Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros, originally uploaded by Kim De.

If you are looking for a meal that is quick and easy, warm and comforting, and will impress, look no further. And if like me you like the occasional breakfast for dinner...

Convincing Bo that it's ok to have eggs for your last meal has been a slow process. But with meals like this one he is warming up to the idea. Eggs, cooked soft with a simmer of salsa, homemade tortillas and soft refritos (re-fried beans) are the perfect Mexican "home cooking" and make a great comfort meal.

This recipe came from MY expert in Mexican food, Rick Bayless. I pulled it from his first book, Authentic Mexican. You can see a jar of store bought salsa in the background - that isnt something you see much in my house. Homemade salsa is so easy to make it is almost a sin to purchase it. If you catch yourself with a busy day, however, please promise me you will buy a high quality salsa. it can make all the difference to your meal!

Enough talking. On to the recipe.

Ranch-Style Eggs with Tomato Chile Sauce (Rick Bayless)
Heuvos Rancheros

About 2 cups Quick-Cooked Tomato-Chile Sauce (recipe to follow) or high quality store bought salsa
4 medium thick corn tortillas, set out to become a bit stale
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 large eggs
Salt and Pepper
2 T crumbled Mexican queso fresco or cheese like feta or farmer's cheese
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Warm the sauce in a small saucepan over medium low heat, covered. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high. When quite hot, quick fry the tortillas one at a time 2-3 seconds per side, just to soften them. Drain on paper towels, wrap in foil and keep warm in a low oven. Reduce the heat in the skillet to medium low ans let it cook f or a few moments.

Break 4 eggs into the skillet and let them cook, slowly, sunnyside up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then transfer the eggs to a baking sheet and keep them warm with the tortillas. Fry the remaining eggs to the pan and cook in the same fashion.

Set a tortilla on each of 4 warm plates. Top with 2 fried eggs then spoon the sauce over the tortillas and whites of the eggs, leaving the yolks exposed. Last, sprinkle the cheese and chopped cilantro.

Quick Cooked Tomato Sauce

1 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, boiled or roasted; OR one 28 oz can good quality canned tomatoes, chopped
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 3-5 serranos or 2-3 jalapenos), stemmed
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 T lard or vegetable oil
Salt

Roughly chop the tomato and place in a blender or food processor.

For a milder sauce, seed the chiles. Chop them to bits and add to the blender with the onion and garlic Process until pureed but retaining a little texture.

Heat the lard or oil in a medium large skillet over medium high. When it is hot enough to make a drop of the puree sizzle, add it all at once and stir consistently for about 5 minutes as the puree sears and cooks into a thicker more orange colored sauce. Season with salt and remove from the fire

An Italian Night

P1010069, originally uploaded by Kim De.

I love breakfast for dinner. I love a good frittata. Amazing that these two things are symbiotic!

Tonight we went with Italian flavors. Prosciutto and Apple Frittata with a Caprese Salad.

I must admit, as pretty as the salad is, it is so simple to make. I sliced various tomatoes and arranged them on a plate with buffalo mozzarella. I drizzled them with a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Basil from my deck finished off the combo. Almost a crime!

I have another confession to make - tonight's frittata was a combination of two recipes, plus my own ideas. I have a basic recipe, but as this dish is extremely forgiving, you could do many things to it. So I decided my frittata would have a touch of prosciutto, instead of milk or cream as a binder I would add mascarpone cheese, parmesan cheese would be needed as the other salt, and to add a contrast? Sliced roma apple. I think the plan worked. The meat was an amazing salty contrast to the sweet of the apple.

The picture? Well, the phone was ringing as the oven timer was buzzing - basically I didnt do it. Trust me. It was pretty. Picture the light yellow eggs, the diced pink meat, the ribbons of green basil and the red from the apple peel. A beautiful presentation.

Instead, I included a picture of my dog, Foxy, and the rough life she leads!

Prosciutto and Apple Frittata (Adapted from recipes by Giada and Everyday Food Magazine)

1 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot , chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large eggs
1/4 cup marscapone cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 ounces sliced prosciutto, coarsely chopped
1 gala apple, cored and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Heat the oven to 350.

Heat the oil in a heavy 9 1/2-inch-diameter skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Saute over medium-low heat until the shallot is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the prosciutto and saute another 3 minutes or until crisp.

Whisk the eggs, cheese, 2 T Parmesan, and basil in a medium bowl to blend. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet. Lay the apples over the top of the egg, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cook over medium-low heat until the egg mixture is almost set but the top is still loose, about 3 minutes. Place the skillet in the oven. Bake until the top is set and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittata from skillet and slide the frittata onto a plate.

Friday Night Pizza

Good Saturday Morning!




Last night we had plans to go out in the world where people are - both being somewhat homebodies (me more than him) we dont always do that - so a quick, light dinner was called for. With this being "meat week" I had to do a non-veg pizza, so I settled on a Cheeseburger Pizza I saw on Culinary in the Desert. Bo isnt nearly as enamored with pizza as I am, so I try to make those that he will like (read: have meat).



I made a whole wheat crust. I usually make the 16 oz version, then use half, freezing the other half for next week. We like it thin and crisp, so I roll it out as thin as I can. I spread my favorite marinara on top (Thanks Alysha!) then sprinkled on the browned ground beef. A thin layer of shredded cheese followed (did I mention Bo isnt a huge cheese fan!!!!). I mixed a smoked mozarella with a sharp cheddar. The pizza was slid into a 500 degree oven onto our stone for a 9 minute bake.

I am having oven issues right now: the temp isnt calibrated correctly and I have to preheat down 5-10 degrees each time. I have three (yes, THREE) oven thermometers inside right now trying to discover the correct temp adjustment but at this time they are NEVER in sync with each other, so frustration runs rampant when I am baking. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I forgot to adjust the temp the obligatory 5-10 degrees and the pizza got a touch crispier then I would like, but it is probably nothing anyone else would notice. In fact tonight's comment was "we should never eat pizza out again!" Pretty good for a guy who "doesnt like pizza!"

A slice with a small salad and we were out the door to a Blues Club for the evening!

Just for fun, I added a pic of this morning's breakfast. Sometimes I get inspired by leftovers - they scream to me: "ADD ME TO EGGS!!!" This morning I obeyed. One half of a crab cake and a few stalks of asparagus from Thursday nights dinner were chopped up and tossed into a frying pan. A sprinkling of pancetta crumbs was added along with some Black and Red Spice mix from Penzeys. The eggs were beaten with a touch of crumbled feta, then added to the hot pan until just cooked and soft. I served breakfast with muffins from the freezer.



Cheeseburger Pizza (Adapted from Canadian Living and Culinary in the Desert)

***NOTE: Since I made a smaller pizza, I used only half the porportions of all ingredients!***

8 ounces ground sirloin
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough
1/4 cup marinara sauce
3 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
3 ounces shredded white Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a pizza stone placed on the lowest rack.

In a medium skillet, add beef, onion, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper - cook over medium-high heat, stirring often to crumble the meat, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain off fat, if necessary, and set aside.

Stretch and roll out pizza dough to a rough 12" circle on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle enough cornmeal to lightly cover a pizza peel and transfer the dough on top.

Spread sauce over dough - scatter the top evenly with the cooked beef mixture. Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the top. Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake until the cheese has melted and the crust is golden, about 10 minutes. Remove and transfer pizza to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Makes about 4 servings.