Spicy Little Devils - Singapore Rice Noodles

Singapore Rice Noodles

            2/3 cup chicken broth

            1 tbsp (càs) oyster sauce

            1 1/2 tbsp (càs) soy sauce

            1 1/2 tsp (càc) white sugar

            3 tbsp (càs) peanut oil

            1 1/2 tsp (càc) curry powder

            1 clove garlic

            1 tsp (càc) minced fresh ginger root

            1 red bell pepper

            1 small red onion

            4 green onions

            1 (12 ounce) package frozen cooked cocktail shrimp

            1 1/2 cups frozen baby peas

            8 ounce (200 g) package rice noodles, broken into 3 inch pieces and soaked

Directions

Combine chicken broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl, and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add curry powder, crushed garlic, and crushed ginger; stir-fry for 10 seconds. 

Add chopped peppers, onions, and scallions; stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes. 

Stir in chicken stock mixture, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add shrimp and peas, and cook until hot. Add noodles, and cook until dish is heated thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Northern Thai Green Curry

Northern Thai Green Curry
2 chicken legs and thighs with bones and skins
6 thai mini green eggplants
a large handful of fresh green beans
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 onion
A recipe of green curry sauce
1 can of coconut milk
Thai sticky rice

Brown the chicken. Add the onions until soft. Add all of the other vegetables chopped and the curry sauce and coconut milk.

Cook your sticky rice separately. Both pots should simmer for about 20 minutes.

Green Curry Sauce From Scratch
6 green chilis
1 stalk lemon grass
3 cloves garlic
1 inch chunk of galanga
1 tbsp shrimp paste or 2 tbsp fish sauce
1 kaffir lime
10 asian basil leaves
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt & pepper

Chop the vegetables. Zest the lime. Simmer everything together.

Thai Mini Green Eggplants

Pizza Soup

Pizza Soup

1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 cup (12 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms
2 (8 in / 20 cm) zucchini / courgette
14.5 oz beef broth
14.5 oz tomatoes
16 oz can pizza sauce
1 lb (4 oz) fully cooked smoked sausage links
1/2 tsp herbs de provence (pizza seasoning)

GARNISH
shredded cheese
sour cream

In a medium saucepan, combine onion, sweet pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, and 1/4 cup of broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, simmer covered for 5 minutes.

Thinly slice the sausage.

Stir in the remaining broth, the undrained tomatoes, pizza sauce, sausage, and seasoning. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more or until the vegetables are tender.

Dollop sour cream on each serving and top with cheese.
Makes 6 servings.

Tradition Meets Inovation - Quinoa Chili

What happens when all the best stuff of life converge together in a bowl of chili?

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
3 tomatoes (or one 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes)
2 (19 ounce) cans black beans
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 zucchini
1 jalapeno pepper
1 tbsp chipotle pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
salt and ground black pepper

Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, soften the onion in a tablespoon of water over medium heat. When the onion is transparent add the spices : garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Cook and stir 1 minute to release the flavors. Add 2 cups water. Stir in the diced vegetables : tomatoes, black beans, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, zucchini, jalapeno pepper, chipotle pepper, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in the cooked quinoa. Remove from the heat, add the cilantro to serve.

Food Is Art - Pomegranate Salad

"You first taste your food with your eyes"

Dress up a simple meal. Serve your drinks in stemware and serve your salad in your juice glasses. Why not? Set out the nice tablecloth you rarely use and suddenly excitement will be teeming through your veins!

Pomegranate Salad
pomegranate fruit
granny smith apples
arugula leaves (roquette)
feta
white wine vinegar
*optional foie gras

How To Prepare A Pomegranate
Slice off the end at the navel. Immerse the fruit in a bowl of water. Gently peel the tough skin off revealing the fragile fruit. Harvest the unblemished fruit jewels for your salad. Eat any nicked jewels immediately. Store unblemished fruit jewels for several days in a sealed container in the fridge.

Let's Do Brunch - Kimm's Sunny Florida Quiche

My Aunt Kimm comes up with the most creative recipes!!! This crustless quiche comes out with a crispy buttery edge that is to die for! If you like this recipe you'll love Kimm's Festive Squash Gratin.

Kimm's Sunny Florida Quiche

2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 lb sausage
1/2 bag of fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 onion
1 1/2 cups sharp cheese

QUICHE MIXTURE
9 eggs
3/4 cup (20 cl) heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup (10 cl) milk
2 shavings of fresh nut of nutmeg

Soften the butter and spread it evenly over a 10 inch flat bottomed tart pan (you can substitue a 9 in round cake pan, but you won't get the best results with a pie pan).

Cook the sausage.

Cut the thick stems off the spinach and wilt it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Whisk your eggs, cream, and milk. Rub the nutmeg with the edge of a sharp knife to create nutmeg powder over the mixing bowl. Whisk, Whisk, Whisk.

Layer the sausage, spinach, diced onion and shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar).
Pour the egg mixture over the toppings.

Bake for 35 minutes at 350°F (176°C).

After making the quiche I realized that I had exactly half of everything I bought left over so I decided to use the rest of the ingredients in a pie crust this time, just to demonstrate that it works just as well.

Ingredients layed out in a quiche crust.

Only You Can Be You - Mediterranean Fish

Want to feel special? Fix this simple gourmet dish and flatter yourself. Want to make someone else feel special? Serve this dish to them and savor life together.

There are way too many providential circumstances in this cosmic universe for life to just happen by chance. You are a treasure. No one else sees the world the way you do, you are really that unique. You are intentional. You are caring. You are loved. And caring for your soul enriches all your relationships.

This is one of my all-time favorite dishes. As you can see, it's just gorgeous to serve to guests! It will make any first time chef feel like a Cordon Bleu. It's colorful. It's flavorful. And it's ohh, soo, healthy!

Mediterranean Fish
(serves four)
Two whole white fish
One red bell pepper
One green bell pepper
One-half onion
Grape tomatoes cut in half
One jar of whole greek black olives

Clean (gut) the fish. The fish monger or supermarket clerk will gladly do this for you. ;)
Lay the whole fish in a shallow baking dish.
Slice the peppers and onion super thin, cut the tomatoes in half.
Layer green peppers, red peppers, onion, tomatoes, and black olives. Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for a half hour or until the onions and olives are blackened, and the fish flakes off the bone loosely.
Serve with red quinoa tossed with fresh Italian parsley.

Real Mediterranean black olives are the key to this meal. The non pitted ones have the best flavor. Here you can see that baking caramelizes the onions and olives. The olives get a bit wrinkly and the flavor changes completely. They are absolutely incredible! 

Chicken Muscatel

Chicken Muscatel
4 fresh chicken breasts
1 onion
2 heads of garlic
1 bottle of Muscatel

Sear the chicken breasts to seal in their juices. Remove them from the pan.

Brown the onions and garlic in a tablespoon of water. When they're thoroughly colorful, add the chicken  and half a bottle of Muscatel. Simmer until cooked through and tender. Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed fresh asparagus.

Berry Frost

Berry Frost
Stir a tablespoon of honey into a vanilla flavored yogurt. Pour over your berries and toss to coat them in sugar. Freeze.

Put more vanilla yogurts in the freezer. They will transform into frozen yogurt in about 2 hours.

In pretty little cups layer frozen berries, and vanilla yogurts, and then top with more berries and a drizzle of honey for decoration.

The Most Bourguignon Boeuf Bourguignon An American Ever Did Make - Doris Julien's Boeuf Bourguignon

I attended the anniversary party for the Château de Saint-Albain. Hundreds of people gathered together to sing praises of this wonderful château that serves as our favorite conference center in the heart of the Burgundy region of France. As story after story unfolded about the château, it was clear that everyone believed their season in the château's history were the glory years.

One story stands above the rest. You see, a group of local Bourguignon families wanted to thank a family of caretakers who had worked at the château for over two decades. Bourguignon families are very proud (in the best sense), proud of their land, proud of their culture, proud of their cuisine. And so, to flatter this couple and make them feel at home, the best compliment they could come up with was, "Thank you Doris, you make the most Bourguignon, Boeuf Bourguignon that an American has ever made!" Followed by an uproar of applause.

So try your hand at their traditional recipe, but beware, if you change one ingredient in this recipe they'll taste it and say, "Nice stew, but that's not Boeuf Bourguignon." And you can disagree with them all you want, but in the end they did invent the recipe, so you can't really complain if they get to decide whether it has been recreated properly.

Boeuf Bourguignon
6 oz bacon
1 tbsp oil
3 lbs lean stewing beef
1 carrot
1 onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp flour (traditionally all purpose flour, but rice flour works too)
1 bottle of red wine from Bourgogne
2-3 cups brown beef stock or canned beef bouillon
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp thyme
bay leaf
18-24 white canned onions
1 lb fresh mushrooms
fresh parsley sprigs

You'll need a baking casserole that does double duty on the stove and in the oven. Imagine a big thick iron pot with a lid. Mine is stainless steel, but make sure your handles won't melt.

Fry bacon over moderate heat until lightly brown, remove, break into pieces, set aside in your large baking casserole.

Cut beef into 2 inch chunks. Dry the beef with a papertowel. Sear beef in bacon fat until brown, set aside with the bacon.

In the same fat brown the sliced vegetables, remove to a separate bowl.

Toss meat with salt, pepper, and flour. Place casserole uncovered in the middle of the oven at 450°F for 4 minutes. Toss the meat and continue baking another 4 minutes until flour has browned. Remove and set oven to 325°F.

Empty the bottle of wine and enough stock so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, vegetables, crushed garlic and herbs. Bring to simmer on the stove.

Cover the casserole, place in the lower third of the oven. Regulate the heat so the liquid continues to simmer very slowly for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The meat is done when it falls apart when pierced with a fork.

While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms by browning them lightly. Add these to the meat 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Check the meat every half hour, if it's too dry add more stock, by the end of the cooking time the sauce should be gravy-like.

Give A Man A Fish - Fish Tacos

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." - Maimonides

Fish Tacos

Tilapia. Cooked in olive oil and seasoned with chipotle seasoning.

Amazing Fish Taco Sauce. Half sour cream and half light mayonaise seasoned with chipotle seasoning.

Pico de Gallo. Fresh diced tomatoes, diced onion, and generous amounts of chopped cilantro drenched in fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Red Rice.

How To Prepare An Avocado

There is only one way to slice an avocado. - Surprised?

CHOOSE YOUR AVOCADO
You choose a ripe avocado the same way you choose a ripe peach. Don't let it's lizard-like appearance throw you off. The skin will be tough, but underneath the flesh should be soft to the touch, not soupy, not hard, just right, even peach-like.

CHOOSE YOUR KNIFE
Choose a sharp flat knife. I've noticed some of you do not have a knife like this in your kitchen, it's worth the investment because you'll have less mess during the preparation process, and prettier food to serve. Do not use a butter knife, not a steak knife. What you really want is a smooth non-serrated knife.

READY-SET-SLICE!
Flip your avocado over so you can see it's stem, which always grows crooked, so look it straight in the eye and look for it's seem. Hold your knife handle toward your belly button, and blade facing down. Slice straight in the stem and through the avocado until you feel you've hit the seed. Then, maintaining contact with the seed slice backward around the seed until you've made a complete circle. Remove your knife and twist the two halves of the avocado like an oreo cookie.



CARVE
Set the half of the fruit containing the seed on the table in front of you. Wielding your knife like a mini ax, you should be able to wedge the flat sharp blade of your knife into the seed with one flick of your wrist. As in the photo at the top of this post. With the blade embedded in the seed as your own personalized custom handle, twist the seed gently and it will dislodge from the avocado. Peel the skin off with your fingers starting at the stem and slowly undressing it. Slice as you like. Wrap unused avocado tightly in plastic wrap, or better yet, eat it immediately.

Amazing Quinoa and Roquette Salad

Four layers make the heartiest salad you've ever had!

Start by cooking & cooling your quinoa grains, mine is a mixture of red and white quinoa. Then prepare a generous pile of young roquette salad - these aromatic leaves look like baby dandelion leaves, but they taste nutty and are often called arugula in the Americas.  Layer equal quantities of roquette, quinoa and fresh parsley, topped with cherry tomatoes cut in half. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, et bon appetite!

Dreaming of Luscious Summer Vegetables

First grill the eggplant / aubergine, zucchini / courgette, summer squash and mushrooms with olive oil.
Then in a springform pan, layer grilled eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and portobello mushrooms followed by fresh heirloom tomatoes, pressed garlic and basil leaves. Then sprinkle bread crumbs and fresh grated parmesan cheese before drizzling olive oil over the whole dish. In the oven for 40 minutes at 400°F (200°C)

Pure Hearts Make Better Soup - Rotisserie Chicken Soup

"Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make a good soup." - Ludwig van Beethoven

This winter my hubby invented the best soup ever! I was feeling under the weather, and the moment he saw me miserable, the big soft teddy bear in him came out. "What can I make you for dinner?" he asked. It's uncanny, every time I catch a cold the first symptom to present itself is laryngitis. So naturally, the first thing I want to eat is a nice soothing soup. Rob's Rotisserie Chicken Soup is not super complicated but the order you cook the ingredients may surprise you. Follow his advice, start with the little veggies, their tender juicy flavor is worth the extra attention...

Rotisserie Chicken Soup
olive oil
1 onion
2 carrots
1 branch of celery
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 rotisserie chicken
18oz (500g) noodles

Heat your olive oil, simmer the diced onion, carrot, and celeri until soft. Add the chicken broth and rotisserie chicken and bring to a boil. Add the noodles. Serve when the noodles are tender.

*Looking for an extra challenge? - If you would like to make this recipe from scratch, you can start with a small whole chicken. Butter the chicken and roast in the oven using either a roasting pan or roasting bag to contain all of the juices. After an hour of roasting use all of the juices and the chicken parts in your soup.

Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce

Your tomato sauce is only as good as the ingredients that you put into it.

Welcome to the story of how one of the world's most mouthwatering, healthy!!!, tastes-like-home foods has become one of our family's most unappreciated over-processed meals.

Here's what I'm thinking, I'm thinking that when scientists study the health benefits of tomatoes, I doubt they're referring to the hyper concentrated paste mixed with sugar, artificial aromas and multiple conservatives. My hunch comes from the fact that simple homemade sauce tastes very different from the canned stuff. Everybody knows you are what you eat, right? And yet something as simple as tomato sauce has become our family's cop-out food. Listen to what we say ... "No, honey that will take too long to prepare, let's just make pasta." What was I thinking? I mean seriously? Since when did tomato sauce take on fast-food status?

Now wait a minute, I reflect to myself, tomato sauce doesn't actually take that long to make... I mean, sure, it takes longer than opening the commercial can, but someone still has to cook the noodles right? And some of you girls are already taking the time to add ground beef to your sauce, and if that's the case, I say go all the way, make your own sauce girl! You're gonna love it!

Simply Mouthwatering Homemade Sauce
Olive oil
4 large tomatoes
1 onion
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves (gousses)
Fresh Parsley

If you've never peeled a tomato, here's what you do : Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop the tomatoes in for 30 seconds or until their skins get baggy. Pull out the tomatoes and the skins should fall right off.

In a deep pot soften the diced carrot and onion and the minced garlic in the olive oil over medium heat. Add the tomatoes. Simmer for a half hour. You know the tomato sauce is ready when you see the tomato paste separate from the oil, so look for pools of oil when you stir, that will indicate the peak moment to serve your sauce. Season with parsley, salt, and pepper.

Meanwhile, you can cook up your meat separately and add it in as this sauce is simmering.

Winter Party Salad

This is my favorite salad. I make it for every gathering from February straight through April.

Nothing in this recipe is by accident. The flavor pairings are beautiful, each ingredient bringing out the flavor of its neighbors in its own special way.

Winter Party Salad
1 Frisée (sweet kinky-curly green lettuce)
1 Ruby Red Grapefruit
3.5 oz (100g) Feta Cheese
Olive Oil
Raspberry Vinegar

It really is as straight forward as it looks, but there is one technique I would like to illustrate that makes all the difference. First peel the rind off of the grapefruit, then insert your thumb into the navel and gently separate the citrus segments. The fragrant pulp should be the first thing you you taste not the bitter skins. To remove the skin from the segments treat the segment like an envelope and your super-very-sharp-knife like a letter opener, slice the skin membrane without pricking the fleshy part of the fruit. Then peel the skin down and it should tear off very easily. TaDa! You have naked grapefruit segments.

Tourte Salé à la Sardine et au Curry

What's a Tourte?
I was looking for dish that was light and savory. A tourte is a culinary delight that offers a unique presentation. A round flakey pastry stuffed with meat and goodies, it is as much of a delight to make as it is to savor alone or with guests. Always served with a bed of leafy lettuce drizzled with Mamie's Dressing. As I'm writing this I'm thinking, gee, I can't believe I haven't shared that recipe yet! It's a staple in every French home! Even kids know how to make it... So you'll have to enjoy that with this recipe. Don't forget to click the link to retrieve the ingredients before you head out to the store.

The Perfect Seasoning
As I was hiking the pilgrimage of Saint James in Portugal and Spain, I ate a lot of Spanish empanadas. One day in particular I accidentally forgot to take lunch break and was starving when I reached a medieval village and directly entered the first open restaurant on my path. I promptly used their restrooms and took a seat at the counter around the servers who were busily drying dishes. I ordered a bottled water and an empanada and was presented three overstuffed triangles neatly wrapped in filo dough. These little delectable packages became my favorite empanadas of all time. But the stuffings were far from the normal spanish recipe, launching my quest to recreate that lovely experience.

Now that I've got the seasoning proportions correct, I was ready to try it on my friends. So I served a Tourte stuffed with everything I remembered from my vacation. Success. It's perfectly savory, not salty, and the fish is such a light flavor almost like an afterthought, it's easy to forget that it's there. The curry is lightly spicy, but not overwhelming. The potatoes soaked in all the juices such that it was not soggy and in the end the curry potatoes really take center stage.

And, soon I plan to serve this recipe as an hors d'oeuvre by wrapping the filling in filo dough at our next dinner party. But that will have to wait, because I don't have any dinner parties planned anytime soon.

Tourte Salé à la Sardine et au Curry

2 puff pastry crusts
3 tbsp (càs) Olive oil
2 med potatoes
1 clove garlic
3 red kiri chilis
1 dried red thai pepper (or a dash of dried red pepper flakes)
1 onion
1 can of sardines
1/2 fresh lime
1/2 tsp (càc) sugar
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Lay one puff pastry crust in your tart pan. Leave an inch drap over the edge of the pan on all sides. (Please note, that this is not a pie pan. It is a shallow, flat, round pan with decorative sides, if you do not have a tart pan, then you can use a pizza pan.)


I par-boiled my potato slices before starting the recipe. A short 5 minutes in boiling water should be sufficient to give 1 cm thick slices of potatoes a good head start.

Then, in a large shallow saucepan simmer sliced potatoes, onions, crushed garlic and chilis in a bit of olive oil. Add the sardines, curry, lime juice, and sugar until heated through.

Spread this mixture across the prepared pastry dough, and lay the second puff pastry crust over top. Fold down the edges and pinch them in regular intervals so they seal and draw designs in the top crust for decoration. Beat the egg yolk and brush on the top of the exposed puff pastry for a perfect golden appearance.

Bake 50 minutes. It should get deep golden brown. If it starts getting too dark you can put a piece of aluminum foil over the top, but I didn't need to for mine.

Serve hot - on a bed of leafy lettuce drizzled with Mamie's Dressing. Bon Appetit!

Rock-N-Roll - Burger on a Half Bun

"Rock and roll is the hamburger that ate the world." - Peter York

Okay, is it presumptuous to want to write about a hamburger? I mean, who doesn't know how to make a hamburger right?

Here's what I'm thinking - This post is all about the inspiring photos, and maybe one or two highlights. Hey, after all, someone out there has probably never deseeded an avocado before, let's give them some tips... but really, honestly, I just wanted to showcase my awesome hubby, who incidentally, makes the best hamburgers in the world!

LAYERS
Fresh Sliced Onion
Banana Pepper
Canadian Bacon
Big Thick Slice of Avacado
Mega Dose of Tomatoes
Bed of Arugula - Nutty Leaves
American Cheese
Quarter-Pounder
Lightly Toasted Open Faced Bun

Burger on a Half Bun

Step one - Send hubby to the grocery, preheat the oven.

Step two - Put the french fries in the oven, and the fresh green beans on the stove.

Step three - Put the bun in the toaster.

Step four - Slice tomato through it's equator. One tomato made four perfect slices leaving only two quarter sized ends to snack on while cooking. Slice the onion and the banana pepper.

Step five - Slice avocado. You choose a ripe avocado the same way you choose a ripe peach. Don't be scared of it's unsightly rough skin, it should be soft to the touch, not soupy, not hard, peach-like. Use a sharp flat knife (not a butter knife, not a steak knife, a smooth non-serrated knife). Flip your avocado over so you can see it's stem, which always grows crooked, so look it straight in the eye and look for it's seem. Hold your knife handle toward your belly button, and blade facing down. Slice straight in the stem and through the avocado until you hit the seed then maintaining contact with the seed slice backward around the seed until you've made a complete circle. Remove your knife and twist the two halves of the avocado like an oreo cookie. Set the half of the fruit containing the seed on the table in front of you. Wielding your knife like a mini ax, you should be able to wedge the flat sharp blade of your knife into the seed with one flick of your wrist. With the blade embedded in the seed, twist the seed gently and it will dislodge from the avocado. Peel the skin off with your fingers starting at the stem and slowly undressing it. Slice as you like. Wrap unused avocado tightly in plastic wrap, or better yet, eat it immediately.

Step six - Fry the bacon. Canadian bacon has more meat, less fat, and is shaped just right for a burger.

Step seven - When the fries are done, turn off the oven and leave them in to stay warm. Start your burgers. Heat your pan on the stovetop, medium hot. Choose a low-fat meat. (Really, the price difference is worth it, if you don't believe me, try this : buy the cheapest variety, and the leanest variety and cook them side by side and compare the size of the patty after it's cooked!) Season with fresh ground pepper and sea salt.  Cook on one side until it is visibly cooked half-way up the side of the burger. Flip once. Cook on the other side until cooked thoroughly. Add the cheese.

Step eight - Assemble your Hamburger.

Step nine - Eat with a fork and knife.

Here's The Suggested Presentation :

And Here's How I Like To Eat My Burger :

;) YUM!

Cook With Abandon - Enchiladas Verdes

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~Harriet van Horne

Apparently I'm getting wimpy. I thought it would be wise to put in half of the peppers and then taste the salsa to see if it needed more spicy hot. So I made it up with three little green chili peppers and tasted it and it kicked back. So I had my guest try it, warning him it's spicy hot. He took a taste and stared off into space. Thinking it must have taken his breath away, I go, "So, what do you think? Is it too spicy?" He goes, "I'm still waiting for it to kick in." I'm like, hum, that's odd.

Then I serve the meal and warned another friend it was spicy. She goes, "Maybe just a small piece, I don't like spicy." Then she LOVED it and ate the the WHOLE thing! Meanwhile, I could barely get mine down it was so hot. Finally, I just picked out all of the little green pepper pieces and left them on my plate. My hubby says I'm a wimp and next time I need to put all five peppers in. I'll let you judge for yourself...

Enchiladas Verdes

One Fresh Chicken
2 cups frozen chicken broth or 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/4 onion
1 clove garlic
2 tsp (càc) salt
1 pound fresh tomatillos - about a dozen
5 fresh green serrano peppers - I use three
1/4 onion
1 clove garlic
1 pinch salt
12 corn tortillas
1/4 cup (6cl) vegetable oil
1 cup (100g) crumbled queso fresco
1/2 onion
1 bunch fresh cilantro

In a large pot, combine chicken breast with chicken broth, one quarter onion, a crushed garlic clove, and salt. Cover the pot over medium-low heat, and boil the stuffing out of that chicken! (about 20 minutes) Pull the chicken out of the liquid, and let it cool in a strainer over the pot in front of a big drafty window.

When it's cool enough to handle shred the chicken with your hands.

Place the tomatillos in a pot of water, enough to cover them. Bring them to a boil, and continue boiling just until the tomatillos turn a different shade of green (bright green to dull army green). Strain tomatillos and place in a blender with the reserved chicken broth, and another quarter piece of onion, another crushed garlic clove, a pinch of salt, and serrano peppers chopped up with scissors. Blend. Ta-da! Green Salsa!

Fry your corn tortillas in vegetable oil and layer with paper towels between them. Dip the crunchy tortillas in salsa to soften them, stuff them with shredded chicken and a scoop of salsa. Roll the wrap, top with a scoop of salsa, queso fresco, chopped cilantro, and the rest of the onion, chopped.

***VARIATION - Flour tortillas stray a bit from the authentic tradition, but sometimes I need recipes that I can make ahead and pop in the oven at the last moment. So I shredded the chicken and purée the salsa then right before my guests arrive I stuff big floppy burrito tortillas with chicken, salsa and sour cream. Then I wrap them and snuggle them together for a nap in a shallow baking dish. I cover them with green salsa while they bake fifteen minutes. Then I serve them with extra green salsa, onions and sour cream. Yum!