Taco Party: East, LA

One year for my birthday, I threw myself an impromptu bash at our house. I text bombed my list of friends, announced it on Facebook, loaded up on supplies, and groved-it-with-the-movement until people showed up. I just wanted to dance, and so, I did. I kept groovin 'till the wee hours, and wouldn't you know it, everyone at some point, jumped in. It aptly became known then, and has been relived since, as our annual Dance Party USA.

My husband's birthday, however, calls for a different mood. He's not a a dancer. And while we may not all leave our blood on the dance floor, we have no problem finding common ground around a hot stove. So, this year, I threw us a Taco Party, and it was yesterday.

I'm not great at preparing for events ahead of time, nor at managing my time very wisely, so, at about 4:30 the afternoon-of, I found myself at the supermarket, calculating recipie portions, and haistily preparing a menu. I settled on a ground beef taco bar and 2 casseroles: a rotisserie chicken green enchilada, and my mom's chile relleno. As a birthday cake, this chocolate tort along with Charlie's standard dessert favorite: chocolate souffle's that I make from this recipe. We were expecting about 11 people, and that seemed like just a little bit too much food, which is my point of hostess nirvana.

I got home with a solid 2 hours, and threw together my mains in no time flat. Once dinner was done, served, eaten, and the dishes were clear, we spent the a little less than an hour throwing the rest of the desserts together.

I love cooking, and baking, so this was a night I can dig on. Below are the reconstructed recipies for my thrown together mains, and the links to my easy as pie desserts.

Taco Bar

This was easy, just buy enough of the stuff people throw into shells, and buy some shells--hard, plus some soft corn and flour tortillas. Make your taco meat and warm your tortillas. Done.

The casseroles were juuuust a little bit harder, because I made up the green chicken enchilada idea, and my mom won't give me her chile relleno secrets. So, I eyeballed it and came up with this:

Green Chile Enchillada Casserole

1 whole supermarket roasted chicken
1 large brown onion
1 large can of green enchillada sauce (mexican food aisle)
2 cups of grated sharp yellow cheddar
2 cups of grated sharp white cheddar
16-20 yellow corn tortillas
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350

Dice the onion, and brown it in a large pan coated with oil and butter (1:1 ratio)

-If using white meat only, remove breasts from chicken, and hand shread the meat into a bowl.
(Set dark meat aside, keep bones and skin for stock.)
-Season the meat further, if you wish
-Add the grilled onions, any other flavorings you might enjoy
(diced green chiles, black olives, jalapenos, etc)
-Add one cup each of the cheese
-Mix ingredients together in bowl until the ingredients are evenly distributed

-Either butter, or coat w/ a non-cook spray, the bottom of a 11X9 pan
-Layer enough corn tortillas on the bottom to cover the pan
-Spread chicken mixture out evenly on the tortillas.
-Cover with 2/3 can of enchilada sauce
-Layer with another set of tortillas
-Cover with remaining enchilada sauce
-Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

-Place in oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until cheese begins to brown at edges.
-Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Easy, peesy.

Chille Relleno Casserole
2 large cans of whole Ortega Chiles
6 whole eggs
2 cups of grated yellow cheddar cheese
2 cups of grated white cheddar cheese

-Butter or coat with a nonostick spray the bottom of an 11X9 inch pan
-Drain the cans of Ortega Chile
-Layer the bottom of the pan with enough chiles to cover the bottom of the pan, then add another layer.

-In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, then, with a fork, whisk in the cheese, and evenly coat the cheese with the eggs.
-There should be just a little bit more egg than cheese in the mixture.

-Pour half of the egg mixture over the layer of chiles
-Add a double layer of chiles over the egg mixture
-pour the rest of the egg mixture over the chiles

-bake for 30 min, or until the casserole is firm in the middle.

No prob, slob.

We had a great time, and I confirmed the secret to a quick party: lots of cheese and chocolate.