My food career was born out of necessity with little expectations or big dreams. I was working as a social worker at the Texas Department of Human Resources, was married to a widower with three children, and had given birth to my twin boys Aarón and Rodrigo Sánchez and needed some extra income. I started baking cookies for friends. I then moved on to cooking for my then very wealthy sister’s parties, and graduated to patrons outside the family circle. These were people my mother met at the beauty shop, at social events, or in supermarket check out lines and sold them on hiring me to cook for their next party. Customers liked my food and my sister Aida suggested I open a catering business. Mother offered to give me my inheritance in life and send me to cooking lessons to hone my skills.
She found CEC Lillian Haines, one of the most successful caterers in Beverly Hills, and hired her to give me one week of lessons of every aspect of catering. Each day we prepared food from different parts of the world and I was introduced to new and exciting flavors — samosas and tamarind chutney from India, hot and sour soup from China, Greek chicken with rosemary, and the last day, much to my chagrin, was Cal-Mex. I don’t remember what else I learned but this recipe has served me well over the years. I served crab enchiladas at my New York debut at Tavern on the Green in 1981. The sauce helped make my chilaquiles world famous.
Crab Enchiladas (Enchiladas de cangrejo)
Equipment
- 13- x 9-inch ovenproof dish
Ingredients
- 12 soft corn tortillas
- 4-6 tablespoons butter
- 1 recipe
Tomatillo Sauce with Cream - 1½ cups
Sour Cream Mixture - 1 pound lump crab meat
- 1 pound medium-sharp white cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch Pyrex dish or another suitable oven-proof dish.
- Heat the butter over medium heat until bubbly. Do not let it burn. Cook each tortilla about 30 seconds on each side and transfer to a plate.
- Working with one tortilla at a time, spread a thin layer of sour cream mixture. Top with a thin layer of tomatillo sauce. Place about 3 tablespoons crab meat, and about the same amount of cheese.
- Fold or roll each tortilla and place in baking dish. When finished, top with additional tomatillo sauce, sour cream mixture, and shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly. Serve immediately.
