Instructions: Hold the California and ancho chiles under running water to rinse. Use scissors to cut off the chiles stems and cut the chiles in half. Shake out the seeds onto a paper towel. (Put the seeds in your garden for the birds.)

Place the chiles and garlic in the top half of a steamer set over simmering water. Steam for 25 minutes. This technique, as opposed to soaking dried chiles in boiling water, preserves more of the chile flavor. Remove the chiles from the heat.

Place 1/3 of the chiles in a blender with 1 cup of water. Puree until smooth. Pour the puree into a wire strainer nested over a large bowl. Continue pureeing the rest of the chiles, garlic and water as in the previous step, in batches, so that each time you add 1/3 of the chiles. Push all of the chile puree through the strainer using a spatula or wooden spoon. Be sure to scrape off the chile puree clinging to the bottom of the strainer.

Pour the remaining water into the blender and turn it on to help clean the blades. Pour this chile water through the strainer to catch the last bit of goodness. You should now have about 3 1/2 cups chile puree.

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat and add the flour, toasting lightly until light-nut-brown, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the chile puree and add the oregano, vinegar and salt. Simmer the sauce for 20 minutes to blend flavors. Taste, and if the sauce seems a bit sharp, add sugar. If the sauce seems thick, add water or broth, simmering again for about 5 minutes. (

Makes about 3 to 4 cups)

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat and fry the tortillas about 1 minute on each side. Drain on paper towels.

Cook the onion over medium heat, using the same pan, just long enough to remove the raw flavor, about 3 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin your assembly of the enchilada stack by dipping a fried tortilla, using tongs or your fingers, into the Red Chile Sauce. Lay it in a 2 1/2-quart shallow casserole. Spread a layer of 2 tablespoons of onion, 1/4 cup of grated cheese and some olives. Keep dipping, stacking and layering ingredients until you have used all of the tortillas. Try to keep the layers even and then press the stack from the top middle so everything adheres together.

Pour any remaining sauce around the base of the stack. Bake the stack until the cheese has melted and started to bubble, 15 minutes. Just before serving, drizzle leftover heated Red Chile Sauce (about 1/2 cup) over the sides of the pie and garnish with abandon by drizzling crema over the top so it spills down the sides. Sprinkle on the crumbled queso fresco.

Toss the romaine with the olive oil, salt and wine vinegar. Arrange the romaine ribbons around the base of the stack with a little on top. Garnish further with avocado slices. Serve immediately by cutting the stack into 4 to 6 wedges. Make sure that each wedge has enough of the crumbled cheese, the romaine and avocado slices.

This recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.

NOTES : Jacqueline Higuera Mcmahan, author of "Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian Recipes" (Sasquatch Books, $21.95)

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