Enchilada Sauce

Chicken enchiladas are a great way to use up leftovers, or  a quick meal to make with a rotisserie chicken.  My favorite are with corn tortillas, which you need to heat a little to make them flexible.  I add whatever vegetables I've got in the crisper -- grated zucchini, leftover corn, etc.  And lots of cheese!  

3 oz dried ancho chilis (sweet)

3 oz dried guajillo chilis (tangy)

2-3 other chilis of your choice -- arbol (hot), chipotle (smoky), pasilla (rich, fruity)

1 medium white onion, peeled and rough chop. 

4 cloves garlic, peeled

4 cups chicken broth or hot water

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1 oz piece of semi-sweet chocolate (optional)

Seed and toast the chilis until fragrant, being careful not to burn them.  Soak them in the broth or hot water for about 20-30 minutes, until soft.  Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth.  

Heat the oil in a large saute pan and strain the chili mixture into the pan -- this is important!  Add the chocolate and saute the sauce gently for about 10-15 minutes.  You can add a dash of vinegar if you want to, or a pinch of sugar, to adjust things to your liking.  I find that the sauce gets better after it sits for a day.  The sauce keeps well in the freezer, or you can even assemble the whole pan of enchiladas and freeze that. 

Chicken Coconut Curry

This is a nice one-pot informal dinner party meal because you make it ahead and can enjoy your guests when they arrive. Also reheats well, although the sweet potatoes do tend to fall apart.

Serves 8

2 lb chicken thighs, skinned boned and cut into 1 to 2 inch dice

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

2 tbls cooking oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 inch piece of ginger, grated

1/2 of a jalapeño, diced small

1 14 oz can coconut milk

2-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 cup chicken stock or water

1 sweet potato, 1-inch dice

1 head broccoli, cut into florets

Cilantro chopped up for garnish, optional

Juice of two limes plus wedges for serving

Mix the chicken with the spices and let it sit while you’re doing the saute.

Sauté the onion in the oil about 10 min. Add the garlic, ginger, and pepper and sauté a few minutes. Add the chicken and stir everything together for a minute.

Add the coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Add the stock or water and curry paste and bring to a low boil. Add the sweet potato and lower heat. Cook until the sweet potato is fork tender, about 20 minutes. Check the seasonings at this point and adjust. About 10 minutes before serving add the broccoli. When the broccoli is to your liking stir in the lime juice. Serve over rice or noodles with a wedge of lime on the side and chopped cilantro for garnish if you like. I served this with naan and a light salad.

Sardine Dip

 This is a very quick pantry appetizer that you can make on short notice and has amazing flavor -- feel free to sub any kind of smoked fish

About 6-8 oz of smoked tinned sardines or other smoked fish, drained

1 8 oz package of cream cheese

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 small shallot, chopped fine, or equal amt of red onion

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon Djion mustard

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or colatura di alici or fish sauce

1/2 tsp cayenne or to taste

4 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs -- dill is my favorite, or cilantro or parsley

ground black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mash together cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth, mash sardines and add.  Add rest of ingredients and mix well.  Taste and correct seasonings.  Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour if you can.  

Twice cooked pork

 So fast and so tasty.  You can boil the pork belly ahead of time and refrigerate it, to make it even faster. 1 lb seems like a lot of pork for 2 people but it loses a lot of volume when it boils.  Sorry no picture, I always forget because I'm hustling it onto my plate.    Serves 2

1 lb pork belly 

2 slices ginger

2 tablespoons oil, divided

1 tablespoon spicy broad bean paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1 long hot pepper, e.g. cubanelle, seeds removed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 leek, washed, split lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces.  discard the tough green parts. 

2 tablespoons shaoxing wine

1 tablespoon soy sauce

generous pinch of sugar

1.  Put pork belly in a pot with boiling water, lower to a simmer/low boil and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove from water and rinse, discard ginger.  Cut pork into 1/8" slices the short way and set aside.

2. Heat the wok and add 1 tablespoon of oil.  Sear the pork until it's browned, and remove from pan.  

3.  Add the other tablespoon of oil.  Add the broad bean paste and let it fry for a few seconds to bring out the red color -- don't burn it.  Add the garlic, pepper, pork, and leek and stir for a a minute.  Add the wine.  soy sauce and sugar.  Stir everything together until the leeks are wilted -- the pepper should still have a little crunch.  

 Serve with rice.  

Yankee Chopped Salad

This recipe came about from a need to use up some odds and ends in my crisper.  Feel free to riff on it.  We had this with grilled lamb chops and and it's substantial enough that you don't need anything else.  Leftovers keep well. 

1 1/2 cups cooked bulgur (1/2 cup bulgur simmered with 1 cup water for about 10 min or until water absorbed)

3-4 mushrooms, sliced thin

3 slices bacon, cooked and chopped or crumbled

1/2 granny smith apple, small dice

1 stalk celery, small dice

6-8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in quarters

1 small shallot, small dice

2 large handfuls spinach, chopped

1/3 cup feta, crumbled

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 teaspoon maple syrup

salt and pepper to taste

Marie LeBlanc's Millionaire's Shortbread

 From my friend Marie LeBlanc.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13X9 with parchment paper (helps if you put it up the sides so that you can grab it out of the pan – so much easier to cut them)

 

Shortbread Crust:

1 cup – unsalted butter – softened

1/3 cup – sugar

1/3 cup – light brown sugar packed

1 large egg yolk

¾ teaspoon – vanilla

½ teaspoon - salt

2 ¼ cups – all-purpose flour

 

Beat butter until well creamed.

Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy (30-60 seconds)

Add egg yolk and vanilla, stir and combine well.

Gradually add flour – sprinkle salt halfway through while beater is still running.

You want it to be slightly crumbly.

Press evenly into pan.

Cook 20-25 minutes till edges are brown.

Let cool.

 

Caramel

2 – 14oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk

14 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1 cup of light brown sugar packed

1/3 cup – light corn syrup

¾ teaspoon – salt

1 teaspoon – vanilla extract

 

Combine everything but the vanilla extract.  Put all in pot prior to starting the heat.

Put on medium to low heat, stir frequently until butter is melted.

Once butter is melted stir constantly until it comes to boil then reduce heat to simmer, always stirring.

Continue till mixture turns a rich caramel color and has thickened – it should start pulling away from the sides.

Candy thermometer temp=225 degrees.

Remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla extract.

Pour over cooled shortbread

Put in refrigerator for at least an hour before adding chocolate ganache.

 

Chocolate Ganache

2 cups – Semi sweet chocolate (I use 1 cup milk – 1 cup semi sweet and sometimes I just use milk chocolate.  I have also used Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate – Wegmans sells a good one but they used to cost $1.99 now they are $4.29 a bar – CRAZY)

½ cup – heavy cream

 

It seems that the longer they sit, the tastier they get.  ENJOY!

 

Sigara Boregi

This is a very quick and easy appetizer, and really delicious!  This recipe makes approximately 12 boregi about 4" long.  You can make them ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze them.  

250 grams good quality feta 

1 egg

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/4 tsp cayenne or kashmiri chili, adjust to taste

Phylo pastry -- I used about 4 large sheets of the thinnest phylo

Enough neutral oil to come about 1/3 of the way up the borek when you fry it, ~1/8-1/4".  I like corn oil, but canola or whatever you have is fine. 

Filling:  Mix everything but the phylo and oil together in a bowl.  

Put a sheet of phylo over another one to make a 2-sheet stack.  Cut the sheets into triangles roughly 6" at the base and about 10-12" long (you can adjust this to the size of borek you want).  Beginning 1" from the base of each triangle, put about 2 tsp of filling across the base, leaving about 1" of phylo on either side.  Fold the sides over the filling and then roll the whole thing up from the base of the triangle, folding the sides in as you go.  You are making a little phylo cigar.  Place the finished rolls on a piece of parchment.  Repeat until your filling is done.  

Heat the oil in your pan to about 350, and add as many boregi as you can fit without crowding them -- I like to leave 1-2" between them.  Fry until the bottom is golden brown, about 30 sec-1 minute, and then turn each one with tongs, continuing until they are a nice even brown on all sides -- maybe 2-3 minutes total.  Remove from pan and place on a couple of layers of paper towels to drain.  Repeat until you've cooked them all.  

These are best served warm.