Monthly Archives: January 2017

Easiest Chicken Enchilada

My teenager, Beans, loves Mexican food. I love mojitos…and margaritas! So as mother and son combos go, we are absolutely clicking! This is my go-to recipe because it’s ridiculously easy and pantry-food friendly.

It uses the following;

rotisserie chicken, shredded

2 cans of enchilada sauce, 1mild and 1 medium hot

1 can of diced tomatoes

a bag of sharp cheddar and a bag of Mexican mix cheese

salt and pepper to taste, optional

Saute the shredded chicken in olive oil for about 5 minutes
add the two cans of enchilada sauce, simmer for 5 minutes
add a can of diced tomatoes, mix and simmer for 15 minutes, to allow incorporation of flavor
Add half a bag of each of the cheeses, save the other halves for topping. Mix and allow to melt for about 3 minutes
I don’t fry the tortillas, too oily. I stuff the enchilada to the tortilla, then roll up.
Top with treat of the enchilada and add the remaining cheeses
Bake in 375 for 20 minutes

Goes so well with mojitos and/or margaritas. Muy Bueno!!!

Vintage

At around this time last year, I wrote a piece on underachieving on January. This year is no different. I put so much stuff on hold from last December that I find myself in a catch-up game on January instead of attacking new year’s resolutions head-on like the rest of the population.

When I started this blog, I never had anything else in mind other than chronicling my life in food. It never occurred to me that the reviews that I post will eventually reach the actual restaurant scene in the city, and that I’d get notices to review a new joint or just a new dish that just came on the menu. Because of that, I have grown very self-conscious on my writing. I find myself struggling to put in quality work which basically negates the purpose that writing about my food adventures relaxes me…Why my life can never be as simple as a bowl of fried rice, I will never know…

I’m now writing again, not because I’ve finally “caught up”. I’m writing again because there’s too much good food and good stories that need to be told. This restaurant is our choice for our last dinner in Vail. Obviously, as soon as we landed in Houston, life immediately happened. It started with Beans discovering that he left his phone in Denver (a few thousand calls and emails and Fedex shipping fee later, we got it back). I didn’t realize until now, that I haven’t posted this review after having promised management that I would.

Vintage is a French brasserie right across Four Seasons. So it was really very convenient because it was snowing that night. The concept of snow has always been magical to me, having been raised in tropical country. I soon realized that its magic is very short-lived, very dependent on the number of layers that one wears. Beans just finished the last of his snowboarding lessons and just about had enough snow for the day, so he opted not to come with us.

Here’s me with my frozen smile.I can’t wait to go indoors!
Vintage is so pretty. Excellent lighting, tasteful interiors. 

Vintage is known for their brunches but we were leaving the following day and we would be short of time to enjoy a relaxing brunch, so we decided to come for dinner instead.

We were seated at a bay window where you can overlook Vail Village with all the snow and twinkly lights.
Bang Island’s Black Mussels and Pomme Frites — this is their highly-suggested entree for the month. I wouldn’t expect it on December, but me being me, I’m up for anything, food-wise

The salt-and-vinegar fries is the star of this entree. I never thought I would say this, but it tastes better than the fancy truffle fries. The mussels are no slouch either. I don’t know where Bang Island is but,  man, they grow good mussels.

Wagyu sirloin for D. I’m so tempted to mock him with the obvious (and recurrent) steak choice, but I vowed to be nice this year. Haha.

I noticed that most restaurant in Colorado have Wagyu steaks. While it is not comparable to Kobe beef, it’s a nice, close second. The steak was cooked perfectly, always a plus.

It was snowing pretty hard while we were eating so we decided to skip dessert while we can still walk our way back to the hotel.

This is the last of my Vail posts. I am looking forward to a lot of foodie activities this weekend and of course there’s Super Bowl! I’m collaborating with my good friend, Vinh, for the most awesome crawfish party. Stay tuned!!!