Enchilada Lasagna Courtesy Alton Brown Recipes

ENCHILADA LASAGNA, COURTESY ALTON BROWN

Steps:

• Combine the chiles, garlic, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the chiles are soft Set aside until ready to use.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the chicken until cooked through, approx 7-9 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place in a medium bowl. Add the onions to the same pan along with a generous pinch of salt, decrease the heat to medium-low and sweat for 4-6 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and cook until the onions are tender, 2-3 minutes more. Add the chicken back to the pan and remove from heat.
• Spray a 13x9 glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Place 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the dish. Dip 4 tortillas into the remaining sauce and lay them in the bottom of the dish. Cut one of the tortillas in half to evenly cover the bottom of the dish. Top this with half of the chicken mixture and 1 cup of the cheese. Starting with 4 more tortillas, repeat the layers, ending with the last 4 tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over the dish and top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese on top is bubbly.

THE BEST LASAGNA

Steps:

• Place the beef in a large bowl and "pull" it apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and loosening the meat without compacting it.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the meat is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pancetta to a large bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread the beef in an even layer in the same pot and cook undisturbed until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is browned and completely cooked, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, celery, onions, half the garlic, the bay leaf, oregano, red pepper flakes, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it's very fragrant and brick red colored, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and reduce until the liquid is very thick and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the reserved pancetta and beef, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Add the basil and Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the ragu should release occasional small bubbles. If the ragu reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of water and continue cooking. Repeat if necessary. The ragu needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf, basil and Parmesan rind. Break up any remaining clumps of meat with the back of a spoon, making an even textured sauce. Season with salt and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles, stirring occasionally and separating them to prevent sticking, until softened and bendable but are still hard and chalky in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl of cold water and set aside until ready to assemble.
• Stir together the ricotta, 1 cup of the Parmesan, the remaining grated garlic and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Set aside until ready to assemble.
• Lightly oil a 13-by-9-inch glass or ceramic baking pan. Spread 1 cup of the ragu evenly in the bottom of the pan. Lay a single layer of noodles over the ragu (if you're using long noodles, you will need to cut some noodles to fill the gaps). Spread 1 1/2 cups of the ragu over the noodles. Dollop 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the ragu and spread lightly with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, followed by another layer of noodles. Repeat with the remaining pasta, ragu, ricotta mixture and mozzarella, creating 4 layers of pasta and ending with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. (The lasagna should come just above the top of the pan but it will sink down slightly as it cooks.) Top with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.
• Lightly oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Put the pan on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake the lasagna until bubbling gently around the edges, about 1 hour.
• Remove the lasagna from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Remove the foil and then continue to bake the lasagna until the top is browned and crisp around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

ENCHILADA LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook ground beef, onion and garlic until the meat is browned and onion is tender; drain. Stir in tomato soup, picante sauce or salsa and refried beans. Heat thoroughly., Arrange five tortillas in a 12x8x2-in. baking dish, tearing tortillas as needed to cover the bottom. Layer with half of the meat mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers using remaining tortillas, meat mixture and cheese. , Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until heated through. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

ALTON BROWN'S CHICKEN IN GARLIC AND SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown on both sides in a wide, straight-sided, ovenproof frying pan or skillet over high heat. (If you don't have such a pan, you may need to brown the chicken in one pan and then finish the dish in a casserole.).
• remove from heat; add herbs, garlic, shallots and the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. (There's no reason to chop the herbs; just distribute them around and in between the chicken pieces.) Cover and bake for 1-1/2 hours.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Combine enchilada sauce and sour cream in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
• Spread approximately 1/2 cup enchilada sauce mixture on the bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer with 4 tortillas, 1 cup enchilada sauce mixture, 1 cup chicken and 2 cup cheese sauce. Repeat layers, then top with remaining tortillas, enchilada sauce mixture and chhese sauce. Cover with foil.
• Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover;let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.