I tried this chicken.  I love spinach, so she pretty much had me sold to begin with.  But oh. my. god.  This chicken is luscious.  The sauce is amazing.  And you'll need a piece of bread to scoop up all the golden goodness pooling on your plate.

Pollo alla Fiorentina (Chicken Florentine Style)
From Giada de Laurentiis

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sliced shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1½ cups dry white wine
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen cut-leaf spinach, thawed, drained

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour to coat lightly. Shake off any excess flour. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and tent with foil to keep it warm.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until the shallots are translucent, stirring to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Add the wine. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the cream and boil until the sauce reduces by half, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices to the sauce, and turn the chicken to coat in the sauce.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in another large skillet over medium heat. Add the spinach and sauté until heated through. Season the spinach, to taste, with salt and pepper. Arrange the spinach over a platter. Place the chicken atop the spinach. Pour the sauce over and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Emeril Lagasse: Baked Codfish with Irish Cheese Crust

I always thought cod was best served with a crispy brown crust on a sandwich.  Not necessarily so.  It's equally, possibly more, delicious covered in bread crumbs and cheese and baked in cream.  Luscious enough for you?  Too bad St. Patrick's Day only comes around once a year.  And don't try to get all Americanized on me and use that nasty yellow mustard in a squeeze container.  This MUST have Colman's mustard.  It's got that rich bite that makes the whole darn thing worth it.

Baked Codfish with Irish Cheese Crust
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse

4 (6-ounce) codfish fillets, skins removed
Emeril's Essence Seasoning (or your own mix)
½ cup fine breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
2 teaspoons Colman's English mustard (paste form, not dry powder)
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
6 ounces Kerrygold Vintage Irish Cheddar, grated
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a casserole dish and set aside.

Lightly season the codfish on both sides with Essence and place in the prepared dish, skin side down.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, butter, parsley, mustard, and garlic, and mix well. Add the cheese and mix well. Place on the fish, patting down to make a crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour the cream over the fish and bake until the fish is cooked through, golden brown and the cheese is bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Southern Living: Chocolate Truffle Cake

I think this is one of my mom's favorite cakes.  And after all the work it takes, it certainly should be.  This is a chocolate bomb of ridiculous proportions.  Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate truffle filling, chocolate truffles on top.  I'm trying to think how you could stick any more chocolate in this one.  Maybe chocolate fudge drizzled over each slice?

Chocolate Truffle Cake
From Southern Living magazine

Chocolate Truffles
2-3 tablespoons whole milk
Rich Chocolate Cake
Satiny Chocolate Frosting
2 bottles chocolate sprinkles

Prepare the chocolate truffles. Combine the milk and the reserved ¾ of the truffle mixture; beat at high speed until the mixture is spreading consistency. Spread between the layers of chocolate cake. Frost with Satiny Chocolate Frosting. Pat chocolate sprinkles onto the sides of the cake. Arrange the truffles on top. Chill until serving time.

Makes 16 servings

Chocolate Truffles
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
4 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles

Melt the chocolate chips in a saucepan; remove from the heat. Beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually stir ¼ of the melted chocolate into the yolks; add to the remaining chocolate, stirring constantly. Add the butter and powdered sugar; beat until the butter melts and the mixture is smooth. Place ¼ of the mixture into a small bowl; cover with a paper towel, and let stand in a cool, dry place for 1 hour. Set aside remaining truffle mixture. After ¼ of the mixture has set for 1 hour, shape into 12 balls; roll the balls in chocolate sprinkles.

Rich Chocolate Cake
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups boiling water
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Beat at low speed, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Pour into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes; then remove them from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

Satiny Chocolate Frosting
1 (6-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup whole milk
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2½ cups powdered sugar

Combine the chocolate chips, milk, and butter in a saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat; blend in the powdered sugar. Set the pan in a bowl of ice water; beat the mixture until the frosting cools and holds its shape.

Nestlé: Toll House Crumbcake

I feel like an old woman talking about how I walked to school in six feet of snow (barefoot! uphill! both ways!) when I say this, but I first made this coffee cake back when I was in junior high school, maybe 13 years old?  I was taking home economics (because hello, who doesn't want a chocolate break in the middle of the day??), and this was one of the yummy recipes my teacher dug up for us.  I still have the photocopied recipe sheet, so you know this chocolaty crunchy confection made an impression.

Toll House Crumbcake
From Nestlé

Topping:
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup pecans, chopped
1 (12-ounce) package Nestlé Toll House semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels, divided

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels, reserved from 12-ounce package

Topping:  In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, butter, and flour.  Stir in nuts and ½ cup mini morsels; set aside.

Cake:  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.  In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.  In a large mixer bowl, beat sugar, butter, and vanilla extract until creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with sour cream.  Fold in remaining 1½ cups mini morsels.  Spread in pan.  Sprinkle Topping evenly over batter.  Bake 45 to 50 minutes until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool; cut into 2-inch squares.

Makes about 24 squares

Ming Tsai: Hatosi (Shrimp Toast)

My mother decided that it was about time for her to host a happy hour at our house, especially since all of her friends have already done their turns. So I agreed to help her out as her personal "caterer" for the event. I needed to stay in the realm of very bland since my mother is convinced I am the only person on Earth that enjoys curry, squid, or anything that doesn't appear in a regular American grocery store. So I devised a menu based on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine with significant American modifications so that it wasn't too "weird." I'm still rolling my eyes over this one.

For Chinese food, I was warned not to make any strange dumpling creations (since I'm apparently also the only one on Earth that knows what dim sum is), so I decided to just do some shrimp toast and be done with it.  As you can probably tell, cooking for me is 90% debate and 10% actual work.  The recipe I pulled came from Ming Tsai and turns out the most luscious shrimp toast I think I've ever had.  These babies put take-out to shame.

Hatosi (Shrimp Toast)
From Ming Tsai

1½ pounds raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 large eggs

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small squares

1 tablespoon truffle oil

Ground white pepper

Sea salt

1 cup finely chopped water chestnuts (fresh or canned)

½ cup finely chopped green onions

1 loaf thinly sliced white bread (I used Mrs. Baird's), crusts removed

¼ cup sesame seeds (optional)

Process shrimp and eggs in a food processor until almost smooth. Add the butter and process until you can only see small bits in the paste. Add the truffle oil, salt, and white pepper, and process just enough to combine (a few seconds). Move to a small bowl, and fold in the green onions and water chestnuts. Store in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Place bread slices on a rack on a baking sheet. Dry the bread in a 200°F oven for approximately 15 minutes per side. Cut the bread slices into triangles or squares. Using a knife, spread shrimp paste over the top of each bread portion. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. You can fry the shrimp toast in a fryer (at 350°F) or in a frying pan with a thin layer of oil on the bottom over medium heat. Always add the shrimp toast with the shrimp paste facing down to start, no matter which method you choose. Flip after the top is finished cooking to allow the toast to crisp. Drain on a paper towel and serve immediately.

Tyler Florence: Cracked Chocolate Earth (Flourless Chocolate Cake)

It's Valentine's Day Singles' Awareness Day.  A day when I wish I could just crawl under the covers and wait for midnight.  But my mother requested that I make a chocolate cake without too many carbs for dessert, so that plan was scraped.  Sometimes I wish I could pout in peace.

I had seen Tyler Florence make a flourless chocolate cake on his show, and it was a dismal flop, quite literally. Flourless chocolate cake is actually a kind of souffle, relying on the strength of the eggs to hold the whole thing up, so unless you're really steady of hand and just leave it to do its thing in the oven without constantly poking it, the whole thing falls and sags. As I watched his cake deflate on air, I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't do another take.  I mean, that's pretty embarrassing, right??

Tyler's recipe calls for unsweetened fresh whipped cream, but I thought it needed a little powdered sugar in the mix. Not too much; just enough to sweeten it slightly. I also served each slice with a couple of blackberries (raspberries would have been delicious, too), since the slight tang of the berries works well with the dark chocolate.

Cracked Chocolate Earth (Flourless Chocolate Cake)
From Tyler Florence

1 pound bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
9 large eggs, separated
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, cold
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted.  Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color.  Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolks to temper the eggs; then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack, and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes, then unmold.

While the cake is cooking, make the whipped cream.  Whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.  Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar.  Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

Makes 8 servings

Almost from Scratch: Pork Chops with Pepper Cream

I took a cooking class several years ago with Andrew Schloss when this cookbook first came out.  It was about the same time that Sandra Lee started doing her semi-homemade shtick on Food Network, and everyone seemed to want their dinner to look gourmet, but not actually take any time or effort.  I could kinda see getting on that bandwagon, especially if you had a bunch of kids running through the house on a regular basis, but Sandra's stuff just seemed too...packaged.  And unappetizing.  On the other hand, Andrew got very little press that I can remember, but his stuff was...actually good.  Unfortunate for him, but for all those harried moms out there, it means you can actually throw together something halfway decent using things in jars.

Note: I had trouble finding exactly "red pepper pesto", but I found some sort of red pepper-eggplant thick sauce-y thing in a jar, and it was fabulous.  Just grab whatever looks good if the pesto eludes you.

Pork Chops with Pepper Cream
Adapted from Almost from Scratch by Andrew Schloss

4 boneless center-cut pork chops, ¾-inch thick
Salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil
½ red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic, jarred or fresh
Olive oil
1½ cups light cream
¼ cup red pepper pesto or spread
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley

Season the pork with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat with olive oil and brown the pork on both sides. Remove the pork from the pan and set aside.  Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent and tender.  Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds.  Add the cream to the pan and simmer until slightly thickened.  Whisk in the red pepper pesto, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the parsley.  Return the pork chops to the pan, along with any accumulated juices, and cook for a few minutes more.

Makes 4 servings