Summer has ruined the good times.

Humanitarian and globe trotter, Erin, is jet-setting all over the world this summer and therefor won't be available for lunch for a while.

Mexican Rice

This rice goes perfectly with the Enchiladas Queretanas.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
3 cups chicken broth

Heat oil, rice, garlic, and cumin in a large pot until rice begins to turn brown. Add onion and jalapeño and cook until tender. Stir in the tomato sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Enchiladas Queretanas

These are delightfully different from the typical enchilada one might find at a Mexican restaurant. "Enchiladas" literally means cooked in chiles/chile sauce. "Queretenas" means "from Querétato," the Mexican state in which I studied abroad a few summers ago. What makes these enchiladas unique is that they are served with cooked potatoes and carrots, and that the tortillas are fried in a green sauce, instead of slathered in a red sauce. Here's what you need:

2 chicken breasts
2 potatoes
2 carrots
3 green chiles
2 cups of milk
2 cloves of garlic (Fun fact: these are called "teeth of garlic" in spanish!)
1 large egg or 2 small eggs
Pinch of salt
Vegetable oil
Corn tortillas
Queso fresco/Fresh cheese (available in most Mexican grocery stores in the dairy section)
Sour cream
Salsa and/or guacamole, to taste
Fresh cilantro garnish (optional)

Chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Begin by cooking the chicken in a baking dish. Add a few tablespoons of water and cover tightly in foil to keep it moist. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove the foil, flip the chicken and bake another 10-15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Use two forks to shred the chicken, set aside.

Potatoes and Carrots: While the chicken is cooking, cook the potatoes and carrots in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Cut into cubes, set aside.

Chile sauce: While the chicken and vegetables are cooking, cut the green chiles into strips, removing the seeds. Cook the chile strips and the milk in a saucepan over low heat until the chiles are tender. Remove the chiles from the milk and liquify in a blender with the garlic, egg(s), and salt.

Cheese: Queso fresco usually comes in a solid block or wedge. This cheese is served by crumbling it with hands or a fork, so that it has the appearance of a feta or blue cheese.

Heat a frying pan with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. Cook enchiladas to order by covering the tortillas in the chile sauce and frying them, then topping with the chicken, potatoes, carrots, cheese and sour cream. This is the typical Queréteran Enchilada. Add salsa and/or guacamole to taste and garnish with cilantro.

Marinaded Chicken Wraps

DISCLAIMER: This recipe may be considered by some to be "healthy". If your system is used to butter, cream, and red meat you may experience signs of fatigue and irritability.

This is a great recipe to make in bulk. The wraps freeze very well, and one can be thrown into your lunchbox before you leave for work and by the time lunch rolls around its just perfect.

THE RECIPE
1 shot of Rum (Consume)
3 Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 Shots of Tequila
1 Corona Extra Long-neck Bottle
Rosemary
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Spinach Leaves
Sour Cream
Garlic Powder
Greek Seasoning
Famous Dave's Burger and Steak Seasoning
2 Fresh Tomatoes
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sun-dried Tomato Basil Wrap Tortillas


The night before take your chicken breasts and place them in a large ziplock bag to thaw. Add two shots of tequila, the entire beer, and dashes of Rosemary, Thyme, Salt, and Pepper. Seal the bag and shake it around. This is my TOP SECRET Tequila marinade. Tell No One!

The Next Day:
As always lets begin by washing our hands and taking a shot of rum... Don't want to get your bottle or shot glass dirty.

Heat a large frying pan and add the chicken and all of the marinade. Cook on medium-high heat, turning the chicken occasionally until cooked all the way through. If your chicken was still partially frozen when you started you may have to remove the chicken from the pan and cut it into smaller pieces to continue cooking.   Some of you may be skeptical about using beer as a cooking medium, but let me assure you there's nothing better for pan cooking chicken, pork-chops, or steak. Try it. If you're squeamish about wasting a perfectly good beer, try the "one for me, one for you strategy", which involves taking a drink for every pour you add to the pan. It wastes the same amount of beer, but you get to drink some as well.

While the chicken cooks, dice up your tomatoes and set aside in a bowl for later. In a separate bowl add a healthy dollop of sour cream. Mix in generous portions of the Greek Seasoning, Famous Dave's Seasoning, and Garlic Powder until a uniform texture is achieved.

Once the chicken is done, drain any excess marinade and place on dry paper towels to absorb any residual grease. If you haven't cut it up, cut it up.

Now its time to begin assembling our wrap. Begin with a wrap tortilla. These are specially made to wrap easier without tearing, however a regular tortilla will work just fine as long as you pre-warm if first. Add a generous amount of the sour cream mixture, followed by half of the chicken pieces. Next a layer of diced tomato and spinach leaves. Finally dust with a fine coating of shredded cheddar cheese and wrap up. Cut diagonally along the center and serve.

Enjoy it, your arteries will thank you by letting blood get to your brain, possibly preventing heart disease or stroke. Lunchtime: The most important meal of the day.

Strawberry Creamcheese Stuffed French Toast

I know this isn't a lunch recipe, but I thought it was clever enough to merit posting. Fair warning, this is quite possibly the tastiest/ most romantic breakfast a single person can create. Any sexual relations that result from the consumption of this french toast are solely your responsibility. I am washing my hands legally from any complications of that sort. You've been warned.

The Recipe:

THE TOAST
1 Shot of Baileys Irish Cream (consume)
8 Slices of Bread
1 lb of Fresh Strawberries
1 Cup of Whipped Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Brown Sugar
Powedered Sugar
1 Egg
Regular Sugar

THE BATTER

Milk
Eggs
Kahlua
Caramel Coffee Syrup
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Alright, put some coffee on, pour yourself a cup, add your shot of Baileys. Enjoy. (Even I have standards on when it's too early to drink rum.)

This requires a fairly large amount of preparation. Take your strawberries, cut off the stems and slice them into smaller pieces. Put all the pieces into a food processor until you have a fine strawberry puree`. In a large mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, the strawberry puree`, two table spoons of brown sugar, and a light dusting of powdered sugar to taste. Mix everything together until any lumps are gone. You want it more sweet than bland, but not so sugary that it over-powers the taste of your strawberries.

Next, carefully cut the crusts off to two slices of bread. Be sure to leave as much bread as possible to work with. In a small bowl crack one egg and add a fair amount of sugar. Mix this together with a fork or a whisk to form some all purpose egg glue. Set aside. Using a drinking glass, a mallet, or your fist, gently make an indentation in one slice of bread and fill it with a generous amount of the strawberry filling. Using a basting brush, add some egg glue to the edges of the bread and place the second piece on top. Then, carefully to not tear the bread, squeeze the edges of the two pieces together to form a sort of bread and filling ravioli. This recipe makes four, two for each person.

Once the toast pockets are prepared its time to make the french toast batter. In a largish bowl, pour about 3/4 inch of milk, crack in one egg, two shakes of cinnamon, a shot of Kahluah, a pinch of nutmeg, and about a half shot of Caramel coffee syrup. (I normally use Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup, but I was out. As a general rule I would recommend keeping a full complement of flavoring syrups on hand. They have 101 uses, especially in cocktails and breakfast related items.) Whip that mixture together until its frothy.

Heat a pan and grease with butter.  Take your bread pockets, dip in the batter being sure to fully cover both sides, and place on the pan to cook. Its OK to dust the surface of your batter with more cinnamon after each dipping, as the first piece of toast will normally absorb all the floating cinnamon. Cook on medium heat. You want the outside to be firm and golden brown, not burnt.

When they're done stack two on a plate so that the corners don't line up (see photo). Dust with powdered Sugar, and garnish with a cut Strawberry.  You can eat this plain, without any syrup, as the filling heated when it cooked and tends to drip out like magnificent strawberry ambrosia.

I mentioned this recipe to my hairdresser at Tangerine the other day and she joked that she wanted me to come to her house once a week and make this recipe for her.  I am just broke enough right now that I will do just that if someone asked me for real.

Anyway, Enjoy your breakfast.

Creamy Caramel Apple Dip

This apple dip is magical. I tried it for the first time at a little booth where they were giving out samples to try to get you to buy a cookbook. A free bit of apple, you say? That couldn't possibly do any harm-- oh. Yum. That is delicio-- you say the recipe is in this cookbook? I'll take one.

Little did I know that I could have just flipped through the cookbook, found this recipe, and memorize its - count 'em - four ingredients. Simple yet magical.

This is not the sort of apple dip you make every once in a while when you're having company over and you want to have a cute snack. Rather, this is the sort of apple dip you keep on hand at all times. It's like milk or salt. We're out of apple dip? Make some more. Or listen to me complain every time I want an apple and I have nothing delicious to dip it in.

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1+ cups brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt the butter in a sauce pan (or, if you're clever, you can make this a one-container recipe and make it in the microwave, right in the tupperware you plan to store it in). Add one cup of brown sugar - I prefer dark brown sugar, but light works too. Then, add more brown sugar until most of the excess butter is absorbed. Allow this mixture to cool. Add vanilla. Gradually stir in the sour cream with a fork so that it mixes thoroughly with no little sour cream chunks. Enjoy warm or cold. Delicious.

Home-Made Mac and Cheese

Here's a recipe that Is time tested. I've made it over and over again, each time it changes a little for the better.

For years I refused to eat anything but Mac and Cheese, from about age 5 to age 8. May children in my generation went through this phase, which is why it is not surprising that nearly every restaurant offers it as part of their children's menu.  But Macaroni (or in our case Celletani) and Cheese is not just for kids. Here's a thrilling recipe you can make at home that is sure to thrill adults and children alike.

Some kids may not like the garlic and onion taste and may insist that you make them something out of a box with a yellow dinosaur on it. Explain to them that they are dumb children who don't know anything about anything. That is sure to work.

Anyways...

THE RECIPE:
1 Shot of Rum (Consume)
1 Box of Celletani
1 Brick of Monterey Jack Cheese
1/2 Brick Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Stick Butter
1/2 Cup Cream
2/3 Cup Milk
4 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 an Onion
Salt
Pepper

STOP! Rum time! Good.

In a large saucepan boil some water, add salt, a splash of olive oil, dash of basil and oregano. Throw in your pasta, it should take about 12 minutes.

While that's going down, get out your cutting board and your best chopping knife and go to town on the garlic and onions. Remember the easiest way to peel garlic is to take the clove and place it under a broad flat knife and strike it with the heel of your hand. This cracks the "shell" and the delicious garlic comes right out. Dice to tiny bits and then saute the garlic and onion in butter until they start to brown.

Cut the cheese blocks into tinier cubes of cheese, feel free to eat some if you haven't had something to eat in a while. Set aside.


When the pasta is done, strain and return to medium/low heat. Add the stick of butter, milk, cream, garlic and onion mixture, and stir until consistent. Then slowly add in the cheese cubes stirring constantly, add more milk to achieve a more uniform consistency. (Optional: If you want to throw in some bread crumbs now I'm not gonna stop you.)

Now add a bit of salt and pepper, Stir and serve. This is an extremely rich Mac and Cheese, so a little goes a long way. You will have leftovers.

Now that I think about it, this recipe is Vegetarian friendly... how about that... It's even comparable to the Mac and Cheese that one could get from our Local Hippy-Run Vegetarian Cafe: Grateful Bread. Enjoy.

Lasagna Rolls

This recipe was inspired by my neighbors Alyssa and Shane

THE RECIPE
1 Shot of Rum (consume)
10 or so Whole Lasagna Noodles
1 Container Ricotta Cheese
Some Parmesan Cheese
A lot of Mozzarella Cheese
1 Can Tomato Sauce
1/2 lb Hamburger/ Italian Sausage

First things first, Rum. Drink it down. Good.

In a large Saucepan get some water boiling. When I make pasta I like to add a healthy dose of Salt, a splash of olive oil, and a couple of shakes of basil and oregano. This keeps the pasta from sticking together. Since I've started cooking pasta this way I often eat it plain without sauce... But I digress. Start your noodles cooking careful not to break them. If your pan is not large enough to submerge the entire straight noodle at once simply submerge the end and as it softens, gently ease the rest into the water. Cook for ten minutes.

In another sauce pan lets get the sauce going. Put in your can of tomato sauce and add Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, minced onion, basil, oregano, and a little bit of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato. Stir occasionally on medium heat.

In a small frying pan brown the hamburger or sausage, season however you want. Then add to sauce. Set aside.

Take the ricotta cheese and place it in a gallon sized zip-lock bag with garlic, onion, Parmesan, Mozzarella, and whatever else you want. Squish everything together. Don't be afraid to enjoy it. Then get the cheese filling mixture pressed into a corner and snip the corner of the bag with some kitchen scissors. Anyone who has decorated cookies or cupcakes immediately knows what I'm up to here.

After ten minutes remove your noodles from heat and take them out one by one, careful not to tear it, and lay it flat, i used a cutting board. Down the center of the noodle add a line of your cheese mixture by squeezing the bag. Then drizzle a light coating of sauce. Roll the noodle from one end and tack it in place with a toothpick. Place in a glass cook pan. Oh crap I forgot to mention, you need a glass baking-pan, and also should have pre-heated the oven to 350. Whoops. Repeat rolling until you are either out of noodles or out of space in the pan. Cover your rolls with the extra sauce an then smother in shredded mozzarella. Place in oven until cheese is good and melted.

If you're like me you had way to many noodles and ran out of space in the pan, This is good because you can roll up the extra noodles, dip them first in the ricotta cheese mixture, then in the left over sauce, and eat them while you wait for it to cook. If you're doing it right, by the time the cheese has melted you will be so full that these rolls will need to be put in the fridge for later.

If you do have room in your stomach, carefully remove one roll from the dish and serve (be sure to remove toothpick).

Oreo Cookie Mudslides

Its time for dessert.

The Recipe:

Vanilla Ice Cream
Oreo Doublestuf Cookies
Kahlua
Vodka
Chocolate Syrup
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
Caramel Coffee Syrup
Alcohol Infused Whipped Cream

In a blender add several generous scoops of vanilla ice cream, Two Shots of Kahlua, a Shot of Vodka, cream, chocolate syrup, and caramel coffee syrup (I prefer Torani).

Blend on High until mostly smooth. Add in a Handful of Oreo Cookies. Blend Again.

Pour into Sunday/ Float/ Malt/ Shake glasses. Top with Alcohol Infused Whipped Cream.
Garnish with a whole Oreo. Enjoy.

Miniature Deepdish Pizzas

The Recipe

1 Shot of Rum (Consume)
Your favorite pizza toppings, I used seasoned hamburger.
Pizza Sauce (Homemade or Store bought, I don't care)
Pizza Dough Sheet
Mozzarella Cheese

First things first, Rum time (Kraken if you have it).

There, isn't that nice. Now, Grease an over-sized muffin tin and preheat oven to 400. Roll out your pizza dough and cut it into six equal sections. After doing this poorly the first time I recommend leaving them squares with the edges that stick out over the rim of the tins.  As you may notice in the accompanying picture, two of these are made correctly, the other four were a huge pain.

Anyways Place the dough in the tins, leaving the edges to hold it in place, the dough does not want to stay in place on the greased surface and kept slipping down.

Place your dough cups in the oven for five minutes to firm up the dough. Remove from oven and add a generous amount of mozzarella cheese, then toppings, then sauce. Finally dust the tops with fresh Parmesan and Romano and bake for 20 minutes or so until the crust starts to brown or there is obvious bubbling.

Leaving the Tabs also makes it alot easier to get them from the tray to the plate without breaking.

Serve with a pasta side. In this case I chose angel hair in a light garlic butter and herb sauce.

Enjoy your Lunch!

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

The Recipe:

A clever twist on the quintessential american meal


This recipe was inspired by something I found stumbling through the internet and goes a little something like this.

THE SOUP:
One Shot of Rum (Consume)
Two Fresh Tomatoes
A can of Diced Tomatoes
A cup or so of Chicken Stock
2 tbs Butter
1/4 cup Whole Cream
A Cup of Fresh Basil (Diced)
Five Cloves of Garlic (Diced)
A whole Onion (Diced)
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Red Pepper Flakes (stolen from a pizza restaurant)
Olive Oil

THE SANDWICH:
Bread
Cheese

First things first, down that shot of Rum. I recommend the Kraken, but any rum will do. Excellent work.

Next, add the butter, garlic, pepper flakes, and onion to a large saucepan. Cook the onions until they start to brown. Add a dash of Thyme. While that is cooking, dice up your fresh tomatoes, put them in a bowl, cover with olive oil, and toss in salt and pepper. Spread these seasoned tomatoes on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven for a half an hour or so.

Meanwhile up top, add the can of diced tomatoes, the chicken stock, the basil, and the cream. Stir occasionally on medium heat.

You've reached the point where you can start preparing your actual sandwiches. I recommend two sandwiches for each person. Butter one side of each slice of bread, put a thick deli slice of Colby Jack in the middle and cook on a buttered skillet. The sandwiches need to be slightly crisp on the outside to maintain their shape. When they have reached the preferred level of golden brown, remove from skillet and cut off the crusts (save). Then cut the crust-less sandwich into four equal squares. (Save) We'll be doing something interesting with the pieces shortly.

By now your tomatoes in the oven should be properly roasted. Taken them out and carefully shovel the pieces (including any lingering juices) into a food processor and blend together into a roasted tomato puree. Add to soup, cook for five minutes on medium heat.

In your favorite bowl, ladle out a generous helping of soup, set the bowl on a plate and around its circumference arrange the sandwich squares and crust sticks. Serve.


I forgot to photograph this one, but rest assured that it looked delicious. If I make it again I'll be sure to get a picture and put it up here.