Remembrance of Foods Eaten

Some people recall the places they've been by the sites they've seen. With me it's by dishes eaten. 

The other day I asked James, "Remember that huevos rancheros I had in Utah?" 

It took him a moment, but then he replied "You mean at the place we stayed in Zion?" 

Yes, that would be Zion National Park, one of the most awe inspiringly beautiful places I've ever been--like, beautiful beyond words beautiful, which is a lot coming from me. 

See what I mean?

And yet, my whole experience can be boiled down to a plate of eggs, rice, beans, and salsa.

But man, it was a good plate.

Since I won't be going back to Zion anytime soon, I decided to make my own huevos rancheros:

This is not a particularly hard dish by any means, but there are a few things one must do:

1.) Pan fry your tortillas.

I'll admit, I had never fried corn tortillas in oil, preferring instead to follow the stupid instructions to 'warm' them on the back of the package. Don't do this. Fry them in a little oil until crisp. Then, while the pan is still hot, fry your eggs. Which brings us to thing you must do #2:

2.) Don't overcook your eggs. 

Seriously. Part of the deliciousness of this dish lies in the egg yolk running together with the beans and salsa and tortillas.

3.) Keep your tortillas warm while you cook your eggs.

A pretty basic tip, but one that can make all the difference. No one wants cold, soggy tortillas with their huevos. I kept mine warm in an oven set on 150. 

Now, aside from these tips, you can pretty much do whatever else you want; use store bought salsa, beans, no beans, rice, no rice--I don't care. For this dish I used salsa verde because I love it and refried black beans. Add a little cheese, sprinkle a little hot sauce and voila! Or, rather, ole!

Spanish Dessert Showdown: Pain y Chocolate vs Churros

As I mentioned last week, I had a lovely dinner with friends last Sunday at Barcelona in West Hartford. It's become one of my favorite hang outs when I visit home, and not just because a friend of mine works there. The tapas are delicious and the decor is hip and sleek. But, this post isn't about their ham-wrapped figs (delicious!) or those eye-catching light-fixtures that hang in the dining room (so chic!). This is a post about two very important things: chocolate and dough. First up we have churros, which are basically Spanish doughnuts coated in sugar. The fun part comes when you dip the churros in melted chocolate. Normally, the churros come with a cute little cup of chocolate, not the bowl you see pictured. I asked for extra, because I'm gross. (Now, I really should have asked what kind of chocolate they use but I forgot and now my friend is in Vegas and won't respond to my annoying text messages.) Despite my liberal use of said chocolate, there was still quite a bit left after we finished the churros. Enter: Pain y Chocolate. My friend offered to bring over some bread for us to use with the rest of the chocolate, which sounded perfectly acceptable. However, this wasn't simply table bread. First, the chef toasted the bread, then drizzled it with olive oil, and finished it off with a sprinkling of sea salt. It was delicious: Sweet and salty, crunchy and buttery. But what I love most is how easy it is to make. I'd never try to make churros at home; the whole deep-frying process turns me off. But, anyone can toast some bread and dunk it in a bowl of chocolate. Ugh. I love how the simplest things are usually the most delicious.

Pain y Chocolate enters the ring after we devoured the Churros