Early in January, I took a little trip down to Small Town, West Virginia to visit the Paleobotanist and his family. It was a good time, unexpectedly filled with superb weather, loads of outside time, a day full of geology with the utterly fantastic Mr. Roy, a splendid dress shirt marked down from $24 to $2.99 [or "only 2 dollars!" as the Paleobotanist would say...he's not so good at rounding numbers], an exciting discovery of the Papduke's long lost Comstock Premium Strawberry Pie Filling aaaaaand some cooking!
One such escapade, uhh I mean culinary adventure, resulted in a TexMex fiesta.
Now, the thing about Small Town, West Virginia is that you can never be sure what ingredients you'll be able to find at the store on any given day. For example, one day we were looking for parsley and couldn't find it...but we did find wonton and egg roll wrappers--wha??
So, on the way back from the closest mall [in Cumberland, MD--an hour away], we decided not to risk it at the local supermarket and stopped at the BIG grocery store. It stocks a lot of ethnic foodstuffs, including tons of great Latin ingredients--apparently, there are a lot of Mexican workers are the local chicken factory, so the demand is there--like jicama!, yucca!, key limes!, mango! Since we'd decided to do TexMex, this was a lucky find.
After getting stuck in some major traffic, we made it back home and got down to cooking. Our menu was made up a bit haphazardly, but it sounded good to us:
Enchiladas
Salad
Guacamole
Red Rice
Sounds pretty basic, right? HaHA! That, my friend, is where you are w-r-o-n-g.
The enchiladas were probably the most interesting, in terms of flavors. In addition to chicken and cheese, we filled those tortillas with a delectable concoction of caramelized purple onions, red peppers, and--bum bum buuuum--pineapple! We also made our own enchilada sauce, which tasted better than from a can.
The salad was also a little different--Jicama, Corn, and Black Bean Slaw--and it was ubereasy to make.
The guacamole and red rice were just traditional sides, but they sure did hit the spot. Altogether, it was a pretty successful menu.
So here you are, recipes for a TexMex feast:
Sweet and Sour Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas
for the enchilada sauce:
1 can tomato sauce (preferably, no salt added)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 c + chicken stock
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika, sweet not hot
pepper
salt
for the enchilada filling:
1/2 large purple onion, sliced into 1/2 rounds
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 length strips
1/4 pineapple, cut into small cubes
1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled then shredded
cheese, any kind, grated
corn or flour tortillas
directions:
1. make the chicken
a. bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
b. add whole chicken breasts, boil until cooked through.
c. put breasts in a large bowl and let cool, then use two forks and shred the chicken
2. meanwhile, make the enchilada sauce
a. heat some oil in a saucepan, and all add spices [except salt and pepper] and cook until fragrant [about 30 seconds to 1 minute].
b. add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. add salt and pepper to taste.
c. let mixture simmer until it thickens slightly or until you're ready to use it--it doesn't matter too much, just let the flavors meld a bit.
3. make the sweet and sour filling
a. saute the onion, pepper, and pineapple in a pan with a bit of oil or butter until very tender
4. make the enchiladas [note: if using corn tortillas, warm them up in the oven or microwave for 15-30 seconds, otherwise they will break when you try to wrap them]
a. cover the bottom of a glass baking dish with a bit of the enchilada sauce. the size of the dish will depend on how many enchiladas you want to make--they should be packed in tight.
b. for the enchiladas:
i. start by spreading some sauce on the tortilla
ii. put some of the veggies and chicken along a center axis
iii. sprinkle with some cheese
iv. roll up tightly and place in the pan
v. repeat
c. when the pan is filled, cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with lots of cheese.
d. cover with foil and bake at 375F for 30 minutes. remove the foil and let the cheese melt. then serve--a wide spatula works best!
Jicama-Corn-
Black Bean Slaw
1-1/2 c fresh corn kernels or 1 14-oz can corn
1-1/2 c rehydrated dry black beans or 1 14-oz can black beans
1 small jicama, peeled and sliced into small spears
1 lime
salt
pepper
[note: for the canned corn and black beans, I recommend organic or Trader Joe's brand because I think they taste best and have good texture, but anything will work]
directions:
1. put corn, black beans, and jicama in a bowl.
2. squeeze lime over top, getting out all the juice
3. add salt and pepper to taste.
4. if not eating immediately, put in the fridge.
Red Rice
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 c rice
1-1/2 c chicken stock
oil
salt
pepper
directions:
1. heat oil in a saucepan, saute onion and pepper until onion is translucent and pepper is tender.
2. add cumin and tomato paste, saute 30 seconds.
3. add rice, fry 1 minute.
4. add chicken stock, bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover pot, let simmer until done.
Easy Peasy Guacameasy
1+ avocado, cut into large cubes
1/4 medium purple onion, diced finely
1/2 small bell pepper, chopped finely [optional]
a handful of grape tomatoes or 1 medium tomato, chopped finely [optional]
jalepeno, chopped [to taste, optional]
lime juice
salt
pepper
[note: a few tricks for keeping avocado from going brown--a. if you are only using half of an avocado, keep the pit stuck in the other half, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate; b. put the pit in your guacamole and make sure to use an acid like lemon or lime juice]
directions:
1. put everything together in a bowl.
2. mash lightly with a fork or the back of a spoon, until combined but still chunky
yum!Comments, questions, and recipe alterations are always more than welcome.
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