Enchiladas Especial

If you get anything out of this post, please get this: Get thee to a book/magazine seller and buy this publication from Better Homes and Gardens: Ultimate Mexican. 
Drew and I picked it up at our local SuperTarget a couple weeks ago and immediately were inspired to cook almost every recipe in it.  We will work our way slowly through this one! 
Last night we started with 3 recipes - each of them perfect in their own right.

On the menu:
Avocado Salsa
Enchiladas Suizas
Sangrita (for tequila tastings reviewed on Drew's blog)

To start the evening off right, I made this salsa that is a definite keeper.  I have always been intimidated by tomatillos. The reason for my phobia? The only thing I can think of is the skins.  There is something about them being wrapped up that makes me nervous, I guess.  So, last night I got over the fear and took the plunge, using two cooking applications on the tomatillos.  Tomatillos, consider yourselves conquered.  No longer will I shrink back at the "difficulty" of your green, papery skin.  Honestly, they could not be easier to prep and they taste great.  This particular salsa includes avocado, boiled tomatillos, green onions, sour cream, cilantro, salt and pepper.  The flavors need a little time to meld in the fridge and the wait is well worth it.  Oh, boy this was good and it got rave reviews!

For the entree, I made Enchiladas Suizas.  This one is too easy, if you already have some chicken on hand.  Thankfully, my father-in-law spent most of Saturday slaving over a hot smoker to prepare some smoked chicken for our enchiladas.  I am sure a rotisserie chicken (what the recipe calls for) would work; but if you happen to have a special person in your life, who just happens to know how to use a smoker, it may be time to butter them up.  The smoked chicken was perfect with the sauce I prepped.  The sauce consisted of the tomatillos (roasted this time), garlic, red onions, jalapenos, cilantro, fire-roasted tomatoes, cilantro, and creme fraiche.  The prep for these enchiladas is so easy and pretty much idiot-proof.  A good thing for my somewhat off-headed evening (Drew slipped me a decongestant).  And the result:  OH MY GOODNESS!!!  These. Were. Wonderful.  Definitely a do again.  I can't wait to try all the other enchilada recipes in this book.  The recipe makes a generous 12 enchiladas, so it easy could serve 6 with the addition of side dishes. 

For side dishes we did Taco Rice (not that memorable) and fresh corn-on-the-cob (thanks to my friend, Tara's farmer connection). 

Be sure to check out Drew's post about the tequila tastings we did last night to accompany dinner.  When I say "we," I mean they (I HATE tequila).  I am sure he will have great things to say about the process.

Italian Feast

We had my parents and an old friend over for dinner the other night and I went all out on the menu.  I have been intrigued by a recent Bon Appetit article about meatballs from different parts of the world.  So I tried one of the recipes.  The name is really long and I can't remember it, but it was the Italian version of Spaghetti and Meatballs.

The process, though somewhat time consuming, was very straightforward and the results were tasty.  I don't think I let the sauce thicken enough before serving, so the texture was off (my cooking fault, not the recipe).  The meatballs were very flavorful and tender.  I enjoyed them very much. 
Obviously, I made pasta to go with the meatballs and tossed a simple salad with green onion and roasted asparagus.  I also made the French bread mentioned in a previous post. 
And for dessert, by request from Dad...a pumpkin cheesecake.  This is his favorite dessert that I make...this time it could have been a little better, but it did taste right. 
I think I must have been off in the texture department the other day...hmmm.  Oh, well.
We had a great time at dinner and played a new game called Things.  Lots of fun, lots of laughs.  Thanks for the fun evening!

Recipes Unrelated

The last couple of days have included cooking and eating, but I have had a hard time getting my thoughts together regarding the results.  Here we go (in no particular thought pattern):

Saturday:

To the dreaded slow-cooker, I added a questionable recipe. 
Fish in the slow-cooker...I have done it and now I won't need to do that again.  There is really no way to know exactly when it is ready and the recipe I used was less than desirable in the flavor department. 

Sunday:
Guests over (Drew's parents).
In a complete change of pace for me, I got somewhat intimidated by the planned recipe and decided to go with a tried on true recipe. 
Chicken and Dumplings done a la Sandra Lee (who I find mostly annoying...for a number of reasons, one of which includes her recipes actually tasting good). 
The other recipe did the whole thing from scratch and for some reason intimidated me. 
While thinking about this at length (I have nothing else to fill my days), I realized it was because I have never had chicken and dumplings other than the ones by Sandra Lee.  When I was a child, the word "dumpling" disturbed me and I refused to even try this dish. 
The Chicken and Dumplings turned out very nice and I recommend them heartily to anyone who, unlike me, is fine with the word "dumpling" and its implications.

Also made Pumpkin Spice Bars (Christmas with Southern Living 2009) for dessert.  These were somewhat disappointing.

This was ironic because it was the Chicken and Dumplings I was concerned would not meet the standard of Sandra Lee (and thus the other recipe was tossed).  I was really looking forward to the Pumpkin dessert.
There is another pumpkin bar recipe I have made a couple of times in the last couple of years and it is phenomenal.  This one, not as much.  I would have rather had the other.
While thinking about disappointing desserts (again...nothing to fill my days), I started realizing that dessert is something you don't mess with. 
I really can't have dessert every day because of the calories and so if I want dessert, it is going to have to be something tried and true, something to look forward to, something to talk about.
This is magnified when dining out.  In addition to the caloric intake factor, there is an expense to consider.  This is the reason I don't order dessert at most restaurants.  I don't want to be disappointed and a brownie with ice cream on top is not usually worth my time.  The list of must have dine-out desserts for me is extremely small...sad!

Monday
Today was the first day I woke up and was cold.  It was one of those days!  This meant soup. 
So, I got started on PC's Creamy Harvest Soup.  This involved roasting various fall veggies, pureeing them, adding cream, and serving. 

It was not that bad, but not that great.  Drew said, it didn't have" much flavor."  I agreed with him that it was mild. 

There you have it.  You are caught up in the kitchen.  And in the meantime the Mavs have won the last two games, tonight's had the best ending of the season.  A cold-ish day and a win - can't beat that!

Ham Happiness

For those of you who have read past posts regarding my slow cooker adventures, you will not be surprised to hear that it was with great trepidation that I served tonight's dinner.  As I prepared tonight's foray into the world of slow cooking, I realized, "this may not go well."  You may know one of the rules to slow cooking food is: always add liquid.  This recipe lacked liquid.  I was apprehensive. 
Let me give you the rundown for the evening.  We invited Ken and Conni (Drew's parents) and Stacie and Morgan over for dinner.  Sometime this afternoon I put together the recipe from Fix it and Forget It: Ham and Scalloped Potatoes.  The worst part of the preparation (don't hate me PC) was the slicing of the potatoes.  I used my new and improved, much safer mandoline from PC.  It took quite a while to slice all nine potatoes required for this recipe, so long in fact that I didn't slice the last two.  I gave up.  This mandoline does not seem to work as easily as the last incarnation.  Granted the last incarnation nearly cut my thumb off twice.  This one seems to require much more force behind it and I had to cut each poato in half and then put it on the little food pusher thing, then get it all lined up.  This process took a good 20 minutes.  Not my idea of fun, but I could also blame this on my stubborness.  I had a knife that works and I could have just as easily sliced the potatoes thin, but then I could not rant about the mandoline.  (Remember, I told you PC, you can't hate).   All that said, I got the whole thing together and then checked the recipe for the third or fourth time to try to see where I had missed the liquid.  Alas, there was no liquid and I began to fret.
I moved on to dessert next.  I made Ultimate Chocolate Pudding from Christmas with Southern Living 2009.  I enjoyed the process of making pudding from scratch because, I confess, I have never done this.  I used Ghiradelli cocoa for this attempt and I was very pleased with the results.  I tried a little bit off the spatula, then I tried a little more, and I little more.  Then I had to put the bowl in the sink and run water over it to make sure I did not lick the whole bowl.  If you have never made chocolate pudding from scratch, I highly recommend it.  It was good even whilst warm.  I put it in individual serving bowls and chilled it until after dinner.

So, the reckoning came and I was still very nervous.  I had forewarned our dinner guests that if it was awful, we would order pizza.  AND...It turned out o.k.  In fact, it was better than o.k., it was good, even great.  Everyone really liked it and Ken even got seconds (not a normal thing for him since the stroke).  It was a hit!  It don't know what you are doing to me slow cooker, but you get me every time.  Someday, I will understand your whims and ways.  Tonight, I was just happy that it worked!  Oh, I must add that this does not photograph well, so you will just have to imagine a wonderfully constructed, yet somewhat ugly dish with all the comfort of home.  We served this with crescent rolls and green beans.  A pretty well rounded meal.

Then we had coffee (well a couple of us did) and dessert. The pudding was wonderful!  Mmmm!  The biggest fan was Connil.  I can add this one to the list of her favorites.  She would like for me to consider making her a pudding sandwich.  I will consider this at some future date, after I have gotten over the shuddering. 

Dinner with Friends

Tonight, we had the privilege of hosting some of our friends for dinner.  I had the special privilege of trying a new Pampered Chef recipe with my very own Pampered Chef!  Becky and Daniel came over and as soon as Becky got in the kitchen, we got to work on PC's 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 Skillet Phyllo Pot Pie.

I would describe this dish as classy with a comfort food feel.  I think it is definitely good enough for company, but it has all the flavors that remind you of fall (Thanksgiving, in particular).  This dish, as promised, goes together very quickly.  We served this with a "green salad."   On the technical side: I would definitely recommend making sure the vegetables are thawed completely before adding them to the pot pie mixture.  If you do not, the finished product can be a little less thick than you may desire.  Additionally, you could make a little roux before putting the rest of the ingredients in for a thicker result.  I enjoyed the phyllo dough "crust."  I think it is definitely worth the time it takes to work with such a delicate ingredient.  Drew thought it was good and I think Daniel and Becky enjoyed it too. 

We had a nice long conversation over dinner, then the guys went upstairs to play video games, while I cleaned up and talked with Becky.  Becky brought over some Mocha Hazelnut sweet rolls (yum!...and so easy) and we took them up to the guys for dessert.  A great night with great friends!  Looking forward to lots of friend dinners as we get geared up for fall!

Caliente PC on a roll!

OK...now that's more like it!  Tonight's dinner: Mexican Sausage Skillet from the Pampered Chef 29 Minutes to Dinner 2 Cookbook.  Here's the review:
SPICY!  Very flavorful and filling.  Great ingredient list which can be modified to suit your tastes (considering chicken and diced zucchini, possible seasoning change).  Did I mention spicy?  I love it when Drew only gets up to get salt, not hot salt, not cajun season, just salt - it makes me feel I have done my job for the night! Doubled very nicely and made A LOT of food.  Will have leftovers - trying to figure out how to change it up a little bit - or I could pass it on to mom and dad (he really enjoys spicy food).

But here is the deal on tonight: we had Morgan and Ken and Conni over for dinner.  It is the 2nd week of a "tradition" I am trying to start to challenge my hostess skills and spend more time with the people I love on a regular basis.  I am trying to have someone (anyone) over to dine with the Hudsons on a weekly basis.  I think we can do it!  Haven't mentioned this to Drew yet, but I am sure his hosting skills are up for the challenge.  Besides, when everyone leaves, we can play Guitar Hero (I promise).  So, here's the official invite...get your reservations now and come ready to try a new recipe.