(gentle jazz music) - [Frank] As a chef and restaurateur, I know what a happy dining room feels like, and it's gotta feel the same when I'm cooking for friends at home.

I stop by my favorite carniceria to get staples for a quick, quick fun meal tonight.

I invited over my restaurant group's director of marketing, Olivia Moffett, and our wine director Lee Wilson, who also apparently loves the appetizer I'm making.

- When I do order it, I enjoy it severely.

- [Frank] Not sure what that means, but we're keeping it casual tonight where everyone leaves my home full of life and buzzed on happiness.

Ceviche is one of those things that's really simple to use.

It's just about having some great ingredients.

So we have some beautiful bay scallops and I just want to kind of get the excess water off of 'em because I don't want that... they're fresh, but they still exude a little bit of water and I just wanna pat them dry so when I put the ingredients in, it really sticks to it or absorbs it.

So we need a little bit of red onion when we're doing this, and just finely diced red onion is fine.

I'm using bay scallops today because they're just like the perfect bite-sized scallop, right?

If we were gonna use the big scallops, I'd probably more slice those and do a carpaccio if it was a big scallop.

And I would also almost maybe sear those a little bit or barely cook 'em 'cause then they're really a lot of texture.

A big scallop's a lot of texture.

Flavor-wise, about the same.

This will just have a little more texture.

- Can I get these at a grocery store or should I go to like a specialty shop when I'm looking for bay scallops?

- When I'm doing a dish like this, I would definitely try and go to a local fishmonger, somewhere good, a reputable grocery store that has them.

If you can't find them there, you can buy them in your frozen food section.

They sell a little bay scallops.

They're fine, they come frozen.

You might just need to add a little bit extra, give it that little extra... maybe a little extra lime juice and a little extra salt, and defrost them and just pat them dry really well, and it should be fine.

You know, it's not gonna be the quality that you're getting with something like these fresh bay scallops.

They're gonna have a little more brininess to 'em, but they absolutely will work.

And I'm gonna put some hot sauce on it so, you know, you can cover it up if you want.

- It's fine.

- Salt.

- You know, cool.

Hot sauce cures all.

- That's right.

- Hot sauce does cure all.

So I'm gonna add some red onion to this, and that was just finally chopped.

I have a little bit of salsa.

This is just like a pico de gallo salsa.

And I'm just gonna add a touch of that, 'cause you want the acidity from it.

Some fresh lime juice, this is the most important thing.

This is really what's cooking the scallops, right?

So we want to add, and I'm gonna go pretty liberal with that.

So that was like a couple tablespoons.

- Like just lime juice?

You don't do lemon or orange juice or anything like that?

- No, I do just straight lime juice for this.

I love lime juice, and then some jalapeno.

And I have some diced jalapeno here.

- [Lee] Oh, yeah.

- I took the seeds out.

So when I was cutting the jalapeno, when you're cutting the jalapeno, you want to kind of... depending on how hot you like it, right?

I mean, if you really love it hot, just go at this baby.

But if you don't and you just like that flavor and that slight burn, - Slight burn.

- Slight burn.

- Slight burn.

- Slight burn.

So you would take the seeds out and then just give it a julienne like this.

(knife chopping) and then that would go in.

- [Olivia] Pop that right in.

(laughs) - But as I said, if you want it hot, you could just cut right across, chop this all up and those seeds go in.

That would be fine, you're just, you know... and each jalapeno depends how spicy each one is.

They're not uniform and they don't grow and have the same Scoville rating.

- I found that out the hard way.

- Yeah, whenever you- - Touch your eyes afterward.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Whenever you're cutting jalapenos, really important, don't go straight to the bathroom, Lee.

- [Lee] Okay, I'll keep that in mind.

- You'll only make that mistake once.

- Gentlemen, explain that to me.

- But you do wanna wash your hands really well, because the heat from that will stay on it.

And if you touch your face or eyes or another part of your body, it will burn.

- Okay.

I was talking about my eyes.

- Yeah.

Anyway.

- Well, you know the only bay scallops I have ever had is only at Frank's House.

- That's the only place to eat.

- Well, sometimes it's hotter than most.

- I don't think I've made either of you of ceviche.

So I have this really important, we need a lot of salt.

And this is just sea salt.

So I know these came from the sea.

They're a little briny, but we really want that flavor in them and really want to coax it out, and this is like the only chance.

So we just wanna mix this up.

(bowl clanking) - Smells good.

- And let this sit for just a minute.

And then for me, the most important ingredient is the cilantro.

And when you're doing the cilantro, don't overthink it.

You just want to give it a rough chop.

And if you're making this a little bit ahead, you don't want to add your cilantro until you're really ready to serve it.

And you want to just mix this in right at the last minute.

- Do you wanna serve this cold, or?

- You do wanna serve this cold.

Room temp is even okay if it sits out for a little bit.

It'll probably get better, but if I put this in the refrigerator like till tomorrow, the scallops will be like rubber.

That acidity from the lime juice is going to like cook 'em and make 'em really thick.

You can see they've already started to change color.

They've gone from like opaque to almost a grayish, like they're firming up from the salt and the lemon juice.

- So what I heard is we gotta finish this whole thing today.

- Okay.

All right.

You know what?

- That's what I got outta that.

- Okay, that's fine.

- I don't think that should be a problem, right?

- [Olivia] No.

- I just have like a really simple guac, put that right in the center.

- [Lee] Oh, wow.

- [Olivia] Nice touch.

- [Lee] Yeah.

I don't think I've ever had ceviche with guacamole mixed in.

- It's like peas and carrots, man.

You get avocado, jalapeno, cilantro.

- Not everybody's a chef.

Not everybody's a chef.

- So for me, this is really a great, like sit around nash, tell stories, make fun of Lee.

It's that kind of meal, right?

- It's my favorite part of any meal, really, is to make fun of Lee.

- It's very natural.

- Lee, you have a little wine you're gonna pour for us?

- [Lee] Always.

- What'd you bring over today?

- Well, when you told me that we were doing ceviche, I kind of was thinking like Baha, California, really kind of beachy kinda kind of area.

So I brought over a Spanish white wine known as Albarino.

This is done in like the northwestern corner of Spain.

A lot of the new technology in wine making, this region of Spain has really kind of come into its own.

Really great bright, acidic, kinda has some tropical fruit.

It goes perfect with ceviche and shellfish.

- So Albarino is the grape, right?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So when it's coming from here, it's named Albarino because it's 100 percent of that one grape.

And so it's done in the style that's done in that one region specifically.

It's gonna be dry, it's gonna be a little bit fruity, like tropical fruit.

Great for a hot day, great for ceviche, just kind of a relaxing white wine.

- So Olivia, to you and I, albarino is the grape, that's what we like to drink if you like it.

For us idiots that are standing around.

- I'll say, before you said it, I smelled tropical and normally I need someone to be like, don't you smell the pear in there?

And I'm like, yes I do.

I did get the tropical.

- Wet grass.

Come on.

You know that dampened wet grass.

I'm just gonna finish this off with a little extra virgin olive oil.

This is a Spanish extra virgin olive oil from the hills.

Not quite as great a description as the albarino, but I'm gonna go with it.

- There's always a story involved.

- It's the best part about cooking and food and eating and friends, right?

- That's right's.

- It's telling a story.

You both said you really like spicy, so I'm gonna put a little dollop, this is just a little cilantro and jalapeno puree, right on top of that.

So I will give you that to pass that down.

Are you doing the classic mix and dip?

- See, I'm gonna do a little bit of everything.

I'm gonna do it the opposite way of you.

- Yeah, I would do everything the opposite way of Lee.

- Oh, my God.

- It's like good life advice.

- I got dad.

(both laughing) - [Frank] Are you gonna cheers?

- I know, I was... - Wait, I thought we were friends.

Are we cheers or friends?

- Before we put the foods in our mouths?

It's fine.

- [Frank] Norman Cliff here.

It's gotta be pretty spicy.

- I mean this is why I always come over for dinner.

- Right.

- Are you open for breakfast and lunch also?

- We're doing chilaquiles tomorrow morning.

- Make a reservation.

I mean the spice is like perfect, I think.

- Yeah, it's not too much.

But like you're still getting all of that like, kind of seafood as that brininess that you were mentioning earlier.

- I don't even think I could eat that, it's too spicy.

- Really?

- I think it's too spicy for me.

Have you had some Albarino with it?

- No, I have not had an Albarino.

- You should have.

- I haven't.

- Yeah, you should, it's refreshing, it's crisp.

It's okay.

- I'm so rude.

Yeah.

- French cheers.

- I think the ceviche was a great way to get started, right?

Something light crisp.

Because I'm gonna make one of my family's favorite things.

Luca, Marco, Jacqueline, all love enchiladas.

Since you're here, I get to put some barbacoa in it.

Jacqueline doesn't really eat meat, so I'm gonna take the liberty, I went to carniceria.

- Carniceria.

- Carniceria.

- I went to the carniceria.

- Say carne first.

- Carne.

- Ceria - Ceria.

- [Olivia] There it is.

- So I went to the carniceria, which is just down the road and I got some barbacoa from there.

They do a bunch of great stuff.

That's where that jalapeno cilantro puree was from.

- Can I smell this?

- No.

- Too late.

- You wanna lick it too, what's is going on here?

- I already know it's gonna be- - People.

- [Lee] I already know it's gonna be good.

- So they do it really well.

Barbacoa is kind of a pain, it's a long braise.

So I just took the hassle out of it and went and bought it.

Typically though, when we're doing them here, we're just straight cheese people for the most part.

And I love a cheese enchilada.

One of the things when you're making enchiladas that I think is the big step that everyone forgets is you just want to give your tortillas a just a little bath in some hot oil.

And this keeps 'em like flexible and kind of moist.

Rehydrates them 'cause you want to use corn tortillas.

Yellow, white, it doesn't matter to me.

If I were to let these go, then they get crisp, right, like tortilla chips.

But for this, I just really, it's just a quick bath.

It's just that you can see them bubbling.

Once they start to bubble, you know they're done.

And then if you stack 'em on top of each other, they kind of keep each other warm and moist.

Moist is a weird word, but- - Now that you acknowledged it, yes.

- I like to use two kinds of enchilada sauce.

I use a green and then a red.

And they're just different kinds of chilies.

And I usually put a nice base of the green down.

- [Olivia] Like Christmas.

- It's the Christmas enchiladas.

It's not our Christmas episode.

- I'm sorry, but just saying that Christmas enchiladas, like that sounds fabulous to me.

Anybody else?

- Yes.

- No.

Like Christmas enchiladas, who doesn't want to do that?

- I don't know, maybe me?

- No, like Christmas days.

Like, oh, don't make enchiladas.

Like you wanna do something new, you wanna do something fun, you wanna do something interesting.

- No, I make enchiladas.

Doesn't matter the day 'cause I feel like they're appropriate like 360 days a year.

I don't know what we have those other five.

- The other five, no.

- Obviously Christmas Eve is not one of those days.

- No, it's not.

So I'm just gonna put a little cheese down.

Shred a little bit of this barbacoa.

Great thing is, try not to overstuff your enchiladas.

Lee, is there really a choice when it comes to enchiladas on what to drink?

I mean, what's the classic combo?

- I mean, honestly, I don't want to overthink it.

You know, there's beauty in simplicity and so if I'm doing enchiladas, I want a margarita.

- That's right.

- You know, I don't really think that it needs to be over executed.

And this shaker I've already kind of mixed up a couple margaritas for the two of us.

And so a little bit of tequila, a little bit of orange liqueur, some freshly squeezed lime juice and a little bit of agave syrup.

So I've put it all on the shaker.

I'm just gonna add some ice.

So I'm just gonna shake this up, you know, for good dilution.

Yeah.

Find a rhythm.

(upbeat music) - There we go.

There we go.

- So I'm just gonna shake it up just for like a few seconds, and by a few seconds I literally mean like 10 to 12 seconds of just shaking some rhythm.

You want some good dilution?

So you know, a little bit of the ice that you mix in kind of dilutes the alcohol, dilutes the- - How dare you.

- Yeah, sorry.

It dilutes the alcohol.

It dilutes the lime juice.

You know, it just kinda makes everything like one real cocktail, instead of just ingredients stacked on top of one another.

You know, just like Frank does with the enchiladas, you know, he is making it all one thing.

Not terrible, that's for sure.

- It's delicious.

- I know.

- It's delicious.

- I know.

- The Cointreau really comes through.

- You know, it adds extra fruit flavor.

- Yeah.

- So it's not just lime.

- Yeah.

- We're talking about orange.

- You get the orange.

- Hence I'm using two kinds of cheese.

I'm using like a Monterey Jack and the thing people don't know is Muenster cheese is the secret to good enchiladas.

- From a meltingness perspective?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- So I use a sharp cheddar Muenster and Monterey Jack.

- [Olivia] Hot tip.

- [Lee] I would never think about Muenster cheese.

- [Olivia] I know.

- You know how you know that?

- [Olivia] You go to Muenster.

- You go to the carniceria.

(buzzer buzzing) - Carniceria.

Carniceria.

- When you go to the...

So when you go to the carniceria, when you go into their cheese section- Are you okay?

- I'm fine.

- When you go into their cheese section, there's all this like Cheddar Monterey, but then there's big blocks of Muenster cheese.

And I asked one time, what's the Muenster cheese for?

And the person was like, it's for enchiladas.

It's the best cheese for enchiladas.

And ever since then, Luca was with me, my son, and he was like, I love Muenster cheese.

So it was like a match made in heaven.

So that is why I used that blend, three cheeses.

It's the three cheeses.

- With the Italian hand.

- Very, very- - You have to use the... - Very Espanol.

- He can't help himself.

- So I've got these ready.

So this is where I put my red enchilada sauce on.

Spill it all over the floor.

- It's a family meal.

It's a family meal meal.

It's okay.

All right, It's natural.

- So I'm just gonna pop these in the oven for at about 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

- So it's still pretty quick on this.

- Yeah, I feel like 10 minutes for like a family sized- - Yeah.

- Enchilada dinner is minimal.

- I'll be done with this margarita by then.

You'll be making another batch of margaritas by then.

- Don't challenge me.

- When you're doing enchiladas, really, like I know you're only gonna eat three of 'em, but you just always make a whole platter of 'em.

There's no point- - It feels wrong not to, right?

- Yeah.

Even though I'm- - If it doesn't fill the dish, it doesn't feel like it's been made.

- I had enough for you 10 minutes in, but I'm just gonna keep making 'em.

They're also therapeutic to make.

- I can eat like enchiladas anytime of day, midnight snack, breakfast, like any, right?

There's no point of the day where I don't want a enchilada.

- Between 11:30 and 12 o'clock at night is probably the best time.

- Prime enchilada time.

- All right.

So there it is.

Yeah, I heard it from Frank.

All right, tell me I'm wrong.

- You're wrong.

While the enchiladas are baking, I'm gonna get one of our favorite things.

This is Luca, Jacqueline's, everyone's favorite thing is cilantro rice.

So I just steam some rice in a rice cooker.

If you don't have a rice cooker, buy one.

Do either of you have one?

I don't.

Like that and instant pot, I can't decide.

- I would go rice cooker.

- That's what I've heard.

- The instant pot, I, you know... - To me this was the best pandemic purchase Jacqueline made.

- Everyone says that.

- Was a rice cooker.

- It was with a knuckle in a pot, but that looks beautiful.

- It's perfect every time.

Holds it warm.

So big pinch of salt and a bunch of lime juice.

- Oh, wow.

- And then just some rough chopped cilantro.

- Now this is the same cilantro from the ceviche from earlier?

- Yep.

- So you only have to buy one bunch.

- One bunch.

- Yeah.

One bunch should get you through a full meal.

And then when you're doing your rice cooker, so really all you want to do is fluff.

Just start taking a fork and pulling from the sides, and it breaks the rice up.

- Now is this just like standard white rice or is there a specific- - This is basmati rice.

- Okay, so just a just kind of a standard type though, correct?

- Yep.

Simple, cheap basmati rice.

You don't have to buy anything fancy.

You stir it in and it gets nice and light and fluffy.

That's the beauty of the rice cooker.

It like idiot proofs it for you.

I don't know if that works for you.

- Perfect.

Perfect for me.

- Perfect for you.

- You can be the exception.

- Oh, so our enchiladas are done.

I think that's everybody's favorite sound.

- There's not a microwave here, so.

- I know, right?

That's the closest we get.

- Wait, it's a better sound though.

- Yeah.

It's the I'm about to eat sound.

- That's it.

That's the sound I'm worried about.

Oh, wow.

- So super fast, super easy.

- Now how long did you put those in there for?

- So those were in for about 10 minutes.

- GBD, golden brown and delicious.

- So I usually serve three.

I don't know if that's gonna be... - You do what you usually do.

- [Lee] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You stay over there, right?

You do what you gotta do.

- [Olivia] We trust you.

- Just a nice spoonful of the rice.

I love a little bit of crema on top.

- Now what's in there?

Yeah.

- Sour cream.

- But how do you get sour cream to like this type of like...

I buy the Mexican Crema.

- It says Mexican Crema on the bottle.

I also have no idea why this is a thing when I go to restaurants and order enchiladas, but there's always lettuce on the plate.

- Because we're getting our greens in, - I have no idea why that's ever on my enchilada plate, but it's on there.

So I'm putting it on yours.

- Suddenly the healthiest meal I've ever eaten.

- I think that's what it is, right?

- Three colors.

Three colors.

- That's about butter.

A little bit of that lettuce, so we're good.

- Lee, there you go.

- Thank you, chef.

Best episode ever.

- I mean, come on.

- This is great.

- It's his first time using a knife in fork.

- He does like his hands.

You're right.

- I mean, come on.

You know it.

- Come on.

Come on.

- We all knew how good this was gonna be.

We all knew it, we were excited about it.

And as always, way to deliver.

- Yeah.

Now you know why my wife, Jacqueline, loves me and my kids.

It's the only reason they come home at night.

- The lime and the rice is so nice.

Like that fresh lime that just, it's amazing.

Cuts through everything.

Yeah.

- I would never think that either, especially with a rice cooker that, like you were saying, it does everything for you.

But like adding lime juice after the fact, adding a little bit of cilantro after the fact, once it's already perfectly cooked.

I don't think about that.

- So they're really vibrant, strong flavors and you want them to pop and finish the dish.

So that's why I put 'em in at the very end.

- I don't think I've ever thought about that.

- I know.

- But like doing things at the end to make them more vibrant.

You know, I've always thought about them putting them in at the beginning to make them vibrant.

- Olivia, Lee, it's such a pleasure to cook for you.

And just the laughs, I think this is what food is about.

So thank you very much for being in my kitchen.

(gentle jazz music) (playful music)