Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

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Recipe from: http://www.perrysplate.com/2011/03/stacked-roasted-vegetable-enchiladas.html (Perry’s Plate)

**Below is the recipe using the adaptations that I made.  For the original, click on the link above.  Like I mentioned, I made homemade salsa, with the recipe below, but really don’t think it’s necessary in a dish like this.

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 medium onion, halved and slivered
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
3 T heat-safe oil
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and black pepper
2 cups homemade or store bought salsa/pico de gallo
2 ounces baby spinach leaves
9-10 corn tortillas, halved
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)
sour cream and thinly sliced scallions for garnish, if desired

 Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a large shallow roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet.Place red bell pepper, cauliflower, sweet potato, onion, and corn kernels onto cookie sheet. Drizzle oil and sprinkle the cumin and minced garlic over top. Add a generous pinch or two of salt and black pepper, then use your hands to mix everything together. After everything is coated well, spread the vegetables evenly in the pan. Roast for 30-40 minutes until vegetables are tender and begin to brown in spots. Stir or shake the pan every 10 minutes for even roasting.  Remove pan from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

Prepare an 8x8x2 or 9x9x2-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Spread 1/4 cup of salsa into the bottom of the baking pan. Add a layer of tortilla pieces, to completely cover the salsa. Top with 1/3 of the vegetables, a handful of spinach, and 1/3 of the cheese. Make a second layer of tortilla, salsa, vegetables, spinach, and cheese. Top with with a layer of tortillas, salsa, vegetables, and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

Let it sit for 5 minutes and cut into squares. Serve with sour cream and a sprinkle of sliced scallions.

Serves 4-5

adapted from The Roasted Vegetable by Andrea Chesman

Restaurant Style Salsa
Recipe from: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/restaurant-style-salsa/

Ingredients

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
1/2 whole Lime Juice

Preparation Instructions

Note: this is a very large batch.  Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour.

Mushroom Crepe Cake

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recipe from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/mushroom-crepe-cake-recipe/index.html, courtesy of Alton Brown

**Dana doubled the recipe and omitted the chives because the grocery store was out of them.

Ingredients:
1 cup diced yellow onions
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 pound shiitakes, stemmed and sliced thinly
1/3 pound creminis, 1/2 thinly sliced, 1/2 fine diced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 ounces milk
1/2 cup mild white cheese, mozzarella or provolone, shredded
Savory crepes, recipe follows
2 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

Directions:
In a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion. Add all the mushrooms and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook until mushrooms are soft. Add the milk and reduce by half. Add the provolone and melt. The consistency we’re looking for is similar to that of a potpie.

On a buttered sheet pan layer two crepes. This way if the bottom one sticks you can still remove your “cake” from the pan. Spread a thin layer of the filling onto the crepe. Sprinkle a few chives on each layer. Top with another crepe and spread more mushroom filling on top. Repeat this method until you are out of filling. Top with another crepe and sprinkle on Parmesan. Place under broiler until Parmesan is melted and golden brown. Place onto a cutting board and slice into wedges. Serve immediately.

Savory Crepes:
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped herbs, spinach, or sun-dried tomatoes
Butter, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients (excepting the butter for coating the pan) and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Snakes (Sausage, Pepper and Onion Roll)

Cook’s Illustrated. – July 2008

I took the cooks illustrated recipe for Sausage and onion and modified it to make the snakes. Red is my revisions (I also crossed off anything that didn’t apply to my version)

Sausage, Pepper and Onion Snakes
Why this recipe works:
We wanted a foolproof grilled sausage recipe that would produce nicely browned links with juicy interiors, accompanied by tender, well-cooked vegetables. As a first step, we started the vegetables, then layered the raw sausages over the hot vegetables in a disposable roasting pan. Cooking the sausages and vegetables together in the oven, covered, before browning the sausages directly on the grill and uncovering the pan to allow the vegetables to caramelize completed our perfect grilled sausage and vegetables recipe.

This recipe will work with any raw, uncooked sausage. Serve sausages as is or in toasted buns.

Serves 4

Ingredients
  • 2 large onions , halved and cut pole to pole into 1/4-inch-thick slices (I used ~1.25)
  • 4 large red bell peppers
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2teaspoon table salt
  • 1/4teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 13- by 9-inch disposable aluminum roasting pan
  • 2 pounds hot or sweet Italian sausages (8 to 12 links) (I used hot turkey)
  • 2 – Italian dough (10 oz each)

Instructions
  1. 1. Turn all burners to medium-high and heating grill with lid down until very hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape grate clean with grill brush.
  2. Peel skin off sausage.
  3. Cut peppers into quarters (from top to bottom) – remove seeds and stuff
  4.  Meanwhile, combine onions, thyme, salt, and pepper in medium microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power until onions begin to soften and tips turn slightly translucent, 4 to 6 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking (be careful of steam). Transfer onions to disposable roasting pan. Place sausages in single layer over onions and wrap roasting pan tightly with foil.
  5. On the side next to onions and sausage (in the roasting pan) put the (as flat as possible.)
  6. Place roasting pan in center of grill, cover grill, and cook 15 minutes. Move pan to one side of grill and carefully remove foil cover. Using tongs, place sausages directly on grate. Grill sausages, with grill lid down, turning every 1 to 2 minutes, until golden brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer sausages to platter and loosely tent with foil.
  7. Take peppers out of time to cook directly on grate until well browned.
  8. Crumble the sausage in the tin with the onions.
  9. Cover grill and continue cooking onions (and crumbled sausage), stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and onions begin to brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Serve sausages, passing onions separately. I threw the tin into the broiler to brown the meat a little and dry the mixture
  10. Once slightly cooled chop everything up (add the peppers to the onion and sausage)
  11. Roll Italian dough into a long thin strip. Fill sausage, peppers and onions and close it up.
  12. Bake about 10 minutes about 500 until well browned.