Monday, March 1, 2010

Ancho Chili Enchiladas & French Meadow Bread Pressed Sandwiches

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 Every time I make my own enchilada sauce with dried chilis, I wonder why I ever buy the canned stuff.  Making your own is cheaper, it's really easy, and the results are always worth the extra effort.  This was made with dried ancho chili peppers, seeded and soaked in hot water, and blended with roasted garlic, Mexican oregano, and ground cumin seeds and cloves.  Apple cider vinegar and salt are mixed in at the end - as usual, my chili sauce is based on recipe from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen.

For these enchiladas, I covered the corn tortillas with ancho sauce, then fried them for a few seconds on each side in a lightly oiled pan.  Speed is of the essence - fry the tortillas before they get soggy from the sauce, and carefully remove them from the pan after just a moment of frying on either side.  It's a little messy, but I love how the chili sauce gets seared into the tortillas.  These are stuffed with roasted chayote, & sauteed spinach and mushrooms.  The cheesy looking bits are a provolone "uncheese" recipe from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, by Joanne Stepaniak.
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Here's a couple of sandwiches, made with spelt bread from French Meadow Bakery, thanks to some promotional coupons they sent me.  There aren't a lot of French Meadow products at stores here in the Fargo-Moorhead area, but I really like this spelt bread - I'll have to try their rye too, which I also found.  Since they're made without preservatives, they're in the freezer section.  This bread includes exactly three ingredients: organic spelt flour, water, and salt.  I've long since gotten tired of reading the long list of fine print ingredients on most supermarket breads, so I appreciate what they're doing here.

I used my Foreman grill for some pressed sandwiches, which makes this one of my fave kitchen gadgets.  Elvis inspires the sandwich at top, with peanut butter and sliced bananas, and a bit of agave nectar to make it gooey and sweet. 
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This is my spelt bread panini, stuffed with roasted red pepper, sliced avocado, more of that provolone "uncheese", and a simple pesto of Italian parsley, spinach, garlic, and walnuts.  Tasty stuff.  The French Meadow slices are on the small side, making for nice little snack size sandwiches.

13 comments:

オテモヤン said...
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Mihl said...

Wow, Mike! Those enchiladas look very, very mouthwatering.

Tami said...

I'm with Mihl! Those look so good.

Pressed sandwiches are one of my favorites. I haven't been able to find the French Meadow breads here. But I'd like to try them.

Bianca said...

That is the most beautiful enchilada I've ever seen. I'll have to try your searing the sauce into the tortilla trick.

The sandwiches look delicious too. French Meadow emailed me awhile back offering those coupons, but I never received them. :-( Maybe I should follow up.

Theresa said...

Ooh yum, I haven't done much experimenting with the block uncheeses from that cookbook but you have reminded me that I totally should.

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Such gorgeous enchiladas! I like the idea of the chili sauce getting seared into the tortillas, even if it's messy! Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen has some great reviews on Amazon too, I'm going to have to order it so it's waiting for me at home next time we go back.

Bread made with no more than five ingredients is always the best, and you can't beat a three ingredient bread! That's just awesome, and so are your sandwiches! :)

Lisa said...

I'll bet the enchilada sauce is so good homemade. That's on my to do list for some day!

Trinity (of haiku tofu) said...

Those enchiladas look awesome!!! I was just thinking of how much I enjoyed your blog today, then I got on my reader and there's a new post! Yay! Can't wait to make these.

Shenandoah bed and breakfast said...

Its sound really delicious!!! I was actually quite surprised. This is my new favorite enchilada recipe. I use the bulk chilli powder at the grocery store...

Best Regards,

kmouse said...

Gorgeous! I also got French Meadow bread coupons. I'll have to check them out!

Laura said...

I just found this blog today and i've sifted through so many delicious recipes. Thank you so much

Wendy said...

i'm sooo gonna use my foreman for this!

Laurel said...

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