Ingredients

• 3 medium ancho chiles, toasted and ground
• 3 tablespoons NM red chili (medium)
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
• 7 1/2 c. water
• 4 lb. beef chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4-5 small jalapeños [CP: yes, that many], cored, seeded, and minced
• 1 c. crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 5 tbsp. masa

Preparation

Mix chili powder, cumin, oregano, and 1/2 cup water to form paste. Toss beef cubes with salt.

Fry bacon in large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until fat renders and bacon crisps, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and drain. Pour all but 2 teaspoons grease into small bowl; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high; brown on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch, adding additional bacon fat as necessary. Reduce heat to medium, add 3 tbsp. bacon fat to empty pan. Add onion; sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeños, sauté 1 minute. Add chili paste, sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Add bacon and beef, tomatoes, lime juice, and 7 c. water, bring to simmer. Cook at a steady simmer until meat is tender and juices are dark, rich, and starting to thicken, about 2 hours.

Mix masa with 2/3 cup water in a small bowl. Increase heat to medium; stir in paste and simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients

Tomatillo Puree and Enchilada Sauce

• 10 medium tomatillos
• 1/2 jalapeno, smoked and seeded
• 1/2 Serrano, smoked and seeded
• 8 green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 tsp thyme

Sweet Potato Filling and Enchiladas

• 5 medium sweet potatoes
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 tsp curry powder
• Salt and pepper
• 4 green onions
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 16 oz Monterey Jack cheese
• 12 corn tortillas

Preparation

For tomatillo puree: Preheat oven to 375. Place tomatillos on parchment paper or foil-lined cookie sheet. Cook 30 minutes or until soft in the middle. The last 10 minutes, place jalapeno, Serrano, and Hatch pepper on a cookie sheet and put in the oven, so the skins can blacken.

Once skin is blackened, place the peppers in a paper bag to cool. Slice tomatillos open at bottom and squeeze juice into food processor. When peppers are cooled lightly, rub paper bag until skin is peeled. Then slice Serrano and jalapeno in half. Place only half of each pepper in processor. Peel, seed, and chop Hatch pepper and set aside for enchilada sauce. Add a little water. Puree until mixed thoroughly and add to the sauce.

For enchilada sauce: In a skillet, sauté the cornstarch and olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute. Add herbs and spices and cook 11 additional minutes. Add garlic and vegetables and sauté another minute. Add broth, tomatillo puree, and lime juice. Raise heat and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Stir constantly until thickened. Turn heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool. Add back to the food processor and blend until smooth.

For sweet potato filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and bake the sweet potatoes until tender, about 1 hour. Cool and peel the sweet potatoes. Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl and mix in the cream cheese, chili powder, curry, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper until well blended. Stir in green onions.

Putting it all together: Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 baking dish. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry the tortillas, one at a time, for about 10-20 seconds per side. Remove the tortillas with tongs and drain on paper towels. Place a regular spoonful of sweet potato filling down the center of each tortilla, add 1 tablespoon cheese, roll it up, and place filled tortillas seam side down in dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the enchilada sauce is bubbling and the cheese is beginning to brown. Cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Central Market

Ingredients

• 8 TBSP butter
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, ditto
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 4 C. chopped green chile
• 8 slices (calls for Swiss) queso quesadilla
• 4 NY strip steaks

Preparation

Heat oven to 350. Saute onion, mushrooms and garlic in butter. Add chile and S&P. Simmer 10-15 minutes. Broil, grill or pan fry seasoned steaks. Top with chile mixture and cheese and bake until cheese melts.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" pieces
• fresh black pepper
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 jalapeños, diced
• 2 poblanos, roasted and diced small [CP: sub. green chiles for these two chiles]
• 2 c. chicken stock
• fresh cilantro
• queso fresco

Preparation

Heat oven to 400. Toss half the tomatillos with 2 tbsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. salt, roast for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, puree the remaining tomatillos in a food processor. Reserve 1 1/2 c. in a bowl. Add the roasted tomatillos to the processor, pulse until slightly chunky. Season the pork with salt and pepper to taste. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet. Brown the pork in batches, transfer to slow cooker. Add onions and jalapeños to skillet, cook until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Put everything except the reserved tomatillo into the slow cooker. Cook on low until the pork is falling apart tender, about 6 hours. Add reserved tomatillo puree to the pot, stir to incorporate. (Alternately, cook in a dutch oven on low heat until the meat is tender, about 2 hours.)

Garnish with cilantro and queso fresco.

Adapted from Everyday Food Magazine, via Austin-American Statesman

Ingredients

• chicken (breasts, thighs, or whole) or 3/4-1 lb. frozen cocktail shrimp
• salt
• pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• water
• 1 1/2 lb. grated monterrey jack
• 1 onion
• 1 doz. green chiles, chopped, or 3 small cans green chile
• 1 lb. container sour cream
• 2 doz. corn tortillas

Preparation

Boil chicken breasts, thighs, or a whole chicken (however much you want) with salt, pepper, and a bay leaf until fully cooked. Remove from liquid, cool, and shred. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add all but 1 cup of the cheese to the bowl, reserving for the top. Add onion, green chiles, half to 3/4 of the container of sour cream, and salt and pepper. Mix together until it forms a filling. Roll (or layer) corn tortillas filled with filling, softened in oil. If you have extra filling, spread it thinly over the top. Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes at 350. Take the foil off, top with the reserved cheese, and bake for another 15 minutes or so until the cheese bubbles.

Can substitute 3/4-1 lb. of frozen baby cocktail shrimp for the chicken, if you want.

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized pork shoulder roast
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 4 c. (or more) chicken broth
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/4 c. (or more) chile powder (pref. New Mexico; see below for alternate with Bueno red chile)
• cumin (to taste)
• mexican oregano (to taste)
• salt (to taste)
• corn tortillas (for serving)
• fried eggs (for serving) cheddar cheese (for serving)

Preparation

Brown the 2 tbsp. of flour in a large dutch oven. Add a bit of chicken broth to turn into a roux, making sure to avoid lumps. Cut the pork shoulder into small cubes, and add it to the pot. Add enough broth to cover. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for a few hours, until the meat is nearly tender.

Add a few tbsp. of the cooking stock to the chile powder in a small bowl, and stir to form a paste. Add the paste to the pot, along with the cumin, mexican oregano, and salt to taste. You may need to thicken by adding either more chile powder or a thickener like flour. Cook the meat with the chile a little longer, until it’s fork-tender.

Limp your corn tortillas in the stock, and serve flat-stack style with cheddar cheese and a fried egg on top.

Another Option: You can replace the 1/4 c. of red chile powder with quite a lot more (maybe as much as half of the standard container, 1-2 cups) liquid Bueno mild red chile. Add some mixture of masa and water (or just flour and water) to the chile at the end to thicken things back up since you’re missing the chile powder.