Verde Poblano Enchiladas with Zucchini Rice

When people think of comfort food usually things like chicken soup, meatloaf & mashed potatoes come to mind. Call me strange, by enchiladas are most often the first thing I think of. I blame it on growing up in Texas. Every occasion, special or otherwise, called for a trip to the nearest Tex-Mex spot. Okay, I'll admit, chicken soup pops up too, but something about cheesy enchiladas just hits the spot when I need a pick-me-up.

Verde Poblano Enchiladas, for 410 corn tortillas

2 large poblano peppers

1 jalapeño pepper, sliced into rings

1/2 c. tomatillo salsa

1/4 c. sour cream

1/4 c. asadero cheese, grated

1/4 c. montere jack cheese, grated

1 tbsp. olive oil

Heat the broiler & char the poblanos until the skin blackens, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Place the peppers in a bowl covered with a dish towel & let cool. Turn the heat on the oven down to 400F.

Meanwhile, stack the tortillas on a plate & drizzle each with a bit of olive oil. Place a damp paper towel on top of the stack & cover with another place. Microwave the tortillas for 30 seconds, this will make them much easier to work with & keep the tortillas from cracking when you roll them.

Once the poblanos are cool remove the charred skin. It should be loose & come over relatively easily simply by peeling it. Slice the skinned peppers into strips about 1" long. Drizzle the remaining olive oil & a bit of tomatillo salsa in the bottom of a rectangular baking dish. Grab a warm tortilla & fill with a few strips of poblano, a sprinkle of asadero cheese, a sprinkle of monterey jack cheese & a small spoonful of salsa. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling & place it seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat this process until all ingredients are gone.

When all of your enchiladas are rolled top with the remaining salsa, cheeses, sour cream, jalapeño rings. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Zucchini Rice, for 4

1 c. white rice

2 c. chicken stock

1 yellow onion diced

1 zucchini, grated

1 tbsp. olive oil

Over medium heat, drizzle a sauce pan with the olive oil & saute the onion until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the rice & cook until it turns opaque, another minute or so. You may need to drizzle a bit more oil in to keep the rice from sticking.

Add the stock & cook over low heat, covered until the liquid has absorbed, about 10 - 15 minutes. Once cooked, fold the zucchini in & let sit covered for about 5 more minutes.

Simple Supper: Black Bean Tostadas with Radishes & Cilantro Onion Relish

We used to eat a simple version of these guys all the time when I was a kiddo. A crunchy tostada with refried beans & cheese never failed to please me. I guess I haven't changed too much because I am still endlessly happy with this modest meal. The building blocks are the same: tostada, beans, cheese but you can add anything you like from that point. Spicy radishes & loads of cilantro-onion relish are my favorite things to pile on. Throw a cold beer in the mix & you're got a perfect simple supper.

Black Bean Tostadas with Radishes & Cilantro-Onion Relish, for 2

4 fresh corn tortillas

1/4 c. vegetable oil

salt to taste

1 can refried black beans*

4 tbsp. queso fresco (can be found in most Mexican grocery stores), crumbled

1 c. romain or ice-burg lettuce, julienned (sliced thinly)

1 - 2 radishes, sliced thinly

1 ripe avocado, sliced thinly

1 - 2 tbsp. scallions, chopped

1 - 2 tbsp. pickled jalapeños

salt to taste

Heat the beans up over medium heat. *If you want to give them an extra oomph throw in a tbsp of bacon fat. Decadent? A bit, but it makes a huge difference. While the beans are heating, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high/high heat until it begins to look glossy & water sizzles when it hits the surface (you can test this by simply flicking a drop off of your finger - careful to keep those digits away from the hot oil!). This should take about 2 minutes. Once the oil is hot add the tortillas, one at a time, & cook until golden & crisp, about 30-45 seconds per side. Set the tortillas aside to drain on a paper towel or bag & salt them while they're still warm.

Once your beans are warm & your tortillas crisped up you're ready to assemble. Layer as you like, but I prefer a scoop of beans topped with queso fresco, avocados, lettuce, radish slices, pickled jalapeños & a bit of cilantro-onion relish (recipe below).

Cilantro-Onion Relish, yields approximately 1 1/2c.

1 yellow onion, minced

1/2 c. fresh cilantro, minced

1 lime, juiced

Chop the onion & cilantro as finely as you can. Mix together on the cutting board & give them one more quick chop. Toss in a bowl with lime juice. This will keep in the fridge for up to a week & is great on beans, tamales, eggs & tacos.

Kitchen to table time: 15 - 20 minutes

Chili Seared Snapper with Jicama, Mango & Mint Salad

In my time away from home, two years to be exact, a crush of new restaurants have popped up. Classic French bistros, little cafés, Argentinean steak houses, oh-so-chic sushi spots, & food trucks galore. Needless to say, I've been plowing through these places as quickly as my wallet will allow. Lots of yummy stuff has stuck with me, bacon, avocado & re-fried bean tacos, beet home-fries, juicy pork buns, perfectly seared scallops, & an insane piece of snapper. Foie Gras Snapper seared in Lobster Oil to be exact. A rare appearance at a new-to-me, but well loved haunt, Buenos Aires Café this snapper, paired perfectly with a jicama & mango salad, has been taunting me all week. Foie Gras & lobster oil may be a bit decadent for a run of the mill weeknight dinner, but swap them out for a dash of truffle & chili oil & you've got yourself a tasty piece of snapper. Team it up with re-fried black beans* & a cool jicama & mango salad for a quick simple supper.

Chili Seared Snapper, for 2

1 1lb. red snapper fillet, skin on

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. truffle oil, divided

1 tsp. chili oil, divided

1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning, more to taste

1/2 tsp. All Purpose Greek Seasoning*

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Rub the fillet in half of the truffle & chili oils then rub it in Old Bay, Greek seasoning, salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil along with the olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Sear the fillet for 3 - 4 minutes on each side or until white & flaky.

Jicama, Mango & Mint Salad, for 2

1 small jicama, peeled & sliced thinly

1 mango, cubed

2 - 4 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

2 - 4 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 - 2 tbsp. olive oil

salt to taste

Half the jicama & peel it. I find it easiest to set the halves face down & run a sharp knife down the sides until all the skin is gone. You loose a little more jicama flesh this way, but it's much faster than trying to peel it with a vegetable peeler. Once peeled, slice the jicama thinly. Set aside in a bowl. Peel & cube the mango. Toss in the bowl with jicama. Throw in the remaining ingredients & toss. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

*For quick but tasty re-fried black beans toss in a chopped poblano pepper & a minced clove of garlic with a can of re-fried black beans. A dash of cumin doesn't hurt either.

Croissants

Another cool California morning with coffee & croissants. After weeks of migas, chorizo, huevos monteleños, hot cakes, tacos & all things dense in Texas it's about all I can handle. I've yet to attempt a batch of home-made croissants but I've been eyeing Tartine & Julia Child's recipes. For now though, I'll stick to easy eggs.

Chipotle Salsa

$900? $900. $900! That's how much money it costs to ship approximately 15 paintings of various sizes ranging from the very large to very small in 3 days from Southern California to Washington D.C. But, before we packed up Ray's precious cargo for his impending solo show & kissed good bye to a little chunk of our savings, we had a bon voyage party for his work. A preview of sorts. Pitchers of margaritas were consumed leading to philosophical waxing about the nature of painting & Ray's paintings specifically. To keep this chatter afloat brain food was necessary & to me, brain food is chips & salsa. Not the peppermints my 5th grade teacher passed out under the guise of brain food. Think about it, if there's a bowl of chips & salsa at a table couldn't you just sit there talking & munching until the bottom of the bowl shines through? I know I could (& have). So along with our strong (so we were told) margaritas, I whipped up a batch of this spicy, fresh chipotle salsa. Armed with excessive chips, we plunked down in Ray's studio & munched until the bottom of the bowl showed up ... or at least peaked through.

Chipotle Salsa, makes about 2 cups

3 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1/2 poblano peppers, coarsely chopped

1 - 1/2 (depending on how hot you like it) canned chipotle pepper*

6 - 8 stalks cilantro

3 - 4 cloves garlic

1/2 red onion

2 tbsp. tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsp. cumin**

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

pinch of oregano

Combine all ingredients in a food processor & pulse until desired texture. Serve with tortilla chips.

*Can be found in the Mexican/Ethnic section of most grocery stores or at Mexican markets

**My dad swears by freshly ground cumin seeds for this salsa. You can easily substitute pre-ground cumin, but he's right, that little extra work to grind up a small handful of cumin seeds is worth it. To grin them you can use a molcajete, mortar & pestle, or even a clean (very clean!) coffee grinder.

Simple Supper: Chorizo Frittata

I plopped this dense, cheesy, pork-filled guy down on the table for our weekly movie night. It was greeted with quizzical glances & tentative forks. Finally the question:

What is this?

What do you mean, what is this? It's a frittata!

Apparently, this crust-less cousin to the more familiar egg dish, quiche, didn't cross my movie mate's table as often (or ever) as it did mine growing up.

While a frittata may look complicated & fussy, nothing could be more simple. They only take a few minutes to make & most things lying around the kitchen taste great in them. Olives, cheese, bacon, herbs, potatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, peppers, I've even seen it made with (pre-boiled) penne pasta folded in. I love them filled with green veggies, but this hearty version studded with potatoes & chorizo really sticks to the ribs. Next time you find yourself racking your brain trying to come up with a meal that doesn't involve waiting for you local delivery guy to swing by, crack a few eggs & try a frittata. You'll be surprised just how easy it is to whip up.

Chorizo Frittata, for 4 - 6
8 eggs
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. milk
1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 - 3 medium waxy potatoes, boiled & cubed
1/2 c. chorizo or soyrizo, a surprisingly delicious veggie substitute (out of the casing)
1/4 c. monterrey jack cheese, grated
1/4 c. bread crumbs
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400F & move your rack to the highest slot. Heat a cast iron (any oven safe skillet will do, but I think cast iron imparts the most flavor), drizzle with olive oil & saute the onions until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the chorizo & saute until it begins to form little "crumbles." Add to potatoes & fold them into the chorizo.

Beat together the eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the chorizo/onion/potato mixture & cook 4 - 5 minutes or until the eggs have set on the bottom. Once it begins to firm up, add the cheese & bread crumbs. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil & pop the frittata in the oven. Cook for another 4 - 5 minutes until the top is golden & the eggs have puffed up a bit.

To serve, slice just as you would a quiche or pie.

Kitchen to table time: 20 minutes

Vena Cava's Graveyard Flan

I just couldn't resist sharing Lisa's (half of the CFDA winning line Vena Cava) recipe for what she's dubbed "graveyard flan." Here's what Lisa had to say:

"My first foray for a dinner party last week- was the graveyard flan (pictured above). Future plans include a cake with a scale model of my apartment on top made from dollhouse furniture, and next up, a La Brea Tar Pit themed black custard with sinking dinosaurs and woolly mammoths."

I can't wait to see Tar Pit custard. Sounds like gooey goodness.

Graveyard Flan, for aproximately 12*

3/4 c. white sugar

4 eggs

1 3/4 c. water- or you can use juice or whatever you want really

14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

A 9" pan

Any pan bigger than the 9" pan for a water bath

A platter

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a heavy pan over medium heat, melt the sugar.

This is a weird process that feels like witchcraft- it takes about 8 or so minutes, and all of the sudden the granules turn to goo- just make sure to keep stirring.

Pour that into an ungreased 9" pan and coat it- do this quickly as the sugar hardens really fast.

Beat the eggs in a seperate bowl and stir in water or juice.

Add condensed milk, vanilla, salt- and pour this into the coated pan.

Set that 9" pan into another bigger pan with at least 1 1/2" of water into it to make a bath.

The bath is what prevents the eggs from cooking too fast and ensures that edges dont get burnt and gross. Cook for about 55-65 minutes. A knife should come out clean when stuck into the middle.

Cool it and refrigerate.

Loosen the sides with a knife, and flip it upside down onto another platter.

Put tiny gravestones on top (not optional) and blueberries (optional)

To read more of the Vena Cava girls' musings, check out their blog VIVA VENA CAVA.

Caballero Pizza

There's a righteous pizza joint in Austin, yeah, that's right, I said righteous. Curry, jerk chicken & roasted eggplant are all counted among their toppings, but my favorite one is avocado. Odd though it may sound, it's perfect on pizza. It gets warm & creamy & the avacadoyness is really coaxed out. The flavor is smooth, buttery & a bit nutty. So, last movie night (our Tuesday night tradition) I decided to give this unexpected topping a shot. Not your haughty sophisticated pie, I dubbed this experiment the caballero pizza for it's rustic meat 'n' potatoes goodness. It has a slight kick too as all good caballeros do.

Caballero Pizza

1 prepared crust (I used Trader Joe's whole wheat dough)
1/2 c. chorizo
4 - 5 spanish onions
4 large white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 large avocado, sliced
1 tbsp. minced pickled jalapeno (more or less to taste)
4 - 5 fingerling potatoes, boiled & sliced
1/4 c. salsa (your favorite kind)
1/4 c. cilantro, minced
1/2 c. grated manchego cheese
1/2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. + 1 tbsp. olive oil

Begin by rolling out your dough to roughly 8" x 12." Preheat the oven to 400F. Saute the onions & mushrooms in 1 tbsp. olive oil until they soften (about 3 minutes). Add the chorizo & saute a few minutes longer until it begins to brown. While the chorizo is cooking, spread your crust with salsa.

Once cooked, layer the crust with the chorizo/onion/mushroom mixture, then sliced potato & avocado, then a sprinkling of cilantro & finally, the cheeses, making sure to leave about a 1" border. Sprinkle the border with coarse salt & drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Jalapeño Poppers

During our visit to home, my dad, David, a veteran US history teacher, politico, expert gardener & food enthusiast made us a batch of his infamous knock-you-out poppers. Here's his take on the Texan treat:

"'Hot damn!' (pronounced hod-am in Texas), the appropriate verbal descriptor for this bacon-encrusted cheese-stuffed jalapeño flare, should be said right after the requisite pull on your Long Star longneck. The latter should be right at 33 degrees to make up for the sensation of the former being 1000 degrees.

Lying deep in the northeast corner of the state, north of the Sabine and south of the Red, is an area locals call Fredonia*. The area was named after the 1825 republic declared by filibuster (expansionist), Hayden Edwards, one year after the Monroe Doctrine was announced to a bemused Europe. Those early US adventurers (spies) like Edwards set the precedent for US intervention into other countries's territories (or more to the point, business). And how sadly fitting that that wrong turn early in our nation's foreign policy finds its genesis in an area now described as being "behind the pine curtain." Apparently the deep roots of our outlook are not only found in New England Puritans, but also in those proudly ignorant Texans. Watch Fox News, you'll get it....

But Fredonia is also an area that has progressive promise. The culture is beginning to heal itself. The region once claimed by Spain, then France, then Spain, then Mexico, then US southerners calling themselves Texians looking for more territory for their slave based economy, is now rediscovering its its heritage's admix of Mexican, Southern US, and French. There's a young local winery, Enoch's Stomp, in Harleton, Texas, using French viticulture, mixed in with our southern fried chicken and catfish restaurants of local legend and national fame. Now even the new Mexican taco stands are becoming ubiquitous, making this area fertile ground for cutting-edge locavores. In short, it's all here as far as food and drink.

The popper is one symbol of this fusion. And although it has gained deep acceptance in 'Fredonia' with its lush summer shrubs of jalapeño plants bearing massive peppers, the origins of the 'popper' (the real one, not the ones you find in the freezer case at your local culinary/environmental/economic disasters like Walmart) are in Buffalo Gap, a little community south of Abilene named for the gap in the mesa ridges cutting south of Abilene. The Indians would hunt buffalo as they herded themselves through 'the gap.' Tom Perini, a local celebrated chuck-wagon cook, cum restaurateur, cum caterer to the prior president when he was entertaining the likes of Putin in Crawford, is credited with creating the popper. Although this version has been augmented with a few additional spices and chilies, the recipe is his and can be found in his important cookbook (at least to us Fredonians) with the sleepy name of 'Cowboy Cooking.'"

Jalapeño Poppers, makes 24

1 dzn. jalapeños, say 4-6 inches long
1 dzn. rashers (slices) of bacon
1 8 oz. packet of neufchatel or cream cheese
Worcestershire sauce or Vietnamese fish sauce if you want to have a secret cutting edge flavor to taste (both are the results of unpleasant things regarding fish remains, so what the hell..., right?)
Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning to taste (or your favorite "all purpose" seasoning)
dried chipotle peppers, very finely minced to taste (this can be found in large containers in large box stores, but it's against my religion to go in one of those places.... remember locavorism)
24 toothpicks for securing the bacon wrap

Preheat oven to 475F (hot as hell to get the bacon crispy). There are two things you cut in half. The peppers, horizontally, making a little boat for stuffing with cheese, and the bacon, vertically, for wrapping around this delight. After cutting the peppers open, remove the seeds and interior veins.**

Stuff each jalapeno with cheese so that is level full. Then, splash a dash of Worcestershire (or that secret fish sauce ingredient mentioned above). Now top that with the minced chipotle. Wrap each popper in the half strip of bacon, secure it with a toothpick, and sprinkle it with Cavenders All-Purpose Greek Seasoning.

Bake for about 20 or 30 minutes. Let these guys cool off a few minutes. Open that very cold beer, take a bite, a sip, and "Hot damn!"

* This Fredonian of the land "behind the pine curtain" mentioned above, wishes to clarify the fact that there is no relationship between our northeast Texas Fredonia and any so-called Fredonian of the separatist militia type that our governor, Rick "Good-hair" Perry, so recently encouraged with his remarkable remarks, demonstrating an embarrassing misunderstanding of the nature of the US Constitution and the historical implications of the last attempt at states leaving the Union. We true Fredonians, on the other hand, generally believe in locavorism, environmentalism, fine slow living, and minding our own business.

**A note on fresh juicy dangerous jalapenos, if you aren't over fifty with crab claw paws like mine you may want to wear rubber dishwashing gloves when de-seeding/de-veining them. I usually don't and have come to find that applying cold beer internally generally helps. By the way, these peppers are said to have originated in the area around Jalapa/Xalapa, the state capital of Veracruz, Mexico.

Last image, kill the gluten.

Huevos Monteleños with Homemade Tortillas

My dad is infamous for his breakfast. He doesn't hold back. Every little extra step one can take to push a meal over the top, he takes. He relishes in the stuff. While Ray & I were visiting we were treated to one such breakfast. Black beans were simmered all night, fresh tortillas were made, eggs were fried (in the well seasoned cast iron, of course!), home-made salsa was prepared. With strong coffee in hand, we tucked into classic huevos monteleños & ate until every last bean was gone.

Huevos Monteleños, for two

4 eggs

4 tortillas (homemade if you can)

1 1/2 c. cooked black beans

1/4 c. salsa of choice

1/2 tsp. chimayo chili powder*

On top of a tortilla place a few spoonfuls of black beans. Over the beans, spoon a bit of salsa. Fry the eggs to your liking. Nestle them on top of the beans. Sprinkle with chimayo chili powder & a bit more salsa if you like.

Homemade Tortillas, makes a dozen

2 c. masa meal

1 c. warm water

After mixing the dough, roll out 1 dozen balls (about the size of a silver dollar) then flatten using either a tortilla press** or rolling pin. Make sure to cover the balls with waxed paper on either side so they don't stick.

* If you can't find chimayo chili powder, regular chili powder will do.

** The tortilla press really makes a world of difference. You can pick them up cheaply at most Mexican markets.