June 24th--Enchiladas Verdes

Dave: We are breaking our run of "let's only make recipes that we have the ingredients for because we don't want to go shopping" in a big way today.

Lauren: Yep - pretty much everything for this meal we bought today. In fact, our ideas for this one kind of snowballed:

"Let's make enchiladas!" (Okay, fairly easy)

"Ooh! With verde sauce!" (Still not that much more work - some chopping, but not much more)

"And tortillas! From scratch!" (Likelihood of swearing at cookware this evening - imminent)

Still, not a lot of things to keep track of in each part of the meal, so it feels more low maintenance.

Dave: Update! I can not make the tortillas work. They are either falling apart on the counter or too thick. I think I am going to try lightly pressing them by hand and using the grill press to get them the rest of the way. I will let you know how it turns out.

Ok, so mixed results on that front. The tortilla has the perfect texture, but I have lost some structural integrity. I'm going to try putting a dough ball on and just placing the grill press for the first few seconds and then slowly applying pressure to it.

All right, so I still have some structural issues and they aren't as effortlessly perfect as my friend Hana's mom's tortillas (big ups to Janie!). But they are still leaps and bounds better than the tortillas you get at the supermarket.

Lauren: This also happens to be night that the Magic Bullet Blending System kicked the bucket, so in the middle of our dinner preparations, we had to run out to Target for a new blender/food processor so that we could finish the salsa verde.

Dave: We had scouted out a very simple food processor that would replace the Magic Bullet at a reasonable price, but when we got to the kitchen gadget section I was struck by a particular show piece...

THE NINJA

Lauren: It blends! It food-processes! It destroys your enemies with its dual blade action!

Dave: And with a pitcher of Margarita concentrate in the fridge, it seemed like a blender that plays up its ability to manage frozen drinks would be a good option.

The Ninja did make short work of processing the verde sauce, and it made some mighty smooth home Margaritas. All in all, I wouldn't use these tortillas for burritos or sandwich wraps, but they are just great for enchiladas and I bet they would make good flautas and tostadas. The verde sauce was delicious and it might become our standard chip dip this summer.

Lauren: This was meal well earned, for sure.

Corn tortillas:

1 3/4 cups masa harina (we found it pretty easily at Jewel)

1 1/8 cups water

(I love this guy - he's so happy about being made into tortillas!)

In a large bowl mix the masa and water together by hand. Dust hands with more masa (mas masa...hee hee) and form into five evenly-sized balls. Put the first ball onto a greased griddle and press lightly with griddle press (or use a tortilla press if you are lucky enough to have one) in an asterisk pattern. When the tortilla is flattened, put it on a baking sheet in a warm oven. Repeat with remaining balls of dough.

Filling:

1 package Chick'n Style Smart Strips

1 sweet onion

1 Tbsp oil

1 Tsp chili powder

1 Tsp cumin

2 Tbsp Louisiana Hot Sauce

8 oz. shredded cheese (we used Jewel's "Mexican Style Four Cheese Blend," but if you can get your hands on queso, chihuahua, or asadero and shred it yourself, that would probably be even better)

Chop the onions and chick'n strips and fry in oil. Add chili powder and cumin; simmer and add Louisiana Hot Sauce and cover the pan. Cook until the onion is tender and saturated with spices. Hold onto the cheese for a little later down the page.

Salsa Verde:

8-10 tomatillos

1-2 jalapeno peppers

1 large avocado

Seasoning (we used cumin, hot chili powder, fresh oregano, and salt and pepper to taste)

Husk, rinse and dice tomatillos. Seed and dice the jalapenos (I left in the ribs for a little extra spice). Put the tomatillos and jalapenos in the food processor and blend until liquid. Transfer to saucepan; add salt and spices to mixture. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Peel avocado and cut into chunks, then place in food processor with sauce and blend until smooth.

Putting it all together:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a casserole dish, put down a layer of verde sauce. Place a tortilla in the sauce, place filling in tortilla, then roll up. Once desired number of enchiladas are in the dish, sprinkle a layer of cheese. Place another layer of sauce over the cheese, then put casserole in oven until cheese is melted.

As a bonus, our margarita recipe!

1 1/2 cup tequila

1/2 cup Grand Marnier (we used Cointreau)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 can (12 fl. oz.) frozen limeaid concentrate

1/3 bottle of beer

Combine ingredients. Chill until ready to serve. 1/2 of this mixture makes one pitcher of frozen margaritas when blended with a blender full of ice.

June 23th--Tortilla Espanola

Dave: Tonight we are making a Spanish Tortilla! No special reason...no new materials on hand...we just felt like it. It's kind of interesting that the Spanish Tortilla has so little in common with the Mexican Tortilla. The Spanish version is much more similar to frittata.

We're making the tortilla with the red potatoes left over from last night instead of the more traditional waxy potatoes...we'll let you know how it turns out.

Lauren: Tortilla Espanola is a classic tapas dish, but seems to be easily adaptable to "Hmmm...what's that in the fridge? An aging red pepper and some olives we should probably use up? Groovy!" The original recipe also calls for onions, which we probably would've added if it weren't a) something that we'd have to go to the store for and b) pouring torrentially.

Dave: That is true...you could really pop anything in this dish and it would be pretty acceptable - as long as you have the traditional eggs and potatoes, it would still be Spanish Tortilla. In related news, there is a tornado warning so I'm glad we didn't run out for an onion.

1 Lb potatoes
2 cups olive oil
½ cup mixed olives (we used a mixture of green and kalamata), pitted
1 red pepper
2 eggs
dash of Hungarian hot paprika
dash of chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Peel potatoes, cut into small cubes or wedges, then put on a clean dish towel and dry well. Cut the red pepper into 1" squares; cut olives into quarters. Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottom or nonstick skillet. Add the potato pieces, red pepper, and olives, then lower the heat and cook, stirring frequently for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender, but not brown. (They'll actually look like they've been boiled, yet will have the delicious flavor of the olive oil cooked inside them.)

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a large bowl and season with salt, pepper, chili powder and hot paprika. (Note: If you are using olives, be careful not to over-salt the egg mixture, as the olives will impart plenty of salt to the tortilla. Also, a secret: if you are ever having a dish at our house and taste a spice that is unidentifiable but delicious, it's probably hot paprika. Very few things are not improved by its addition.)

Place strainer over a large bowl; when the potato mixture is cooked, drain into the strainer so that the bowl catches the oil. Set oil aside. When the potato mixture is well drained, gently stir it into beaten eggs.

Wipe skillet clean or wash it if necessary to prevent the tortilla sticking. Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved olive oil in the skillet. When hot, add the mixture, lower the heat and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the underside is just set. Use a spatula to push the potatoes down into the egg so that they are completely submerged and keep loosening the tortilla from the bottom of the skillet to stop it sticking.

To cook the second side of the tortilla, cover it with a plate, and hold the plate in place with the other hand. Drain off the oil in the skillet, then quickly turn the skillet upside down so that the tortilla falls onto the plate. Return the skillet to the heat and add a little more of the reserved oil if necessary. Slide the tortilla, cooked side up, back into the skillet and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes, or until set underneath. The tortilla is cooked when it is still firm and crisp on the outside but still slightly runny in the center.

Slide the tortilla onto a serving plate and let stand for about 15 minutes. Serve it warm or cold, cut into small squares, fingers or wedges.

Optional: For a little extra heat, serve with Sriracha.