Mejor que nada

In honor of the Wolves' latest recipe-inducing loss to Los Spurs, today's game wrap was written just north of the border.

In order to make a good plate of cheese enchiladas, the first thing you need to master is a chili gravy.  Here is what you will need:

• 1/3 cup lard (Do not use veggie oil.  Go to your local Mexican market or butcher and get yourself some lard.)
• 1/3 cup flour
• Salt (To taste.  I use around a tsp.) 
• Pepper (To taste. I typically use about 1/2 as much as the salt.)
• 2 t powdered garlic
• 2 t ground cumin
• 1 t dried Mexican oregano
• 2-3 T chili powder
• 2-3 cups chicken broth (Eyeball it until you get a good consistency.)
  

Heat your lard over medium heat.  Add the flour and stir it into a light brown roux.  Add all of your dry ingredients.  Do not stop stirring.  You don't want any of this to burn.  After a minute, add 2 cups of the chicken broth and stir until the sauce thickens.   If it is too thick, add more chicken broth, a few T at a time. 

Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Finely dice one white onion.  Shred a bunch of medium cheddar cheese.  Heat some more lard in a small 8 inch skillet (you should have enough to cover the bottom with about 1/4 of an inch of liquid.  Grab 8-12 corn tortillas and assemble them as follows:

• Place each tortilla in the hot lard.  It should bubble immediately.  If it does not bubble, turn up the heat.
  
• Heat on a single side for 30 seconds and remove with tongs.
  
• Repeat with remaining tortillas.
  

When your last corn tortilla has been taken out of the lard, add a drained can of pinto beans to the pan.  Make sure you reserve the liquid in a separate bowl.  Mash up the beans as best you can and reduce the heat to medium low. 

Next, place a pinch of cheese on the uncooked side of each tortilla.  Top with a tablespoon or so of onion and roll it all up.  Place two (or three if you're really hungry) rolled up enchiladas on an oven-proof place with a lip or a lid (just like the picture above).  Spoon 1/3-1/2 cup sauce over the tortillas, sprinkle a little cheese over the top (not nearly as much as what you see in the picture), and place in the oven for 10 minutes. 

While the enchiladas are in the oven, take the reserved liquid from the pinto beans and add it to the mashed beans with a sprinkling of garlic powder.  Stir the beans up and reduce the heat to low.  If you're feeling really finicky, you should also be preparing some Mexican Rice for a full enchilada plate.

After 10 minutes, remove the enchiladas from the oven and serve with your refried beans and rice.  Sprinkle the remaining chopped onion over the final dish.

Enjoy. 

For a Spurs take on the game, head on over here: Pounding The Rock

One more game to go.  BTW: Don't forget that Hoopus readers can get free tickets to Wednesday's season finale against Detroit.