Enchiladas

So I am so stoked!  I was asked to bring a main dish to a dinner slash rehearsal the other night.  Our church is having a big fiesta weekend, complete with potluck, concert (hence rehearsal), church services and more.  Being the weekend has a Latin theme (Celebracion de la Vida), the dinner followed suit, and enchiladas was the word of the hour.  Time has of late become a commodity more precious than gold, so labor-intensive, high-falutin' enchiladas were out of the question.  I put in an emergency call to my mama (we, like most middle-American families, grew up eating enchiladas), but alas, she was temporarily out of reach; I was left to my own devices and my time budget allotted about five minutes to figure out what to cook.

Let me insert here, I don't exactly consider myself a food snob.  Let's face it, I just plain like to eat, and there isn't much out there that I consider beneath me.  That being said, there is something a little, well,...eh....about processed foods.  I don't refuse to eat them, but it just seems like keeping consumption of the contents of brightly colored cans and boxes and packages with labels full of impossible-to-pronounce ingredients of unknown origin to a minimum is just a good idea.  So, though I love Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (and all of the lovely concoctions it contributes to) as much as the next guy, if I can find a decent (unprocessed) substitute, I'm all over it.

Anyway, so I had picked up this cookbook awhile back called The Cook's Country Cookbook.  It's put out by the great folks at America's Test Kitchen (Cooks Illustrated, The Best Recipe, etc.; I am in love with these people).  Its theme, so to speak, is all of that great, slightly retro food we all grew up eating.  Think everything from Party Mix to Layered Salad and Green Bean Casserole to Sloppy Joes and Lasagna to Strawberry Poke Cake and Seven-Layer Bars (I kid you not); all solid, hearty, no-frills food that screams pure comfort (to me, anyway).  The big difference with this cookbook, though, is that they do away with all of the crap that most of those dishes in their original incarnation depend on, while at the same time, refusing to compromise on taste or convenience (well, for the most part, anyway, on the convenience thing).

Being that enchiladas is the epitome of this particular genre of comfort food, I grabbed this book off of my shelf, checked the index and....PAYDIRT!  A recipe I could whip up (with some minor tweaks) in the few minutes I could scrape together between music class, work, meetings and dinner, that looked delicious, and best of all, did NOT contain those big yellow cans of "enchilada sauce" that most enchilada recipes rely so heavily on (which, for the record, I have absolutely no idea what they contain).  Straight to the store I went, up the next morning and tossed a few things into the CrockPot.  I came home an hour before showtime, threw the whole assembly together, popped it into the oven for a few minutes, and still had time to brush teeth and freshen the face before I ran out the door.  I shamelessly headed straight for my own contribution in the food line (hey, this was an experiment; there was a lot at stake).

Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe we have a winner.

(Square photo courtesy of the new iOS 7)

Beef Enchiladas

courtesy of Cook's Illustrated, with revisions

2 1/2 pounds - chuck roast

2 tablespoons - vegetable oil

4 onions, chopped (I used two big sweet onions)

6 cloves - garlic, minced

6 tablespoons - chili powder

4 teaspoons - ground coriander

4 teaspoons - ground cumin

2 teaspoons - sugar

2 teaspoons - salt

28 ounces - tomato sauce 

1 cup - water

16 ounces - shredded Monterey Jack or mild cheddar cheese (I used colby jack)

2/3 cup - chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup - pickled jalapenos, chopped (the jarred kind)

18 - 6" corn tortillas

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (I used my cast-iron skillet, which every kitchen should possess).  Pat meat dry, salt, and brown on both sides.  Transfer meat to CrockPot using tongs.  Return pan to stove (leave leftover oil in pan) and reduce heat to medium.  Add onions and cook until tender and golden, about five minutes.  Meanwhile, combine spices, sugar and salt in a small bowl.  Add to onions, along with garlic.  Cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Add tomato sauce and water and stir to loosen any bits at the bottom of the pan.  Pour over meat in CrockPot, cover and cook on low heat (I did this for about eight hours.  You could probably ratchet it up to high and do it in less time).  

Heat oven to 350.  Remove meat from CrockPot (I used a colander set over a bowl) and reserve sauce.  Place meat in large bowl and shred with two forks.  Add 2 cups of cheese, cilantro, and jalapenos; mix well.

Spread some sauce in the bottom of your pan.  (This is really up to you.  I ended up fitting about 12 enchiladas in one 9 x 13 and I did the remaining 6 in a 9" square pan; if you do this, put about 3/4 cup sauce in the 9 x 13 and maybe 1/2 cup in the square pan.  If you have a big roaster pan or something, you could fit them all in one pan; just put a little more sauce in the bottom.  You could also halve this but your pan would be a little more scant.)  Spread 1/4 cup beef mixture down the center of a tortilla, roll up and set in pan, seam side down.  (I lucked out and got some really fresh ones at Publix; if yours are a little hard, you can microwave them for a few seconds to soften them.)  Repeat with remaining tortillas and beef mixture.  Pour enough remaining sauce over enchiladas to cover and spread evenly.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over enchiladas.  Cover tightly with greased aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Remove foil and continue baking until cheese browns slightly; 5-10 more minutes.  

If you really want to rock this out, serve with a flavored sour cream (these are best made in the food processor).

Cilantro-Lime: Combine 1 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon grated fresh lime zest, salt and pepper to taste

Avocado-Chile: Combine 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 mashed avocado, 1 chopped fresh jalapeno, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

For dessert?

Acquire a friend like Tunie, who brings a person fresh, homemade shortbread.  

Have I ever mentioned that I love her?