Rick Bayless Chili Food

CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

Steps:

• Roast the tomatoes and chiles on a baking sheet 4 inches below the broiler until they're darkly roasted with blackened and blistered spots, 5-6 minutes per side. (If using canned tomatoes, drain the tomatoes and set aside. Toast the chiles in a small dry skillet over medium heat, turning regularly, until they're soft and splotchy-black, about 5 minutes.)
• Dice the onion, reserving a few rings for garnish. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat; cook the diced onions, stirring regularly, until golden, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the tomatoes and chiles from the oven and cool.
• Working over your baking sheet, pull off and discard the blackened tomato skins and, for round tomatoes, cut out the hard "cores" where the stems were attached. Transfer tomatoes and chiles to a food processor or blender, along with all the juices on the baking sheet. Blend to a smooth purée.
• Add the puréed tomatoes and chiles to the onions and cook, stirring, until they darken in color and thicken to the consistency of tomato paste, 7-8 minutes. Stir in the broth, partially cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Whisk in the sour cream and season with 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Lay the tortillas out on a baking sheet (2 sheets if you have them, for more even heating), and lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with lard or oil. Bake at 350 degrees F just long enough to warm through and soften, about 3 minutes. Stack the tortillas and cover with a towel to keep them warm and pliable.
• Spread about ¼ cup of the sauce over the bottom of four to six 9-inch individual oven-proof serving dishes, or smear about 1 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish. Working quickly while the tortillas are still pliable, roll a portion of the chicken into each tortilla, then line them up in the dishes, seam-side down. Cover with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese has browned slightly, about 15 minutes.
• Garnish the enchiladas with reserved onion rings and cilantro sprigs before serving.

RED CHILE STEAK WITH BEANS

Steps:

• Seed the chiles and toast in a large, dry skillet over medium heat until aromatic, 10 seconds per side. Rehydrate by placing in a large bowl and covering with hot tap water; weigh them down with a plate to keep submerged, 30 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat. Add the cubed meat to the pan in a single layer; do not crowd the pan. Season the meat with salt. Stir and turn regularly until browned all over, about 4 minutes.
• Drain the chiles and place in a blender along with 1 cup of water (use the soaking liquid if it doesn't taste bitter). Purée until smooth. Meanwhile, remove the browned meat from the skillet to cool. Slice the onion and add to the skillet; cook, stirring regularly, until onion softens and begin to brown, 4-5 minutes.
• Strain the chile purée into a medium bowl. Mince and add the garlic to the skillet and toss until aromatic, about 1 minute; transfer to the plate with the beef.
• In the same skillet, over high heat, add ¼ cup of the chile purée and cook, stirring constantly, until no longer "raw" in flavor; it should be the consistency of tomato paste. Add the cumin, oregano, tomatoes with their juice, and beef broth. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the meat and onions to the pan, along with the strained beans. Simmer to heat through, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and stir. Transfer to bowl and serve. Optional: Add the sugar to round out the flavors if necessary.

GUAJILLO CHILI SAUCE

Steps:

• Set a heavy ungreased skillet or griddle over medium heat, lay the unpeeled garlic on the hot surface and let it roast to a sweet mellowness, turning occasionally until soft when pressed, a few small spots will blacken, about 15 minutes. Cool, slip off skins and roughly chop.
• While the garlic is roasting break the stems off chilies, tear chilies open and remove seeds, for the mildest sauce remove all stringy light colored veins. Finish and remove garlic if you haven't done so. Toast the chilies a few at a time on your medium-hot skillet. Open them flat, lay them on the hot surface skin side up and press flat with a metal spatula (if the temperature is right you will hear a faint crackle), then flip them and do the same (If you press them just long enough they will have changed to a mottled tan underneath, a wisp of smoke is OK but any more than that then there burnt). Transfer chilies to a bowl and cover with hot water and let rehydrate for 30 minutes, pour off all water and discard.
• In a food processor or blender add chilies, garlic, oregano, pepper and cumin, add 2/3 cup of the broth and process to a smooth puree, scraping and stirring every few seconds (In a blender you may need to add a little more broth until everything is moving). With a rubber spatula, work the puree through a medium mesh strainer into a bowl, discard skins and seeds left in the strainer.
• Heat oil in a medium-sized pot (4 quart) over medium heat, when hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle sharply add the puree all at once. Cook stirring constantly, as the puree sears, reduces and darkens to an attractive earthy brick red paste, usually about 7 minutes, taste it: You'll know it is done when it has lost that harsh raw-chili edge.
• Stir in remaining 3 cups of broth, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. If the sauce has thickened past the consistency of a light cream soup, add more broth. Taste and season with salt and sugar - Salt to brighten and focus the flavors, sugar to smooth any rough or bitter chili edges.
• Covered and refrigerated the sauce will last about a week. If you freeze it you will need to re-boil it to bring back the lovely texture.
• Other chilies you can use - An equal amount of New Mexico chillies can replace the quajillo, the sauce will not be as full flavored; a chipotle or two adds complexity.

RICK BAYLESS'S CHILE COLORADO

Steps:

• Wash the pork, remove excess fat, cube and set aside.
• Take the New Mexico chilies (or use dried California chilies which are also mild) and remove the stems, veins, and seeds. Break the chilies into big pieces.
• Heat a nonstick fryng pan over medium heat. When hot, add 1/3 of the chilies and cook just until they start to change color, pressing down occasionally with a spachula. Flip over the chilies and repeat on the second side. Remove. Repeat with the last two batches of the chilies.
• Put the toasted chilies into a pie plate, fill part-way full with water and top with a salad or other smallish plate. Let the chilies soak for 30-45 minutes.
• Once the dried chilies are done soaking, put them into a food processor or blender along with the onion, garlic, oregano and cumin. Add some of the soaking liquid (at least one cup or more) and puree. Strain through a wire mesh. Set the red chili sauce aside.
• Meanwhile, in the same nonstick frying pan, heat it over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add 1/4 cup oi and when the oil is warm, add half of the meat cubes. Use a spachula to turn over the meat as it cooks. When the meat gets brown spots, remove the first batch, and repeat with the remaining meat cubes.
• Readd all of the meat back into the frying pan. Add the red chili sauce and cook until the sauce has thickened.
• Next, put the meat and sauce into a medium-largish size saucepan. Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups water.
• Bring the liquid to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook about one hour or until the meat is very tender and the sauce is thick.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• If the sauce is too runny because there is too much liquid, increase heat to high and boil away the liquid unti the sauce thickens. You can also add 1-2 Table. masa to the sauce to thicken it as it boils.
• If desired, you can reduce the amount of meat to 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. and add one 16 oz. can drained pinto beans the last 15 minutes of cooking.

RICK BAYLESS'S RED CHILE SEAFOOD SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add chiles; saute, being careful not to overtoast chiles, until aromatic and they have changed color slightly, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer chiles to a blender jar; add tomatoes and their juice to blender jar.
• Add 2/3 of the onion and all the garlic to the pot. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until golden, about 7 minutes. Transfer remaining onion to a strainer, and rinse under cold water; reserve for garnish. Using the same slotted spoon, transfer onions and garlic to blender; process until smooth.
• Set a medium-mesh strainer over pot; using a wooden spoon, press tomato mixture through. Return pot to medium-high heat; cook, stirring frequently, until reduced and thick, about 6 minutes. Add broth, potatoes and epazote, if using; when mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt.
• Just before serving, increase heat to medium-high; add mussels and fish. Boil briskly until shells have opened, about 4 minutes.
• To serve, ladle into large bowls. Sprinkle generously with cilantro and reserved onion. Serve immediately with limes.

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.

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.

SALSA VERDE: GREEN TOMATILLO SALSA (RICK BAYLESS)

Steps:

• Roughly chop tomatillos and the chiles. In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos, chiles, cilantro, and 1/4 cup water.
• Process to a coarse puree, then scrape into a serving dish.
• Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove the excess moisture. Stir into the salsa and season with salt.