What side dish/appetizer should I make with these ingredients?

October 10, 2016 1:05 PM

I am going to a friend's house later for an impromptu, casual Thanksgiving dinner. I want to bring a little something to contribute, that would be tasty yet unconventional with turkey dinner. There are a few standout ingredients in my fridge, which include gorditas, flour tortillas, chicken breast, sweet potato and regular potato, refried beans, green onions, chipotle in adobo, salsa, and both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I was thinking empanadas with the chicken, potato, cheese, and refried beans... but I'd prefer to not have to make dough from scratch. Is there another dish that you'd recommend considering what I've got? Thanks!
posted by to recite so charmingly to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

I make sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. You could do a similar type dish as a pre dinner snack. Serve with your tortillas, crisp them up in the oven
posted by Ftsqg at 1:10 PM on October 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Nachos? Especially if you are arriving before folks sit down to eat. Crisp or fry the tortillas to make chips... cube the sweet potatoes, maybe dust with some spices and roast them separately and use them on the nachos too.
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:23 PM on October 10, 2016

Or if you want to do something more elegant/less filling, roast the sweet potato rounds, and serve them as canapes on toothpicks, with a blob of sour cream and some chopped green onion on top.
posted by fingersandtoes at 1:28 PM on October 10, 2016

Best answer: Could you not just stuff a gordita with your empenada filling and serve cut in wedges?
posted by Diablevert at 1:41 PM on October 10, 2016

Response by poster:
Could you not just stuff a gordita with your empenada filling and serve cut in wedges?
Ideally, I'd love to do this. I'm really inexperienced with gorditas, and have not had luck in the past with getting a pocket to form. Are they supposed to end up with a stuffable pita-like pocket once heated in the pan? Because earlier this week I tried and just I ended up eating them by piling toppings on, which, while delicious, would not be great for bringing as a dish.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 1:49 PM on October 10, 2016

Y'all who are recommending nachos or enchiladas: OP said flour tortillas.
posted by fiercecupcake at 2:04 PM on October 10, 2016

Simpler: spicy sweet potatoes--mix some chipotle in adobo in with mashed sweet potatoes (and maybe add in the regular potatoes too, depending on what volume you have?) Top with green onion for a garnish. Remember to salt them some too.
posted by purple_bird at 2:18 PM on October 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

I think you have to fry them to get the pocket to form. And they have to be pretty fresh -- I haven't had great luck with store bought ones myself. You might also consider using the filling to make a kind of layered dip and cutting up the flour tortillas into chips and toasting them.

Or could do quesedillas with the flour tortillas. Maybe beans, chipotle and sweet potato for one with the mozz and chedder, chicken and salsa for the other?

Quesedillas is probably the simplets option, now I'm thinking it over again.
posted by Diablevert at 2:22 PM on October 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'd make a several layer dip of mashed sweet potato with adobo, beans, salsa, sour cream, shredded chicken, with mozz and sour cream and green onions on top. Lots of seasoning in the chicken and mashed sweet potato- maybe hot sauce. Pick up a bag or two of store bought corn chips on your way to the party and you are good to go!
posted by slateyness at 4:00 PM on October 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

You can bake flour tortillas into chips, but I agree quesadillas would be simpler.
posted by fingersandtoes at 4:02 PM on October 10, 2016

Response by poster: So I experimented with the gorditas, and successfully stuffed them with a mix of sweet potato, beans and shredded chicken. What ended up working was cutting smaller circles out of the gorditas using a glass, so that they were miniature. The smaller size made the pocket easier to manage, and they were great finger food to boot. Thank you all for your ideas and input!
posted by to recite so charmingly at 6:58 PM on October 10, 2016 [3 favorites]