INDEX to featured Recipes and Books

Zona Rosa Chilequiles
Prize-Winning Portobello - Shiitake Mushroom Fajitas
Arkansalsa
Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook
The Dairy Hollow House Cookbook

This is a luscious layered vegetarian casserole --- imagine a lasagna, but with corn tortillas instead of noodle strips, and with salsa instead of tomato sauce. The cheese filling is quite light as these things go, both because it's made with Neufchatel (a low-fat equivalent of cream cheese), and because it's scattered with loads of fresh vegetables: zucchini, corn cut off the cob.

The origins of the dish lie in Mexico, where chilequiles was actually developed as a way to use up stale corn tortillas. This is not a dish we serve at the inn, but at home and at casual parties: a favorite and a crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients:

• 1 package corn tortillas ( 8 to 10 )
• Cooking spray, such as Pam 
• 1 1/2 cups commercial salsa, preferably Newman's Own Bandito Salsa, Medium Hot 
• 2 8-ounces packages Neufchatel cheese
• 2 eggs 
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups sliced fresh zucchini ( in 1/4 inch rounds) or string beans (stems removed, sliced in 1/2 inch lengths 
• 2/3 cup fresh corn, cut from the cob 
• 4 ounces grated sharp cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

1. Tear tortillas roughly into quarters. Let sit out, uncovered, at least an hour , so they get a bit stale.

2. Spray a 10X14 rectangular baking dish (preferably Le Creuset) with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/4 cup salsa over the bottom of dish, and smear it. Scatter over this 1/3 of the torn tortillas.

3. Make cheese filling: in food processor fitted with S-blade, place 1/2 cup salsa, cheese, eggs, and cornstarch. Process till well blended. Set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 350.

5. Bring a medium saucepan or water to a boil. Drop in prepare zucchini or green beans and blanch (3 minutes for zucchini, 5 for green beans) . Drain vegetables well rinse with cold water, and toss with raw corn. Set aside.

6. Spoon half the cheese filling over tortillas in baking dish. Scatter vegetables over filling, drizzle with another 1/2 cup salsa, and top with another third of the torn tortillas. Cover with remaining cheese filling. Top with last third of tortillas and pour over remaining salsa.

7. Cover baking dish, and bake for 40 minutes. Remover cover, sprinkle with shredded cheese, raise heat to 375, and bake another 10 to 12 minutes longer, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Serves 8.
Return to Index

Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook

(1992, Workman Publishing; Paperback $13.95).

Crescent's second cookbook, written in the days when she and Ned ran Dairy Hollow House, a country inn,  focuses on soup, bread and salad --- with "innecdotes" galore. Nominated for the Julia Child Cookbook Award and the James Beard Cookbook Award. One the "10 Best Cookbooks of the Year" Lists for the Washington Post and USA Today. Over 250 recipes. Over 260,000 copies sold.

It is "...cuisine tied (not only to) a state, but a state of mind... classic breads, baked from scratch, soups from the simple to wildly innovative...light, seasonal, modern... a repository of regional cooking but (also) a clearinghouse for new ideas. Making a roux is a personal experience, a bonding with the author." –The Washington Post

Readers become "... guests at Dairy Hollow House (who) ... often pause to inhale the soothing aromas: soups simmering, cornbread sizzling in a skillet. Opening the pages (of this book) offers the same effect. It features the kind of recipes and reading that stimulate the senses..." –Philadelphia Enquirer

Friendly and advice-filled, you'll find Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread "... an easy and elegant winner...comfort between these pages. This is a book for someone you'd like to spend Sunday night suppers with." –Cleveland Plain Dealer

Return to Index

The Dairy Hollow House Cookbook; Jan Brown, Co-Author

(Macmillan, 1983; Cato & Martin paperback, 1992; Paperback $14.95).

Crescent's first cookbook from the inn covers everything from breakfast to dessert and is "...brilliant in its simplicity. A prime example of what a talented chef can do given a firm sense of place and a feel for its products." –Village Voice. Los Angeles Times "10 Best Cookbooks of the Year List", 1986. Over 400 recipes. Over 30,000 copies sold.

Co-written with Jan Brown, Crescent's best "pan-pal", "... Both authors share a passionate interest in preparing good food and serving it beautifully to guests. This is a book for anyone who loves to cook good food for good friends." –Tulsa Tribune

Return to Index

Prize-Winning Portobello - Shiitake Mushroom Fajitas

This delightful vegetarian recipe was the winner of the 1999 Newman's Own Recipe Contest, in the Food Professional Category. Spicy mushroom fajitas, marinated in Newman's Own dressing, then grilled with onions, and peppers, served with all the fixings (including Newman's Own salsa), are the creation of Eureka Springs artist and cook Freddie Maese. They won him a trip to New York, lunch with Paul Newman, and $10,000 to give to the charity of his choice. They also won the vendor where he purchased the products --- the independently owned Hart's Family Center of Eureka Springs --- $7,500 to give away, and a trip to New York for the festivities. 

Fred, who cooked at Dairy Hollow when it was an inn, choose to give his $10,000 to WCDH, while the Galyens (the family who owns Hart's) elected to give half to the WCDH and half to the Boys & Girls Club of Carroll County. We are grateful! And you will be, too, when you indulge in these fajitas, which we think may just beat any you have ever tasted. 

Ingredients:
Mushroom marinade: 

• 1 cup Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette 
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, stemmed, finely diced 
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed 
• 2 packages (6 ounces each) sliced Portobello mushrooms 
• 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced

Vegetable sauté: 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 large onion, sliced vertically into thin crescents 
• 1 green pepper, slivered 
• 1 red pepper, slivered 

Fajita fixings, as preferred 

• 4 to 6 burrito-sized flour tortillas (preferably whole-wheat), warmed
• Newman's Own Salsa
• Any or all of the following: sliced avocado, sour cream, grated sharp cheddar or Monterrey jack cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, minced fresh cilantro 

1. Combine in a glass or nonractive bowl all ingredients for mushroom marinade, tossing well. Set aside to marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature, or overnight refrigerated. Stir occasionally. 
2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When skillet is very hot, add onions and peppers. Cook over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, until onions are tender and golden, stirring occasionally. 
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450. Heat jelly-roll in oven for 5 minutes. Remove hot pan from oven. Drain mushrooms (reserving drained marinade for another use). Scatter drained mushrooms over pan and replace in oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and add mushrooms to onion-pepper sauté. Stir to combine. 
4. Serve at once, letting each diner fold a little of the sizzling mushroom-onion mixture into a tortilla, along with Newman's Own salsa and other fixings. 
   
   Serves 4 to 6.
   Return to Index

Arkansalsa

There are dozens of varieties of hot peppers which could be used to make this salsa. Choose whatever's available and fresh, and use a lot of just a smidgen according to how incendiary they are – and how fiery you like your food. Ingredients: 

• 1 large onion 
• 1/2 green bell pepper, stemmed and seeded 
• fresh red and green chili peppers to taste 
• 1 tomato, peeled and seeded 
• Juice of 1/2 lemon 
• 1 tbsp. finely minced fresh parsley 
• 2 tbsp. finely minced fresh cilantro 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 

Dice all the ingredients through the tomato into pieces a bit bigger than the head of a wooden kitchen match; the smallness and uniformity of the pieces are important here. Toss all together with the lemon, herbs and salt – the consistency should be more relishy than saucelike. 

Makes about 1 1/2 cups 

This recipe appears in Crescent Dragonwagon's Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread, A Country Inn Cookbook.

Return to Index

CLICK HERE For more of Crescent Dragonwagon's Recipes.