Enchilada Lasagna Courtesy Alton Brown Food

ENCHILADA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Combine the chiles, garlic, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan and put over high heat.
• Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chiles are soft. Set aside until ready to use.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the chicken along with half a teaspoon of the salt and sauté until the meat is just cooked through, approximately 7 to 9 minutes. Move the chicken from the pan to a plate or bowl. Add the onions to the same pan along with the other half teaspoon salt, decrease the heat to medium-low, and sweat for 4 to 6 minutes. Then add the garlic and oregano and cook until the onions are tender, 2 to 3 minutes more. Stir the chicken into the mixture and remove from the heat.
• Halve 3 of the tortillas
• Lube a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray then dose half a cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. I usually spread it around with a large rubber spatula.
• Dip 4 tortillas (three whole and one cut into halves) into the remaining sauce and lay them into the bottom of the dish. Cut 1 of the tortillas in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish.
• Top this with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layering finishing with the remaining sauce and remaining cup of cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly.

VEGETARIAN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the sauce: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chile powder, cumin and cayenne, and continue to cook, stirring, until the spices are toasted, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups water, the tomato puree and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bring to a simmer. Continue cooking until the sauce reduces and thickens slightly (it should be looser and thinner than marinara sauce), 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
• For the filling: Squeeze all the excess moisture out of the spinach. Put it into a large bowl with the pinto beans, and squeeze with your hands to combine and smash up the beans a little. Add half of both the Cheddar and the pepper Jack, half of both the sour cream and the scallions and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and stir to combine.
• Spread about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Lay the tortillas out on a work surface, and spread 1 side of each with about 1 teaspoon of tomato sauce. Put about 1/4 cup of the filling across the middle of each tortilla. Roll each up, then shingle them in 2 even rows in the baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the rolled tortillas, and sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Cover the baking dish loosely with foil, and bake until the cheeses are melted and the filling is hot, about 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking to heat completely through, about 10 minutes more.
• For the topping: Whisk together the remaining sour cream, the lime juice and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the mixture over the baked enchiladas, and sprinkle with the remaining scallions.

"UNA DE CADA" ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Make the enchilada sauce: In a medium pot over medium heat, combine the oil, onion, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook until the onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and add the tomato paste; stir with a wooden spoon and cook until it deepens in color, 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and thyme. Cook, stirring, until combined and fragrant, about 1 minute, then add the crushed tomatoes and beef broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Cover and keep warm over low heat.
• Cook the beef: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large straight-sided pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and green and red bell peppers. Sprinkle with a nice pinch of salt and cook until the onion and peppers are tender but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. In this order, add the beef, onion powder, cumin, thyme, Sazon, tomatoes and broth, allowing time between each addition to stir and blend. Cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, stirring to break down the beef into bits. When the beef is cooked through, taste and season with a pinch of salt and a grind or two of pepper. (Sazon adds salt, so be careful not to over-season.) Set aside.
• Prepare the chicken layer: In a large bowl, toss together the shredded chicken, 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce and the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. Set aside.
• Assemble and bake the casserole: Use the butter to coat the bottom and sides of a deep 13-by-9-inch baking dish. In a small bowl, toss the shredded cheeses together. Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce into the prepared dish. One at a time, dunk the tortilla slices in the still-warm enchilada sauce in the pot and layer them on the bottom of the dish using the straight edges to line the sides, overlapping where needed and covering the entire bottom of the dish. Next, add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese blend, all of the beef, another 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese blend, a new layer of tortillas dunked in the enchilada sauce, all of the chicken and a final layer of tortillas dunked in the enchilada sauce. Pour the rest of the sauce over all of the layers and top with the remaining shredded cheese blend. Bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce bubbles, about 30 minutes. Let it rest a bit before you slice it, just like lasagna.

LENTIL SOUP

Steps:

• Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.

ENCHILADA LASAGNA, COURTESY ALTON BROWN

Steps:

• Combine the chiles, garlic, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chiles are soft Set aside until ready to use.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken until cooked through, approx 7-9 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a medium bowl. Add the onions to the same pan along with a generous pinch of salt, decrease the heat to medium-low and sweat for 4-6 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook until the onions are tender, 2-3 minutes more. Add the chicken back to the pan and remove from heat.
• Spray a 13x9 glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Dip 4 tortillas into the remaining sauce and lay them in the bottom of the dish. Cut one of the tortillas in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish. Top this with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of the cheese. Starting with 4 more tortillas, repeat the layers, ending with the last 4 tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over the dish and top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly.

ALTON - RED SAUCE

Steps:

• In a sieve over a medium non-reactive saucepot, strain the tomatoes of their juice into the sauce pot. Add the sherry vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, oregano, and basil to the tomato juice. Stir and cook over high heat. Once bubbles begin to form on the surface, reduce to a simmer. Allow liquid to reduce by 1/2 or until liquid has thickened to a loose syrup consistency. Squeeze each tomato thoroughly to ensure most seeds are removed. Set the tomatoes aside.
• Cut carrot, onion, and celery into uniform sizes and combine with olive oil and garlic in a non-reactive roasting pan over low heat. Sweat the mirepoix until the carrots are tender and the onion becomes translucent, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and capers to the roasting pan.
• Place roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven and broil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Tomatoes should start to brown slightly on edges with light caramelization. Remove the pan from the broiler. Place the pan over 2 burners on the stove. Add the white wine to the tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes over medium heat. Put the tomatoes into a deep pot or bowl and add the reduced tomato liquid to the tomatoes. Blend to desired consistency and adjust seasoning

CHICKEN ENCHILADA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Combine enchilada sauce and sour cream in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
• Spread approximately 1/2 cup enchilada sauce mixture on the bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer with 4 tortillas, 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, 1 cup chicken and 2 cup cheese sauce. Repeat layers, then top with remaining tortillas, enchilada sauce mixture and chhese sauce. Cover with foil.
• Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover;let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA LASAGNA BUNDLES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease 13x9 baking dish.
• Cook noodles as directed on package and drain.
• Mix enchilada sauce, chilies and tomato.
• Mix chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, onions and 1 cup sour cream.
• Spread about 1/2 cup sauce mixture into baking dish.
• Spread about 1 teaspoon sauce mixture over each noodle; spread evenly with about 1/4 cup of chicken mixture.
• Roll up each noodle; place seam side down on sauce in dish. Spoon about 1 cup sauce over bundles. Sprinkle with the Cheddar cheese.
• Cover and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until hot in center.
• Heat remaining sauce in saucepan; spoon over bundles. Serve with additional sour cream.

VEGETARIAN ENCHILADA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• While making the "meat" mixture, microwave or roast the yams until fork tender. Mine took about 10 minutes on full power.
• Saute the onions in a large non-stick fry pan for 3-4 minutes.
• While this is cooking, pulse the olive mix in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add this to your sauté. No need to clean the processor; add your mushrooms, pulse until coarsely chopped, and add this to your sauté. Now pulse the cauliflower, and add to fry pan. Add the cooked lentils and continue to sauté until all vegetables are softened.
• Finish this mix by stirring in the tomatoes, taco mix, corn and beans, and remove from the heat.
• Peel and mash the yams, seasoning to taste. I leave them alone, as they have just right amount of sweetness naturally for my tastes, and the other ingredients will add all the savoriness needed.
• Start to layer lasagna-style in a deep baking pan. I used a half steam-table pan, as it's called in the foodservice industry. Start with a thin layer of enchilada sauce, about 1/4 of the can. Cover this with a layer of tortillas (don't worry about trimming them to fit perfectly). Top with half of your "meat" mixture. Top that with 1/4 of the cheese, and another layer of tortillas. Top that with 1/4 of the sauce, and cover with the yams and 1/4 of the cheese. Add another tortilla layer, the rest of the "meat" mix, 1/4 of the cheese and 1/4 of the sauce. Top with a final layer of tortillas, the rest of the sauce and cheese, and bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so.
• .

EGGNOG (ALTON BROWN)

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color.
• Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved.
• Add the milk, cream, bourbon, and nutmeg and stir to combine.
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks.
• With the mixer still running gradually add the tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.
• For cooked eggnog try this: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, over high heat, combine the milk, heavy cream, and nutmeg and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat and gradually temper the hot mixture into the egg and sugar mixture.
• Then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat, stir in the bourbon, pour into a medium mixing bowl, and set in the refrigerator to chill.
• In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
• With the mixer running gradually add the tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Whisk the egg whites into the chilled mixture.