Tortilla Chips

Here’s an easy way to make tortilla chips or tostada shells. I don’t like to fry because I find the whole ordeal disheartening to clean up. 

So, buy your favorite fresh corn tortillas. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. You may rub the tortillas w/ oil, salt or other spices but it is not necessary. If you want chips, cut the tortillas into your desired matching shapes. If you want tostadas, then leave them whole. A typical cookie sheet will hold six tortillas. Place the tortillas on the cookie sheet. Put the cookie sheet in the oven. Cook for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan and flip over the tortillas. Cook for 10 more minutes. Done!

Going Out For Breakfast

Let me set a standard, I am one of the worst people to take out to dinner. I know it. My husband knows it and most of my immediate family is aware of this issue. In my mind, the biggest offender of all dining experiences is breakfast. Why? because breakfast is cheap and when I see pancakes on the menu for $10, I wonder: is there more than flour, buttermilk & eggs in this concoction?

When I go out for breakfast, which is about twice a year, I’m already starting at a disadvantage. First, for whatever foolish reason, I choose to wait to have coffee until I go out. My second mistake is that I cannot rid my mind of how much I’m over paying for a meal that is almost certainly going to be a disappointment.

Eggs. A breakfast staple that is more often than not, treated w/ contempt and carelessness. Eggs are delicate. Throwing them on a massively hot and greasy griddle, waiting for one side to burn, while the yolk squirms about is not treating eggs w/ the respect they deserve. My eyes wander over to omelettes and blink forcefully when they read four to six eggs. This can’t be for one person. Oh but wait, that browned oily half moon thing w/ its contents that fell out piled on top is being served to someone who actually has to use a knife to cut what in some sick sick world is called an omelette. I am sad.

Then I remember that there are potatoes. I love potatoes. I love potatoes w/ my imaginary perfectly runny eggs. Yet, nowhere seems to cook potatoes evenly. Some are done. Some are burnt. Some are completely browned and raw inside. This warps my brain.

In my deep despair, I sip my coffee and wonder if I should safely order the cereal w/ dry toast. How much does that cost?

Anchovies? Yes, Please.

Here’s a simple dish. One that you could serve w/ a salad or meat. I chose a beautiful fillet of steelhead. 

What you’ll need:

angel hair pasta

4-5 garlic cloves sliced thinly

crushed red pepper flakes

3-4 anchovy fillets minced

1 pound of fresh washed and dried spinach

1 chopped roma tomato

parmesan

black pepper

Directions:

When the pasta only has about two minutes left to cook, heat about 1/3 of a cup of olive oil in a small sauté pan. Add garlic, anchovies and crushed red pepper. Cook over low heat and stir often, until the garlic is golden. Immediately remove from heat. Drain pasta, return it to its cooking pot. Add spinach and toss, which will wilt the spinach in such a pretty way. Just so you know, it turns bright green. Quickly, add the hot oil and toss it to coat the pasta/spinach. Add chopped tomato. Put it on plates. Grate parmesan over top. Finish w/ fresh cracked black pepper. Eat.

Not My Mama's Picadillo

The weather is cool. It is a perfect time to consider picadillo. My family makes this dish as a soup. I suppose my grandma may have made it the conventional way (which is similar to a hash) at one time but she did have five kids to feed. It makes sense to stretch the dish out this way. Every time I make this soup, I think of my mom. She loves it. Maybe not my version so much. She says, there isn’t enough tomato. As with all things, change is inevitable. 

Picadillo is ground meat and tomatoes. From a glance at some recipes, those two things seem to be pretty certain. I didn’t however find it as a soup any where. 

What I do is this: peel potatoes, chop them into cubes, pour water over them by three inches, add diced tomatoes and boil until they are tender. Only then do I add salt.

Next, I cook ground turkey or chicken with cumin, chopped onion, minced garlic, minced chiles of choice, chopped cilantro. I add the finished product to the soup. Stir. Let it cook together for maybe ten minutes.

Last, heat a tortilla, rub a little lemon and salt on it, roll it up and dunk it into this marvelous bowl of picadillo.

And if more tomato feels necessary, a can of tomato sauce never hurts. P.S. Don’t forget to call your mom.

Two Years

Where have I been for two years? First, I went to culinary school for one of those, taking a couple of baking and pastry classes. I’m ServSafe certified. Which basically means that I wash dishes really well and I probably won’t poison anybody. Second, I was allowed entrance in the work force. All the while, this pretty little website my husband made for me has been hanging out, getting lonely. I decided to no longer neglect it.

My project for today is huevos rancheros. Not a scoop of beans with salsa on top. No sour cream. No inferior tortillas. I’m attempting to recreate a dish my husband and I enjoyed at Rick Bayless’ XOCO. We’ll see what happens.   

Update on Sep 23, 2011 by Monica

The huevos rancheros received applause from my husband. They were great. I made enough sauce for leftovers. Maybe something else? The magic of chiles! Next time, I’ll take a photo. I was too hungry.