Mexican, Sandwich

The Hot Dog of Guadalajara

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So, as you know, I was just in Mexico and Tucson for the last week and while 99.999% of my time was work, work, work, there was one small respite before I got on a plane from Mexico to Arizona…a tortas ahogados. Known as the hot dog of Guadalajara, it’s kismet that I posted a link to this Gourmet story on the city’s food before I left, as I had read about these signature sandwiches last year and read it again before I departed just in case any opportunity arose for me to taste the local food.

After a few long days there was a little bit of time for the team to stop and eat before we got to the Guadalajara airport. Maybe because I had been talking so much about these sandwiches we stopped to shut me up. Check. It. Out.

A tortas ahogados is translated as “drowned sandwich” and drowned it was amigos. These come out in plates covered in plastic, so they can just remove the plastic and reuse the plate….ewwww but what are you going to do? I chose the pork sandwich and they served it with some pickled red onions, a tomato sauce (the drowned part) and a SPICY tomato/red onion sauce. Now I like to think I can handle spicy dishes and this proved me so wrong. Made with Chile de Arbol Peppers, my mouth was on fire but yet I kept drenching the sandwich in more spicy sauce! I’m such a glutton for spicy punishment. At the end of the day, I have to say this was a great local food experience and I really enjoyed the sandwich. It’s so different and delicious and I’m happy I got to have this brief food moment during all the craziness.

More kismetness (yes that’s a word) ensued. While I was waiting on plane after plane this week, I got to menu plan for the next few weeks and I came across Mexican Tortas with Black Beans and Chorizo recipe from the chef I grew up watching on PBS, Rick Bayless. I decided to continue my tortas kick and I’m glad I did. With the goat cheese, avocado, black beans and chorizo this was a stunning little sandwich. It was a little mushy so I did add corn chips to it for crunch.

I’m testing recipes again this week, including one that might be the new diva in my life, Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Semolina Gnocchi. I’ll let you know how it goes…

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Guadalajara Bound…

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…well dear readers, no recipe testing will occur this week as I will be in Mexico and Tucson for work. With that I leave you with a question, if you had to eat one type of food for a whole week what would it be? You know you have one!

I thought about this for some time and the one thing I can eat and eat and eat and never get tired of is chips and salsa, preferably from Luna de Noche but I’ve been known to devour any kind as well.

How about you? Adios until next week!

Dessert, Emily Favorite, Everything is better fried, Fruit

Doughnut Holes with Raspberry Jam

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I saw this recipe in the July issue of Food & Wine magazine and had been dying to make it, but could never seem to find the time. Finally, I did and thank goodness! 

I got all the way through step two and my stupid dough would not form at all, I was frustrated to say the least but nothing would stop me now. I got through step two again and voila! the dough formed and I let it rise for an hour.
They didn’t have raspberries at HEB so I decided strawberries would work just fine. I followed the steps for making the jam, quite simple if you ask me, and I had a perfect dipping jam for the holes which I still had to make.
When I was working with the dough, which was quite sticky, I thought “I’ve messed these up again!” but when I formed into balls and deep fried them they looked like doughnut holes but I couldn’t tell until we tried them…
THESE ROCKED! The sugar coating was fantastic and I loved smothering them in the strawberry jam. These are labor intensive but I definitely can see these being a unique party snack, a fun dessert after dinner or anytime you want to treat yourself.
Here is what the doughnut holes are supposed to look like (photo from Food & Wine), mine were a little more misshapen but who cares they were still amazing!
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I Spy Something Delicious!

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Remember my Sean Thackrey wine post a few months ago? Well, I told you dear Austinites I would let you know when I found some and yesterday while perusing the wine section at Central Market on North Lamar, BAM! there were bottles of Pleiades.

Now the bottle price was a little higher than I’ve seen recently at $35, so this may be a splurge but if you are up for an enjoyable and new wine experience it might just be worth it.

Coming up…a weekend of delicious new recipes we tested and tasted including one that made me look like this.

Cheesy Cheese, Pizza

Pizza with Fontina, Prosciutto, and Arugula

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The other night I had some frozen pizza dough and prosciutto and knew I had to make a pizza of some sort. A quick search on Gourmet.com led me straight to this Pizza with Fontina, Prosciutto, and Arugula.
 

This is a straight forward recipe so I followed it pretty much as is, except I took some inspiration from a pizza favorite here in Austin, Homeslice Pizza, and put cornmeal all over the crust to give it an extra crunch. Also, I like my prosciutto to have a crunch, so I baked the slices at 350 degrees until crispy.

The fontina was gooey and melty and perfect with the crispy and salty prosciutto. I served with a simple side salad with a honey dijon and shallot vinaigrette – one thinly sliced shallot combined with olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and honey dijon mustard. So simple and delicious!

This weekend it’s Cast Iron Skillet Burgers and Lemon Ginger Fried Chicken from Cooking Light. I think my mouth is already watering.

(Photo from Gourmet.com)

Emily Favorite, Lengthy recipe but worth all the whisking, sweat and tears, Mexican, Pork-a-licious, Potato, Spicy

Ancho Mama’s Pork Chops

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I love Chile Rellenos but I never seem to seek them out in restaurants or I guess don’t see them too much in my recipe search. In fact, the last time I had one was this delicious little beauty we tasted for the National Mango Board. Seriously, this was an awesome spin on the traditional chile relleno. So, when I was flipping through the new Bon Appetit recently and came across this Pork Chops with Chiles Rellenos and Ancho Sauce recipe, I recalled the mango chile relleno and decided to try this one for size.

Fabulous, just fabulous, is the only word I can use for this dish. When I read all of the ingredients and preparation, at first blush I thought this might be too spicy or smokey even for my heat-loving palate but it most certainly was not.

The pork chops sit for two hours at room temperature with a simple blend of salt and ancho chile powder. While that sits you can make the simple ancho chile sauce and chile rellenos. I loved the easy-to-make chile relleno filling that had oregano, cheese, boiled Yukon Gold potatoes and toasted cumin seeds. YUM!

The pork chops were smoky and delicious and the chile relleno (which I cooked-off in the oven at 350 degrees) was amazing, plus the ancho sauce with its sweet, smokey notes drizzled on top of of it all was perfect. Since I was cooking the pork chops inside, my one recommendation is to be sure to turn on the oven vent and open a window, that chile powder is intense.

This is definitely going on the top of my recent favorites and will be a fun and delicious dish to enjoy throughout the year.

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Bacon and Garlic Pasta with Garlic Herb Twists

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Well, dearest readers, none of the recipes I tried last week really tickled my palate enough to post here. So, for the second time in a row I did something very un-cooking inside the lines of me by doing my own thing with some leftover bacon, pasta and marinara sauce. However, I did also decide to try these Garlic Herb Bread Twists from Gourmet magazine. Mangia!

I had some bacon that needed to be cooked and some pappardelle pasta in the pantry. I simply cooked the pasta in salted water until al dente and while that cooked, I diced three pieces of center cut bacon and cooked until crispy. I let the bacon bits cool on a paper towel, and reserved about a tablespoon of the the bacon grease in the pan and lowered the temperature to medium-low. I then added two minced garlic cloves and after 30 seconds, added a jar of marinara sauce and simmered until warmed through. Once the pappardelle was finished, I drained and then combined with garlicky, bacony, marinara and added the cooked bacon bits and freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. This was super simple and a delicious way to use the rest of bacon in the package.

I also tried these delicious Garlic Herb Bread Twists that were amazing! I used store-bought, frozen pizza dough and the herb filling inside the twists with the garlic oil was a perfect complement to my pasta dish. Next time you have pasta night try this “twist” on the typical garlic bread. Mine didn’t look this beautiful (photo from Gourmet.com) but tasted amazing!

Bacon is always awesome, Burger, Cheesy Cheese

Beer-and-Beef Chili Sliders on Bacon Biscuits with Tomatillo Ketchup

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Everyday with Rachael Ray
August/September 2009

2 poblano chiles
2 slices of bacon, chopped
One 8-ounce box Jiffy buttermilk biscuit mix
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of chives
1/4 cup of yellow mustard
2 tablespoons of honey
6 tomatillos – peeled, rinsed and chopped
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and Pepper
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
3/4 pound ground beef sirloin
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons grill seasoning
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon grated peel plus the juice of one lime
Shredded lettuce, for serving

Preheat the broiler. Arrange the chiles on a broiler pan and broil, turning occasionally, until blackened all over about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Peel and discard the stems and seeds.

While the chiles are broiling, in a medium skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain, reserving about two tablespoons of the bacon fat; crumble the bacon.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Preheat a grill or a grill pan to medium-high. In a large bowl, combine the biscuit mix with 1/2 cup of water and whisk until dough forms. Mix in the cheese, chives, mustard, honey, bacon and reserved bacon fat. Spoon 8 equal mounds of the biscuit dough onto a baking sheet and bake until golden, 10 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes, then transfer to a rack and let cool completely; split.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the tomatillos, onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until the onions and tomatillos are softened, 8-10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the beef, beer, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, grill seasoning, paprika, cumin, coriander and oregano. Shape into eight patties, about 1 1/2 inch thick. Add to the grill and cook, turning once, for 5 minutes for medium-rare.

Using a food processor, puree the tomatillo mixture, chiles, cilantro, lime peel and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Top each biscuit bottom with a little shredded lettuce, a beef patty, some tomatillo ketchup and a biscuit top; secure with a toothpick.

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Fresh Peach, Bacon and Fried Egg Sandwich

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First, let me say to the two people who actually read this blog that I’m sorry I haven’t updated in more than a week! Do you ever have one of those weeks that are so long that you think of things that happened on Monday was actually two Mondays ago? Yeah, long one my friends.

So, I’m back in the saddle again and of course I was in the mood for a fried egg sandwich and had the tasty idea to make a fresh peach, bacon and fried egg sandwich and it was really, really good! I simply smeared a half tablespoon of salted butter on two slices of whole wheat multi-grain bread and toasted. While the bread toasted, I chopped up two pieces of center-cut bacon and cooked in a skillet until crispy. I reserved the bacon fat and then fried the egg until the whites were set and the yolk was still all runny and gooey. I then thinly sliced a peach and placed on the bottom piece of the toasted bread, then sprinkled the crispy bacon on top, followed by the fried egg. I finished the egg with a little sea salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper for spice and topped with the other bread slice. The hint of spice from the pepper, the gooey egg and juicy peach with the crispy bacon were all really good together. In the fall, I could see this being really good with pears too.

I’ve got a pretty interesting menu set-up this week and I’ll let you know what recipes make the cut! Tonight is Beer-and-Beef Chili Sliders on Bacon Biscuits with Tomatillo Ketchup and Jalepeno Popper Mac ‘n’ Cheese from Everyday with Rachael Ray.
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Eggs!

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So Cooking Light has been on an egg kick lately and I could not be happier because man, I love me some eggs. I sometimes feel like Bufford aka “Bubba” in Forrest Gump because I seriously could eat eggs anyway you make them…scrambled, poached, fried, over easy, on a car engine. Let’s take a gentle moment to reflect on glorious eggs shall we?

There, that’s better. So Cooking Light came up with some wicked good recipes using the incredible, edible egg, one being Poached Eggs with Buttery Multigrain Toast. When I first saw this recipe I thought “um yeah, that seems pretty simple and basic, I’ll try it sometime in 2010.” Well dear readers, I’m glad I decided to try it when I woke up one Saturday morning hankering for eggs and all I had were the ingredients for this dish. Simplicity can sometimes (or really all the time actually) knock your freaking socks off and this recipe is a prime example. I added a dash of red pepper and used Fleur de Sel (oui, oui friends!) because I love those flavor combinations on eggs.

The other egg recipe I tried was an Asparagus Salad with Soft Poached Eggs, Prosciutto, and Lemon-Chive Vinaigrette. The cooking method for poaching the eggs was something I hadn’t seen before. You boil water in a large skillet and then break the eggs into a custard cups covered with cooking spray. Once the water is brought down to a simmer you place the egg filled custard cups in the skillet and cover. In about 10 minutes, voila, they are done. How cool right? This was salty, gooey, eggy-goodness and the chives gave a great herbaceous note to the whole dish, plus the vinaigrette complemented everything on the plate.

Now go get your lutein, zinc, iron and protein with these two egg-alicious dishes!

Photo courtesy of Cooking Light