Last night, a group of old friends and I got together at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts to see the Carole King musical Beautiful.
It was a snap-your-fingers kind of show, one that made you laugh out loud and sing along. The audience was large, appreciative and, for the most part, of-a-certain age.
And there we sat, six good friends enjoying each other’s company. Most of us taught high school together for decades–seeing each other daily and unified in our commitment to give our students the best we had on any given day.
These days, we’re sure to make time to enjoy each other’s company. We get together for the theatre. We take in an occasional movie. We share events in each other’s lives over lunch. As good friends do, we also support each other when life throws us those inevitable curves and the going gets tough.
This morning, when I think of my friends Carol, Carole, Murnez, Michelle and Debbie, the final lines in one of Carole King’s classic songs come to mind:
“Ain’t it good to know, ain’t it good to know, ain’t it good to know/You’ve got a friend/You’ve got a friend”
Ain’t it, indeed?
Here’s the food part of this post. In the spirit of the 70s when King’s solo career began to soar, what could be more appropriate than a casserole dish? Remember all those casserole pot-lucks?
Here is a recipe for a pretty wonderful cheese enchilada casserole. I hope you will share it with your friends.
This recipe was adapted from a Ree Drummond recipe. A link to the original recipe appears at the end of this post.
Ingredients: Cheese Enchiladas
1 C. sour cream (at room temperature)
1/4 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
2-3 green onions (sliced)
3 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese
10 corn tortillas
Enchilada Sauce (see recipe in the Blue Cayenne index at the right or by clicking on this link
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Spoon a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce into a baking pan.
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, cumin, cayenne pepper, green onions and 2 cups of grated cheese. Set aside.
Heat corn tortillas (on a grill or in the microwave). Dip each tortilla in the enchilada sauce. Lay the tortilla on a plate and fill the tortilla with a strip of the cheese filling. Roll the tortilla and put it seam side down in a large casserole dish. Repeat until you’ve used up all your tortillas and all your filling.
Cover the enchiladas with remaining cup of grated cheese and bake in the 375 degree F. oven until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let enchiladas sit for a few minutes.
Garnish with chopped avocado, sliced black olives, sour cream, chopped onions and/or additional grated cheese.
Here is a link to the original Ree Drummond recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/cheese-enchiladas.html
