Hola! It's Cinco De Mayo! Time to celebrate my non existent Mexican heritage and of course, the real meaning of the day- the victory over France in the Battle of Puebla, duh. Or as us in America think, a gluttonous mix of bars, margaritas, tacos, and enough sun to make you want to spend the next morning wishing you had just a salad and went to bed. Now that I'm older, wiser, and more sophisticated... I just do it at home to ease my millennial anxiety.
I'm not the biggest fan of Mexican food... queue the horrified looks. I'm just not, get over it. However, I am easing my way in with mild flavors, be proud. I'm really just deciding to take some of my favorite things like cheese and work them into something worth celebrating with! On the menu today are some nice white chicken and green chili enchiladas, my version of a good ol gringo queso fundido, and topping it off with a peach margarita! Sounds good right?
Let's start with the margarita because you'll need to be hydrated while cooking the rest of your meal. But before starting anything, get your Selena (Quintanilla-Pérez NOT Gomez) playlist ready andddd press play! While you're getting down to Bidi Bidi Bom Bom, this is what you need to do:
(This is for one drink, so multiply as needed, but as previously mentioned, I'm older and wiser now, so one or two is what my age has limited myself to.)
-1 lime
-1/2 cup peach puree (2 peaches)
-1.5 oz tequila
-1.5 oz triple sec
-1 Tbs simple syrup
-Ice
-Salt or sugar (for the rim)
1. Get your glass out!
2. Cut your lime in half and juice it (tip: if you want a little more juice out of your citrus, throw it in the microwave for 5 seconds)
3. Dip the rim of the glass into the lime juice then into the salt or sugar, set this glass aside. If you're a rebel and don't like either, skip this step.
4. In a separate, less festive glass, pour in the rest of the lime juice.
5. Chop and pit your peaches.
6. Puree them in a blender.
7. Pour the puree in the same cup as the lime juice.
8. To that same cup, add the tequila, triple sec, and simple syrup along with a handful of ice.
9. Now make like Bob Marley and stir it up, or shake if you're feeling crazy.
10. Carefully pour the drink into the glass with the dressed rim and enjoy!
Now that we are being hydrated, let's make some food! Next is the queso fundido, or better known as a mess of melted cheese! I don't have any issue with eating a mound of melted delicious cheese, but I can see how some people might. I added some stuff to make it more socially acceptable!
-1 cup shredded mozzarella
-1 cup Monterey jack cheese
-2 cloves of chopped garlic
-1 4oz can of green chilies
-2 sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed (substitute chorizo if you want to feel more authentic)
1. In a bowl, combine the cheeses, chilies, and chopped garlic.
2. Remove the casing of the sausage and in a sauté pan, crumble and cook through until brown and crunchy. When cooked, add to the cheese bowl and mix well.
2. Put the mixture into a greased baking dish.
3. Set your oven to broil (I always use low because I'm scared of burning things, but high will take less time- just don't burn the cheese!)
4. Put the dish in the oven until the mixture is melted and gooey, should only be a few minutes.
5. Get your favorite bread or tortilla chips and dig in!
Now for the main event- enchiladas! I had made these for the first time recently for some family and got some good feedback, plus how horrible can chicken, cheese, and sauce be? They are really mild and if I like them, I'm sure your extremely picky eater small child will like them too.
-10 taco size flour tortillas
-2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
-2 cups Monterey Jack cheese (divide in half... also add more if you want, I did)
-3 Tbs butter
-3 Tbs flour
-3 cups chicken broth
-1 cup sour cream
-1 4oz can chopped green chilies
**Please note that this recipe is perfectly accommodated for a 9x13 casserole dish.
1. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
2. Add the flour to the melted butter and cook for a few minutes to cook out that flour taste.
3. In one cup increments, while whisking, add the chicken broth. Whisk until it thickens for to a gravy-like consistency.
4. Take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool a bit.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
6. In a bowl, mix the shredded chicken and half of your cheese.
7. Get your casserole dish out, it's time to assemble!
8. Grab one of the tortillas and place a log of filling in the center, probably about 1-2 tablespoons.
9. Roll it up like a cigar and place in the dish seam side down.
10. Repeat until you get all 10 in there (8 should fit across and 2 on the top).
11. Going back to your sauce, it should be a bit cooler now so mix in the sour cream and the can of green chilies.
12. Pour the sauce all over the top letting it get into all the nooks and crannies. You don't have to use all of the sauce, however, you don't want these to be dry so I say the more the merrier, get saucy with it.
13. Sprinkle the other half of the cheese over the top.
14. Cook for 20-25 minutes until it's all bubbly.
15. For the last minute or so, put the boil on high so the top gets brown and crunchy and you're done!
*Warning- do not eat these right out of the oven. They will burn your mouth and you'll die. Any one get that movie reference? But seriously, it's molten lava, so just calm down and wait a few minutes because it's too hot and it needs to set up a bit. Make another drink if you want.
So now that you've got your feast ready, put your feet up, get your sombrero, and pop in Selena (the movie, this time), and have yourself a good ol time!
-Meaghan
