27 Saturday Sep 2014
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As I’m cooking through Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist, I thought it would be great fun to give away a copy of the book so someone could cook along with me! This is one of my favorite books by one of my most favorite authors.
If you’d like a copy, leave a comment on this post that answers this question:
What is your go-to recipe for comfort food?
One entry per person.
Giveaway ends October 1, 2014.
26 Friday Sep 2014
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Tonight I made Annette’s Enchiladas. I’ve never made enchiladas I don’t think. I don’t usually cook mexican food. It’s just not on my radar. Now that I live in the south however, there are Mexican restaurants on every block. Good ones.
As Shauna says “This is serious comfort food – like, ‘eat it with a fork straight out of the pan in the middle of the night’ comfort food.” She’s right. It totally is. After dinner. After we had all stuffed ourselves. After my brother-in-law took another helping saying “I’m not even hungry, it’s just so, so good.” When I was putting it away. I sneaked another fork, and ate some. Right out of the pan. I even texted Lindsay and said “You know in the book, how she says it’s so good you eat it out of the pan for a midnight snack? She’s right!” Its that good. It. Really. Is.
These are layered not rolled. It’s the Mexican version of lasagna. It’s brilliant because nothing gets dried out and its easy to cut and serve. I hope you love these as much as we did!
Ingredients
1 C Sour Cream (I used plain Greek yogurt the 2nd time I made this)
1 28-oz can green enchilada sauce (Las Palmas is best)
2 4-oz cans green chilies, diced
3 C cooked chicken, shredded or diced
2 C Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
12 corn tortillas
1 C chicken broth
Cilantro
Instructions
Mix green sauce with chilies and sour cream.
Smooth 1 spoonful of the sauce around the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
Simmer the chicken broth in a skillet, and before placing each tortilla in the 9×13 pan, use tongs and pass the tortilla through the broth for just a few seconds. If you leave the tortillas in the broth for too long, they’ll fall apart, so just dip each one in for a few seconds to soften it before putting it in the enchilada pan.
Layer 4 tortillas over the first layer of sauce. (I fit 6)
After tortillas, add half the chicken, then 1/3 of the sauce, then 1/3 of the cheese.
Repeat so there are 2 full layers (I ended up with 4 layers)
Finish with a layer of tortillas, sauce, and cheese.
Bake at 350 until warmed through and the cheese is melted, about 30-35 minutes.
Let sit at least 15 minutes before cutting. Top with chopped cilantro.
Serves: 6
Enjoy! It’s SO yummy!
23 Tuesday Sep 2014
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Whenever people confess Jesus as Lord, we are proclaiming that ISIS is not. The US is not. The threat of death is not the greatest power in our lives. We bow in submission to Jesus because we believe in a force more powerful. This is, in short, what the Bible calls “good news.”
– Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove in Acting Liks A State: ISIS, the US, and Jesus as Lord
22 Monday Sep 2014
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You could grieve endlessly for the loss of time and for the damage done therein. For the dead, and for your own lost self. But what the wisdom of the ages says is that we do well not to grieve on and on. And those old ones knew a thing or two and had some truth to tell. For you can grieve your heart out and in the end you are still where you were. All your grief hasn’t changed a thing. What you have lost will not be returned to you. It will always be lost. You’re left with only your scars to mark the void. All you can choose to do is go on or not. But if you go on, its knowing you carry your scars with you.
Inman
Cold Mountain
15 Monday Sep 2014
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Last week Brighton and I went to see The Hundred Foot Journey. A movie about French cuisine, delicious Indian food, tension between cultures, class and style. Throughout all the tension and struggles there were BEAUTIFUL shots of food and a great storyline. It ended with a meal around a table embracing both cultures, people and food. See it. Its amazing.
We walked out of the theater, stomachs growling: demanding savory foods to satisfy their cravings. The next day we were at Mela’s, devouring a delicious Indian buffet for lunch. Fingers messy. Ripping pieces of naan, soaking up butter chicken and tikka masala with Basmati rice, while sipping warm chai. Delicious.
I started thinking. I need to cook more. I need to branch out more. I get in a cooking rut. I make grilled chicken. Then grilled chicken with salad. Then grilled chicken with a different marinade and rice. Then Thai curry chicken. And sometimes to switch it up I make hamburgers. And I’m better than that. Food is meant to be enjoyed. And savored. Not whipped up and scarfed down. I’m a good cook. I need to embrace it more.
So here’s my idea. It’s not a new idea. Or an original one. But its small, doable, and a good step towards my next new idea which I will share with you later. I am going to read through Shauna Niequist’s Bread & Wine again. I’ve read it multiple times, and even have the audio book. But I’m going to work through it again. This time creating every recipe. Learning all the steps. I’m going to learn how to make risotto, and mousse, and bread. I’m going to learn what exactly a cassoulet is. Because I have no idea. And I’m going to make each recipe mine. And then, I’m going to share it with you!
Shauna tells a story about journalist, Daniel Duane cooking with Thomas Keller, one of the great American chefs. “Keller told him to make the recipe once according to the instructions. The second time, he told Duane to rewrite the recipe in his own terms, adjusting for his taste, cutting out or adding steps according to what made sense to him. The third time, Keller said to make it without any recipe at all, just by his memory and tastes and hands. And at that point, he said, ‘The recipe is yours.'”
I’m going to follow these steps. Make the recipes mine. Have some amazing dinner parties, lots of champagne, and hopefully be a better cook at the end of it. There are 29 recipes. So I figure this will take me about two months. I will make all these and blog about them and share pictures. Hopefully add a guest blogger or two to keep things exciting. And then at the end of two months, I will share my fabulous idea for the next challenge!
Bread & Wine recipes COMING SOON!
If you want to purchase Bread & Wine and cook along with me, click here!
Here’s Daniel Duane’s article about Thomas Keller. I thought it was pretty interesting.
I wrote a book review before Bread & Wine was released. To read that, click here.
