Recipe(tried): Seafood Enchilada Dinner... Seafood Enchiladas, Honey-Rum Baked Black Beans, Caramelized Banana Tart

Hi Everyone,

Early yesterday my 2-inch wood blinds finally arrived and they really do make the family room stand out. After I had painted one wall Pronghorn (a rich taupe) and the contrasting walls including the fireplace area Foam Sand (a lighter beige), I decided that wood blinds in a contrasting color would be the ticket. These blinds are Chinchilla color, a really rich, smooth taupe color made by a company called Vista, and they are the Southeast Model. I first saw them at Home Depot and just fell in love with the color!

After much searching around and numerous phone calls, I settled on a local blind and verticals company that for a few dollars more would install them. What a great choice! It just makes the room look clean and straight out of a page of Home & Garden! Of course having huge ceramic pots filled with plants help any room look its best. In this case, I have one large fern and a China Doll mini tree. The best decision we ever made was installing those huge stone tiles....I just love that room now!

Little Boy is doing fine so far, I have begun giving him Vitamin C, Cod Liver Oil and Vitamin E in accordance to a holistic book written by a Vet. So we will continue to watch him...

In the meantime, I thought a change from chicken was due so I went for seafood tonight. Bobby Flay's recipe for these black beans is awesome and compliments the seafood enchiladas rather nicely. For dessert, a cool Banana Tart will please the palate out by the garden as we await sunset.

Last week I took all the wrought iron furniture off the deck and moved it to an area by the pool that is under the trees and it has been my haven for the past few days...a great place to read magazines or treat yourself to a manicure! I love to see the squirrels scurry about the trees and the cicadas at dusk are just heavenly!

I don't know what I will put on the desk as of now, but if y'all have any ideas, please, let me know. It's just that the afternoon sun beats on it rather mercilessly and...I like shade!

Oh, before I forget, my deepest thanks to all of you for thinking of my kitty and posting your dear thoughts and wishes, I really do appreciate it! There are so many wonderful cyber friends here!!! You all bring a smile to my face!!!!

Happy Cooking! Gina

Seafood Enchiladas
8 servings

2 med. white onions, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 7 oz. can diced green chiles
1 1/2 T. butter
1 lb. crabmeat
1 lb. tiny shrimp
1 c. walnut halves, toasted
1 12 oz. can med. pitted ripe olives, drained and halvead
1 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded
veg. oil
16 corn tortillas
2 cups half and half
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 1/2 t. dried oreagno
1 t. garlic salt

Garnish: shredded cheddar cheese
sliced pimientos
avocado slices
sliced black olives

In a large skillet, saute onions, garlic and chiles in butter til onions are transluscent. Remove from heat and add crab, shrimps, walnuts and olives. Combine cheeses. Set aside 1 1/2 cups of cheese for top of casserole. Stir remaining cheese into seafood mixture.

In skillet just large enough to hold tortillas, heat 1/4 inch oil. Fry tortillas, one at a time, just long enough to soften, about 30 sec. and drain
on paper towels. Fill each tortilla with seafood filling, roll up and place seam side down in large, greased 9x13 baking dish. Can be prepared in advance and refrigerated or frozen. Defrost before proceeding.

In med. saucepan, combine half and half, sour cream, butter, oregano and garlic salt. Stirring frequently over med. heat until lukewarm and well blended. Pour over the enchiladas, sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 mts.

Simply sensational! Cooked and shredded shicken may be substituted for the seafood.

Honey-Rum Baked Black Beans

Bobby Flay's From My Kitchen to Your Table
Clarkson Potter Makes 8 servings

Bobby Flay is quoted as saying, "Here is one of my favorite combinations -- the sweetness of honey and the kick of rum go incredibly well with black beans. This is a great starch dish and smooth, full-flavored backdrop for a crisp roasted whole fish".

1 pound dried black beans, picked over (or substitute 5 1/2 cups drained canned black beans)
12 pound chorizo sausage, coarsely diced
1 small Spanish onion, diced fine
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced fine
1 cup dark rum
1/4 cup honey
Salt and pepper
3 cups Chicken Stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

If using dried beans, place in a large pot with cold water to cover and let stand for 8 hours or overnight. Drain the beans and again add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain and reserve.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, saute the chorizo until it is brown and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove the chorizo from the pan and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat. Add the onion, garlic, and carrot and sweat until the onion is translucent and tender, about 4 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the chorizo mixture with the beans, rum, and honey and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a casserole or baking dish, add the stock, and cover.

Bake the beans 20 minutes. Check to see if the mixture is dry and add water or stock if needed. Continue baking, covered, another 25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and fold in the cilantro. Serve immediately.

Caramelized Banana Tart

1 9-inch baked pastry shell
1/4 c. cornstarch
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 c. milk
1 c. half and half
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 T. butter
2 t. vanilla extract
2 large bananas

In a saucepan, mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add in the milks and stirring, cook over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon as it thickens into a custard and comes to a boil. Cook for 1 minute boiling, take off heat. Stir a small amount of the hot custard into the beaten eggs in a small bowl and mix well. Then add this mixture back into the custard. Continue stirring and cook on heat for one more minute. Add the butter and vanilla, stir and take off heat completely to cool.

In the pastry shell, slice the bananas to cover the bottom, pour the custard over and chill for 3 hours.

Right before serving, sprinkle sugar over top of custard and use one of those gadgets that burns the sugar to make a hard crust. If you don't have that gadget, put the tart under the broiler for a few minutes till the sugar has turned brown and forms a crust. Watch closely so it does not burn. Let cool so that sugar hardens.If you want to make it from scratch:

Sweet Dough Tart Shell
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour Caramelized Bananas
2 tablespoons water
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 bananas, sliced 1/4-inch thick To make the tart shell: Combine the butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip together. Add the egg and beat again until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour all at once, mixing by hand just until the mixture holds together. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 2 hours before rolling out for the tart shell.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness, using a small amount of flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface and rolling pin. Using plastic bags filled with rice, press one bag into the tart ring to weigh down the dough. Remove rice bags and place the tart shell on a baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until the shell is light golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. To make the bananas: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stir the water and brown sugar to blend. Add the banana slices and cook until slightly softened, 30 to 45 seconds.

To assemble the tart: Make a single layer of banana slices in the bottom of tart shell. Pour the filling over the banana slices to fill the shell. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. The follow the above instructions or the caramelized sugar over the custard.

To make the cr me anglaise: In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and add the sugar. In a large skillet, mix the milk with the cream and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the egg yolk mixture and cook until the mixture coats the back of the spoon, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and pour this mixture into a bowl that is placed in a larger bowl filled with ice water to quickly chill the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the caramelized bananas slices.