Mexican Mac and Cheese

My sister and I recently had the pleasure of visiting my daughter in New York and were lucky enough to go to some wonderful restaurants. She works as an interior designer  in hospitality and helped us decide from the millions of restaurants on my list. So many to choose from. In fact she told me you could eat out every night in New York for 58 years and never eat at the same place twice.!
We dined in many very good restaurants and enjoyed a wide variety of cuisines.
What does astound me is the Americans love of Mac and Cheese, or Macaroni and Cheese as it is correctly called. It is on many menus in very good restaurants, maybe with the addition of lobster, or duck to take it to another level.
There are restaurants totally dedicated to the dish and people line up to buy it.
Although there was Macbar near me in Soho, I didn't go there. I haven't eaten Mac and Cheese since a small girl but thought I would give this a try to remind me what all the fuss is about. I was pleasantly surprised. I made mine with a little touch of Mexican. A simple family winter meal. Play around with ingredients and change it next time.



375 grams macaroni or elbow pasta
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup plain flour
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups milk
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 red capsicum, finely chopped
2 small chillies finely chopped
1 can red kidney beans
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra cheese
handful of chopped coriander
S&P

Cook the macaroni or pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Set aside.
Fry the onions, garlic, chilli and capsicum in a small amount of oil until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Melt the butter and mix in the flour and make a roux. Add the chicken stock and mix really well. Warm the milk and gradually add it to the stock mixture. Mix the two cheese into the roux and stir until the cheeses have melted.
Return the onion, capsicum, chilli and garlic to the sauce. Add the drained kidney beans and mix through. Adjust the seasoning. The mixture shouldn't be too thick as it will also thicken whilst baking.
Stir the pasta and the sauce together.
Preheat the oven to 160C
Place in a an ovenproof casserole and sprinkle with the extra cheese and chopped coriander
Bake for approx 30-40 minutes.

Chicken and Green Olive Enchiladas

I have just returned from my sister Philippa's 50th Birthday, which we celebrated in style at the fabulous Il Centro at Eagle Street Pier in Brisbane.  A lovely group of girls, daughters, sisters, sisters in laws and mother with life long friends. The sun was shining, the weather was glorious and it was a wonderfully memorable day.  The food is always beautiful and  the service impeccable .  The event didn't end there we moved across to Mr & Mrs G's and continued on into the evening.
I also managed to get a copy of Marcia Georges cookbook Greek by Heritage Italian by Heart. The book shares with readers the recipes from her parents restaurants and all that have made  Marcia and Andy Georges Il Centro famous for 21 years. All royalties go to  Cancer and Bowel Research Trust and you can get the book on line.
Well after wining and dining in Brisbane for a few days, I came home to a hoard of hungry boys staying here, Rugby again and 21st birthdays. Always a challenge to fill them up, they requested Mexican ! They love it and it does seem to do the trick, for a few hours at least. I decided to do these Chicken and Green Olive Enchiladas. A meal I haven't cooked for years. A long way from the absolutely stunning Sand Crab Lasagna of Il Centro, but far more affordable when feeding a crowd of young men.


1-2 kilos of chicken thighs
6 cups chicken stock
3-4 tablespoon Rylstone Olive Oil
1 cup stuffed green olives sliced
2 cups finely chopped onions
1 large fresh tomato or 2 small ones chopped
3 tablespoons chopped garlic or about 3 cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilli powder ( you can add up to 5, or you may find it is better to start with only 1 and increase once the chicken is cooked
3 tablespoons plain flour
500 grams shredded pizza cheese 





Place the chicken thighs and the 6 cups of stock in a large saucepan and simmer until cooked. This should take about 20 minutes. Cool the chicken in the stock.
Shred the chicken coarsely and transfer to a large bowl.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a fry pan over a medium heat. Add 1 cup of the chopped onion, tomato, garlic cumin and cinnamon. Cook until onion and tomato are quite tender, stirring occasionally. This may take 10 minutes. Add the chilli powder and flour and stir for about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the 6 cups of stock a little at a time to incorporate the roux. Increase the heat and simmer until reduced to about 3 cups, stirring occasionally. All of these steps can be done the day before or the morning of.
Mix 1 cup of the sauce into the chicken.
Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the baking dish you are going to cook them in. You can line them all up in 1 or 2 big ceramic baking dishes or individual dishes, if you choose.
Arrange the tortillas on a work surface and place about 3 tablespoons of cheese in the centre of each, followed by1 tablespoon of the chopped onion and about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chicken along the top .
Roll up as tightly as you can and place seam side down in your baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
Preheat the oven to 175C.
When finished pour remaining sauce over them and sprinkle with more of the grated cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake a further 10 minutes or until sauce bubbles.
Remove the foil and let rest for another 5- 10 minutes as they are very hot, before serving
Serve with sour cream and watch them disappear.

Tortillas, Olives Shredded Chicken and Chopped Onion

A small amount of sauce in the bottom of your baking dish

Place cheese onion olives and chicken in the centre of the tortilla.

Finished enchiladas.