Chilaquiles For A Crowdfrom Rick Bayless Food

SIMPLE CHIPOTLE CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Heat the broiler. Spread the tomatoes onto a baking sheet and broil until they are darkly roasted, about 6 minutes a side.
• (Note: Chef Bayless uses half a large onion, but this recipe has substituted 1 small onion instead.) Cut the onion in half, then cut both halves into ¼-inch slices; reserve half of the slices for garnish. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or a deep, large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onion and cook, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Peel and mince the garlic cloves; add to golden onions and stir until soft, 1 more minute.
• Remove the roasted tomatoes from the oven and transfer to a blender. Add the chipotles and blend to a coarse purée. Pour the mixture into the pan with the sautéed onions and garlic; cook over medium-high heat until the sauce has thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the epazote or cilantro and the broth. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a rolling boil; taste and add more salt if necessary. Add the chips and make sure they are coated with the sauce; then cover the pan and turn off the heat. Allow to rest until the chips have soaked up the sauce, 5 minutes.
• Gently stir the chilaquiles before spooning them into a serving dish. Top with the remaining half of the onion slices and garnish with the crema, queso anejo, and additional epazote or cilantro.

CHILAQUILES FOR A CROWD...FROM RICK BAYLESS

Steps:

• In a very large, (6-quart) Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high.
• Add about 2/3 of the onions, and cook, stirring often, until richly browned.
• Add salsa and broth and bring to a boil.
• When sauce is at a rolling boil, turn off the heat and stir in the tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Press the chips down so that nearly all of the chips are submerged, some may still stick out.
• Strew the chicken over the top, then cover and let stand 3 to 4 minutes.
• Gently stir everything together, then drizzle with the crema and sprinkle with the onion, optional grated queso anejo and cilantro.
• serve without hesitation.

CINNAMON CHOCOLATE COCKTAIL (RICK BAYLESS)

Steps:

• Wet the rim of a small martini glass and dip the rim in cinnamon sugar. Set aside.
• In a cocktail shaker, add remaining ingredients EXCEPT ice cubes. Shake for ten seconds to completely blend the chocolate sauce.
• Add the ice to the shaker, then shake vigorously for at least 15 seconds, or until tiny ice crystals form.
• Strain into the sugar-crusted glass and serve immediately.

CHIPOTLE CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• NOTE: for the tomatoes, drain them lightly and don't drain them completely dry, or you may have to supplement the sauce with jarred salsa (see sauce preparation instructions below).
• NOTE: for the chicken, I usually season 3 skinless boneless breast halves with Tone's Lime Pepper seasoning or Goya Adobo con Pimiento, then toss them on the Foreman grill for about 8 minutes.
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• TO PREPARE THE TORTILLA CHIPS:.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Stack tortillas into three piles of four tortillas each. Cut each pile like a pie into 8 sections.
• Spray 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide the tortilla chips between the two pans, keeping them in as much of a single layer as possible.
• Mist the chips with cooking spray, and bake them (stirring them a bit, once or twice) for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden.
• Sprinkle with salt, if desired.
• TO PREPARE THE SAUCE:.
• Pour the drained tomatoes and the chipotles (seeds and all) into a blender. Coarsely puree the mixture (it shouldn't be totally smooth).
• You need to have approximately 2 1/4 cups of puree. If you come up short, rather than using another partial can of tomatoes, you can supplement the mixture with some jarred salsa (I use taqueria salsa from either Goya or La Victoria).
• In a large Dutch oven with a lid, heat the vegetable oil and cook about 1/2 cup of the onion, stirring regularly, for about 7 minutes or until golden.
• Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring so garlic doesn't burn.
• Increase heat to medium-high and add tomato/chipotle puree. Stir almost constantly until the mixture thickens up a bit, about 4 or 5 minutes.
• Stir in the broth, and salt to taste (keeping in mind the salt that will be added from the chips, if you used it).
• FINAL COOKING AND ASSEMBLY:.
• Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the chips and stir to coat.
• Bring sauce and chips to a rolling boil again. Cover the pan, turn off the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes (no longer, because the chips should be s bit chewy and not mushy). Sprinkle cilantro into the pot.
• Dish out mixture onto 4 warm plates. Divide chicken evenly over top of tortilla mixture and stir lightly to coat chicken with sauce. Top with crema or thinned sour cream, remaining chopped onions and both cheeses, then serve.

LAMB CHILI WITH MUSHROOMS (RICK BAYLESS)

Steps:

• Roast the unpeeled garlic on an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until soft and blackened in spots, about 15 minutes; cool and peel.
• While the garlic is roasting, stem and seed the chiles.
• Toast the chiles on another side of the griddle or skillet, 1 or 2 at a time, opening them out flat and pressing them down firmly with a spatula.
• In a few seconds, when they crackle, flip them and press down to toast the other side.
• In a small bowl, cover the chiles with hot water, and let them rehydrate for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to insure even soaking.
• Drain.
• In a food processor or blender, combine the chiles and a 1/2 cup of water, along with the garlic, oregano, black pepper and cumin.
• Blend to a smooth puree, scraping down and stirring frequently (add more water if the mixture won't move through the blender).
• With a rubber spatula, press the chile mixture through a medium-mesh strainer into a bowl.
• Heat the oil in a 4-quart pot over medium-high heat.
• When hot, add the lamb and brown thoroughly, about 8 minutes.
• Add the chile puree and stir for about 5 minutes as the mixture thickens.
• Stir in beef broth and simmer until lamb is tender, about 2 hours.
• Add mushrooms, epazote, hot sauce and masa harina.
• Partially cover and simmer gently over medium-low, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are soft and the sauce has reduced to coat the meat rather thickly, about 30 minutes.
• Taste and season with salt.

CHILAQUILES

Steps:

• Cut the tortillas into strips.
• Cook chicken with a little water, the quartered onion, a pinch of salt and two cloves of garlic. Cover, cook slowly over a medium heat.
• Remove cooked chicken from the pan and discard onion and garlic; allow to cool enough to handle.
• Sautee the chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil.
• Once the onion is translucent, add tomatoes, cilantro and Tabasco sauce; simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes; salt and pepper to taste.
• Shred the chicken and add to the sauce; lower heat and cook for a few minutes to absorb some of the flavors from the sauce. Do not over cook.
• Deep fry the corn tortillas. When they are crisp, remove and drain on paper towels.
• Assemble the chilaquiles like lasagna. Use a large lasagna pan and layer the following: tortillas, chicken in sauce, thinned sour cream, cheese.
• Repeat layers and finish with cheese and sour cream.
• Bake at 325 degrees F for about 45 minutes.