chile rellenos lasagna style

I love chile rellenos. Literally one of my favorite foods. Unfortunately my gluten allergy makes eating them at a restaurant a rarity. This recipe may not taste like original chile rellenos but it is incredibly delicious. Instead of stuffing these I made a casserole/lasagna kind of thing with ground pork. The chiles totally fell apart while I was seeding them so I just used them like they were lasagna noodles. So easy and tasted delicious. I also made my own mexican crema.

Mexican Crema

1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set it out at room temperature for 3 hours.

From Epicurious

Chile Relleno Lasagna

6 poblano chiles
1 pound ground pork
3 ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, or other Mexican melting cheese
½ cup Mexican crema

Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat oven to 375°.

Meanwhile, if you have a gas stove, turn heat to high on one of the burners, and set as many of the poblanos as will fit on the grate. Cook, flipping and moving the chiles often with a pair of tongs, until blackened on all sides. Cook, flipping occasionally with a pair of tongs, until blacked on all sides.

When chiles are blackened, transfer to a plastic bag and seal. Let them steam for at least five minutes. When done, peel off the blackened skins. Cut a slit down the side of each, and remove the stem and the seeds.

Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the corn cobs. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When shimmering, add the onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent, about two minutes. Add the ground pork and brown. Add the corn, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until corn turns golden brown, about five minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

Oil a casserole dish. Lay down chiles to cover the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of the sauteed corn and pork mixture, a layer of the shredded cheese, and few dollops of the crema. Should make about 3 layers. Finally, add a layer of cheese on top.

Transfer baking dish to the upper middle rack in the oven and cook for ten minutes. Turn on the broiler to high, and cook until the cheese is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

watermelon mint salad

After grazing my way through Whole Foods and sampling this I bought all the ingredients and it was super easy and delicious. It also seems like it would be tasty on an actual salad.

2 cups watermelon
a spring of mint
fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp honey

Cube watermelon. Cut the mint into thin strips. Stir the olive oil, lime juice, honey and pepper together until fully combined. Mix everything together.

red risotto

I helped a friend make this and while the constant stirring has kept me from making my own risotto, this recipe totally changed my mind. So good and so worth the time it takes. Especially good with roasted asparagus,

Red Wine Risotto

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry red wine, cabernet or barolo
6 cups chicken/turkey/vegetable stock, preferably homemade
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, more for serving.

In a wide, deep skillet, heat oil until very hot but not smoking. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes but not browned. Reduce heat as needed. Add rice and stir with a wooden spoon until opaque and slightly toasted.

Meanwhile, heat the stock in a saucepan and keep it just below a simmer. Add wine and a ladleful of hot stock and cook, stirring often, until liquid is absorbed. Continue stirring and adding hot stock a ladleful at a time, always waiting until liquid is almost completely absorbed before adding more. Cook until rice is tender and creamy but not mushy, about 20 minutes (or more). Toward the end of cooking time, rice will quickly soften, so stir constantly and taste often. Turn off heat and stir in butter. Stir in cheese and serve with additional Parmesan.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

it's nota frittata – no egg veggie casserole – take 2

I made this based on an earlier version with the types of veggies we had on hand, and it's just as delicious.

Olive oil cooking spray

medium bunch of kale
8-10 small spring turnips, sliced
8-10 radishes, sliced
5-6 small to medium tomatoes, sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
handful of thyme
handful of parsley
2-3 tablespoons butter, melted or olive oil1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°.

Tear kale into pieces and spread along the bottom of a 10-inch dish coated with cooking spray. Toss together radish and turnip, salt and pepper, thyme and parsley. Salt and pepper tomato slices separately so they don't break up. Layer radishes, turnips, and tomatoes over kale, alternating and overlapping slightly. Drizzle with 2-4 Tbsp. melted butter. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Remove foil, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.