Recipes

MEXICAN “LASAGNA” WITH
CHICKEN, PORK, AND TOSTADOS	Serves 8

No pasta here. In its place, though, are crispy fried tortillas layering wonderfully spicy fillings of chicken, pork, and onions counterbalanced by milder, soothing layers of Crème FraIche, tomatoes, and Cheddar cheese. Plan to make your Crème FraIche a day or so in advance. The onion, tomato, chicken, and pork mixtures can also be prepared a day or two ahead. Leave the final assembly, however, until just before baking so that the tostados don’t become soggy.

CHICKEN LAYER

1½ cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons crushed coriander seeds
6 bay leaves
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into
1” strips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
PORK LAYER

3/4 pound ground pork
11/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced roasted jalapeno peppers or
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons white vinegar

ONION MIXTURE

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups thinly sliced onions
½ teaspoon salt
2 (4—ounce) cans mild green chilies, chopped
TOMATO SAUCE

4	pounds ripe tomatoes
2	tablespoons olive oil
1	tablespoon minced garlic
2	tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
½	teaspoon pepper.

ASSEMBLY

18 5” tostados (corn tortillas fried until crisp in ½” corn oil and then drained well)
3 cups Crème Fraiche (see recipe on p. 101) or 3 cups sour cream mixed with 3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1 pound Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon minced fresh coriander or parsley

CHICKEN LAYER

Combine the stock, coriander seeds, and bay leaves in a deep skillet and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Add the chicken, cover, and again bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to very low and cook 7—10 minutes more or until the chicken is just done. Pour the contents of the skillet into a sieve set over a bowl to catch the broth. Let the chicken cool. Return the broth to the pan and reduce the liquid over medium heat to ½ cup. Set aside. Remove any bay leaves and seeds from the chicken and cut the meat into ½” dice. Combine the chicken with the reduced broth, the salt, and the pepper.

PORK LAYER

Combine all the ingredients in a skillet and cook over a medium heat until the pork loses its pink color and the vinegar has evaporated. Set aside.

ONION MIXTURE

Heat the olive oil in a 9” skillet. Add the onions, salt, and chilies and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Cut them into smaller pieces and set aside.

TOMATO SAUCE

Preheat the oven to 475°. Put the tomatoes stem side down in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 25—30 minutes or until the skins are lightly charred. Purée tomatoes, skins, stems and all, in a food processor and then put them through a sieve. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the garlic and sauté for about 15 seconds. Add the puréed tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook, while stirring occasionally, over me¬dium heat for 10-15 minutes until the mixture has thickened (like canned tomato sauce). Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

Lightly oil a 9” x 13” x 2” baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350°. Put down a layer of 6 tostados. Mix the chicken with half the onion mixture, and 1 cup of the tomato sauce and spread over the tostados. Drizzle on 1 cup of Crème Fraiche. Scatter on 1 cup of the cheese. Put down 6 more tostados, pressing down to level and compact the fillings below. Combine the pork with the remaining onions and 1 cup of tomato sauce. Spread this over the tostados and top with 1 cup of Crème Fraiche and 1 cup of the cheese.

Put down the last 6 tostados. Put down the remaining cheese. The dish will be quite full. Se the pan ona rimmed baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let rest 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with the minced coriander or parsley.

VARIATIONS

Veggie version. Substitute green pepper and red beans for the pork and chicken. (Put the green pepper in raw before baking if you want them crunchy but cooked).


Source: The Frog/Commissary Cookbook, Roller, Poses 1985

NOTE: Tostados became impossible to find, but I've used split taco shells effectively. Takes about two boxes of 12.

INGREDIENTS FOR BUFFET CARD

Mexican Lasagna with Chicken, Pork and Tostados

From: The Frog Commissary Cookbook
By Steven Poses, Anne Clark and Becky Roller
Doubleday & Company, New York, 1985

Prepared by

Ingredients: Chicken, Pork, Tomatoes, Corn Tortillas, Cheddar Cheese,
Sour Cream, Onions, Salt, Pepper, Green Chilies, Garlic, Coriander,
Oregano, Cloves, Lemon Juice

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Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. salt
*14 Tbs. butter (2 sticks minus 2 Tbs.), cut into chunks
*2 Tbs. flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or 8 ounces good-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate cut into 1/4-inch chunks, about 1 1/2 cup
    OR
1 cup each chocolate chunks or chips and 1 cup toasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, unsalted peanuts or macadamias)

* I usually just use two sticks of butter. Up to you.

Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl; set aside. Mix eggs, vanilla and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Microwave butter on high power until just melted but not hot, 30 to 45 seconds; set aside. Mix brown and granulated sugars in a large bowl. Add butter and oil; stir until smooth. Add egg mixture and stir until smooth and creamy. Add dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Stir in chocolate and optional nuts. Using a 1 1/2-ounce (3 Tbs.) ice cream scoop, spoon 16 dough balls onto a pan that will fit in your freezer. (Don't worry if the dough balls are crowded. They pull apart when frozen.) Freeze until dough is hard, about 30 minutes. (Once dough balls are frozen, they can be stored in freezer bags up to 3 months and baked as desired.)

(I have had just as much success, banging it all into one bowl and following the rest of the directions. It seems to be the freezing and temperature change while baking that does the job.  - me)

Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Working in half batches, place 8 frozen dough balls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake until set, but not brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to bake until cookies are golden-brown around the edges and lightly brown on the top, about 10 minutes longer. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet. Repeat, preheating oven to 400 degrees again before baking second batch.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Servings: 16 large cookies or 32 small cookies.
Per lg. cookie: 328 calories, 43g carbohydrates, 3g protein, 17g fat (9g saturated), 1g fiber, 295mg sodium.

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Another Frog Nugget

OVEN-ROASTED POTATOES	Serves 6-8

These are wonderful potatoes, simple to prepare and very tasty. They can even be made a day in advance and reheated just before serving. We serve them with many of our entrées in The Commissary’s Downstairs restaurant and especially love them with Bluefish Provencal or any of our scrambled egg dishes.

2½ pounds unpeeled all-purpose potatoes
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup corn oil
2½ cups finely chopped onions

Preheat the oven to 450. Cut the potatoes into ½-1/4” dice and toss them with the salt, pepper, and corn oil. Spread them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet or pan for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and combine the potatoes with the onions. Return to the oven and continue to roast for 25 minutes more or until browned and crisp. Stir occasionally.

VARIATIONS

Instead of cubing the potatoes, quarter or halve them and slice ~/8” thick.
Substitute olive oil for the corn oil, particularly if the potatoes are to accompany a Mediterranean-style dish.

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