Relationship Tension

Oh dear, Cooking Light® Magazine. You’ve done it again, and I mean that disparagingly. Here’s another dish that looks beautiful—with vibrant greens and deep yellows. It shimmers with the promise of melty cheese goodness and the thrill of spicy pepper. And yet I get a mouthful of uninspiring blah.

What happened to us? We started out so strong. You taught me how to keep the flavor I craved without all that pesky saturated fat. Under your guidance I created full-bodied sauces with blends of ground turkey and beef, creamy rice gratins with whisks of butter, skim milk and flour, and lower-caloried stuffed peppers with exotic notes of flavor.

But...

You are starting to get demanding, Cooking Light®, even, dare I say, needy. And what am I getting in return? Mediocre food that isn’t worth the effort.

First it was an antioxidant-rich risotto with the hope of intense flavor. It took up an entire Sunday and ended up being a convoluted blast of seasonings with an irritating texture. Then there was this, the bland Poblano Chicken Casserole dish. The sweet corn barrelled over the other flavors, sending the sharper peppers to the back of the class. The ricotta made it watery and the sauce blared out only one monotonous, boring Poblano note. Considering I spent the morning tracking down the ingredients, the entire afternoon roasting peppers, shucking corn and blending sauces, THEN a couple of evening hours putting all together in the Pyrex and baking it, I expected much, much more.

If I’m going to dedicate this kind of time to our relationship, Cooking Light®, I want Drama! Intrigue! Flavor! I want my taste buds to fling off their glasses, take down their hair and passionately hurl themselves at that swarthy traveling salesman. But the recipes you’ve been giving me lately are weakening my pulse. They’re keeping my taste buds from moving out of mother’s house and taking an adventurous cruise to Thailand. You’re holding them back.

We have 6 more months together, so let’s try and make it work. Believe me, I know I have to do my part as well. I’ll take more care when choosing what to cook. You refrain from giving me recipes with lousy time-spent-to-time-enjoyed ratios. Then we’ll do a little inventory and see where things land. No, this isn’t about me really wanting to hook up with Saveur or Cooks Illustrated. Don’t be silly. I still believe in you and your innovative ways of lighter cooking. We just need to spice things up in the most literal way possible.



Chicken Poblano Casserole
(Copyright August 2006 Cooking Light® magazine. All rights reserved.)

SHORT CUT SUGGESTION: I would substitute a really good ready-made poblano sauce for the poblano peppers and defrosted Trader Joes frozen roasted red peppers for the fresh one.

3 poblano chiles (about 12 ounces)
1 large red bell pepper (about 8 ounces)
3 ears shucked corn
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
3 cups (12 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
Cooking spray
18 (6-inch) white corn tortillas
3 3/4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
1 cup thinly sliced green onions, divided

Preheat broiler.
Cut poblanos and bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place poblanos and bell pepper, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Place corn on baking sheet. Broil 10 minutes or until poblanos and bell pepper are blackened and corn is lightly browned. Place poblanos and bell pepper in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop; set poblanos and bell pepper aside separately. Remove corn kernels from cobs.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a large saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat until slightly thick (about 12 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Combine 1 cup milk mixture and poblanos in a blender; process until smooth. Stir pureed poblano mixture into remaining milk mixture.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine bell pepper, corn, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 cup Mexican cheese, red onion, cilantro, eggs, and ricotta.
Coat bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of dish. Arrange 6 tortillas over sauce, overlapping slightly. Spread half of ricotta mixture over tortillas; top with half of chicken. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup green onions and 2/3 cup Mexican cheese. Pour about 1 cup sauce over cheese. Repeat layers with 6 tortillas, remaining ricotta mixture, remaining chicken, 1/3 cup green onions, 2/3 cup Mexican cheese, 1 cup sauce, and 6 tortillas. Pour remaining sauce over tortillas. Coat 1 side of foil with cooking spray. Place foil, coated side down, over casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 2/3 cup Mexican cheese and 1/3 cup green onions. Bake, uncovered, 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 15 minutes. 

Yield: 12 servings