Woohoo! Okay. Reality check. My wife and I just came home from vacation. We are not REAL foodies...but we like good, inventive cuisine and insanely, on Cape Cod, for us this meant Thai food this year. Wickedly warm and well seasoned Asian flavors! Of course we squeezed in our Wellfleet oysters, the must-have lobster and tender but surprisingly under-seasoned fried clams. We left craving spice and heat and with a couple of tomatoes still in the garden I decided fresh enchiladas were on the menu. Sunday I roasted chicken mediterranean style (loads of citrus plus home grown garlic and tons of fresh herbs) and used those leftovers to stuff the enchiladas. I scoured the grocery store for acceptable corn tortillas because both Donna and I love that white corn flavor. Turns out we both (different decades) savored tamales from street vendors in Tucson, AZ, and I like to have that flavor and texture. Wheat tortillas will not do! As I was roasting the chicken we were catching up on Pioneer Woman episodes from the DVR and there she was making simple http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-pioneer-woman/index.html enchiladas in a way my mother never did. Mom and I had a favorite Mexican restaurant in, of all places, Manchester, CT. When that closed down I didn't have any other taste test reference for her favorite Mexican meal.
Well. I think I have got it...in the oddest accidental ensemble I could imagine. Ree Drummond fried her corn tortillas VERY briefly in canola oil. I have always done that in the enchilada sauce itself. The oil works SO much better! The dish held together beautifully and the fried corn tortillas were actually lighter in texture than those dipped in sauce before rolling.
How else were these accidental? My cousin Cheryl and her husband rented here in CT this summer and when they headed home to Arizona we reaped the bounty of their refrigerator. Bob likes to cook like I do but I mistook a hunk of mozzarella for chedder. Yep. That became part of the accident in my "Accidental Enchiladas".
Combine what you like...but this is what I did:
Accidental Enchiladas
preheat oven to 350
6 white corn tortillas
2 Tbs canola or other vegetable oil
1 cup cooked chicken
1/4 cup boursin or seasoned goat cheese
1 Tbs chopped roasted or sun dried tomatoes
(With roasted garlic if you choose)
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 chopped sweet onion
1 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup grated cheese (mozzarella was my accident~ I was sure I had cheddar)
1/2 cup grated OTHER cheese (I chose Romano for the compliment)
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs chopped red onion
sour cream for garnish
Heat the oil until it ripples in the pan. Cook each corn tortilla just a few seconds per side in the hot oil. Let drain on paper towel. Combine the cooked chicken with the roasted tomatoes and garlic and boursin cheese. Add in finely diced sweet onion. Mix well and use to fill tortillas. Put a couple of tablespoons of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a casserole and line the dish with the filled and rolled tortillas.Cover the rolls with the remaining sauce. Top with the grated cheeses. let bake for 20 minutes and rest for 5.
In the meantime chop lettuce and tomato and spread on plate. Once the enchiladas have rested top plate with them and garnish with remaining ingredients.
That will nicely fuel my painting assignment! How about your fuel?
Well. I think I have got it...in the oddest accidental ensemble I could imagine. Ree Drummond fried her corn tortillas VERY briefly in canola oil. I have always done that in the enchilada sauce itself. The oil works SO much better! The dish held together beautifully and the fried corn tortillas were actually lighter in texture than those dipped in sauce before rolling.
Combine what you like...but this is what I did:
Accidental Enchiladas
preheat oven to 350
6 white corn tortillas
2 Tbs canola or other vegetable oil
1 cup cooked chicken
1/4 cup boursin or seasoned goat cheese
1 Tbs chopped roasted or sun dried tomatoes
(With roasted garlic if you choose)
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 chopped sweet onion
1 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup grated cheese (mozzarella was my accident~ I was sure I had cheddar)
1/2 cup grated OTHER cheese (I chose Romano for the compliment)
2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs chopped red onion
sour cream for garnish
Heat the oil until it ripples in the pan. Cook each corn tortilla just a few seconds per side in the hot oil. Let drain on paper towel. Combine the cooked chicken with the roasted tomatoes and garlic and boursin cheese. Add in finely diced sweet onion. Mix well and use to fill tortillas. Put a couple of tablespoons of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a casserole and line the dish with the filled and rolled tortillas.Cover the rolls with the remaining sauce. Top with the grated cheeses. let bake for 20 minutes and rest for 5.
In the meantime chop lettuce and tomato and spread on plate. Once the enchiladas have rested top plate with them and garnish with remaining ingredients.
That will nicely fuel my painting assignment! How about your fuel?
