Mexican Recipes From The Wine Appreciation Class.

What a feast!

Bob & Bernie and their minions did an outstanding job

 of preparing and serving the scrumptous food and

presenting the accompaning wines.

So delicious we were all clamoring for the recipes...

so here tis...

Tortilla Soup

Makes 4 servings, prep 15 minutes, cook 22 minutes

2 T olive oil

1 large onion, trimmed and sliced

3 cloves garlic, smashed

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp ground chile powder

3 T fresh lime juice

½ tsp salt

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 can (14.5 oz) low-sodium tomato sauce

½ of a firm, ripe avocado

½ c shredded Monterey Jack or pepper-Jack cheese

4 T prepared tortilla strips (fried)

1. In a medium-size saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano and chile powder. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until onions and garlic are softened.

2. Add 3 cups water, lime juice and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Add chicken and cook 12 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Using an immersion or upright blender, puree onion mixture until smooth (do this carefully, as mixture will be hot). Return to saucepan; add tomato sauce. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat.

3. Meanwhile, shred chicken into bite-size pieces (you should have about 2 cups). Pit avocado and reserve half for another use. Cut remaining half into chunks. Place about ½ cup shredded chicken into a bowl. Ladle 1 ¼ cups soup into bowl. Top with ¼ of the avocado pieces and 2 T shredded cheese. Sprinkle with 1 T tortilla strips. Repeat for all servings.

4. Note: instead of tortilla strips, crush a few tortilla chips over top of soup.

Poblano Stuffed with Chorizo, Shrimp and Rice

Serves 6 stuffed peppers

1 T oil

½ pound Mexican style chorizo

½ red bell pepper, diced

½ green bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 red onion, diced

2 T garlic, minced

1 cup short grain rice

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

½ cup white wine

½ cup water

4 large, fresh poblano chiles

1 pound shrimp, shelled, cut in ½ inch pieces

¾ cup Cheddar, shredded

¾ cup Jack cheese, shredded

In a medium saucepan, heat oil and chorizo, cook for 3 minutes. Add peppers, jalapeno, onions and garlic. Cook until translucent, then add rice and cook until all the grains of the rice are coated with oil. Add all liquids and stir over high heat for 3 minutes, cover and reduce heat to low. Check rice for doneness after 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place poblano chiles on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Once cool, cut top ¼ of chile off and remove ribs and seeds.

When rice is finished cooking, fluff with fork and stir in shrimp. Stuff chiles with 1/6 of the rice mixture. Place all the chiles on baking sheet and place into oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, mix cheeses together and cover pepper with cheese. Broil for 3 minutes to melt and brown the cheese.Chicken Enchiladas

Serves 8

3 T vegetable oil

1 ½ lbs skinless boneless chicken breast

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Mexican spice blend

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped

4 cann4ed chipotle chiles, seeded and minced

1 (28 oz.) can stewed tomatoes

½ tsp all-purpose flour

16 corn tortillas

1 ½ cups enchilada sauce, canned

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses

Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes.

 

Coat large sauté pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter allow to cool.

Sauté onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, sauté 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to sauté pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable Coat the bottom of 2 (13 x 9) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat.

Spoon ¼ cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350° oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.

Mexican Brownies

Prepare your favorite boxed or homemade brownies, adding ¾ tsp ground chipotle chile pepper and 1 tsp ground cinnamon to the batter (for a batch that fits a 9 x 13 pan). Top each Mexican brownie with a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Serves about 16

This dessert made everyone's skirt fly up!

Muy delicioso!

Thanks Bob & Bernie and Minions...what a treat!