Whew! It was a busy cooking weekend around here! I think I spent about 75% of my time in the kitchen.



Saturday was the Enchilada Smack Down hosted by my friend, Kristel featuring vegetarian enchilada recipes by me and another friend, Paul.

I served up some Butternut Squash Enchiladas with a Manchamanteles Mole sauce (recipe at the end). The party-goers loved the enchiladas, all the enchiladas!



Today I decided to continue the cooking festival by making WHO bread from SouleMama.



This bread was amazingly easy to make and will be added to our food rotation! It's so good!



I also made Rarebit Risotto from the Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook, "Simple Suppers" which reminds me of Rarebit Sandwiches.




Butternut Squash Enchiladas with Manchamanteles Mole

Enchilada Filling
½ lb butternut squash, roasted
1 onion, caramelized
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups spinach
4 oz cream cheese
4 oz goat cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

1. Roast butternut squash with olive oil, onion, cinnamon and cumin.
2. Sauté spinach
3. Combine Spinach with butternut squash mixture and mix with cream cheese, goat cheese and Monterey Jack Cheese.

Mole Sauce
3 dried ancho chiles
1 summer chili
1 jalapeno
1 medium onion
3 med. Garlic Cloves, unpeeled
3 medium tomatoes
5 almonds, blanched
4 black peppercorns
4 cloves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon fresh chocolate mint
1 medium cinnamon stick

1. Clean the chilies with a damp cloth, cut them open, remove the stems and seeds, and spread them flat in a large dry frying pan. Roast them until they shrivel and slightly turn color, then soak them in water for up to 20 minutes.
2. In a smaller pan, dry-roast the onion, unpeeled garlic and tomatoes until charred. Remove the garlic cloves and peel them.
3. In another pan, add 1 tablespoon oil and fry the almonds, peppercorns, cloves, oregano, thyme and chocolate mint. Toast the cinnamon stick to slightly release flavor. Discard cinnamon stick.
4. Transfer the chilies with enough water to a blender, process and pass through a sieve. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan, add the chili mixture, and let it fry. Blend the rest of the roasted and fried ingredients. Pass through a sieve and add to the chili paste.
5. Simmer the mole, adding stock or water to achieve correct consistency.

Assembling the Enchiladas
1. Fry the tortillas in vegetable oil until limp.
2. Fill each tortilla with butternut squash mixture. Top with mole and cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Remove foil and top with Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Labels: Cooking