Deformed children of a twisted mind

For every delicious quick enchilada there is a secret mutant evil twin carbohydrate-like substance locked in a closet somewhere, and in this case that would be Monday night's well-meaning but bizarre and unnatural pasta feast. I had a delicious tagliatelle dish the previous Friday at Citizen Cake. It was a lovely shade of deep but pleasant yellow, with a perfectly clingy, faintly cheesy, delicate savory sauce wending its way among luscious organic veggie bits and toothsome noodles.

On Monday, when I thought about making pasta, the only adjective that seemed important happened to be "yellow," and my primitive reptile brain leapt to the conclusion that if only I could make my pasta sauce the same shade of yellow as that wonderful stuff from last time, it would be just as good! But I wanted some tomato in there, and there were some mushrooms in the fridge. Following this train of thought to its logical conclusion, I created the most inedible dish of the year, whole-wheat pasta with turmeric-tomato-shiitake-olive sauce. I admit, it's difficult to add enough turmeric to overpower those other strong savory flavors, but in my single-minded pursuit of yellowness, I somehow succeeded. For future reference, it takes about a heaping tablespoon.

The result was bitter and disgusting, but I didn't give up. Proving that an alien with no taste buds had taken over my brain, I then remembered that a little sugar can sometimes correct and enhance the flavor of a sauce, so I added three or four tablespoons. Yep, although I don't quite remember through the haze of insanity, it's true that I may have added an entire quarter-cup of brown sugar to a small pot of tomato sauce. This officially converted the mess to turmeric-shiitake-olive ketchup.

I gave up and went out for crepes.

Quick Tomatillo Enchiladas

All measurements are approximate:

8-9 corn tortillas
3/4 lb chicken breasts
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup tomato puree (NOT paste) (optional)

Sauce:
1 lb tomatillos
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup fresh basil or cilantro
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper, or 1 fresh jalapeno

Poach chicken in barely simmering water for about 5 minutes, then turn off heat and cover pot. Leave for 15 minutes, then remove chicken, drain and shred with a fork. If it's pink in the middle, throw it back in the water and return to a simmer for a couple more minutes.

Mix shredded chicken, shredded cheese, and (optional) tomato puree in a bowl. Divide mixture between tortillas. Place a cylinder of filling on each tortilla, roll up tortillas, and arrange tightly in an 8x8 baking pan.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Blend all sauce ingredients except tomatillos in food processor until pureed. Add tomatillos and blend until tomatillos are mostly pureed but a few small chunks remain.

Pour tomatillo sauce over and around rolled enchiladas and bake for about 20 minutes, or until sauce no longer looks terribly wet, or browns slightly. Actually I have no idea how long, the original recipe called for 1 cup cream instead of the yogurt and probably turns out a lot saucier. This version got sort of cakey on top, which was fine with me.

Garnish with lettuce and olives and sliced radishes and what have you.

Fresh out of the oven, this was way too lemony, but the leftovers were perfectly mellow. Next time I might cut back on the lemon juice and the tomato puree; I forgot how citrusy those tomatillos are. The tortillas get totally squishy. I don't know if toasting them or pre-frying them would help. Flour tortillas would not be as nice in this dish.

This is a quick recipe: in under an hour everything was ready down to the garnishes and I'd washed my hair.

Meyer Lemon Tart

2 large Meyer lemons
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup ice water

Make crust: Preheat oven to 400 F. Whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle ice water over and mix in with spatula until mixture holds together when pressed. Roll out on flat surface into a circle about 12 inches across. Press into 9-inch pie plate and crimp edges. Prick all over with a fork and bake at 400 F for about 15 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove and allow to cool.

Make filling: Zest both lemons. Juice both lemons into a separate bowl. Whisk together eggs and sugar and lemon zest. Add lemon juice and butter and heat over a double boiler, whisking constantly, until butter melts. Stir with a spatula, brushing down sides, until custard thickens. Continue stirring for a few seconds and then pour custard through a sieve into a bowl.

Test custard for sweetness and add powdered sugar if necessary. Pour into prepared crust and chill for four hours.

The original recipe called for only a tablespoon of zest, or the zest of only one lemon, or something like that. I wanted to use as much Meyery goodness as possible, so I zested both. I think this made the custard a tad too sour/bitter/zesty, so I had to add some powdered sugar after the custard was done.