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torquillSo last week's dinner was indeed successful. The chile rellenos were particularly good... I have to confess, I couldn't improve much on Dinner at Christina's version, so I just multiplied it by 1.5 and used Monterey Jack. 8 chiles took a medium-sized rectangular casserole, so keep that in mind when choosing your pan size.
I topped that with a tomato sauce that tasted very, very close to the enchilada sauce I've had in restaurants; I used glutinous rice flour to thicken it instead of making a roux, which made it much easier to reheat. Recipe below.
The pinto beans were kind of seat-of-the-pants, just 1.5 cups soaked, drained, and cooked up with 1/4 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, oregano, black pepper, and salt. It made a massive amount (I thought beans were supposed to double, not triple?) so I still have enough in the freezer for a second round. Good, though don't skimp on the garlic, oregano, and pepper; it could have used more than it had.
I made up about 3 cups of rice with a teaspoon of cumin seed to fill things out. The flan came out well, though I managed to burn the caramel a little (the dark flavor complemented the orange, so that was okay). Recipe also below.
Chile Relleno/Enchilada Sauce
Makes 3 - 3 1/2 cups
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp glutinous rice flour (or cornstarch)
1 1/2 cups fresh ripe tomatoes, pureed
1 seeded fresh jalapeno pepper, pureed (optional)
2 1/2 cups water (not broth!)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons (Mexican) oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 large bay laurel leaf
1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder (or mild paprika)
cider vinegar to adjust acidity
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and fry until lightly caramelized, then add the garlic and cook until translucent. Combine onions and garlic with tomato/jalapeno puree and process in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and whisk in flour, water, salt, and spices. Return to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Check for salt and acidity, and correct if necessary (add vinegar in 1/2-teaspoon increments). Strain if smoothness is desired, otherwise serve hot on top of fresh chile rellenos.
Vanilla-Orange Flan
(based on the basic recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Flan-II/Detail.aspx )
Makes 9 four-ounce flan
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups FRESH milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, beaten
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice (from one large orange)
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest (from half of one large orange)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place 9 empty ramekins on the towel, inside roasting pan, and fill roasting pan with hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Remove ramekins and place pan on the middle rack of the oven.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine 3/4 cup sugar and water; heat over medium-high flame, stirring to dissolve the sugar before it comes to a boil. When it boils, place a lid on the pot for one minute, then remove the lid and continue to cook until medium-brown. Carefully pour hot sugar evenly into nine oven-proof ramekins or custard cups, tilting cups to coat bottoms evenly.
In another saucepan, bring milk just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir hot milk, a little at a time, into beaten eggs and egg yolks, until well combined. Stir in sugar, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Ladle milk mixture evenly into ramekins, stirring regularly to distribute the ingredients.
Place ramekins carefully in pan full of hot water in the oven. Bake 40-45 minutes, until set. Remove from pan, cool, and refrigerate at least three hours. Run a knife around the edges of each ramekin, invert onto plates, and serve.
I topped that with a tomato sauce that tasted very, very close to the enchilada sauce I've had in restaurants; I used glutinous rice flour to thicken it instead of making a roux, which made it much easier to reheat. Recipe below.
The pinto beans were kind of seat-of-the-pants, just 1.5 cups soaked, drained, and cooked up with 1/4 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, oregano, black pepper, and salt. It made a massive amount (I thought beans were supposed to double, not triple?) so I still have enough in the freezer for a second round. Good, though don't skimp on the garlic, oregano, and pepper; it could have used more than it had.
I made up about 3 cups of rice with a teaspoon of cumin seed to fill things out. The flan came out well, though I managed to burn the caramel a little (the dark flavor complemented the orange, so that was okay). Recipe also below.
Chile Relleno/Enchilada Sauce
Makes 3 - 3 1/2 cups
1 Tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp glutinous rice flour (or cornstarch)
1 1/2 cups fresh ripe tomatoes, pureed
1 seeded fresh jalapeno pepper, pureed (optional)
2 1/2 cups water (not broth!)
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons (Mexican) oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 large bay laurel leaf
1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder (or mild paprika)
cider vinegar to adjust acidity
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and fry until lightly caramelized, then add the garlic and cook until translucent. Combine onions and garlic with tomato/jalapeno puree and process in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and whisk in flour, water, salt, and spices. Return to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Check for salt and acidity, and correct if necessary (add vinegar in 1/2-teaspoon increments). Strain if smoothness is desired, otherwise serve hot on top of fresh chile rellenos.
Vanilla-Orange Flan
(based on the basic recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Flan-II/Detail.aspx )
Makes 9 four-ounce flan
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups FRESH milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, beaten
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup orange juice (from one large orange)
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest (from half of one large orange)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place 9 empty ramekins on the towel, inside roasting pan, and fill roasting pan with hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Remove ramekins and place pan on the middle rack of the oven.
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine 3/4 cup sugar and water; heat over medium-high flame, stirring to dissolve the sugar before it comes to a boil. When it boils, place a lid on the pot for one minute, then remove the lid and continue to cook until medium-brown. Carefully pour hot sugar evenly into nine oven-proof ramekins or custard cups, tilting cups to coat bottoms evenly.
In another saucepan, bring milk just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir hot milk, a little at a time, into beaten eggs and egg yolks, until well combined. Stir in sugar, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Ladle milk mixture evenly into ramekins, stirring regularly to distribute the ingredients.
Place ramekins carefully in pan full of hot water in the oven. Bake 40-45 minutes, until set. Remove from pan, cool, and refrigerate at least three hours. Run a knife around the edges of each ramekin, invert onto plates, and serve.
