COOKBOOK REVIEW - FOSTER'S MARKET FAVORITES AND A RECIPE

 

I recently bought Sara Foster's new cookbook- Foster's Market Favorites, The 25th Anniversary Collection.  Sara's husband, Peter Sellers wrote the introduction and it is a beautiful description of a life and career of hard work and determination written by a very proud husband.  It is clear that he has been encouraging and supportive throughout this very successful career.  I immediately wanted to cook every recipe in the book, but decided on Spinach and Cheese Enchiladas. It was an easy and delicious recipe.  I think the Enchilada Sauce makes the recipe and can be made in advance, making this a perfect weeknight dinner!

This cookbook would be a perfect Christmas gift - there is literally something for everyone!

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I almost forgot to take this picture, so it isn't the best, but I wanted you to see how easy it is to just put everything into the Vitamix or blender.  The Enchilada Sauce has a secret ingredient, sweet potato!  The sweet potato is baked and added to the blender with the other ingredients and gives the sauce a sweetness and wonderful consistency.  The sauce makes a generous amount with extra that can be used in other recipes in the book.

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The Enchilada Sauce goes back into the skillet with added herbs and spices.

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The filling for the Enchiladas is Spinach and Cheese.  The spinach is added to sauteed onions and garlic.

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The cheese filling is a mixture of grated cheddar and pepper Jack cheese.

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Add Enchilada Sauce to a 9 x 13 casserole, fill tortilla with spinach mixture and cheese.

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Add filled tortillas to casserole and top with more sauce, cheese and chopped onion.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes.

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Hot and bubbly Spinach and Cheese Enchiladas!

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Serve with avocado, chopped cilantro and sour cream.

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SPINACH AND CHEESE ENCHILADA

(Adapted from Foster's Market Favorites)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed and minced

1 (10-ounce) bag baby spinach

4 cups Enchilada Sauce (recipe follows)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 corn tortillas (I used whole wheat flour tortillas)

2 cups (8 ounces) grated pepper Jack cheese

1 cup (4 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 limes, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 x 2 - inch baking dish and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until sizzling hot.  Add half of the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute longer.  Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, just until the spinach wilts, about 2 minutes.  Remove the spinach mixture from the skillet and set aside.

Place the Enchilada Sauce in the same skillet and add the cumin oregano, marjoram and red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper to taste and stir to mix.  Reduce the heat to simmer and cook,, stirring often, until heated through, about 10 minutes  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place the tortillas on 2 rimmed baking sheets and brush each tortilla lightly with the vegetable oil.  Place in the oven to bake until just pliable and slightly crisp around the edges, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and dip, one by one, into the sauce to coat on both sides.  Place back on the baking sheet.  I prefer flour tortillas to corn, so I used whole wheat tortillas instead of the corn, allowing me to completely skip this step.  If you decide to use flour tortillas, simply fill with spinach and cheese mixture and go to the next step.

Spread about 2 cups of the sauce on the bottom of the prepared dish.

Mix the pepper Jack and Cheddar together in a bowl and sprinkle the tortillas, one at a time with about 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and a small portion of the spinach.  Roll each tortilla up and place in the prepared baking dish, seam side down.  Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas, spinach and cheese.  Spoon the remaining sauce down the middle of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining onion.  (I added a little extra cheese to the top).

Place in the oven to bake until heated through and the cheese melts, 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve warm topped with chopped cilantro, and wedges of a lime to squeeze over the top.

ENCHILADA SAUCE

Makes about 6 cups

1 sweet potato

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed and minced

1 cup dry white wine

1 (28 - ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Juice of 1 orange

Juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the sweet potato in the oven and bake until soft when pierced with a knife, about 40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cut in half lengthwise to cool slightly.  Remove the skin from the potato while still warm and set the potato aside.

While the potato is cooking, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until sizzling hot.  Add the onion and cook, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer  Add the wine and let reduce slightly, about 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper and reduce the heat to low.  Simmer about 20 minutes stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thick.

Add the sweet potato to the sauce and remove from the heat to cool slightly.  Puree with an immersion blender or in a Vitamix until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to use, for up to 5 days.

I'm looking forward to sharing my post on my trip to New York so check back tomorrow to see what was great about NYC!

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