Cooking Method: Baking

New Mexico Stacked Enchiladas

Jessica here, guest-blogging for Leslie.

This is a photo of our tasty New Mexico-style stacked enchilada. It’s a family favorite, especially during this dark pandemic winter.

How to make it? Well, as we lawyers say, it depends. There’s an easy way and a hard way.

The easy way? Buy everything: shred a roast chicken, open a can of refried beans and another of enchilada sauce; layer it all evenly between three corn tortillas, bake at 400° F for 10-15 minutes, top with a fried egg – and there you have it.

The hard way is what you see in this photo. But it was actually a collaborative effort. My husband made green chile using Hatch chiles that he’d roasted, frozen, and defrosted.

I poached chicken breasts in white wine, water, and some aromatics (black and pink peppercorns, chile powder) and shredded them.

Then, I realized I had no canned refried beans. What to do? Well, I had a can of pinto beans, so I made my own. And may never use canned ones again, because these were so delicious.

By Leslie Blythe

Cloud Eggs

My brother David made these Cloud Eggs, which my mother used to make. Because he lives over 2,400 miles away, I didn't have these lovely eggs. Though, I do not happen to like runny yolk eggs. I remember as a kid being horrified and deeply disappointed that the egg whites didn't taste like whipped cream!

Cloud eggs got their start in 17th century France. The recipe for oeufs a la Neige, translated to “eggs in the snow,” was published in Le Cuisinier Francois in 1651.

By Leslie Blythe

Hot Brown Turkey Casserole

My Dad grew up in Pittsburgh and one of his favorite things a called The Turkey Devonshire Sandwich, which is a hot open-faced sandwich on toasted bread with hot turkey, bacon, tomatoes, and a cheese sauce. This sandwich was first served at The Stratford Club in Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood in 1930.
I decided to make him (actually, I had my husband make it!) a Hot Brown Turkey Casserole. This also originated as a sandwich called the Hot Brown and was invented in 1926 at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky to absorb the bourbon that guests had the night before. The 2 sandwiches are very similar, though I think the chef in Pittsburgh obviously copied it and changed the name!. Anyway, this is the casserole version, which is much easier to make and feeds a hungry or hungover crowd!

By Leslie Blythe

Bourbon Orange Ham Glaze

This Bourbon Orange Ham Glaze has orange marmalade, maple syrup, Dijon, Lemon Juice, and of course, Bourbon.

By Leslie Blythe

Ravioli Casserole

This Ravioli Casserole is my "lazy" lasagna. It's a combination of ground beef, cheese, pasta sauce and cheese ravioli. I have also made Spinach Artichoke Ravioli Casserole, which is also quick and easy to make. This is perfect for a family weeknight meal.

By Leslie Blythe

Welsh Onion Cake

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. I made him this Welsh Onion Cake, which has layers of softened onions, leeks and potatoes with some Caerphilly cheese crumbled throughout. Caerphilly is a hard, crumbly white cheese that originated in the area around the town of Caerphilly, Wales. If you can't find it, you can use a sharp cheddar instead. Welsh Onion Cake is a traditional dish to serve on St. David's Day, the patron saint of Wales, which is March 1st.

By Leslie Blythe

Baked Cacio e Pepe Pie

My brother David made this Baked Cacio e Pepe Pie for dinner and said it was awesome and ridiculously easy to make. It's a recipe by MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Salon, that is Inspired by David Leibovitz and Food & Wine. I know, it's a lot of tags, but if you are interested, read on!

By Leslie Blythe

Douglas Shortbread Cookies

My friend Melanie made these absolutely phenomenal cookies. The brilliance of the recipe is the simplicity of ingredients. The term “short” in shortbread refers to the type of dough, which is very tender and high in fat. This makes for a particularly crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth cookie that is satisfying without being too rich. The recipe is from Fäviken: 4015 Days, Beginning to End, by Magnus Nilsson, who was the head chef at the legendary restaurant Fäviken in Sweden until it closed in December of 2019. The recipe came from the grandmother of his first employee, Douglas Tjärnhammar-Alm. You can read about these cookies on Bloomberg.

By the way, she told me to bring the leftovers to my Dad (yeah, right!).

By Leslie Blythe

Hatch Chile Rice

I know I should have posted my Irish recipes, but I made this Hatch Chile Rice last night and it was really good. You could add chicken to it and make it more of a main course. I found these El Pinto chiles at my local supermarket. I am glad that Hatch Chiles have finally made it into the mainstream. I used to go every September and buy a VERY large Hefty Bag of them and have them roasted. Then I would bring them home and freeze 6 in ziplock bags. It took up most of my freezer! My car smelled like chiles for months! My daughters were not thrilled with this when they were little. Yes, I know I have a problem!

By Leslie Blythe

Curried Chicken with Asparagus

My friend Melanie gave me a Hollywood Bowl cookbook from the '80s. It has many great recipes from famous people who attended the Bowl. My parents used to have a box there, which in those days was a pretty big deal. My mother, being a designer, and the most elegantly dressed woman on the planet, used to sew tablecloths and decorate the table differently every time they went. The people sitting in adjacent boxes use to eagerly await her arrival wondering what her theme was that week. I would give anything if someone would have taken photos of all of them, this was the pre-cell phone days!

Anyway, last night I made this Curried Chicken with Asparagus, which was quite popular then. I made several changes and added Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup, though you can throw caution to the wind and peel off the lid of a can! This recipe is ridiculously simple and can be made ahead. I'm not sure this recipe would travel, especially to the Hollywood Bowl given that it needs to be hot!

By Leslie Blythe