Enchiladas Juanita con Pollo, Salsa Verde y Queso

I made these last night to use some thawed chicken breasts.

Enchiladas Juanita con Pollo, Salsa Verde y Queso

1 tbs butter

2 tbs olive oil

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 average size)

2 c chicken stock, separated

1 medium onion, cut into ¼ “ dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

pinch of crushed red chile flakes

juice and zest of 2 small lemons (or 3 limes)

handful Italian parsley, chopped

3 c grated jack or cheddar cheese

8 taco-size flour tortillas

1 28-ounce can green enchilada sauce

In a large cast iron pan, heat 1 tbs olive oil and brown chicken on both sides. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes, or until stock has mostly evaporated. Cool, then shred the meat with two forks and set aside.

Melt 1 tbs butter with 1 tbs olive oil in the pan the chicken was cooked in. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Add cumin, oregano and chile flakes, remaining stock and lemon juice and cook until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and lemon zest.

Preheat oven to 350; grease or butter a 13” x 9” baking dish. In each tortilla place 1/8 of the chicken mixture and cheese. Roll up tightly and place in prepared baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over all and sprinkle any leftover\additional grated cheese. Bake at 350 until salsa is bubbly and cheese is melted.

4 hearty servings.

But it sounded good...

Really it did. There it was on the back of a box of kosher salt -- Rocco DiSpirito's recipe for chicken breasts with a pomegranate vinaigrette. I don't know, maybe the pomegranate reduction was just a bit too tart. Maybe my olive oil a little too fruity. But overall I have to say the the sauce, which was not cheap to make, BTW, did not add anything to the dish.

I think I may rework it at some point down the road. Perhaps with something citrusy.

More Rockin' Cookware!

Margaret has been my BFF since 1977. We met in college, when she was friends with my dorm roommate Martha. Martha took off for Seattle one weekend and didn't bother to tell her parents or anyone else where she was. Turned out that she suspected her boyfriend was dumping her and she was apparently stalking him. I guess when she learned that her parents had reported her missing and police interviewed all of us on her floor, Martha was too embarrassed to return to school and we never saw her again.

During her absence, Margaret and I walked over to the dining hall together. I was rather a loner in those days and it never occurred to me that I would be joined for dinner. We picked up our trays and went through the line. I headed for a table and was surprised to see that there was Margaret, placing her tray on the table across from me.

"Oh." I said. "I guess this means you're eating with me."
"Hmpf!," she replied. "I guess it does."

We've been best friends ever since.

I mention Margaret here because she thoughtfully sent me an Amazon gift card for Christmas. I decided that I was tired of using aluminum roasting pans for turkeys and whatnot and wanted something decent.

In a perfect world with unlimited resources I'd opt for something out of solid copper because it conducts heat so beautifully, or possibly compromise with the All-Clad, on sale for "only" $200. Or, given my previously stated fondness for Calphalon, theirs for a mere $127. However, it is not a perfect world, and even if I had all the money in it, I don't really think I could bear to throw it around.

Instead, I opted for a perfectly reasonable alternative, the Oneida roaster with a rack and non-stick finish, for less than $50. The pan arrived yesterday and is worlds away from the crummy foil pans. It is beautiful and durable and cleaned up very nicely.  I think I'll be using it for a long time to come. Its inaugural use was as follows:

8 skin on, bone-in chicken thighs
6 Roma tomatoes, innards removed and quartered vertically
3 smallish zucchini, cut approximately the same size as the tomatoes
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
3 largish cloves garlic, chopped
1 spring of fresh rosemary, chopped

Coat the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in pan and roast at 350 for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, place vegetables in a large bowl and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Toss. Add to roasting pan with the chicken. Sprinkle rosemary over all. Roast for another 20 minutes.