Halibut Enchiladas in Red Chile Enchilada Sauce also Calabacitas with con Elote Squash & Corn

Had no idea I would be home sick today sick and had prepared the halibut last night for making tonights dinner when I got home. No way am I able to eat this tonight, but maybe after my virus is gone. This recipe is a PITA (Pain In The Ass) but worth it. The white fish (halibut in my case--but Orange Roughy and Red Snapper work just as well) must be poached in a marinated brine for 8 minutes and cooled and flaked before using in this recipe. I'll start with the basics..the brine. This is a great brine to poach fish for tacos or any other dish. You want your fish to be moist and flaky...not dry and firm like cooked on a grill.

Poaching the whitefish:

1 lemon sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thin
10 peppercorns
3 whole allspice
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 box of seafood stock (or enough to cover fish

Bring all ingredients to boil. Add skinned whitefish and enough liquid to cover the fish. Reduce heat to simmer, cover with a lid and allow to mellow (NOT boil) for 8 minutes.

Remove from heat, remove fish to a dish and allow to cool. Reserve for later and de-bone if necessary.

Red Chile Enchilada Sauce

I love frozen chile the most and the next best option is the powdered. Follow the recipe on the tub or the label. If you need instructions, I can do that so call or email me.

24 yellow corn tortillas, softened in hot oil
3 lbs. colby, cheddar, Monterey Jack or a combination of the three, shredded
1 onion, diced fine
Poached halibut
Red chile enchilada sauce

In a large baking pan, coat the bottom with red chile enchilada sauce. Roll up halibut, onion and cheese in softened corn tortillas and place in rows on top of sauce. Repeat until all meat and cheese is used. Cover the entire dish with the remainder of the red chile sauce and bake at 375 for 40 minutes, sprinkle the top with cheese and bake until melted (another 7 minutes). Serve with beans and rice.

Now onto Calabacitas. This is a mix of New Mexico meets Colorado...BOTH my ancestry!. It refers to zucchini or squash and is traditionally mixed with green chile and corn.

There is no better side dish to a meal than this.

1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 med. onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 yellow squash sliced in quarters
2 green zucchini, sliced in quarters
(may add mushrooms if you like)
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can chopped green chile
(*shredded cheese to top is optional)

Heat oil, saute garlic and onion powder. Add onion and garlic and simmer until lightly browned. Add the remainder of seasonings squashes, mushrooms, corn and green chile, stir to heat through. Serve with grated cheese on top