Jay, Renee, and Rex came to dinner tonight. Larry asked for enchiladas (I think he was craving margaritas). This is a great make-it-ahead dinner, because most of the work can be done early… although it’s still a lot of work.
– I like green sauce on my enchiladas. These are very simple and tasty.
– This is a really nice Mexican-style rice. I don’t like the typical Spanish rice that’s served in Mexican restaurants, but this one is different and really good.
– I usually make black beans with Mexican food, but I wanted to do something different, so I made refried pinto beans. The same technique can be used for black beans.
– My tart is a composite of different recipes. It’s so pretty! The blueberries and raspberries are huge right now. I arrange them in concentric circles, then I brush them with slightly warm seedless berry preserves as a glaze.

• Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce (Fine Cooking #47, November 2001, p. 80)
• Arroz Verde (Fine Cooking #35, November 1999, p. 45)
• Classic Mexican Fried Beans with Onions and Garlic (Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen, Rick Bayless, p. 237)
• Raspberry-Blueberry Tart (Sweet Tart Pastry: The America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook, p. 276; Mascarpone Filling: Fine Cooking #21, July 1997, p. 57)

Margaritas