Carnitas Nachos

One of the perils of living alone or with one person, is that you have a lot of leftovers. If I make something, it's going to appear several times in a week. This week it was a pan of roasted carnitas.

My friend Liz and I were talking today about our memories of Taco Bell, particularly mine, and leaving the high school campus with my boyfriend on the noon hour in his Camaro, going to Taco Bell for lunch. That was a thrilling thing for me on so many levels. This was 1976. I was a teenage spaz. Having a boyfriend (even though he came out of the closet years later) was a really important thing. He had a great car, I'd never been to a Taco Bell, going out to lunch and not eating in the cafeteria felt so REBEL-like and grown-up at the same time, plus, other students saw me coming and going in his Camaro. That meant a lot.

What's sad, actually, is that when I was in high school in the mid 1970s, this was a "treat" event -- going to Taco Bell. Otherwise, it was the school cafeteria and the ladies, or you went home for grilled cheese and tomato soup. You didn't buy fast food on campus from vending machines. There was no Pepsi machine, no candy bar machine. There was a snack bar of course, open for twice a day for 15 minutes, and one hour over lunch. You could buy a snack or two, a candy bar, but it wasn't something you could get any minute of the day.

Twenty years later, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell battled to be sponsors of school lunches, soda machines became normal, treats were all day every day if the kids bring it or buy it, and obesity among teens went off the charts. There seemed to be no special occasion anymore. It seems to turn into this free for all. What you want, when you want, as much as you want. I'm not a parent, but, I'm still very encouraged by the schools who practice mindful eating (so long as they don't take it overboard and ban all peanut butter, for instance) and really focus on healthy cuisine.

Boy, I'm really digressing. So, talking about high school lunches with Liz today made me think of Taco Bell Lunches and I had some carnitas, so ...

FAST CARNITA NACHOS LIKE I HAD IN HIGH SCHOOL

1. Handful of tortilla chips in a small pan
2. A handful of my own leftover roasted carnitas crisped in a saucepan, and then added on top of the chips
3. A big spoonful (maybe 1/4 cup) of non-fat veggie refried beans, heated quickly with additional spices, because they were not only fat-free, they were flavor free
4. One slice of sharp white cheddar cheese, broken up into bits
5. Heated the whole she-bang until she bubbles
6. Topped with the dregs of a container of Trader Joe's cilantro dip (added a bit of FF milk to make it thinner and go further)
7. Topped with some creamy tomato salsa

Voila! Carnita Nachos.

I think my favorite part was the creamy salsa. I actually don't care for hot sauce or hot salsas. I had a bit of TJ's fire roasted salsa and it was okay, but a little sharp. I had a spoonful of FF Greek yogurt. Rather than dollop the yogurt on top (to stand in for sour cream), I mixed it right into the salsa, with a small chopped tomato. This took away the heat and made it creamy salsa and I liked it SO much better. It's pink!

An Open Letter to Nabisco

Dear Nabisco:

Regarding your decision to offer Triscuits in Deli Rye flavor, complete with toasted caraway seeds, which product I just discovered, purchased, and ate for lunch today ...

THANK YOU. I am in love.

xox

Kate

Fries? We don't need no stinkin' fries

We've got SALT POTATOES instead. Or, Syracuse Style Salt Potatoes, if you're from New York environs.

I first saw a recipe for salt potatoes, a sort of Tapa, in an IKEA 365 cookbook, of all things, while shopping for a cast iron dutch oven, needed so I could make the much ballyhoo'd Bittman No Knead Bread. Which I never made, incidentally.

Anyway, they seemed simple enough, and how can one go wrong with salt, potatoes, and butter? One can't, I'll tell you what (that's said in my best Hank Hill voice).

After I first made them and posted about them on Flickr, a friend of mine from the East told me this is very common fair in New York and platters of them are sold at fairs and festivals, called Syracuse Salt Potatoes. Indeed, there is a Wiki page for it, so no further investigation is required.

Step 1:
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil, and I do mean heavily salted. This is about a 3 quart pan and I added at least 2 cups of Kosher Salt to it. Add small red potatoes which have been scrubbed, but not pierced or cut. After this stellar shot for those who do not know what boiling water looks like, I remembered I had a small bag of Russian Fingerlings going dodgy, so I added those as well and thew in more water and salt.


Step 2:
Boil those pupplies at a rapid boil for about 15 minutes. Resist the urge to pierce. You don't want them breaking or absorbing too much salt.

Step 3:
Boiling is done. Check for tenderness. They are done when the largest potato is fork tender. You'll have to eat that one for the good of the batch. Also, when the water level drops and the tops of some of the spuds peak out, you'll notice as soon as they hit the air, they begin to turn a little white. That's good. See how as soon as I take one out of the water, it turns white? That's the fine mist of salt clinging to it. That's good.

Step 4:
Drain the spuds thouroughly and allow to dry. The original recipe called for baking them at a high heat for another 10 minutes to throughly dry, and I did it the first time, but not thereafter. It's a non-essential step unless you want a crispier exterior. I think they are fine as is.

Step 5:
Melt some butter for dipping. The sprinkled thyme is my idea (those are the little dark clumps which have already sunk to the bottom of the butter). I love thyme on just about everything and I grow it in abundance, so in it goes. Dip the hot, salty potatoes in the melted butter. Comfort food at its finest, and, no deep fat frying required. Of course you ARE eating melted butter, so it's not exactly low cal, but just few will sate you.

How salty are they? No more salty than your standard order of french fries. By not piercing the skins, only the exterior is coated in salt water, and the white film is thin, thin thin. You're not going to get salt on your hands or anything. In fact, I think a slice of bacon is saltier than these potatoes. Your pan, stove, and lid WILL be white with salt, however. It gets everywhere.

Enjoy.

Prosciutto Spiral Focaccia

What I've made is a simple spiral focaccia to serve in place of sandiwch, along side soup. It's more than bread, less than a sandwich, although you'll find it rich enough to get by with one piece.

It doesn't escape my attention that this "cheater's focaccia" is something the love-to-hate Sandra Lee would make, but I rest more easily knowing she'd probably use Carl Buddig ham or bologna, and dried herbs from the .98 cent store, instead of proscuitto and fresh herbs.

With this version, I've used prosciutto and herbs, however, it's very easy to customize this recipe. Olives and Parmesan would be wonderful, herbs and cheese would be wonderful. I've even seen it with bacon and cheddar cheese (too fatty for my tastes), and pepperoni for a "pizza spiral."

Let's assemble the ingredients. Chopped fresh herbs of your choice (here I have diced thyme, scallion, sage, and parsley), an egg, a bit of butter, several slices of prosciutto, and a tube of ready-to-bake dough breadsticks. I've used Pillsbury Low Fat (don't worry, we'll fix that) Breadsticks.



Seperate the breadsticks and flatten each one slightly, so that you may spread ingredients on each piece. It isn't necessary to saute the herbs, but that is my preference. You could just sprinkle the herbs on the dough, but I melted a small amount (perhaps a tablespoon) of butter and quickly heated the herbs to release their flavors. I spread the herb butter on each breadstick.


Seperate the thin layers of prosciutto and tear into long shreds, laying a narrow piece on each breadstick. Complete coverage isn't necessary -- it's salty and flavorful, so a little goes a long way.

Coil up one breadstick, and place it in the center of a lightly buttered pie tin. Leave the tail of that piece exposed slightly, as you'll be continuing the coil. Take the second piece, and press the end very firmly into the first end of the coil, and begin to wrap that piece, as well.

As you coil each piece, it will begin to look like a large rose. It's important to make sure the ends are pinched together tightly as you affix each new piece, but, do not wrap them tightly. You want them to expand and cook fully throughout.

When the spiral is complete, use the rest of any herb butter, and brush over the top. Now, beat the egg and brush beaten egg over the top, as well. Be generous with the egg, you want it to dribble into any nooks and crannies to help seal the spiral.

Bake the spiral at 375 for approximately 20-25 minutes, until well-browned. Let cool a bit before slicing into wedges, and serve. Be sure to expand this last photo ... it's really sexy up close.

You know what I'm thinking? You could make one mondo cinnamon roll with this. Make your favorite filling, roll it up, glaze it with cream cheese frosting, and serve this extra large roll at the table. For bakers who are yeast whisperers and not afraid of making their own dough, you could also make your dough and roll it spiral style, for homemade focaccia in a new style. Hmmmm. The variations are endless.

P.S. Guess who's boyfriend bought her a new digital camera? He's such a keeper. No more cell phone blogging!

Copycat: Urban Fries

One of the popular side items at Jack's Urban Eats in Sacramento, California, are "Urban Fries." Essentially, they are nothing more than Buffalo Fries, with fries standing in for the missing chicken wings. They are insanely good -- and I don't like Buffalo Wings in any way, shape or form.

I made lunch for the BF this weekend and he wanted some crispy fries. The urban fries are not terribly complex and I had all the ingredients on hand, so I whipped up a copycat batch. Frankly, I think mine are better. First, because I've recently become addicted to Penzey's spice blends and I added a bit to the dish, and second, because I served the sauce on the SIDE, whereas, Jack's serves it doused over the fries. They get soft and cold very quickly that way. Mine stayed hot and crisp.



Method:

Bake a batch of your favorite crispy french fries. Shake a modest amount of Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle (it's basically garlic and herb salt) over them, and sprinkle with parsley. On the side (or over the top if you prefer), serve a dish of bleu cheese dressing which has been sprinkled with hot wing sauce and hot chili oil.

Verdict: Tasty as all get-out
Skill: None, but I should get credit for always having fresh parsley on hand
Repeat: You betcha, but I'll crumble some bleu cheese over it next time, because this isn't nearly calorie-dense as it should be.

Brie and Prosciutto Quesadillas

It's a Trader Joe's evening. Well, actually, it was a TJ's evening last night, also. I had a variety of vegetables from Trader Joe's (not my usual habit -- TJ's produce is not known for its shelf life. Fruit and vegetables seem to rot by the time you get home from the store, don't they?) and a fresh batch of herbs from my own garden, so I quickly roasted an entire pan of assorted vegetables for dinner, and kept the rest for the remainder of the week.

Poking around in the fridge tonight, I pulled out the roasted veggies, as well as a few other TJ's staples I usually have on hand, and came up with this very tasty concoction.

1 Truly Handmade Flour Tortilla
1 slice of prosciutto
1 slice of brie
1 roasted asparagus spear
3 roasted mushrooms

I grilled the prosciutto so it had a bit of crispiness to it first (and it slightly greased my panini pan that way. I barely buttered the outside of the tortilla, and layered in the prosciutto, vegetables, and topped with a slice of brie. I grilled it until grill marks appeared the cheese melted. Sliced, and served.

Verdict: Great
Skill: Easy
Repeat: Yep

Cosmos Caramel Corn

I was taken in by the sign, handwritten, above the display of Cosmos Caramel Corn. It said simply:

COSMOS CARAMEL CORN

Oh. My. God.

$5.50

I laughed out loud at the testimony, and after an equally funny exchange with the elderly, Japanese owner of the fruit stand where I was shopping, I was out the door with a bag, and his warning to me: "Don't blame me if this makes you fat."

I won't. And it probably will make me fat, because I managed to eat the entire bag in 24 hours. It was the most amazing thing -- it's difficult to describe. This is not your garden variety caramel corn from a mall. It has no hulls and no kernals. Very tender in the mouth. It is just poofy corn goodness, much the same texture as a cheesey poof or baked cheese puff snack would be. Light and airy, it dissolves in your mouth like a merinque. The coating is like pure burnt sugar and butter. It's amazing. The sign said it all:

Oh. My. God.

I agreed it was very gentle in the mouth, but laughed at the promise it makes -- not to upset your digestive system -- because I was ill on a sugar high after polishing off the entire bag.

The website promises a sample is available, although I can't tell if that's if you're local to Oregon (where the product is made), or by mail order as well. I purchased mine from a roadside fruit stand in Northern California. Try the sample or buy a bag online, and don't blame me, either, if it makes you fat.

http://www.cosmoscaramelcorn.com/