Mexican Fiesta Night

Sweet Harold picked this recipe from the Food and Wine Annual Cookbook 2009.  I modified it a bit by adding some additional spices and using some of his pickled jalapenos instead of fresh.  The original recipe cooked the chicken by cubing it into 1 inch chunks and browning.  Our personal preference is for the chicken to be stewed and shredded when it comes to soups and stews, so that's what I did with this batch.  Two thumbs up from Sweet Harold.  He chose wisely.

3 lb. boneless/skinless chicken thighs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 cups chicken broth or stock

2 T. olive oil

2 medium onions, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 pickled jalapenos or use fresh

2 T. all purpose flour

2 T. chile powder

2 t. ground cumin

1 t. dried Mexican oregano

1/2 t. ground ancho chile pepper

1/2 t. ground chipotle chile pepper

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

3 15 oz. cans white navy beans, rinsed and drained

Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large Dutch oven, heat the chicken broth and cook chicken for 20-25 minutes.  Remove chicken from brothnd let rest until cool enough to shred.

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat until shimmering and saute onions for about 5 minutes until tender.  Add garlic and jalapeno and cook until fragrant.  Add the flour, cumin, oregano and peppers and cook stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. 

Add this mixture along with chicken back to broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cover and let cook for about 30 minutes.  Uncover and simmer the stew over moderate heat until sightly thickened about 30 minutes longer.  Serve with chips and top with any or all of the following:  shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, cilantro, diced avocado.

Black Beans with Rotel Tomatoes

Last year I asked Sweet Harold to plant some black beans in the garden.  He had a bumper crop and we had plenty for the freezer.  I cooked these for about 4 hours in some chicken broth with a little diced garlic.  About 30 minutes before serving, I mixed in a can of Rotel Tomatoes with Lime and Jalapenos. 

Crawfish and Shrimp Enchiladas

This dish is  based on Paul Prudhomme's recipe.  When I realized that he had 8 cups of cheese, yes 8 cups of cheese, I knew I'd have to adjust that some.  Instead of all crawfish, I decided to go with half crawfish/half shrimp.  This is a wonderful comforting meal. 

1 stick butter (divided)

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 cup canned diced green chiles, drained

3/4 cup diced bell peppers

salt

2 t. white pepper

1 1/2 t. cayenne pepper

3/4 t. dried Mexican oregano

1/2 t. minced garlic

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese (divided)

2 pounds crawfish

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined

2/3 very finely chopped green onions

6 inch flour tortillas

In a large skillet, melt 1/2 stick of butter.  Add the onions, green chiles, bell peppers, salt to taste, 1 t. white pepper, 1/2 t. of the red pepper, 1/4 t. of the oregano and the garlic.  Saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the heavy cream and bring the mixture to a rapid boil.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the sour cream and mix well until dissolved, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.

In a medium skillet, melt the remaining butter.  Add the crawfish, shrimp, 1 t. white pepper, 1 t. cayenne and 1/2 t. oregano.

Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add 2 cups of the cheese and stir well.  Simmer until the flavors are well blended about 10 minutes. 

Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with non-stick spray and spread about 1/4 cup of the crawfish mixture evenly on bottom of the dish.  With one torilla at a time, spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture onto tortillas and roll tightly.  Place seam side down in dish.  I got 8 enchiladas in mine.  Top the enchiladas with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and about 1/2 cup of the crawfish mixture.  Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  The remaining filling can be used for additional enchiladas or serve over rice or pasta.