what's corny and cheesy and delicious all over?

There are many blessings found in living in a small town.  This week, that blessing was fresh-picked-from-the-garden corn.  Last night, I used some of it in a simple pasta with shrimp, tomatoes and white wine.  Tonight, I decided to take those same veggies and make something entirely different: roasted veggie enchiladas!  I think this is because it was raining.  We Texans like to make enchiladas when it's rainy (or sunny, for that matter).

                      Get ready for a sensational seasonal supper, y'all!

Cut the corn off of two cobs (trying not to let those kernels fly all over the kitchen like confetti).  Then chop two roma tomatoes (sans seeds), 3 cloves of garlic (chopped large) and a large shallot or half an onion.  Drizzle with vegetable oil (not evoo: it has too strong a flavor for this) and season liberally with 1 T cumin, 1 t chili powder, salt and pepper to taste.

 Roast at 400ºF/204ºC for about 15 minutes.

 While those veggies are roasting, get going on your enchilada sauce.  Add enough oil (vegetable again) just to cover the bottom of a small pan (about 3 T) and go a bit crazy with the cumin.  Also add a bit of chili powder and enough flour to soak up all of the oil.

The French call this sort of sauce base a roux.  But we're making Mexican, we'll just call it deliciosa.

Add in about 1 T of tomato paste, which gives it a rich color and depth of flavor.

Then add about 1 1/2 cups chicken stock.  When my family makes enchilada sauce, they just use water, which tastes great too once it thickens.  I must've been thinking of this as I made my sauce, because I seasoned it with salt and pepper without tasting it, thus making it waay too salty.  Like Atlantic Ocean salty.  *Must remember how salty chicken stock can be!*  If at first you don't succeed...

 ...try and try again.  Much better.

 Grate some cheese as that sauce thickens (again).  I just used colby jack because it's what I had, but pepper jack would add a nice kick.

Now, get your corn tortillas ready to fill with those spicy roasted veggies and mild cheese.  Unless you never outgrew that "eating paste" phase from kindergarden and like all your food to be paste-ish, only use corn tortillas.  Very fresh corn tortillas will probably roll up without tearing, but mine have been hanging in the fridge for a few weeks (they last a good long while) and so they needed a quick dip in hot oil to soften them so they wouldn't tear.

Fill each tortilla (I made eight enchiladas) with a tablespoon or so of filling and cheese.  Roll up.

Cover with that delightful sauce.  I actually strained mine through a sieve, just to be sure I got a nice smooth sauce.  Top with a bit more cheese and a sprinkling of chili powder.  If you have any filling leftover, put that across the top as well.

Cover with foil so they don't dry out, and bake for 15 minutes at 400ºF/176ºC.  Uncover and cook 5 minutes more.

Here you have it!  Top with cilantro, or if cilantro is as appealing to you as kindergarten paste, chopped scallions will do.

 Absolutely deliciosa.  Full of flavor and very satisfying.

Poor Hayden didn't even get one bite.

Bon appetit!
Lilrevchef

sensational seasonal soup

Now, doesn't this just look like a big, warming bowl of wonderful?  It's sausage and broccoli soup (what Rachael Ray calls "stoup" as it's somewhere between stew and soup).  My memory of this soup is making it after being completely drenched by the typically chilly Northern Irish rain and my dear friend Andrea and I wolfing it down with big hunks of bread, only stopping eating to murmur "It's soooo good!" every few minutes.  This is not your ordinary out-of-a-can soup.  In fact, it's so special I wanted to make it for my sister and brother-in-law when I was visiting them last week as a little celebration of their 7th wedding anniversary.  So, whether you're feeling chilly (which in Texas, I'm not really) or wanting to celebrate an anniversary or an ordinary Friday, I highly recommend this big pot of love.  This makes a really substantial amount of soup (because I wanted Ash and Clay to have plenty of leftovers).

You'll need some of those divine San Marzano tomatoes.  They do cost about a dollar more than ordinary tomatoes, but as they're a huge part of this soup and have a delightful sweet flavor (instead of the sometimes overly-acidic flavor of other canned tomatoes), it's worth it.  You'll need a 28 ounce can, and don't worry if you can only find whole tomatoes instead of crushed.  They usually only come whole, but are easy to break up with a wooden spoon in the soup.

 Take three cloves of garlic, finely mince them and also finely chop one medium onion.

Brown 3 links of sweet Italian sausage and 3 links of hot Italian sausage (taken out of the casings) in a little bit of olive oil.  You'll want to use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage as it cooks.  As I don't think terms "rare" and "sausage" go very well together, I cooked it well, about 15 minutes on medium-high heat.  About halfway through cooking, add the chopped onions.  In the last 5 minutes or so, add the garlic, too.

Add about 1/8 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg (it adds amazing depth to this soup).

Then add in those sublime San Marzanos and use that handy wooden spoon to break them up.

 Get your broccoli ready.  Rachael's recipe uses broccoli rabe (which you have to blanch first to get rid of bitterness), but when I've made this I just use broccolini.  You may be thinking that's a typo, but that extra syllable's on purpose!  Broccolini is sometimes called baby broccoli or Tenderstem broccoli, and it has delicate little florets and stalks that are tender and yummy, too. Trim the broccolini into bite-sized pieces.

Now, we need to get a bit more liquid in that delicious pot.  Add in one container or chicken stock (about 4 cups).  I use boxed stock because making my own stock just seems like a lot of trouble.  

 Also add in about 2 cups of water.

This fabulous soup has pasta in it too (go ahead, do a little happy dance).  I used this campanelle pasta, because it's just so gosh-darn cute.

 Adorable, right?

Once that sumptuous soup is simmering...

 ...add in the broccolini...

 ...and the pasta.  Also add in one can of cannellini or great northern beans.  They add a Tuscan creaminess to the soup.  Let it cook until both the broccolini and pasta are al dente (about 6 minutes or so).

While that was cooking, I made some garlic bread Ina Garten style.  Ciabatta bread is best for this.

Finely chop together three cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup of parsley.  You could use a  food processor but I used an antiquated contraption called a knife. Season it with a little salt and pepper.  Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a small saute pan and add this mixture, then turn off the heat.  Cut the bread in half and spread one side with 2 tablespoons of butter and brush the other side with the garlic herb oil.  Wrap in foil and bake at 350ºF/176ºC for ten minutes, opening the top of the foil halfway through.  Yum, herby, garlicky.  YUM.

Once the pasta and broccolini are done, add a bit of parmesan cheese (1/4 cup or so).

 Your heart just skipped a beat, didn't it?  So decadent and hearty.

Top each bowl with a little more parmesan, grab some of that herby crusty bread and enjoy this earthy, hearty bowl of joy.

Bon appetit!
lilrevchef

spectacular Swedish spuds

Potatoes are apparently much fancier in Sweden.  These are known as Hasselback potatoes, named after the Swedish restaurant that first made them.  Gorgeous, huh?  I came across this recipe on a new but addicting phenomenon, Pinterest.  I haven't figured it all out yet, but it's a website that lets you gather things you enjoy that you come across online and categorize them and then see what others are drawn to.  My "recipe" section's getting pretty full!

Steak was on the menu last night, so I thought it deserved something a little fancy (though it's hard to beat potatoes cubed and roasted with onions, garlic, s&p and evoo).  These took a bit of work, and so aren't something that will become, say, my Wednesday dinner routine, but for something special they're just the ticket.  I used 6 medium-to-small-sized Yukon gold potatoes, which I like because of the rich flavor, thin peel and creaminess.  (And to me they're closest to my beloved Irish potatoes.)

To get started, go ahead and preheat your oven to 425ºF/220ºC.  Unless of course you live in Texas, and can just open your door to reach the desired temperature in your house.  Sigh.  I dream of the day I can wear a scarf again, I really do.  I digress...back to those spectacular spuds:

Cut a small slice off the bottom of each potato, allowing it to lay flat on your board. Unless you're Edward Scissorhands, there's no way you can make the delicate cuts needed on a potato that's rolling all over the place.

Make thin slices (bout 3-4mm in size...but if you bother to measure, you're taking me too seriously ha!) into the potato, cutting almost all the way through.  This is tricky...just go slowly and you'll get the hang of it.  If you accidentally cut all the way through, there are bigger problems in the world.  Don't sweat it, cook it anyway.

Take 4 cloves of garlic...

...and smash 'em with the flat part of your knife, otherwise known as Free Therapy.  This will help the skins come off easily.

Finely slice the garlic.

Now place the garlic slices between each layer of the potatoes.  If you have an album you've been wanting to listen to, say the new Bon Iver, this is a good time to do that, because it takes a little while to get that garlic good-n-stuck inside them taters.

Dot butter on top...

...drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil...

...and salt and pepper those terrific tubers.  Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes, until golden on top and tender when you poke them with a fork.  

In the meantime, chop some parsley.  (Not that I expect this to take you 45-60 minutes!  Grab a book and a glass of chianti while you wait, or prepare whatever else you're having with your potatoes.)

Here's that handsome Hasselback again.  I scattered the parsley on top once they were out of the oven and paired them with simple sides of...

...salad, steak and grilled corn.  Just phenomenal.  Thank you, Sweden!

Bon appetit!
lilrevchef