I made this salsa from my hero Rick Bayless, and it is delicious and a departure from typical red Tapatio/Tabasco-type hot sauces.  It was extremely spicy when we first made it, but we think it mellowed out considerably after a few days in the fridge, (if such a thing is possible).  But this is a keeper.

Salsa Negra
Food & Wine July 2011

3/4 cup chipotles in adobo sauce (from a 7-ounce can), stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon molasses, preferably unsulfured
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce

In a blender, combine the chipotle chiles with the molasses, balsamic vinegar, dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the water. Blend until the mixture is smooth.  Strain the sweet chipotle puree through a fine strainer into a small saucepan, pressing on the solids with a spatula to extract as much of the puree as possible.  Simmer the chipotle sauce over moderately low heat, stirring frequently with a heatproof rubber spatula, until it is very thick, pasty and reduced to 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove the salsa from the heat. Stir in the soy sauce and remaining 1/4 cup of water. Serve the salsa negra hot or at room temperature.

This was our favorite from last week!  It has half and half in it (but not much!).  Use milk if you must…but please don’t! 🙂 I’m adding a jalapeno or two in with the onion next time!

White Chicken Chili

Serves 4

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 medium onion, small diced

1 T vegetable oil

2 cans cannellini beans

14.5 ounces chicken broth

2 4-ounce cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup half & half

8 ounce reduced fat sour cream

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the chicken and chopped onion and saute for about six minutes, or until the chicken is seared and the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another three minutes.

Add the beans, spices, chicken broth and green chilies and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for thirty minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the sour cream and half & half. Serve with cheddar cheese and additional sour cream to top.

I made these a couple weeks ago and they are good!  The green sauce is the keeper here.  I think it would go great on chicken enchiladas.  (So much for my foray into vegetarian cooking…)  I should note that we made these lasagna-style, and didn’t bother with microwaving and rolling the tortillas. 

I just looked up “suiza” and apparently it means “Swiss.”  I didn’t know the Swiss had enchiladas, but if Rick Bayless says it, I’ll buy it. 

Enchiladas Suizas

• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
• 1 medium white onion, sliced ¼-inch thick
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 serranos, stemmed
• 3 ½ tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• ½ cup Mexican crema (or creme fraiche)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 cups cremini mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 1 butternut squash, peeled and seeds scooped out, flesh cut into ½-inch cubes
• 12 corn tortillas
• ? cup chihuahua cheese (or other Mexican melting cheese)

For Garnish

• ¼ White onion, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1. Adjust oven racks to lower middle and upper middle positions and preheat broiler. Toss tomatillos, onion, garlic, and serranos on large baking sheet and place in oven. Roast for four to five minutes, or until tomatillos soften and start to turn black. Flip everything over with pair of 12-inch tongs. Return to oven and cook for another four to five minutes. Some black is okay, but adjust vegetables if they simply start to burn. Remove and let cool. Adjust heat in oven to 400 degrees.  
2. Transfer all contents on baking sheet to a blender. Process until smooth. 
3. Pour 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil into large dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When hot, dump contents of blender in. It should immediately start to sizzle and bubble. Cook, stirring often with wooden spoon, until darker, about three minutes. Pour in broth and crema, turn heat to medium-low, and stir until mixture is smooth. Partially cover dutch oven, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.  
4. Toss carrots, red onion, mushrooms, and butternut squash with one tablespoon oil on a baking sheet. Season with a pinch of salt Place on the lower-middle rack in oven and cook for about 25 minutes. Toss with pair of 12-inch tongs after 10 minutes, and after 20. Vegetables, and especially carrots, should be tender. Return to oven for another five minutes if they are not.
5. Pour remaining tablespoon of oil into a bowl. Using a brush, coat both sides of each tortilla with oil. Stack them up, and then place in a large plastic ziplock bag. Do not close bag. Place in microwave and cook for 1 minute.  
6. Pour one cup of sauce into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Scoop about two tablespoons of the roasted vegetables into each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam-side down in the sauce on the baking dish. Repeat 11 times. Pour remaining sauce over them, and then sprinkle cheese evenly on top.  
7. Place baking dish in oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until warm. Remove from oven, and using a spatula, transfer three enchiladas to each dish. Garnish with onion rings and cilantro. Eat immediately.

This recipe is from a cookbook Jean gave me from the Eastside Cafe in Austin.

2 T. olive oil
1 C. onions, diced
3/4 C. celery, diced
1/2 C. green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 T. garlic, minced
8 C. chicken stock
3 C. cooked, diced chicken
2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. cilantro, minced
1 T. fresh basil, minced
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
fried tortilla chips
1/2 C. jack cheese, grated

Heat olive oiil in a large soup pot over low heat. Saute onions, celery, bell peppers, and garlic for 15 minutes. Add stock, chicken, tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro, basil, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Garnish with fried tortilla strips and cheese. Yield: 12 cups

Betsy and I enjoyed some queso this afternoon and she encouraged me to post it on here. I give credit to my mom for this simple recipe.

What you need:

1 can Rotel

1/2 block Velveeta

1 can evaporated milk (this keeps the queso nice and creamy)

1 tbsp butter

1 clove of garlic

Dice up the 1/2 block of Velveeta into about 1 cm squares. Mince the garlic and saute it with the butter in a saucepan for a few minutes. Open up the can of Rotel and drain out the liquid. Now put the diced Velveeta, can of drained rotel, and the whole can of the evaporated milk into the saucepan and set the heat to medium. Constantly stir the mixture until all of the Velveeta squares are melted. Enjoy!

This queso is extremely addictive so be sure to only pour as much as you really intend on eating into a bowl and eat it from there. If you put too big of a bowl in front of you, you WILL end up eating it all 🙂