Cannelloni & Enchiladas

The Food Nanny
August18,19 2008

Continuing the tomato indulgence thanks to Jon and his crew at Blue Moon Farm

Meal 1: Cannelloni with Roasted Eggplant, Pesto Stuffed Buns, Mixed Greens
· Bake the cannelloni at 350° until the sauce is bubbly. Cook 5 minutes more.
· Warm the buns in the oven also if you wish.
· Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Roasted Chile Stuffed Enchiladas, Two Sisters Soup, Tangy Rice Salad
· Bake the enchiladas at 350° until the sauce is bubbly. Cook 5 minutes more.
· Heat the soup and serve.
· Serve the rice at room temp or sauté in oil to heat it through and serve.

Trivia: What are the “Three Sisters” and what is their significance?

!Muy Picoso!
For the first time in many years my hands are throbbing following a work session with quantities of active peppers. I hope no one's palate was taken too far aback.
To anyone who is entirely skeptical about herbal and culinary efficacy I present the habanero, or poison ivy, or the poppy. Today I inhaled, applied topically, and twice ejected into my eye doses of capsicomes all in the name of making enchiladas. Its kind of fun playing with fire like that. Lets you know that you are in the presence of something considerable and not to be toyed with.
There are, to my knowledge, two antidotes to capsicomes: alcohol and dairy.
Capsicomes(the heat chemicals in chiles) are alcohol soluable - part of the reason why water is not a suitable remedy. In fact, the measure of heat in a chile, the Scoville Unit, is based on the amount of alcohol needed to flush the palate of occupying capsicomes. Sounds like a pretty dubious measure to me. I mean, how accurate can that really be - especially after washing down 3-4 chiles ?
Capsicomes are also fat soluable, and so they will move from off your tongue and into some yoghurt, or cheese, or other dairy product and hopefully buffer its concentration against your tissues. Thus such items are a logical accompanyment to spicy food. So, open another cold one( if you are of age) and pass the crema.

Trivia: Cappellini is angle hair pasta.