Why Bagels? A freshly made everything bagel toasted and topped with plain Philadelphia cream cheese, alongside a cup of coffee. It’s a satisfying thing. Any Starbucks CHONGA (acronym for cheese, onion, garlic) bagel lovers out there? The catalyst for making bagels at home was two-fold. …
One of my first posts was dedicated to vinaigrettes. It walked through a guide on how you can freestyle vinaigrettes once you understand the relationship between the ingredients and what role each ingredient plays (i.e. acid, emulsifier, fat, etc.). In that guide, I provided balsamic …
I associate breakfast burritos with being on the go – heading to some sort of adventure. I love road trips, I love camping, and I love weekend adventures. And sometimes those things call for early mornings on the road where you just need someone else to make your breakfast and your coffee for you. So good coffee shops (that offer dark roast coffee mind you, don’t get me started) that have either killer breakfast burritos or breakfast sandwiches will spur in me the ability to stave off hunger until I can get to them or go out of my way to visit them. They become a memory of the road trip or adventure in and of themselves. So much so, that when someone says breakfast burrito, the immediate memory that usually comes to mind is a coffee shop in McCall, Idaho that I visited with friends probably 15 years ago where I had a great breakfast burrito and a great cup of coffee on my way to some adventure because that’s what you do in places like McCall.
Trips, food, and experiences outside our homes inspire what we do inside our homes. That’s the beauty of the balance of time away and time at home. Both are necessary and the balance is delicate. It’s like adjusting the focus on a nice set of binoculars, it just needs a slight adjustment to be either in or out of focus.
Breakfast burritos are like pizza or enchiladas or tacos – you can make 1,000 variations of them that are all good. This is a recipe that we’ve discovered and love to make at home. The recipe takes you through turning ground pork into chorizo. I don’t know about you, but every store-bought version of chorizo I’ve had is really greasy and not very meaty. This is the opposite.
These are one version of a killer breakfast burrito. They'll take you straight to a mountain town coffee shop that serves breakfast burritos (at least that's what they do for me)!
Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the potato ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat well. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, flipping them about halfway through. Set aside after cooking.
To make the chorizo. Destem and deseed the chiles and toast them in a hot skillet for 60 seconds. Place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water. Place a small bowl or plate on top of the chiles to keep them submerged. Allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain the chiles and discard the soaking liquid. Add the chiles to a blender along with the remianing ingredients (except the pork). Blend until if forms a thick paste. Combine the paste with the ground pork. Divide into two 1-LB servings, freeze one and sauté the other pound in a skillet for this recipe.
Saute the onion and jalapeno over medium heat until tender. Whisk the eggs and add to the onion mixture along with salt and pepper, cooking over medium heat until done. Set aside.
To build the burritos, heat up a tortilla in a hot skillet. Add the eggs, potatoes, chorizo, cheese and salsa or hot sauce of choice. Roll tight and saute in a dry skillet until each side is crispy and golden brown. Serve immediately.
Chorizo: You don't have to make this, feel free to buy it for a shortcut.
Inspired by: The Fogglifter Cafe (McCall, ID) and mexicanplease.com
We definitely prefer a protein-based breakfast. It just feels like it sticks with you longer than carbohydrates. But every once in a while, it’s fun to have waffles or pancakes. While a bit healthier, this is actually our “go-to” waffle recipe because it’s so good! …
Week 3 of the summer salad series brings us a Tuscan bread salad. Although you can make this anytime of year, this salad shines when basil, tomatoes, and romaine are in season in the local produce stands or your home garden. This recipe was inspired …
Steak au poivre wasn’t anything I’d ever had before until I heard of a couple of people talking about it. It was around the time of my birthday, so I requested it as my birthday dinner. Mike is a great cook and was gracious enough to make it for us. There are few things that I like better than steak frites. I enjoy buying cuts of hanger steak, seasoning them well, grilling them and serving alongside some homemade shoestring fries. Au poivre just ups the ante with a delicious sauce and makes it feel extra special. I hope your celebratory days are filled with treats like steak au poivre and frites.
This is a delicious treat of a meal that will make you want to choose it for celebrations!
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots cooking just until they're soft. Next add the chicken stock and cognac. Cook to reduce to half (5-10 minutes). Add the cream and reduce by half again. Set aside until ready to serve.
Grill the steaks to your desired doneness.
Preheat the oven to 425F and toss potatoes in olive oil atop a parchment lined baking sheet. Salt generously and bake for 15-20 minutes or until adequately crispy. Be sure to space the potatoes out well and flip halfway through.
Serve the steak with the sauce and frites!
Inspired by: Cree LeFavour & Shaye Elliott
Nothing says Saturday morning like a blueberry muffin with a cup of coffee. If you’re in need of a blueberry muffin recipe, look no further. Honestly, this is the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever had. Serve alongside some scrambled eggs and it makes a breakfast. …
Week 2 of this salad series brings us the taco salad. Taco salads are a staple and it seems like there a million variations. And I must admit – they’re all good. I haven’t had a bad taco salad. Some of the things I like …
In June, we visited our dear friends in Texas. They live in Fort Worth, but we made the trek to Waco to see the Gaines’ campus that is all things Magnolia. It was so fun! Waco is a seemingly cool city too. While shopping and perusing Magnolia, we ate lunch at a food truck on site. It was ranked Waco’s #2 most popular food truck. My friend had eaten there before and recommended it. While we stood in line, one of the employees offered samples of their chicken bulgolgi. It was delicious. There was something very salty, sweet, and intense about the thighs that had been marinated in the bulgogi sauce. That was the inspiration of this recipe.
Inspired by: Waco, TX Club Sandwich (food truck)
An intense, salty / sweet, Korean marinade. This recipe is great served as a bowl!
Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl, be sure to reserve and adequate amount for sauce and set aside, then add the chicken and green onions to the mixing bowl and marinate overnight. When ready to prepare, grill chicken thighs and be sure to develop a nice char. Once rested, slice the chicken into pieces. Serve with your choice of accompaniments.
Recipe inspired by: David Lebovitz
It is officially summer in the Pacific Northwest – it’s after 4th of July which marks the official start of nice weather here. Bring out the tank tops, swimsuits, shorts, sundresses and all the clothing that shows all the skin. It’s the season of calorie …