Maniladas with White Cheese Sauce and Tomatillo Sauce

I gave birth to my baby girl, Stella, on October 1, 2009. As you can imagine, I have had no time to cook nor have I had the urge to cook as my husband and I have been taking care of this little creature. But finally last week I decided to make something from scratch, and although there's a lot of steps to this dish, it goes by really fast. The cheese sauce is actually my favorite and you can use it as a sauce for almost anything, including lasagna and macaroni. I saw (and got) this recipe from the "Cooking for Real" show on the Food Network. It's an unusual take on enchiladas + manicotti, but the combination works and the tomatillo sauce really makes a difference, so go ahead and give it a try!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4 to 6)

• 1 (8-ounce) package manicotti shells
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Vidalia onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup sour cream

For the Tomatillo sauce:

• 1 pound tomatillos, quartered
• 1 small red onion, quartered
• 1 jalapeno, halved
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cheese sauce:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups heavy cream, room temperature
• 2 cups grated fontina cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Boil manicotti in salted water for 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water and set pasta aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute more. Remove pan from heat and mix in chicken, tomatoes, cilantro and sour cream. Set aside. To make the Tomatillo Sauce: Place tomatillos, onion, jalapeno and garlic in a baking dish. Toss with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tomatillos turn golden around the edges and are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and blend ingredients together until smooth. Use reserved pasta water to thin sauce, if necessary. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To make the cheese sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Add cheese and nutmeg and stir until melted. Season sauce with salt, to taste.

To assemble: Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Stuff manicotti tubes with chicken mixture and assemble in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over the top. Bake 30 minutes until cheese is bubbling. Drizzle tomatillo sauce on Maniladas before serving.