Squash Enchiladas - Potluck specialty

I know - i know, i've been terrible. To be honest i've been eating terrible things and am rarely home during meal times. I am going to try and cook more for myself, because i have honestly been terrible. Luckily i had a few meals over the holiday that i can throw in - but i promise i'll do a little better. On an interesting note- this is one year for me! (kinda cool)

So i had my company's United Way potluck, and even though i am at school most of the time, i had no classes so i thought i would go. I didn't really have a plan until the day before when i decided to make squash enchiladas - i had never made them the day before and i was a little worried how to heat them (we have no oven) and how well the corn tortilla would stand up. But i did it anyway.

So here is my recipe for butternut squash enchiladas:

Ingredients

First i peel and cut into similar size cubes the squash. I also roughly chop a sweet onion. I tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and some cumin. I always line my pans with parchment paper - it keeps all the juices in, and is super easy to clean up. Into the oven at 450.

Here they are out of the oven. A little brown and easy to pierce with a fork. I also did a head of garlic separately in a ramekin.

For the filling, just squash is kinda repetitive, so i mix mine with cream cheese (light),chipotle sauce, the garlic, salsa, and just because i had a can, and they keep falling out of the cupboards and nearly knocking me out - tomatillos.

One hint, make sure you hold back some of the squash, so you can make it thicker if you've put too much liquid like i did with the tomatillos.


Once the squash filling was finished, i then did the rest of the ingredients for the tortillas. Green onions, lettuce tomatoes, jalapenos and extra old white cheddar.

Here are all the ingredients ready for the assembly. Making this dish is kinda repetitive, so for efficiency its best to have everything ready before you start to put the dish together.

In a dry non-stick hot pan i heated up the tortillas, turning often.

Here is my assembly line

Tortillas

Squash Filling

Other Fillings

Enchilada Pan

I coated the bottom of the enchilada pan with some of the filling, some salsa and a few green onions and tomatoes. I then began to make each tortilla role by adding all of the ingredients assembled.

Role it tightly and lay in the pan seam down. Repeat until the pan is full, then coat with remainder of squash (you might have a little extra) veggies and cheese. Bake covered until bubbling, then remove foil and allow to brown a little.


I ended up cooking them half way - then the day of doing them again. They were okay - i know they can be a lot better - so perhaps not a night before things. Also i though i was gentle with the spicing, but a few people thought it had a lot of kick. Something to remember when cooking for pot lucks - not everyone likes it hot.

Fish Tacos

Yes, i know more fish tacos - they are soooo good, and have become a cottage favorite. This time i made them with mahi mahi. I also made my own coleslaw which i thought was a change. There was actually no bagged shredded cabbage at the grocery store to start with. I guess because it was the weekend there was a real rush on everything, it was tough to find most of the things i was looking for.

Sunny ingredients

I was going to do the fish on the grill, since mahi mahi is hearty enough to do this way. I rubbed them with a little olive oil, some cumin and chili powder. I figured they would only take about ten minutes on the grill, but when i went out to check on them about five minutes in - they weren't cooking. Turns out we ran out of propane!!! I had to line a baking sheet and put them in the oven to finish. They were still good but i was looking forward to a little char.

Luckily there was enough ambient heat to warm up the tortillas on the grill.

I had all the usual toppings, but i also decided to do some match-stick cucumbers in a light sour cream cilantro dressing for another topping. It was really hot out and i thought that this would cool us of along with the cabbage.

Friday Breakie

Today i had a couple meetings downtown, so i didn't bother heading into the office, which gave me a little extra time to relax, read the paper, check emails and cook breakfast!!! I am heading up to my cottage, so i wanted to use up some of the food i had in the fridge, hence i threw together a quick breakfast with what i had in the fridge.



I roasted some potatoes with olive oil, shallots, salt, pepper and chili flakes. While that was cooking i chopped some tomatoes and avocados and dressed some arugula with olive oil and balsamic. When the potatoes were almost done i put a corn tortilla into the oven and fried an egg. Once the egg was done i assembled the meal: starting with the tortilla i topped it with the egg, some cheese, then the tomatoes, arugula and avocado. On the side i had the potaotes and some fruit from mother's day.


If only every weekday breakfast was this easy/good!

Cinco de Mayo Enchiladas

To celebrate Cinqo de Mayo i decided to make a bastardized mexican enchilada dish. I didn't have any recipe to go with this but since i've made similar ones i figured i could just wing it.



None of the ingredients were anything too special. I wanted to make the Tomatillo salsa/enchilada sauce again - so i roasted some peppers, garlic and onions to add to the canned Tomatillos.




Once they were roasted i added them and the tomatillos to the food processor to make the sauce.


I was also going to make some dips, so since the packages of tortillas are so big i thought i would bake some chips which would be a lot healthier. I lightly brushed them with some olive oil spiced with red peppers.


I then laid them out on a baking sheet - paying attention to them in the oven. I also made a dip of feta, tomato, onions and jalapenos for dips and guac. (not pictured)


For enchilada toppings i had cabbage, onions and jalapenos.


Previously, working with corn tortillas i've either fried them or baked them, but i had read about steaming them in a bamboo steamer so i did that. They were good, but i think if you're in the mood for something a little more decadent fry them. I appreciate the crispness, and i think they create a little more texture for the dish.


Making the enchiladas i put enough of the sauce to coat the bottom of the baking dish and set aside. To assemble them i simply put some of the tomatillo sauce down, then black beans (rinsed) and some goat cheese and cabbage. I rolled them up and added them to the waiting dish


Once i had filled the dish with rolled tortillas i topped the dish with the rest of the sauce then added the goat cheese, a mexican cheese blend and sprinkled with black beans. I covered it in foil, baking for about 10 minutes at 425, then removing the foil and allowing the top to brown and crisp up.

So authentic! (not)

Fish Tacos on a Rough Day

Food, as you are probably aware, is one of my obsessions, and really a good meal can totally change my mood. I had a pretty rough week, and was feeling a little isolated and sorry for myself, so i thought i would put the extra tortillas and black bean mango salsa back to work and make myself some fish tacos. Fish tacos can cheer me up any day - especially when i make them just like i want them.

I ended up using a frozen haddock fillet from the President's Choice Blue menu which is sort of a short cut, but i do like my fish breaded in the tacos - i've made it many ways, but the crunch is essential! The other essential with this dish is the cabbage/coleslaw - its a nice contrast to the fish, and is very Californian. I made this coleslaw with a light sour cream-lime dressing along with some jalapenos to spice it up.

I did this one deconstructed - putting everything out and assembling it. I also made myself a margarita to make the meal even more festive - bad mood solved!

Above:

Feel good meal
The fish
Ingredients (pretty simple)

Catfish Tostada

So for the next week or so i am house/dog sitting for my parents in mono. My mom has an amazing kitchen with lots of nice gadgets along with my dream item - a gas stove. There isn't too much to do on ten acres by yourself, well except cook.

I was looking through some of my mom's Moosewood cookbooks, and saw quite a few recipes that interested me, but this one in particular caught my eye - Fish Tostadas. The recipe itself was pretty simple - as most tostadas are, and i thought i would use catfish, which is quite a tasty fish that doesn't really get used that often. In the supermarket fish section you often see it pre-seasoned either cajun or lemon pepper - i've never tried them, but heard the cajun is good.

I ended up buying a piece of unseasoned catfish which i first rubbed on both sides with a clove of cut garlic. I've used this technique before for bread, but never for fish. I then rubbed the fish with a mixture of ground corriander, cumin and salt and pepper. Once i put it on the foil (no need to ruin any of my mother's baking sheets) the recipe called for you to squeeze half a lemon over the fish, and then broil it, a few inches from the top for 9 to 12 minutes.

While the fish was cooking, i made a salsa. They had a number of salsa recipes mentioned in the cookbook, but i didn't quite have the ingredients for any particular one, so i made my own. Initially i was going to to a tomato based one (as you can see from the pictures) but changed my mind and did a black bean and mango salsa with red onions, coriander, red peppers and jalapenos. I do enjoy certain fruits with fish and this seemed like an opportunity to do one.

Once the fish was finished i heated a corn tortilla in oil, drained it and topped it with arugula, the fish and finally the black bean mango salsa. Voila Catfish Tostadas

Above:

The finished tostada

Some of the ingredients

The fish ready for the rub

The fish ready for the oven

Assembling the tostada

Breakfast Burrito

Since the NCAA tournament is still on, i can't really go out or i end up missing games, it was also not very pleasant out there for a sunday morning, so i went out early and did a quick stop for breakfast. Initially one of my friends was supposed to come over for breakfast, but due to staying up until 5 am they were not going to make it. I didn't really have a plan, and was thinking about doing a mexican style breakfast; fried egg, refried beans, some veggies and tortillas.

When i was at the grocery store i was looking at the tortillas and for some reason i thought about breakfast burritos. I had actually never had one, but a lot of the times i'm out for brunch someone orders on, so they must be pretty good. I thought instead of refried beans, which i associate with Burrito Boyz, i would use black beans. I was going to make the spicy black beans i usually do, but i ended up with some necessary variations. I used jalapeno instead of chipotle, and for some reason i had run out of veggie stock and had not replaced it, so i was forced to use Miso Broth. I did however have the onions.

I am not really a scrambled eggs kinda person, i tend to eat them poached, hard boiled or fried - but a burrito really called for scrambled. The odd time i've had them out they were so light and fluffy, i thought i would make use of google and find a video and learn how to make them right. I used the Martha Stewart technique - and they were light and fluffy!

I also made a pretty sweet salsa, using some of the black beans before they were cooked, tomatoes, cucumber, onions, cilantro, jalapeno, cumin and lime juice. For the contents of the burrito i decided on some of the scrambled eggs, the spicy black beans, goat cheese, tomatoes and romain lettuce. I had put the tortilla in the oven for a minute before to make it pliable. I folded up the burrito and baked it for about 5 minutes flipping it once. I served it with salsa and sour cream.

The best part of this recipe is that while i was watching the Duke v. Baylor game i made a quick dinner using the salsa and black beans in a salad with sour cream-lime dressing. I also made a really basic quesadilla with left over mozzarella and jalapenos. (sometimes a cheese quesadilla is all you want).

Above:

Sunday Morning paper and burrito
Finished Salsa
Ingredients
Mixing the salsa
Fluffy eggs
Assembling the burrito
Quesadilla/leftover dinner

Goat Cheese Pesto Quesadillas

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In university i worked at a really cool bar/lounge in the east end called 2066, and we had some very interesting food on the menu. One of my favorites, and definitely a really popular item were the goat cheese quesadillas. The ones on the menu also had grilled chicken in them, but i omitted the chicken since i don't eat it, but a lot of people really liked it with chicken.

The real key of the dish is the goat cheese pesto - its super tasty and gives it a unique tang. They made it at 2066 with goat cheese, cream cheese and pesto. I didn't have any cream cheese, so i just made it with the the basics. This is also a nice spread for a sandwich, in particular with grilled veggies.

As for the toppings you can use whatever you want, but i stick to the version that they made at the bar - sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, roasted red peppers and red onions. You simply spread the tortillas with the goat cheese mixture, then top with the ingredients, fold the tortilla in half if you're using a large one, or as i only had small ones, i topped it with another tortilla, and a bit of the left over mixture.

You can bbq these, and they were made on the grill at 2066 - in my case i simply baked them, flipping them half way through so that both sides firmed up. Its best to serve this with salsa and sour cream and a salad. I made a fresh avocado salsa for mine.

Above:

Quesadillas
Ingredients
Assembling the quesadillas
Two quesadillas
(i added the red peppers after this pic - i forgot)