NCT Cooks Challenge 15 Aug 9 - Aug 16 MEXICAN

MexicoKaren said:

Here's our enchiladas verde con pollo - chicken enchiladas with home made salsa verde. Had some arroz Mexicana and salsa fresca along with it. Notice that the enchiladas are not baked. Mexican cooks don't bake their enchiladas - they dip them in the sauce, fill them, roll them up and spoon more sauce over the top, and serve them immediately. I think baked enchiladas must be a Tex-Mex variation. I put cotija cheese on top, and also added some shredded Oaxaca cheese to the filling. Later, we'll be having some mango ice cream for dessert.

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Keltin said:

How did you get your rice that color....add Tomato bouillon to the water????

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Sass Muffin said:

Good grief!
First of all Karen, I just adore seeing all of your food pics because they are so authentically YOU and are jam packed with deliciousness. Thanks for the lesson on enchiladas! Superb! (I'd like to know more about Cotija and oaxaca cheese?)
Very pretty, the entire dish.


Peepsie.. what can I say?
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Kimchee, I love toquitos, yours look nice and I love the sauces as well.
Were the flautas crispy? They look like they were.

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MexicoKaren said:

Ah gee, Sass - you're so nice. Thanks! I'm going to bed now, but tomorrow, I'll provide some more info on Oaxacan and cotija cheeses - two wonderful things about Mexico.

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• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 5 eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook sugar, stirring, until golden. Just when you think it is never going to turn to caramel, it magically does. Don't give up. Pour into a 10 inch round baking dish, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in condensed and evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into caramel coated pan. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place baking dish on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes, until center is just set. Cool one hour on wire rack, then chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To unmold, run a knife around edges of pan and invert on a rimmed serving platter.

SassMuffin said:

I'd like to know more about Cotija and oaxaca cheese?

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MexicoKaren said:

I'm sure you could get alot of info by googling, but I'll give you my own experience with these wonderful cheeses. They are white cheeses (there is no orange cheese here. None.) Both made with cows milk and they are both scrumptious, but very different. Cotija is a hard cheese, and crumbly. It's a little bit salty. It's often compared to feta, but I think it is harder than feta. It's alot like mizithra cheese - have you ever had that? We used to love to go to The Old Spaghetti Factory and get their mizithra cheese and browned butter spaghetti. My daughter uses cotija for the same thing - it's delicious. It's used for all kinds of garnishes, but almost always on beans or refried beans. Oaxaca cheese is alot like mozzarella string cheese, but it has more flavor. It's made in "ropes" that are then wound up in a ball. It's one of the preferred cheeses for quesadillas, and it's very mild. I buy it from my veggie guy, whose family makes it and it is so good.

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lilbopeep said:

Are nachos Mexican?

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MexicoKaren said:

I've never actually seen a flan "cake" here, although that recipe looks really good, doesn't it? I'm sure you could make your own chocolate cake batter from scratch...that's what I would do also, because (like you) I don't use cake mixes. I swear I can taste the chemicals, but it may be my imagination. I do have a TNT flan recipe that tastes (to me) more like the wonderful flan I buy here, usually sitting on the counters at little tiendas (that's right, no refrigeration, and I just gobble it up and never get sick.) It's more substantial than the custardy flan you often see, because it has cream cheese in it. I've doubled this recipe and made it in a bundt cake pan to serve 20-25. I originally found it on AR, but have made a few changes. Everyone seems to like it, and the nice thing is that you can make it the day before if you are having a big dinner party, and your dessert is all done! I usually scatter a few berries around on it to make it prettier:

Creamy Caramel Flan

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 5 eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook sugar, stirring, until golden. Just when you think it is never going to turn to caramel, it magically does. Don't give up. Pour into a 10 inch round baking dish, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Beat in condensed and evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into caramel coated pan. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place baking dish on towel, inside roasting pan, and place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
4. Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes, until center is just set. Cool one hour on wire rack, then chill in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. To unmold, run a knife around edges of pan and invert on a rimmed serving platter.

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CaliforniaCook said:

Hi, Karen. That was me.

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Sass Muffin said:

Cooksie, that is GORGEOUS!

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lilbopeep said:

Beautiful Cookisie!!

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MexicoKaren said:

Nice job, Cooksie - we love tostadas, and the nice thing is that you can pile whatever leftover meat you have, add some cheese and condiments and you've got a meal. We like Nortenos brand, which I also used to buy in the US. They're nice and thin and crispy. Your guacomole looks perfect, and that asadero cheese is great, isn't it?

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