martha and the vegetarian enchiladas

people knock martha stewart all the time. i don’t get it. sure some people say she is evil. and she may have cheating the stock market. but who hasn’t?  and besides, her recipes are really good.

take the vegetarian enchiladas. not mine though- you can pry them from my cold dead hands.

i did have to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe-

in australia, there is no such thing as pepper jack cheese (not surprising, or bothersome for that matter). i just used cheddar and pickled jalapeños.

canned black beans are nearly impossible to find here! that is surprising considering they have dried black beans, and they have canned beans of every other type. and when you do manage to find them, they are amazingly expensive. i had to cook my own beans. not a big deal- it just takes time. lots of time.

and i added more cumin. i like cumin.

who needs meat?

Vegetable Enchiladas
adapted from Martha Stewart

2 tablespoons olive oil
2.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
2c vegetable stock (i used chicken, so i guess they weren’t entirely vegetarian.)
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
3c shredded cheddar cheese, and several diced pickled jalepenos.
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed or 1 can corn kernels, drained
6 green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated
8-10 flour tortillas. i used whole wheat.

Sauce:

in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add 1.5 tsp cumin, 1/4 cup flour, and 1/4 cup tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously with a woodden spoon, for about one minute. Whisk in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 to 8 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. set aside.

Filling

in a large bowl, combine 2 cups pepper jack cheese, the beans, spinach, corn, green onion whites, and remaining 1 tsp cumin. Season the mixture lightly with salt and pepper.

heat oven to 400F.

lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish, and set aside. stack the tortillas, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute

top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling and roll them up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes. dividing evenly, sprinkle the enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese and top with the sauce. bake the enchiladas uncovered until hot and cheese is melted, about 15 to 20 minutes. cool for 5 minutes and serve garnished with  green onion greens.

I didn’t do this, but you can freeze this dish and cook it later. That Martha, what a lady.

1. Prepare enchiladas through step 5, then top with the remaining 1 cup pepper jack cheese and cover the baking dish or dishes with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil.
2. Place the sauce in an airtight container. Freeze enchiladas and sauce for up to 2 months.

To bake from frozen:
1. Thaw sauce in refrigerator overnight (or microwave on high 2 minutes, stirring once halfway through).
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove the foil and plastic wrap from the baking dish/dishes and pour the sauce over enchiladas, then cover with foil again.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes more. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

labor day

potato salad is just about the best potato dish ever created. perhaps best dish ever created. i’m not sure. however, i am sure that i can make a mean version myself.

this is a “german” potato salad. basically it means mayo is switched out for vinegar and sugar. oh, and it’s fucking delicious.

bacon. that is all.

potato salad

yukon gold potatoes (reds would work too)

6 large shallots

extra virgin olive oil

~1/4c white vinegar

~1/4c water

~3 tbsp sugar

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

~1/4c chopped parsley

~6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

heat oven to 350F

cut potatoes and shallots. toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. bake for about one hour or until potatoes are done (they can be easily pierced with a fork). be sure to turn the potatoes and shallots every 15 minutes during baking

while the potatoes are baking, bring vinegar, water, sugar, and pepper to a boil. remove form heat and cover.

when the potatoes are done, toss with vinegar mixture, bacon, and parsley.  serve warm.

the taste of summer

with summer comes heat. with heat comes amazing produce, especially any berry or fruit such as our wonderful friend the tomato. right now i can’t turn around without someone trying to give them away; i gladly take them.

i can taste the sunlight

the key to this recipe is to use real tomatoes- slightly ugly, yet full of flavor, real tomatoes. the kind you grow at home (or someone else grows at home). well that, and good cheese- (real parmigiano, real mozzarella, and my personal favorite- gruyere) and fresh herbs.

tomato tart

pastry

250g ap flour

1/2 tsp salt

113g butter, cold and cut into pieces

1/4 cup ice water

1/4 cup cold vodka

filling

4-5 medium/large tomatoes, sliced

~1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated

~1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced, then torn into small pieces

~1/4 lb gruyere, shaved

chopped fresh herbs- basil, thyme, sage, oregano

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

combine flour and salt then cut in butter using a food processor or by hand until pea-sized pieces of butter are seen. with the food processor running, or while mixing with a fork, add all of the vodka. then add enough water until dough comes together. form into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. let rest for at least 30 minutes

heat oven to 350F

on a well floured surface roll dough out and place into a pie/tart pan. cover with foil and weigh down with pie weights (i use beans- they’re cheap). bake for 20 minutes, remove foil and beans and bake for another 10 minutes.

let cool for 5 minutes

increase oven temp to 375F

sprinkle some parmigiano on the cooked pastry. line with a single layer of tomatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper. add 1/3 gruyere, 1/3 mozzarella, 1/3 of the herbs, and then more parmigiano. repeat layering two more times.

bake for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

let cool five minutes before serving.

the dish with no name

long ago, when i was in a stable relationship, which was loooong ago, i would occasionally grab one of those frozen skillet meals from the grocery store. they were decent, but nothing to write home about. i thought to myself, “i can do better than this.” and i did.

i don't know (tear)

but there was a problem- i don’t know what to call this thing! i’ve been making it, refining it, and eating it for years, and i still have no idea what to call it.

this is where you, my wonderful readers, come in. help me name it and i’ll give you 5 dollars. really, i’ll send you a 5 dollar bill if i choose your name.

so what’s in the dish?

pink sauce (marinara and alfredo)

sauteed, green beans, red and yellow peppers,

and pasta

your name here

pink sauce

1 cup marinara sauce

1 cup heavy cream

56g butter (1/2 stick)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2c parmagiano reggiano cheese

freshly cracked black pepper

2 chicken breasts, cooked any way you like ( i saute mine)

2 red bells peppers, sliced

2 yellow bell peppers, sliced,

green beans, ends trimmed

1 cup pasta, cooked

melt the butter in a large sauce pan. add cream and heat until just boiling. add cheese, garlic, and pepper. add marinara sauce. mix in pasta.

while heating the cream/butter mixture, saute peppers and green beans in olive oil.

add peppers, green beans, and chicken to the pink sauce and pasta. serve

po-ta-to*

so i’ve been on this huge potato kick recently. reds, yukon golds, purples, and of course, russets. but before we delve into today’s recipe, i’d like to dispel the bad rap potatoes have been getting for the past few years, so listen up:

POTATOES ARE NOT BAD FOR YOU.

was that that hard? potatoes are full of fiber (assuming you eat the skin) and vitamins (assuming they aren’t boiled to death), and are fat-free (assuming you don’t dip them in oil or cover them in mayo), got it? good.

i grew those green onions

twice baked potatoes

1 large russet potato, scrubbed clean

extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

~5 green onions, diced

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp heavy cream or milk

cheddar cheese, grated

pamigiano reggiano cheese, finely grated

i use the alton brown method for the initial bake:

heat oven to 350F. line a baking sheet with foil. using a fork make several piercings into each side of the potato.  rub potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. place potato directly on rack and place the baking sheet below the rack holding the potato. bake for 1 hour (1.5 hours for large potatoes). remove from oven and let cool.

while the potato is cooling, chop green onions and mince the garlic. using a serrated knife cut the potato length-wise and scoop out the insides. two things to consider:

1. the potato will still be damn hot, so be careful.

2. leave about 1/4 inch if flesh on the skin. this will provide stabilization.

place the skins on the baking sheet and place back in the oven while you mix the innards with the garlic,  half of the onions, cream, parmigiano, salt and pepper (if desired). remove the skins from the oven and fill with the mixture. set the oven to broil. sprinkle with cheddar cheese and place back in the oven. broil until cheese is melted. sprinkle with the rest of the green onions.

*remember when i told you that joke? we were both incredibly drunk.