I made this yesterday. It's fabulous. The red sauce is very good and
I will use it for other dishes. About this dish; I sliced the
chicken thighs while frozen and sliced them across the grain in 1/4"
slices rather than the 1/2" noted in the recipe. The dish was tested
with supermarket "chili" powder. I used my good pure chile powder
(Dixon Med. Hot) so mine was spicier than the original recipe. I did
not include the ground coriander. I wanted the sauce a little bit
thicker so I thickened it with some masa harina/water combo. This is
a dynamite dish. It does make a ton so I'm planning on freezing the
filling that I have left after another meal of it today. If you like
southwestern style food be sure and put this on your "to do" list.
It's really quite simple and not much fuss to make but it's very
flavorful and I'd make it for company anytime.
terry




Chicken Enchiladas With Red Chili Sauce

Serves 4
Recipe By: America's Test Kitchen
Published in: Cook's Illustrated

sauce and filling
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium Onion -- chopped fine , about 1 cup
3 medium garlic cloves -- minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons coriander -- ground
2 teaspoons cumin -- ground
1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar
12 ounces chicken thighs -- boneless and skinless, (about 4), cut
into 1/2 inch wide strips across the grain
16 ounces tomato sauce
1/3 cup cilantro chopped
1 can pickled jalapenos -- drained and chopped (4 oz)
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese -- grated
Tortillas and Toppings
10 corn tortillas -- 6 inch size
vegetable or corn oil cooking spray
3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese -- grated (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 avocado -- medium dice
5 romaine leaves -- shredded
2 limes -- quartered

For the sauce and filling
Heat the oil in a saucepan until hot but not smoking, about 2
minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened
and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder,
coriander, cumin salt, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly until
fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly
until coated with spices, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and 3/4
cup of water, stir to separate chicken pieces. Bring to a simmer,
then reduce heat to medium los; simmer uncovered, stirring
occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have
melded, about 8 minutes. Pour mixture through medium mes strainer
into medium bowl, pressing on chicken and onion to extract as much
sauce as possible; set sauce aside. Transfer chicken mixture to large
plate; freeze for 10 minutes, to cool, then combine with cilantro,
jalapenos, and cheese in medium bowl and set aside.
Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and heat
oven to 300F.

To Assemble: Heat the tortillasand fill, roll, and sauce
enchiladas. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake enchiladas on lower
middle rack until heated through and cheese is melted 20 to 25
minutes. Uncover and serve immediately, passing toppings separately.

Recipe Notes

America's Test Kitchen devised this recipe using a regular grocery
store "chili" powder. I will use my good pure red Chile powder.

They tried various methods for cooking the chicken including roasting
and poaching but found that this method of cooking the chicken
directly in the sauce was the best plus it gave flavor to the sauce.
Because the chicken in in 1/2 inch slices the 8 minutes allowed for
cooking is adequate.

To warm the tortillas I put them in a damp paper towel and microwave
a minute.

http://www.terrypogue.com/Terry


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