<And "virtually" speaking, I refer to our Okanagan home as "Liski Holiday Home." The side note on this would be: that when we bought this place in Kelowna, we had no intention of living here to extent that we do. It was simply going to take the place of the cottage we had never invested in, in Saskatchewan. However, once we settled in and spent some time here, we found it harder & harder to leave, especially in seasons when the climate is more harsh back "home sweet home…">
This episode, "Layer it Up" featured 5 recipes, all of which I thought worthy of trial:
Potato, Cauliflower and Broccoli Casserole with Welsh Rarebit Top
Spinach Lasagna
Stacked Polenta and Mushroom Casserole
Toastacho Casserole
Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/rachael-rays-week-in-a-day/layer-it-up/index.html?oc=linkback
However, the one the peaked my interest most was the Toastacho Casserole, and as soon as I returned to our "Liski Holiday Home," I tried to gather the ingredients and set out to make it. On the issue of "trying to…" If you live somewhere in BC where you have access to the most luxurious grocery shopping experience of an Urban Fare, I hope you do not encounter a day like mine in preparation for making this recipe. I headed out to Urban Fare in the best interest of being able to get all of the "unusual for a Canadian shopper" ingredients, in one place, for this recipe. I knew that getting the peppers was going to be a long shot, but the sausage I did not think would be. In a store with so many lovely department displays, it would be nice if it housed a staff that was well trained to serve in each one of those areas. Not only did the young man, in the meat dpt, not know what Chorizo was, but he could definitely not make a good suggestion on an alternative from the selection that they did have. I decided on Andouille sausage (which they incidentally had spelled Andoulu on the wrapper??) And, in the produce dpt, when I asked about the possibility of poblano or ancho chillies, that I could reconstitute, I was sent to the spice aisle to a hopeless little small jar of dried red chilies or the suggestion of red pepper flakes. Now, I am in no way a pretentious food snob, but it would be great to be able to get a few less-than- pretentious ingredients (or knowledge thereof) in a grocery shopping environment that hails itself set apart in its vast selection of fine ingredients. I think Urban Fare does a great job of having a vast selection of snacking options... *Rant complete & over!*
I will detail out the choices that I made, for this recipe, that I think equated out to a pretty flavourful alternative.
Flavourful, and photo worthy, if not somewhat unsuccessful overall. I have had very little success with corn tortillas, in general, in my food experiences - in restaurants & at home. I find they are so often & easily tough. And are not a joy, in any way, to manage in cooking with or in eating…But, be that as it may, I gave them another whirl, with this recipe, because I thought they may be redeemed by the fact that you toast them off first. Disappointingly, not so…they were very tough & unruly to cut on the bottom layer, although fairly crisp & tasty on the top. In the end, it was my conclusion that for the work involved, it would seem simpler & more successful to use corn tortilla chips. We did this last night & enjoyed the option thoroughly.
I still stand behind RR recipes wholeheartedly. My experience with corn tortillas could just be my lack of knowledge about dealing with them. I love Canada & the vast array of ingredient options that are so available to us here, but that would be my one boo-hoo…that more latin/spanish/mexican options are not easily accessible. #iwannalearnmore
Ingredients
Casserole:
1 cup beef stock - again, I used my much-loved "Better than Boullion"
2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded - instead of both of these chiles (which I could not get) I subbed appx 2 tbsp of chipotle peppers in adobe which I, incidentally, whir by the whole can in my food processor & then keep in a small Ziploc in the freezer & break off pieces the size I need for each recipe
2 poblano chiles
16 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
All natural cooking spray, for spraying tortilla strips
Salt
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
1 pound Mexican chorizo, casings removed - I used Andouille, seemed an ok substitute
1 pound ground beef
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or a blend of Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, Cheddar, Chihuahua, asadero or any easy melting cheeses of choice (about 12 ounces)
Avocado Cream:
1 cup sour cream
1 ripe avocado, chopped - I had some guacamole left over from the night before & this was a neat way to use up. I simply added the sour cream & lime to loosen - was delicious!!
1 lime, juiced
Pickled jalapeno slices, for garnish
Chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce, for garnish
Chopped tomatoes, for garnish
Chopped red onions, for garnish
Directions
For the casserole: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Bring the beef stock to a simmer in a pot; add the ancho chiles and just enough water to cover and cook to reconstitute them. When softened, transfer to a food processor and puree.
Char the poblanos evenly over a flame or under the broiler. Cool in a covered bowl, and then peel, seed, chop and reserve.
Arrange the tortilla strips on baking sheets, spray with cooking spray and season with salt. Bake to deeply golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
Heat the oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and brown, crumbling the meat. Add the beef and continue to brown and crumble the meat. Add in the beans, coriander, cumin, garlic, onions, poblanos and ancho puree (here I put in my adobe chilli & cup of beef stock) and cook together a few minutes to combine the flavors.
Layer half of the tortilla strips in a casserole dish and top with the chorizo and beef mixture. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal (store the remaining tortilla strips in a foil pouch until using), or bake to serve. To bake, top the room-temperature casserole with the remaining tortilla strips and the cheese and bake at 375 degrees F until bubbly and hot through, 40 to 45 minutes. ***VERY IMPORTANT!!! If you are making recipes from an online recipe, it is always beneficial to read the comments from others. Other readers said that 40-45 mins is way too long. 20 mins is more than adequate..AND…they are right. My casserole was easily done in 15-20 mins. Keep a close eye on it*** And when we made the nacho dish, in one layer, last night, they were just a very few mins under the broiler before being ready. I had some of the meat mixture ready, in the fridge, so I just nuked it a min or two before topping the corn chips.
For the avocado cream: Whiz up the sour cream, avocado and lime juice in a food processor.
Top the casserole with the pickled jalapenos, lettuce, tomatoes and onions and dollop the avocado cream over top (or pass at table).
Flowers you say: A girl needs incentive to get started sometimes … :)
Those darn corn tortilla strips all ready to hit the oven…
What is that tough looking item underneath?? That is my much-loved pizza stone. Which, I have read, is an excellent item to leave, all the while, in your oven to remove any moisture while cooking… who knew…
My Guacamole Cream…
This is exhibit A, first & somewhat-failed effort
This is Exhibit B - my proffered & tasty outcome of the second effort…proving, once again, that failure in the kitchen is not only an option - but - the mother of invention :) !!
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