The best recipe for leftover turkey! Chuck’s Turkey & Green Chile Enchiladas.

I spent my evening making my (in)famous Turkey & Green Chile Enchiladas.

My college housemate for my Senior year was a cool guy named Mike “Zippy” Pettit. Zip hailed from Roswell, New Mexico (yes, THAT Roswell) and the finest gift he ever gave me was a deep appreciation of the unique cuisine of the Southwest. Green Chile Enchiladas were his thing. His father taught him to make them from scratch, and I picked up the skills to make them as I assisted the process in our modest off-campus house in 1984/85.

Not long after graduation I came up with the weird idea of mixing leftover turkey into the mix, and since 1985 I’ve made batches of Turkey & Green Chile Enchiladas after every holiday. I have a strong suspicion that Sue married me solely for annual access to this delicacy. Sue is, to put it mildly, a horrible cook… She is a fine Attorney but pretty much useless in the kitchen. She can however roast a good bird (something that I’ve never bothered to learn, as she’s always done it.) This year we drove to Central Oregon to visit her family. Such is her love for T&GC-E that she bought a thawed turkey this past Sunday (Scottish Thanksgiving, 50% Off!) after we came back from Oregon, and cooked it Sunday night – JUST so I would make my Enchiladas. I spent yesterday at work, and then taking Christopher down to Olympia to resume classes (he has no class on Monday’s though.) So the T&GC-E-making task waited until tonight.

Here is how to make them. BUT: Please be aware that I am a freestyle cook. I don’t measure anything, ever. If you have to have precise measures to create dinners I’ll be of no help. Instead I cook by process, and intuition. Like a musician who plays by ear rather than reading sheet music I throw things together by feel; even when I’m making something new. I read recipes as procedural suggestion rather than canon, noting the ingredients, and their order of mingling – but rarely if ever their measure. So take this as a “guide” more than a “recipe.”

Buy some mild green chiles. Anchos, Long Greens, Anaheim, Chilacas, Big Jims, Poblanas, New Mexico Greens, etc. If you can’t find them, or don’t want to go through the labor of prepping them you can substitute canned chiles, but trust me, fresh is best as the majority of the flavor comes from the chiles. Tonight I started with half a dozen Poblano, or maybe they were Chilacas (Sue bought them, not me!) I prefer Big Jims or NMs, but any Green Chile will do.

Preparing the Chiles: Place them on a broiling pan and put them in the oven on the top rack, under the broiler. Keep an eye on them. Their skins will blister, and expand off the flesh of the chile. Keep rotating them to put the unfinished parts toward the broiler. If the skin blackens, or cracks, it is OK, just don’t let them get overdone. The goal is to make the skin easy to peel off, not cook the chile itself. I light a candle when I first put them under the broiler to finish the job. Once you’ve rotated all the chiles and they are as uniformly blistered as they can be in the broiler, pull them out, and using some BBQ tongs and the candle hold the few remaining pockets of un-blistered skin over the flame long enough to pop them off. Place the chiles on a plate and toss them in the freezer for about 5 minutes. This rapid cooling further pops the skin off the flesh and makes them easier to handle and peel. Pull them from the freezer and peel the skins completely off the flesh. Throw away the skins. With a sharp knife, slice the chiles longways and flatten them out by cutting the “crown” of them off around the stem. Remove all the seeds and veins. I do the latter by lightly scraping lengthwise with the blade held perpendicular to the inside flesh of the chile. Discard the seeds and veins. Pile up your chiles on a plate.

Get out your turkey leftovers. All those bits of dark-meat shrapnel make the best enchiladas as they are impossible to put in a sandwich anyway. Toss them into a food processor along with your chiles. I tend to make it a 60/40 mix of Turkey to Green Chiles. You want the mixture to be granular, but not liquified, so just a few laps around with the “pulse” button will do. Once the big turkey chunks have been cut up and the blade is spinning free, stop the processor and dump the mix into a LARGE bowl. My food processor is small, so it takes me quite a while to work through a big batch of leftovers. Tonight I farmed the task to Nicholas as I started preparing tortillas…

Enchiladas must be made with CORN tortillas. Flour tortillas roll without prep, but making enchiladas with flour tortillas just is not cricket. It is like serving a hamburger on a hot dog bun, or playing ice hockey with a basketball instead of a puck. I buy tortillas at the store, as I’ve never mastered making them myself, so this recipe can’t really be called “scratch”. If you can make your own, my hat is off to you!

To prep your corn tortillas they have to be softened so they’ll roll well. The traditional New Mexico style is to dip them in enchilada sauce. This is best if you are making enchiladas to eat right now, but as this recipe is for making huge batches for freezing, I have found that a light dip in hot oil is best. The tortillas will stay fresh for months in the freezer this way. The sauce dip method will cause the tortillas to disintegrate as they thaw.

Heat some canola or corn oil in a skillet on medium-high. Take your tongs and lower one tortilla at a time into the oil once it is hot. Lightly fry them, about 5-10 seconds per side. DO NOT let them stay in the oil too long. They turn into tostadas very quickly beyond that 10 seconds, or if your oil is too hot. Bubbling is good, burning is not. The idea is to make the tortilla soft and pliable, not make a frisbee. I inevitably make a few stiff ones as I go along, usually if I’m distracted. Once any portion of a tortilla hardens it is useless for enchiladas, so I just cook them all the way and make tasty snacks. 😉 Pile your softly completed tortillas on a plate for later use.

Next soften some cream cheese in a small bowl. I do this in the microwave. You want it like the tortillas: soft and pliable, but not in nuclear meltdown mode. Once soft, start working it into the Turkey & Green Chile mixture along with a bit of Chile Powder, Black Pepper, Ground Cumin, and Salt. Again, tonight I farmed this task off to Nick. He worked the cheese into the mix after I sprinkled the spices in, and I went back to prepping tortillas. You can also mix in a bit of grated Pepper Jack Cheese, Cheddar, etc. (Tonight I did both as we had leftovers from a recent taco night)

Putting it all together!
After the tortillas have cooled enough to handle, gather your mix, the tortillas, and whatever container you’ll freeze the completed enchiladas into (I wrap them in foil in batches of 6 or 8), along with a wooden cutting board. One at a time place a tortilla on the board and scoop about a tablespoon of the T&GE/Cheese/spices mix onto the tortilla and roll it into a tight tube about 1″—1.5″ in diameter. You don’t want big fat blobs, or too skinny a tube, nor do you want the mix forced out the ends. (see photos for one in-process and several completed ones.)

As I said, I make batches of 6—8 enchiladas and freeze them. You can pull them out of the freezer and cook them anytime.

To cook:
Remove from freezer and unwrap. Throw them in a baking dish, cover with favorite enchilada sauce (green is best) and grated cheese of your choice. Bake in 350°F oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve.

In this photo you can also see a mixed drink that I think I invented tonight. It is mostly iced tea, with a shot of bourbon and a half-shot of triple sec. It’s pretty good. I’m not a trained bartender, but I like this one. Let me know if it already exists, and if not, feel free to suggest a name for it!

Behold! The awesomeness of Science & Engineering…

STS-129 Ascent Video Highlights from mike interbartolo on Vimeo.

If this video doesn’t leave you in awe I suggest you check your pulse.

As a photographer, occasional videographer, and a technology professional, I’m awed on many levels.

Visually this is stunning, as it captures many viewpoints that I, as an observer would want to see as the proverbial “fly on the wall”… it is often these unusual perspectives and wide-angle lenses that produce the most dramatic images. My hat is off to the team who produced this masterpiece as it not only answers questions (without a single word!) of HOW so many of the mechanics of shuttle launches work, but does so in an phenomenally artistic way. As a child I watched Apollo missions on TV and the limitation of shape defined the images sent back to earth. Here, the Shuttle’s odd shape abets the use of angles that the Saturn rockets could never provide, and we benefit by being able to see in vivid detail the launch mechanics, the flight path, the release and return of the jettisoned bits**, and of course our beautiful home world spiraling away beneath.

This is so much better than the illustrations and animations I saw as a child. **As a kid I always wanted to see the perspective of the Saturn rocket booster stages watching the vehicle flying away (rather than vise-versa) and following it’s view as it tumbled back into the atmosphere and theoretically, the ocean. Now I can watch what I’ve always wanted to watch.

Finally as a technology professional I am reminded that there are people way smarter than I, who have dedicated their lives to the progress of our species. Taking scientific theory and cutting edge technologies, putting them to practical use in the exploration of the universe beyond our little blue planet. I’m privileged to have met and count among my friends people who do this sort of thing, and it makes me proud to be a human being. While this short film is but a drop in the vast ocean of knowledge on the subject, it serves to remind us earthbound many, of the efforts of the sky-gazing few. Keep up the good work folks.

Car Photo of the Day: Aging Gracefully

This photo either requires cropping or some judicious use of photoshop to clean up a cluttered and distracting background, but here I present it in raw form. Taken on the 2007 NW Classic Rally this is a view of a 1960 Aston Martin DB4, piloted by Duane Crandall and navigated by Bill Vilardi. Duane’s Aston is a true “driver” that has a well-worn patina that looks as comfortable on the car. Akin to a well-worn pair of jeans or a beloved baseball mitt, this level of wear is in many ways something that makes the car even more beautiful to those of us who really love cars. Museum-quality shiny brightwork has its place… namely a museum, and seeing impossibly perfect cars on the road is always a bit jarring, akin to seeing a middle-aged person wearing clothes better suited to a teenager.

I always perform a good spring cleaning of the Jaguar after I’ve completed all the winter projects that accrued over the driving season (this winter includes a rebuild of the tachometer, fixing the passenger side window, updating the dashboard lighting, and a close inspection and perhaps rebuild of the rear brakes) but a cleaning really can’t ever restore away true patina. My car has road rash, oil leaks, and wear here and there. Duane’s car pictured here is the same; with signs of loving use, but it will never be mistaken for a showroom-fresh car, which is what it is not. This car is approaching fifty years of age.

Seattle Area Turkey Fryer Oil Disposal

Did you fry a turkey this Thanksgiving? Need to dispose of your used oil? Live in the Seattle area?

If you live anywhere between Renton in the south and Stanwood in the north, I’ll happily pick up your used oil for use in making biodiesel. I can make a curbside pickup any time in the next week or so. Just put the oil back into the containers it came in, and contact me. If you need containers I can supply 5 gallon buckets.

Four Book Mini-Reviews

What I've read this autumn.

I’m usually pretty good about updating my site here with goings on in my life, but I noted that I’ve neglected to update my “what I’m reading now” links over there ->
…since late summer. It still has the book I stole from Christopher after our road trip. I finished it a long time ago and have since plowed through three other books in my rare snippets of free time. I mostly only find time to read on my lunch hour, which is a shame. I love to read, and always have a book or two that I’m into at any given moment. Though I carry them around more than I ever am able to clear my mental decks and dedicate time to them. Lunches during the work week are like a brief oasis for me. I grab a bite, then sit down and pore over the printed word for 30 to 45 minutes. It is as refreshing as a nap in many ways. It allows me to forget about work, deadlines, projects, whatever else is happening and absorb more abstract things.

To make up for my lack of updating, I’ll write up mini-reviews of all these books:

1. P. J. O‘Rourke on The Wealth Of Nations

On the back cover is a blurb, which sums up this book best: “P.J. O’Rourke reads Adam Smith so you don’t have to”.

I have a great admiration for the Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, especially David Hume and Adam Smith. In many ways their eminently pragmatic philosophies were an inspiration to the contemporary generation of intellectuals here on this side of the Atlantic, who sought to apply those philosophies in the construction of a new sort of system of government. Smith in fact, as a recognized intellect was asked by the British government what to do about the break-away colonies and provided the ultimately pragmatic advice (which of course took a few generations to be heeded) which basically said: Let them go, and then trade with them. It was so simple really. Low cost, with a high return. Rarely do we have the courage to take such simple steps like this, so we end up killing one another at a very high cost and low rate of return.

But actually reading Smith’s work? That is tough. It is written in Eighteenth Century English, and makes many references to many instances of then-recent history and culture, much of which are lost on a Twenty-first Century reader. Further, Smith paints paragraphs with such minutiae that reading his great works “Theory of Moral Sentiments” and “Wealth of Nations” is akin to watching Barry Lyndon, one frame at a time on your DVD player. Sure it is beautiful, artful, and intricate, but you’ll burn up a year of your life doing it.

P. J. O’Rourke is a lunatic. One I’ve enjoyed reading since my college days when he was writing for National Lampoon in their heyday. He does a fantastic job of creating a sort of Cliff’s Notes of Wealth of Nations filled with humor, insight, and examples from our lifetimes to illustrate how perceptive and prescient Smith was in his philosophies. Best of all O’Rourke does this in under 200 pages. It is a quick read and thoroughly enjoyable.

While I have always believed that the Chinese invented Capitalism, (how they became Communists is baffling to me) it was the Scots (mostly Smith) & Dutch who stripped it of all the trappings and encumbrances of Monarchy, Mercantilism and Religion; codified it within a moral framework, and gifted it to society. It would do well for people who claim every market down-cycle as a “failure of Capitalism”, or that Capitalism lacks a foundation in morality to give Smith a read. If plowing through a few thousand pages of Eighteenth Century English is too laborious, then grab this quick, witty summary and laugh your way through it.

2. Flyboys.

I grabbed this book off our bookshelf at home when I misplaced “Go Like Hell” for a few days. Within a page or two I was hooked and quite literally could not put it down. I chewed through it in a matter of days, often reading it as I walked to and from my car at work. Author James Bradley (“Flags of our Fathers”) uncovers and reveals the previously un-told fate of a handful of US Navy & Marine pilots shot down while bombing a Japanese-held island during WW2. The Island is Chichi Jima, which lies between Iwo Jima and Japan. Not a site of an epic battle like Iwo, it nonetheless was a critical outpost and serves as a microcosm of the larger conflict and the societal and personal impacts of that war. Using previously classified documents and first-hand interviews with survivors from both sides of the conflict it tells a gripping tale of the toll of total war on all the participants. Bradley admirably lays out facts of horrific brutality, from all sides.

3. Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and their battle for speed and glory at Le Mans.

The “Ford” and “Ferrari” in the title refer as much to men as to marques, as this book is as much about Henry (the 2nd) and Enzo as it is about the machines from Detroit and Maranello. It also covers other legendary men such as Ken Miles, John Surtees, Phil Hill, Carroll Shelby, Lee Iococca, Bruce McLaren, Masten Gregory, Dan Gurney, Luigi Chinetti, Walt Hansgen, Dennis Hulme, Mario Andretti, and many more. The star of the show though is the legendary Ford GT40 and its rise from concept to champion at the pinnacle of sports car racing history: The 24 Hours at Le Mans. Ferrari famously snubbed (at the last second) an offer to buy his company by Ford, and “the Deuce’s” response was to hit Ferrari where it hurt the most: on the racetrack. A. J. Baime’s book is a thrilling read for any motorhead, as it recounts the tale of this rivalry at Le Mans throughout the 1960s. This was a time when the technology of speed was being refined and cars evolved at a shocking rate, as did the shocking carnage as it has taken safety technology decades to close the gap. A good number of those drivers named above did not survive to their old age, most famously Ken Miles and Walt Hansgen whose deaths are directly linked to their GT40s.

I heard on Adam Carolla’s podcast that a movie is in the works based on this book. That said, I suggest that you read this book as I’m sure Hollywood will screw it up somehow.

4. Crusade: The Untold Story of the Gulf War.

Hindsight tells us that this book, published in the mid-90s was a bit premature, as in the scope of history the “Gulf War” is still going on today and remains unresolved, far more than it was when Schwartzkopf lead the Victory Parade in mid-1991. It was the presence of American soldiers in Saudi Arabia that prompted the fusion of Osama bin Laden with the Egyptian Islamic radicals into the 9/11 plotters. Of course this book is not about that forest, but the single tree of the expulsion of the Iraqi Army from Kuwait that started the whole affair. The book presents a chronology from the perspective of US military command, with occasional diversions into personal stories of minor participants. It is a worthwhile read, if only to see into that small and rarified world. Many of the people and places involved have familiar names that come back to haunt us in the following decade. My biggest complaint about this book is really one of layout and design. The maps, which are critical to diagramming text onto physical reality are all bunched in the back and are too small to be of any use.