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!

Postcard From (Not) France: Part Deux

Continuing with this week's Francophone theme, I bet you're wondering what I did with that baguette from Le Petite France. Why, something delicious of course! Truth be told, it was partly inspired by my friend Lorene's discussion of a 'grown up' grilled cheese made with Gruyere and ham. I popped into the West Hartford Whole Foods after the cafe and picked up a nice heirloom tomato, because I'm obsessed with them, and some Gruyere. I remembered this recipe from Chef Mike Lata on the Bon Appetit website and came up with my own, less complicated version. The result? Cheesy, crispy, tomato-y goodness:

And, despite Lorene's admonishment that "You always say everything is easy!" this is, seriously, easy to make.

First, I sliced the baguette in half and then length-wise. I then rubbed some olive oil into the bread and seasoned it with S&P. If I had some garlic I would have rubbed a little of that in as well. Then, I sliced some of the tomato and placed it on the bread followed by some more OO and S &P. Then, I sliced some of the cheese and layered that on top of the tomato followed by some fresh basil. I set the oven to broil and popped the bread in for 5-10 minutes--just until the cheese started to bubble. Voile! It was so tasty I made it again the next day with the other half of the baguette. It is actually a good way to use slightly stale bread.