Friday, January 20, 2006

Big Fish, Friends, -and- Extra Postage Required


Big Fish - whale spotted in central London
Friends - snake refuses to eat hamster, shares cage
Extra Postage Required - students mail hamster as drunken prank

The sun is shining brightly again today! I do not make New Year's resolutions. I am making an exception this year: I have resolved to avoid reading weather forecasts and, instead, simply look outside and make my own determinations. I believe this will result in considerably greater accuracy!

The office personnel at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. had a potluck luncheon yesterday. The theme was Mexican. Laura made chicken enchiladas, and they were received with incredible enthusiasm. That delighted Laura. Several in attendance remarked on how moist and tender the chicken was. That delighted me, since I cooked the chicken!

The methodology: I coated a large sauté pan with La Conda Ranch extra-virgin olive oil and preheated to medium. I placed four large boneless, skinless chicken breasts that had soaked in chicken stock in the refrigerator for 24 hours in the sauté pan, placed the lid on the pan, and cooked the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side. I placed the cooked breasts on a platter, covered them with a paper towel, and allowed them to cool to room temperature.

Laura shredded the chicken, sautéed it with white onions and garlic, and added some enchilada sauce. She coated baking dishes with enchilada sauce, stuffed flour tortillas with the chicken mixture, rolled them and placed them in the baking dishes, and covered them with enchilada sauce. She then topped the enchiladas with grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, and sliced black olives.

Laura made two batches of enchiladas--one for the potluck and one for us. We enjoyed ours Wednesday evening, and they were delightful!