Out of the Box

It's been 9 years. 9 years have flown by since I had my first baby. We've grown together and his resiliency through it has been a treasure to say the least. That isn't his only quality. He's sweet, sensitive, funny, energetic and a bit of an out of the box thinker. Not in every area either, but he does have a knack for the unusual.



Take for instance his penchant for shrimp. This was acquired by age 2 and has only grown with him. I find it extremely unusual for a child to adore fish the way he does. In fact all of my kids. Not only does the kid like shrimp, but he finds exotic ways to include shrimp into a dinner. About 2 or 3 years ago I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner, knowing full well he would say shrimp. When I then asked how he would like it he paused for about 3 seconds and answered very confidently "shrimp enchiladas".

This was not a usual around here. Shrimp tacos yes, shrimp and pasta yes, orange peel shrimp yes. We have never had an encounter with shrimp and enchilada. I have no idea where this idea entered his head. For sure something he found outside of the box. I thought for a moment to wave it off and go for the safe and always good orange peel shrimp. But if one doesn't follow sometimes, even if it's somewhere unknown, what fun would it be?



Remember this? This is our starting block. I made this sauce specifically for shrimp enchiladas but found it works great with other things. But if you haven't whipped this up yet you may want to for the rest of the recipe. A can of green enchilada sauce is ok, but I find it a little bland with the shrimp. Also some are not gluten free so watch out.

I think I'll break this up into photo steps. Good ideas are not always easy either.

Step One: Marinate the shrimp


We want to get a little time on these so I start marinating the shrimp while I get everything else ready.

I used half of the bag of frozen shrimp from Costco. I think it's about 1 1/2lbs. I buy the raw tail on and just remove the tail.

Add 2 Tablespoons olive oil
juice from half of a lime
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
and 2 cloves garlic minced

set this aside while we continue on.

Step 2: Enchilada sauce kick


Now this sauce is just fine as is, but one time I added a little something extra to it and found it to be above and beyond. I know I know I'm not supposed to eat much dairy and I have no excuse why that is in my house. It's just yummy. It's Mexican crema and if you haven't tried it yet I encourage you to. That is if you can take dairy. If you have it put about 1/2 cup of crema into 4 cups of your enchilada sauce. More often I just use yogurt because that is one thing my stomach can take. It adds a bit of weight to the sauce and probably your rear but who cares it's a birthday.

Step 3: Fry the tortillas


This step is optional. You don't have to fry tortillas for making enchiladas and I often do not to save time. You can easily wrap them in a wet towel and throw them in the microwave for 30 seconds to steam them. My family prefers them fried so I try to fry them if I can.

I have a pretty strict ritual for my frying that I will share with you now. I set up "zones" if you will, on my paper towel lined plate. I heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a small frying pan. I only leave the tortilla in the oil for about 20 seconds on each side. Then I move it to my plate and blot off the extra oil.



Then it gets moved to a separate zone that is for the degreased tortillas leaving room for the next one. And the upper left hand corner is for any that tear and I fry them until crisp to eat with guacamole or sauce. That is my obsessive frying ritual. Feel free to create your own.

Step 4 with no picture: semi cook your shrimp

I have no photo of my shrimp sort of cooking, but I'm sure you can follow. I just added a small amount of oil to a frying pan and toss in the shrimp marinade and all. Now this part seems odd, but you aren't going to cook them all the way. They will be going back into the oven and one time I cooked them all the way through and they became tiny rubber eraser things. So I under cook them a bit and it's much better. About 1 minutes per side. They will still be raw in the center. Remove them from the pan and cut them up into smaller pieces (this just makes it much easier to eat the enchilada).

Step 5: Prepare ingredients for assembly line


Now I get all my ingredients in order. Fried tortillas - check. Cut up semi cooked shrimp - check. Queso fresco crumbled - check (this can be found with the other cheeses and with the Mexican Crema). One bunch of diced green onions mixed with 1 cup diced cilantro - check (save some to sprinkle over the top). Enchilada sauce - check.

Step 6: Put it all together


I think I'll let the pictures do the talking, I'm sure you get the idea.









Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the assembled enchiladas and sprinkle the remaining queso fresco over the top.

Bake covered in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 6-8 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cilantro and green onion.

Step 7: Serve and enjoy


I highly recommend some good beans and spanish rice with these.



Oh, and a little smothering of the Mexican crema is also a good idea if it doesn't cause you distress. Oh, I wish it didn't cause distress.



This one is so inspiring with his wandering imagination. I'm so glad he's taken me places I've never thought of. I'm so glad I've grown up enough to learn to follow. Happy birthday sweet pea!

p.s. For a great list of cookbooks for children with great taste check out this post on The Kitchn. My Amazon wish list is getting out of control!

Part One

Sometimes things need to separated. They need to be taken apart and pieced back together to make a whole larger then it's parts. I've decided that resolutions fit into this category. That when a life needs some lifting, tweaking and changing it needs a plan. A slow steady plan. I haven't made any sort of New Year's resolutions in a few years. Not because I feel I am a human in perfect order, not even close. It's just that resolutions sound well and fine for the first week, then get tossed aside like the previous year.

However change is long overdue and the beginning of the year is as good a time as any. There are steps in place and forward motion happening. I broke down my goals and am starting slow. From scratch.

I like from scratch. It's comforting to know what's going in there isn't it? It's humbling and gratifying to take your time and build something from the bottom up.



Enchilada sauce is fine from the can. In fact I quite like it and have used it many times. But I was certain there was something to be learned just from the process. I also wanted to be positive it was gluten free.

This may not be the most authentic enchilada sauce out there, but it's good. It started out with a specific purpose - shrimp enchiladas, but I use it for almost any kind of enchiladas you could think of. I like it with shredded chicken, cheese, veggie, whatever you can imagine. The tomatillos give it a little tang that I needed to offset the sweet shrimp, and it's spice can easily be modified.

Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

5-6 peeled, rinsed and halved tomatillos
salt and pepper

Roast tomatillos in a roasting pan in a 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until they are browned and squishy. I added a couple of green tomatoes here just because I had them and needed to use them, I don't think it's necessary at all but if you would like to try it I think it gave a bit more tang to the recipe.

Add roasted tomatillos to:
2 cans whole green chiles
1 jalepeno (seeded if you want to tone down the heat) roughly chopped

Place all of these ingredients into a food processor and let her rip until it is relatively smooth.

In a sauce pan:
Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons cumin powder

Add tomatillo mixture to the sauce pan. Whisk 1 Tablespoon cornstarch into one cup chicken stock and add to the sauce pan. Add another 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock and raise temperature until the mixture begins to boil. Lower the temperature and let the sauce simmer until it slightly thick (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside or store int he fridge to use fro enchiladas.




This is only the first step. The end result may appear a bit lacking, but when added to the next post this step is well worth your patience. I'm hoping that is also the case with my deconstructed life. Resolutions or none, life seems much easier taken in steps.

Up next - shrimp enchiladas with our from scratch sauce.

Adios Amigo

Everyone was so quick to throw out 2009. It's over as soon as it was here and people just want it to go away. However the optimism for 2010 is contagious and I think I'll jump on the band wagon.

I must say that just as 2009 seemed to be rough at times, I cannot mistake the invaluable lessons that we must all glean from it. Alas it is time to say goodbye.

Another thing I am saying goodbye to - dairy. It's about as good a friend to me as this past year of recession. I cannot deny the hardships of lactose as I can the fact that the price of my beloved friend can cost nearly $4 a gallon.



Let's get one thing straight here, I adore the rich creamy wonderful stuff. I like it whipped to perfection atop a good pie. I like the simple effect that cream and Parmesan have over pasta cooked to the tender al dente. There is no denying the pleasure that a nice brie on bread can bring. However, all of this wonderful richness does not love me back.

Sure it's not all the time, and it's not with small portions, but I never know when my friend is going to become my foe. It's just become a nuisance, you know like 2009. I cannot take another stomach cramp from cream as much as I feel like tolerating another corporate bailout plan.

Now I must be honest I am not completely swearing off the stuff. I will give myself one day. One day in the week with one meal containing dairy. I am being realistic here. My symptoms do not convey a complete restructuring of the system. I just cannot pretend that I don't have a problem. See how much 2009 has taught us? It is just better to simply call it what it is.

I could think of no better way to say goodbye to my friend then to make some creme brulee. Also, I received a creme brulee kit for Christmas and I really wanted to use the torch.



Au Revoir Creme Brulee

1 cup heavy cream
3 Tbspns sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 vanilla split
4 tablespoons sugar

Set a pot of water to bowl in a kettle. In a saucepan over medium heat combine the milk, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Scrape the vanilla bean down the center and add it to the milk. I throw in the whole bean too to extract more flavor. Cook stirring frequently until small bubbles appear. Set this aside while you mix together the yolks and the other tablespoon of sugar. Slowly pour in the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks beating continuously. Strain this mixture through a fine mesh strainer into something that lets your pour nicely. Arrange ramekins in a large baking dish and pour your mixture into them. Fill the baking dish with the boiling water until it reaches at least half way up the dishes. Bake in 300º oven for 25 minutes until the custard is set. Be careful removing the ramekins out of the hot water. Let them cool at least 3 hours. These can be made a day ahead and then you can burn the sugar before serving.

To make the crispy tops sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of sugar on the top of each custard. If you use a torch make gentle circles all around the sugar until it is browned. If you do not have a torch you can place the sugar topped ramekins under the broiler. I haven't had the best of luck with this method but that could be my broiler. I felt like the custard got too hot and before the tops browned. However you could always try it. Let's face it cream and sugar never taste that bad.



So here's to the empty dish of 2009! May whatever fills your 2010 be delicious!

How fun

I kept getting some friend requests from Tasty Kitchen and I couldn't figure out why. Well I'm one of the featured recipes for today. Hurray! Check me out.