The enchilada fiasco of '05

Posted on May 02, 2005 at 01:31 AM

Filed from the Department of Culinary Arts here at JoeSchmidt.com

Does something look out of place here?

enchiladas anyone?

Can you tell what it is?

What usually goes with fresh corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and hot dinner rolls? I'm thinking something to do with meat? Maybe Turkey? Oh, I know, chicken and cheese enchiladas! Yeah that's it.

Not quite.

For those of you who have ever cooked a turkey, you know that the cooking instructions on the label of the turkey bag aren't always accurate. It clearly stated that for a 6-8 pound turkey you must cook it at 325 degrees for 2 hours and 45 minutes. Our bird weighed in at 7.29 pounds so it clearly fell within the specified weight limit.

Working off that assumption, the rest of the meal was prepared to coincide within that timeframe. After approx. 2 hours and 45 minutes, the bird was checked but was clearly not done, yet the corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and rolls were ready to be served. (We later found that the turkey would take another hour of oven time before it would be edible.) Meanwhile, the head of the legal department was starving and ready to go supafly T-N-T if he didn't get some food quickly, so some concessions had to be made on the part of the executive chef. What is something that could be substituted for turkey, yet could be prepared in a matter of minutes? How about frozen enchiladas?

The executive chef was quoted as saying,"Actually, if you think about it, corn can be a Mexican dish, and if the mashed potatoes were in the form of Potato Oles, then the enchiladas wouldn't be out of place. So TECHNICALLY the mashed potatoes are out of place."

All was not lost, though. There was enough mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and dinner rolls left over to go with the un-eaten turkey, so tonight's meal is basically already prepared.

During what is now known as the "enchilada fiasco" I mentioned to the executive chef that things could be worse. I didn't get a response, only receiving "The Look" in anticipation of what would come out of my mouth next. I said,"It could be Thanksgiving." This comment, though accurate, did not have an effect on the disposition of the aformentioned "Look" wearer.

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Comments

It looks like a burrito. But, hey I'm from California and I know nothing about Mexican food, (Yeah right)

Posted by: a tipton | May 18, 2005 09:55 PM

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