Coronado Concert in the Park: Enchiladas Suizas and a Pear Vodka Cocktail with a Twist

After spending several days at Rancho La Puerta, a luxury resort spa in Tecate, Mexico, we came home to the August/September Saveur - The Mexico Issue in our mailbox. The food was wonderful at the Ranch, but we were ready for some authentic, bold flavored Mexican food like the creamy chicken enchiladas and red rice featured in the magazine, and a large pitcher of margaritas. 

Nina came up with "twisted" for our concert in the park culinary theme. Chicken Enchiladas didn't really fit in with the theme, other than maybe they could be viewed as a twist on the vegetarian enchiladas we had at RLP. However, I also came across a cocktail recipe that sounded like it would pair very well with the enchiladas and I knew I could easily add a lime twist to each glass. Not a very creative interpretation of the theme, but I now have a new favorite cocktail ;-) very similar to a margarita but made with vodka rather than tequilla. Olé!

The "cocktail" is actually a punch, named Lakeshore Punch, and one of five punch recipes provided by Grey Goose vodka in one of their advertisements. I renamed our version Coronado Breeze because it was so refreshing. And shhhh, don't tell Grey Goose, but I used Absolut Pear Vodka instead of Grey Goose La Poire (the market was out of La Poire and Absolut was about $10 cheaper). The cocktail has pear vodka, pear nectar, elderflower liqueur, lime juice, mint and cucumber. The elderflower liqueur is what makes it so unique, and the mint and cucumber make it refreshing. I served it over ice, as recommended, but it's also nice chilled, straight up. 

For the enchiladas suizas, a trip to Northgate Market was in order for tomatillos, chiles, fresh queso fresco cheese, and still warm, freshly made yellow corn tortillas from the tortilleria. We were also able to find a few ingredients we needed to recreate one of the Peruvian dishes we prepared at RLP's cooking school with the visiting chef from Chile, but that will be another blog post.

Newf Notes about the enchiladas suizas recipe published in Saveur:

• The recipe takes quite a bit of time to make, with roasting the tomatillos and chiles for the sauce, roasting your own chicken, and frying/rolling the tortillas.  Therefore, double the recipe! As written, using 8 tortillas, it will only serve 4 people. One roasted chicken will yield 6 cups of shredded chicken to fill at least 16-20 tortillas.
• The recipe calls for a 9 x 13 inch baking dish for 8 enchiladas, but you can easily fit 14 enchiladas by making two rows arranged crosswise in the dish. After doubling the recipe, I was able to use one 9 x 13 inch dish to hold 14 enchiladas and another smaller baking dish to hold an additional 6 enchiladas.
• The recipe ingredient list calls for roasted poblanos, but then only talks about roasting the tomatillos and serrano chiles under the broiler (I've never seen jarred roasted poblanos). Assuming you buy fresh poblanos, you can "roast" them alongside the tomatillos and chiles. I prefer using the sear burner of our grill rather than the broiler, and then tossing them in a paper or plastic bag to steam for about 10 minutes before easily removing the blackened skins.
• The serrano chiles are stemmed but not seeded, which gives the sauce a nice heat. I didn't feel the sauce was overpowering at all, because of the sour cream and tomatillos, but if you're a wimp when it comes to spicy food, scrape the seeds out of the serranos take before throwing them in the blender.
• The recipe recommends serving the enchiladas with plenty of sauce, but there isn't any sauce left over after being instructed to "pour remaining sauce" over the enchiladas before baking. The enchiladas do have a tendency to absorb the sauce during baking and a little extra would have been nice. However, they were extremely flavorful and moist when they came out of the oven. If you want to end up with some extra sauce, make one 9 x 13" pan of enchiladas (14-16) and then reserve a cup of sauce before pouring "remaining" sauce over the enchiladas before baking.
• I served the enchiladas with Arroz a la Mexican - Mexican-style red rice (Saveur recipe)

Bright green tomatillos with their interesting paper-like husks

Roasted Poblanos

Roasting the tomatillos and serranos

Enchiladas Suizas with Mexican Red Rice

Enchiladas Suizas (Chicken Enchiladas in Tomatillo-Cream Sauce)
Adapted from Saveur
Serves 10

3 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed
4 serrano chiles (stemmed but not seeded)
2 cups roughly chopped cilantro
2 cups sour cream
2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground (toast them in a little saute pan until fragrant and then grind in a spice grinder)
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
4 poblano chiles
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
20 6" corn tortillas (we prefer yellow corn tortillas)
1 1/2 cups safflower oil or canola oil for frying tortillas
6 cups cooked shredded chicken (from 1 large roasted chicken)
3 cups crumbled queso fresco cheese

Arrange an oven rack 4" from the broiler and heat broiler to high. Place tomatillos, serranos and poblanos on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil, turning as needed, until blackened all over, about 10 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes, and then peel and discard skins (Again, I prefer to blacken the chiles and tomatillos on the grill - I also remove and discard the core of the tomatillos).

Transfer tomatillos and chiles to a blender along with cilantro, sour cream, cumin, garlic, and 1 1/2 cups boiling water; season with salt and pepper, and purée until smooth (you may need to do this in two batches). Set enchilada sauce aside.

Place shredded chicken in a bowl and toss with 2 cups enchilada sauce until evenly coated.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, grasp tortillas with tongs and fry in oil until pliable, about 1 minute. Transfer tortillas to a work surface. Divide sauced chicken evenly among tortillas, and roll tortillas tightly around chicken. Pour about 1 cup enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish, and place tortilla rolls in dish, seam side down, in two rows. Repeat with a second, smaller dish for the 6 enchiladas, adjusting the quantity of the sauce accordingly. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolls, and cover evenly with cheese.

Bake enchiladas until sauce is bubbling and cheese is melted on top, 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool for 10 minutes.

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Coronado Breeze Cocktail
Adapted from Grey Goose Lakeshore Punch
(Makes about 10 cocktails)

2 ½ cups pear vodka (Grey Goose or Absolut)
2 cups pear nectar (such as Kerns)
1 ½ cups St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
½ large cucumber
½ bunch fresh mint (plus more for garnish)
1 cup water
1 lime to make twists
Ice
Garnish: Mint sprigs and lime twists

Mint Water: Combine 1 cup water with ½ bunch fresh mint in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat and let macerate for 10 minutes. Strain and allow strained mint water to cool.

Cocktail: Cut the cucumber into thin slices and place in pitcher. Add vodka, pear nectar, Elderflower liqueur, lime juice and mint water. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Pour into lowball glasses filled with ice. Garnish with cucumber slices from the pitcher, fresh mint and a lime twist.

Trapper and his Squirrel-Cat

Coronado Concerts in the Park - Oodles of Noodles

Cellophane, vermicelli, bow tie, fettuccine, lasagnette, lasagna, egg, Shirataki, and Chow Mein...we transformed oodles of noodles into savory and sweet dishes for Sunday's Concert in the Park Challenge Noodles.

Carmen arrived with a huge salad bowl, and various containers filled with the prepped ingredients for her Thai Chicken and Glass Noodle Salad with Spicy Dressing. Max, Olivia and Sonoma were eager to help toss the marinated chicken, glass noodles, jicama, carrot, green papaya, mango, cucumber, bean sprouts, cilantro, spicy dressing, and peanuts. Carmen consulted several recipes, but said she relied on this Food Network recipe more than others.

My Sopa Seca de Fideos was another first for me. A friend and I were talking about some of the San Diego restaurant winners of the Silver Fork Awards, when I mentioned we had tried to find El Camino in her neighborhood. Turns out that location recently closed so the owners could concentrate on the larger, Little Italy location. Rachel said El Camino's Sopa de Fideos was her favorite. When she described it as a tomato-based noodle soup, I started researching recipes for our noodle fest. Quite frankly, most of the recipes sounded pretty bland, until I came across Rick Bayless's version with toasted vermicelli "nests," roasted tomatoes, chorizo, chipotle chiles in adobo, and queso anejo. Sopa Seca means "dry soup." The end result is not soupy at all, and the flavors are bold, spicy and wonderful. I made a test batch for our Friday night patio crowd, and it was thumbs up for another round on Sunday. The recipe is at the end of this post.

Alec's Fresh Lasagna with a Touch of Porcini, is from La Cucina Italiana. It's not a layered lasagna, but more like wide noodles (lasagnette) tossed with an amazing, deep, rich mushroom sauce.

Kai's Bow Tie alla Caprese was adapted from Giada De Laurentiis' Fusilli alla Caprese. He used bow tie pasta and added olives.

Sandra's Creamy Baked Fettuccine with Asiago and Thyme is also from Giada De Laurentiis. Fettuccine pasta is gently tossed with Asiago cheese, creme fraiche, Parmesan, and thyme, poured into a baking dish, sprinkled with a little more cheese, and baked until golden.

Kellee, and her gorgeous daughter, Morgan, made this lovely Pasta Salad with Shrimp and Snow Peas.

Nina's Agliolio Chocolate Lasagna, made with fresh, homemade chocolate noodles, chocolate mascarpone mousse, chocolate ganache, and white chocolate curls, took top honors in the dessert category. She was inspired by this recipe, but "prepared the whole thing day of, cut the cream in the mascarpone so it would be denser, and added a little coffee extract to the filling." We were wowed by her first attempt at homemade pasta! Chocolate lovers - this one's for you!

Carmen's Killer Kugel, from The New York Times, was the best Kugel I've ever tasted, with its bread pudding-like sweetness and texture, and heavenly walnut and cinnamon crumb topping. She added home-dehydrated grapes, which were pleasantly plump and sweet. We all agreed a touch of Cognac would make this even more decadent.

It's always such a great surprise when Mary and Geoff come down from Del Mar to join us. Mary shared two platters of cookies - Kristy's Ancient Chinese Noodle Cookies and Chinese Noodle Cookies.

Music for the evening was provided by the U.S. Navy Band Southwest - Wind Ensemble

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Sopa Seca de Fideos

Adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine

via Food Network
4 main servings, or 8 first course servings

Ingredients

2-3 canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 tablespoon roasted garlic paste (about 4 garlic cloves)
3 pounds Roma tomatoes (about 15 to 17)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
6 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed
1 (10-ounce) package dried fideo (vermicelli) noodles (try to find the "coiled" vermicelli or "nests")
2-3 cups low-sodium chicken or beef broth
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup finely grated Mexican queso anejo
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Roast the tomatoes on the grill, or on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until blackened on all sides. Cool, then peel, collecting all the juices with the tomatoes.

In a food processor or blender, core and process half of the roasted tomatoes, canned chiles, and garlic to a medium-fine puree. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in medium-size pot (such as a 4-quart Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add the puree and stir for about 5 minutes as it sears and thickens. Set aside.

In a separate medium non-stick skillet, cook the chorizo over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 10 minutes. Scoop it out with a slotted spoon into a small bowl, draining as much oil as possible back into the skillet. Set bowl of chorizo aside.

Pour about 6 tablespoons of the remaining oil into the skillet and return to medium-high heat. When hot (drop a stray noodle in – it should sizzle but not brown immediately), lay in about 1/3 of the noodle nests to fry until noticeably browned, about 1 minute, then flip and brown the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon, draining as much oil as possible back into the skillet, and drain on paper towels. Continue until all the noodles have been browned.

Add the broth, oregano, and pepper to the tomato sauce. Core the remaining half of the tomatoes and chop into small pieces. Add and simmer briskly, until the sauce thickens to the consistency of a juicy tomato sauce, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt.

Add the noodles to the sauce. In about 2 minutes, the noodle nests should be soft enough to pull apart. Pull the nests apart, then add the zucchini and the chorizo. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender but still firm, about 2-4 minutes.

Add cream, raise the heat to medium-high and boil quickly until the sauce returns to its previous consistency. Taste again and readjust the salt, if necessary. Stir in half of the grated cheese.

When serving, sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the cilantro garnish (I didn't use cilantro).

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Portobello Mushroom and Chipotle Tacos, with Tomatillo-Arbol Chile Salsa

This month's Saveur includes a few Mexican dishes that captured my attention, including the cover photo and recipe for Tacos de Papa, tacos stuffed with cumin-spiced potatoes, fried, and then garnished with green cabbage, tomatoes, cotija cheese and salsa. I looked over the recipe, but then opted to try another taco recipe from Mark Miller's Tacos:  Portobello Mushroom with Chipotle Tacos.

Since finding a wonderful brand of yellow corn tortillas, which are thick and chewy, and incredible for soft tacos, I just may try a few more healthier tacos this summer.  I also made the recommended salsa for the tacos, Tomatillo-Arbol Chile Salsa, and a pot of beans, using Rebosero beans from The Rancho Gordo Xoxoc Project.

"The earthy meatiness of portobello mushrooms pairs wonderfully with the smoky flavors of chipotle chiles. The mushrooms are sauteed in butter, which imparts a delicious nuttiness and helps the mushrooms brown. Toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds are a traditional and tasty garnish that increases the nuttiness of the dish..."  I'm kicking myself now, because I forgot to add the pumpkin seeds!  Regardless, these tacos are fantastic.

Portobello Mushroom Tacos with Chipotle

From Tacos

Makes 8 tacos

1 pound portobello mushrooms

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons chipotle puree  

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup grated smoked mozzarella cheese

8 (5 1/2 inch) soft yellow corn tortillas

Garnish: Lightly toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds

Tomatillo-Arbol Chile Salsa (recipe follows)

Make the chipotle puree: In a blender or small food processor, puree the contents of a small can of chiles in adobo sauce. Refrigerate for up to a month, or freeze for later use.

Remove the mushroom stems, chop them, and reserve. If any of the mushrooms are large, scrape off the gills with a spoon and reserve. Cut the caps into 1/4-inch thick slices and reserve.

You will need to cook the mushrooms in two batches so they will brown and not steam from overcrowding.

Heat a heavy skillet for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the pan, then add half of the sliced mushrooms, and half of the chopped stems and any reserved gills. Add half the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Saute the mushrooms until golden brown and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Transfer this batch of mushrooms to a plate, and repeat with the other half of the mushrooms, with the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn off the heat and return the first batch of mushrooms to the pan. Add the chipotle puree and cilantro and stir to combine. Sprinkle on the cheese and gently stir to melt the cheese.

To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas, and top with salsa and toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds.

Tomatillo-Arbol Chile Salsa
Adapted from Tacos
Makes 2 cups

4 tomatillos, husked, rinsed and blackened
3 Roma tomatoes, blackened
5 dried de arbol chiles, stemmed, with seeds
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground
½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, toasted and ground
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon peanut oil

To blacken the tomatillos and Roma tomatoes, place on a baking sheet under the broiler for about 5 minutes, rotating until the skins are charred and blistered on all sides. Cut out and discard the stem and core from the tomatillos and Romas.

In a small pan, toast the cumin seed and oregano over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until fragrant. Grind in a spice grinder.

Place all ingredients, except peanut oil, in a blender and puree until smooth.

In a large, heavy nonstick skillet, heat the peanut oil over high heat until just smoking. Turn the heat down to medium-high and carefully add the sauce. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 3 to 5 minutes, until it thickens slightly. The sauce will keep for about 2 months in the refrigerator.

A few other tacos from Tacos:

Tacos al Pastor, with Pineapple-Habanero Chile Salsa

Buffalo Sausage Tacos

The Crown Jewel Affair: Chiles en Nogada

I hope you're not getting full yet, because we still have three courses to go in The Crown Jewel Affair Chef's Menu!

Chiles en Nogada (Chiles in Walnut Sauce) is one of 16 internationally inspired recipes featuring POM Wonderful variety pomegranates and POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice, created by notable chefs around the nation as part of POM Wonderful Chef Series 2010.

Chef Cindy Pawlcyn, a pioneer in the development of wine country cuisine, is the owner of three of Napa Valley’s beloved restaurants: the legendary Mustards Grill, the eclectic Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and her most recent creation, the West Coast seafood house Go Fish. Chef Pawlcyn shared her Chiles en Nogada recipe, which also happens to be in one of my favorite cookbooks, Big Small Plates. I designed my entire Crown Jewel Affair menu around this dish.

As explained in the cookbook, "the origins of this dish go back to 1821 and a victory banquet in Pueblo, Mexico, commemorating the defeat of the Spanish." The white of the walnut sauce, red of the pomegranate seeds, and green of the chiles represent the colors of the Mexican flag. "It's a celebratory dish, especially good for Christmas..."

The recipe gives you the option of baking the chiles, or frying them like you would with chile rellenos. Although baking would be easier for a dinner party (they do need to be fried right before serving), I chose to fry ours for the party, for a more stylish presentation.

Okay, it's time to be honest here. I now have a love-hate relationship with Chiles en Nogada. There is a tremendous amount of work involved with preparing the filling and walnut sauce, roasting and peeling the chiles, carefully stuffing the chiles, and then either baking or frying the stuffed chiles.

Did I mention peeling the walnuts? OH MY, John's mom will never forgive me after I asked her to help with that miserable task! Soaking the walnuts overnight in milk is supposed to help the skins come off easily. NOT! As John explained to our guests (see The Crown Jewel Affair video, here), it took about a hour to peel three walnuts. Chef Pawlcyn refers to it as "a pill of a job" but says it "makes a big difference in taste and appearance." I made half the sauce with the peeled walnuts and half with the skins on, and seriously could only taste and see the tiniest difference. Save yourself the frustration, unless you know an easier way, and skip the walnut-peeling horse pill.

This is my attempt, and I still couldn't get all the skins off

Thank you, Diane!

I grilled the poblano chiles until the skin blistered, and then placed them in plastic grocery bag, sealed, for about 15 minutes to allow them to "sweat" before peeling. This was a breeze compared to peeling walnuts, but then you must carefully slit the chiles, remove as many of the seeds inside without further tearing the chiles, spoon in the filling, and then try to fry the chiles without loosing the filling (I used a few toothpicks to keep them closed while frying and them removed the toothpicks before serving).

If you're feeling brave, you can find the recipe for Cindy's Chiles en Nogada here. Kai said it was his favorite dish at the party, and it absolutely is extraordinary. Remember, it's a "celebratory dish" and you won't want to attempt it for a simple, weeknight dinner!

Before we moved on to the next course, Braised Lamb Shank Ragu, we offered this Lemon Sorbet Palate Cleanser, embellished with a few pomegranate arils.

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