Chipotle | 20something cupcakes

fried oyster tacos with tomatillo-avocado salsa.

September 6, 2012 — 4 Comments

Oh, how I enjoy fried oysters.

Fried Oyster Tacos

It’s like biting into a little pillow from briny seafood heaven. Creamy oyster surrounded by a crispy-crunchy deep-fried coating? Can’t go wrong with that!

If ever I see them on a menu, I order. Love them on a sandwich, po’ boy-style, and I also love fish tacos – so fried oyster tacos seemed like a perfect idea.

The fried oysters are so good on their own, you just might want to eat them that way. And they’re easy to make at home, as long as you don’t mind getting down with a big pot of oil.

You could serve them on their own as an appetizer with the salsa (probably better more puréed than chunky as it is used in the taco) or the crema as a dip. And really, you could even play with the flavors in the coating to give the oysters a different spin. As in, use 1 cup all-purpose flour and then your own favorite spices to replace the adobo. If you wanted to keep it true to New Orleans, you could make a rémoulade sauce, for example. Major yum.

Fried Oyster Tacos

And of course, you can go with the Mexican route I’ve provided here. I love the tangy tomatillos and creamy avocados with the crunchy oysters, and the smoky-spice and coolness from the chipotle crema adds another layer of flavor.

These bad boys are just begging to be enjoyed over a pitcher of margaritas, don’t you think? And don’t forget to buy some tortilla chips in case you’ve got extra salsa.

In Main Dishes, Obsessed, Uncategorized avocado, chipotle, fried, mexican recipes, oysters, seafood, sour cream, tacos, tomatillos

chipotle-glazed squash skewers.

February 6, 2012 — 23 Comments

Welcome to the inaugural post for The Food Matters Project!

Each week, a group of food bloggers and home cooks are coming together to cook our way through The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living by Mark Bittman.

I’m not gonna lie. This cookbook is overwhelming. Overwhelming in a way that I want to make at least 90% of the 500+recipes in this beast of a book. Overwhelming even moreso in a way that when I first read about what the “Food Matters” philosophy represents and stands for, I was so inspired that I decided to start this project.

In a nutshell, it’s about eating more plants and natural foods. In turn, we’re talking less meat and processed foods. And it’s about how all of that’s good for our health – duh – and the environment, too.

I selected this recipe to kick-off the launch of our project. It was so, so hard to pick just one. I’ve already cooked at least 5 or 6 recipes from the book, because they’re all just so simple and easy for everyday cooking. (If Mark Bittman’s new to you and if you’re a new-ish cook, I highly recommend you check out another book of his as well: How to Cook Everything.) There’s something about the way he explains things that’s so easy to understand, and his recipes are totally no-nonsense. He gives options and ideas for how to adapt almost any given recipe, so you can truly feel confident in what you’re doing if you’re new to experimenting with different flavors or ingredients. He makes cooking fun – and easy.

You know where I stand on this: If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. And yes, this applies even to healthy, easy-enough-for-a-weeknight cooking.

In Fabulously Simple, Food Matters Project, Healthy Eats butternut squash, chipotle, cilantro, lime, mark bittman, skewers, vegetarian, winter recipes

chipotle deviled eggs.

January 29, 2012 — 7 Comments

Have you ever been to a party where the deviled eggs weren’t the first thing to go?

Chipotle Deviled Eggs

There’s just something about them. Which is why when I made them the other day, I couldn’t take them out of the fridge until our guests arrived. They’re just too easy to pop into your mouth and if you put ‘em out too early, before you know it, the deviled eggs are donezo.

In a lot of cases, it’s hard to improve on the original and classic recipe. But I think chipotle is a sequel we can all get behind. You need to like a little spice in your life, yes – and who doesn’t like the smoky flavor of chipotle?

In Dinner Party Worthy, Starters chipotle, deviled eggs, football fun-day, hard-boiled eggs

huevos rancheros bake.

December 30, 2011 — 7 Comments

Huevos rancheros is high on the list of my all-time favorite breakfast dishes.

And it’s a super-simple concept: Fried eggs, corn tortillas, and some type of tomato sauce. There are, of course, a few variations you can toss in there – like black beans, or salsa instead of a tomato sauce – but those are the building blocks.

When I discovered Deb of Smitten Kitchen‘s way of frying the egg on top of the tortilla over a layer of cheese, I fell in love with this breakfast. Daniel really fell in love with this breakfast. In fact, on any given weekend when I ask him what he’d like to eat in the morning, this is probably his most frequent answer. Sometimes if I have store-bought salsa on hand, I’ll make it with that – though I do prefer the homemade stuff.

Now that I’ve created this new way of making huevos rancheros, however, I have a feeling I’ll be making it much more often.

You heard the story – one of my bestest girlfriend’s also loves her some huevos rancheros, so it’s really her and Daniel you can thank for inspiring this idea. I wanted to make this dish for a group, without frying eggs to order. As I surfed around for a recipe, I couldn’t find what I was looking for – but I did stumble upon this recipe using chipotle and an avocado salsa. It wasn’t a bake, it was still going the traditional fry-to-order route, but I figured I could take the same flavors and create a recipe for a bake. So, that’s what I did – and here it is.

In Main Dishes, Weekend Brunch avocado, black beans, breakfast casseroles, chipotle, corn tortillas, eggs, mexican recipes

There’s nothing better than a good weekend brunch.

{Except for sharing it with even better friends}

I decided to make these breakfast-friendly quesadillas after seeing them on one of my favorite blogs. I owe you a back-story here, as this was the very first food blog I ever discovered – and partly what inspired me to start my own. I was watching Ina on the Barefoot Contessa one day, and she had a special guest on the show. Her name was Phoebe, and she was was a writer for a fabulous food blog all about cooking in the quarter-life. I didn’t really know what a food blog consisted of at that point, but the idea seemed really cute so I went to check it out online. I probably don’t have to tell you that I have since fallen in love – but I will anyway. I was so into all of their great recipes, and most of all the fact that it was solely dedicated to cooking for women in this stage of life. After exploring more food blogs, and eventually other fashion and lifestyle blogs, I had an idea.

I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was a blog that combined all of this *fabulousness* into one place for women exploring this stage of life? I thought about the quarter-life, and how so many call it a crisis – and I thought about how I couldn’t disagree more. I wanted to share that. And thus, 20something cupcakes was born.

I digress. But you did desperately want to know, didn’t you?

So. The quesadillas. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to make them. Not only am I a huge quesadilla fan, but I’m a huge breakfast fan, so the combination is kind of ridiculous. And what’s even better is you can totally play around with the ingredients. That’s what I did on the second variety – they had used caramelized onions (which is always delish and since I usually have onions on hand, easy) and mushrooms, and as Daniel doesn’t eat mushrooms, I decided to throw in some prosciutto and switch up the cheese to Gouda. Still, I totally recommend making the first one just as they did. SO yummy. D-I-E for the chipotle crema.

Note: In case you’re interested, “crema” is a Mexican version of sour cream, kinda like the French have their version called “crème fraiche.” It can be difficult to find, so you can easily use regular sour cream, like I did.

I made 4 servings of each of the below quesadillas for a total of 8 servings. We had one couple over, so there were only 4 of us, but extra food is better than not enough (and we happen to love leftovers in our house). Quesadillas aren’t the greatest for large groups, as they’re best when made to order, but you can always keep them warm in your oven (at 200 degrees) if you want to make them ahead of time.

What’s brunch without the perfect cocktail? We enjoyed my deliciously spicy Bloody Mary’s with our quesadillas, of course. And it was pure perfection.

Scrambled Egg Quesadillas with Cilantro Chimichurri and Chipotle Crema

Recipe courtesy of Cara & Phoebe, the Quarter-Life Cooks

Makes 4 servings

6 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne
4 8-inch tortillas*
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

For the chimichurri:

2 cups cilantro
2 garlic cloves
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt

For the crema:

1/3 cup sour cream (I use light, always)
2-3 small canned chipotle chilis, minced
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from the can (I may have added a little extra – I like it hot)
Pinch of salt
Hit of lime juice

Combine the ingredients for the crema in a small bowl, set aside. This can be done days in advance.

In a mini food processor, pulse the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and vinegar until roughly chopped. Add the olive oil in a stream until the mixture becomes a finely chopped paste, but not too thin. Taste for seasoning and add salt accordingly. This can be stored in the fridge for a day or so.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the salt and cayenne. On a cutting board arrange the tortillas side by side. Slather the chimichurri on each round, just enough to cover them with herbs but not make them soggy (you may have leftovers). Divide a 1/2 cup of cheese between two tortillas.

In a small non-stick sauté pan, scramble the eggs over low heat until just coming together (they should still be pretty wet and gooey). Spread half the eggs between the two tortillas, cover with another 1/2 cup cheese, and fold them in half, pressing down so they are glued together.

Clean out the pan and return it to the stove over high heat. Get the pan hot, then toast the tortillason both sides, until dark and crispy with cheese oozing out the sides. Serve immediately with a generous dollop of chipotle crema and some extra cilantro leaves for garnish. Repeat the process with the other 2 tortillas.

Scrambled Egg Quesadillas with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms, and Prosciutto

Makes 4 servings

2 cups chopped cremini, white button, or portobello mushrooms
4 ounces prosciutto, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 eggs, beaten
4 8-inch tortillas*
2 cups Gouda cheese, shredded

For the caramelized onions:

2 onions, thinly sliced (I like to make extra and use for other things like burgers or sandwiches)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Caramelizing onions is super easy, it just takes a few minutes. Melt the butter in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add your onions, brown sugar, and vinegar; sauté until onion is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes. Try to keep them spread about the pan as they’re cooking. Remove from the heat, and let them cool to room temperature.

Add the mushrooms to the pan with a little additional butter or olive oil and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the onions back to the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple more minutes, allowing the flavors to combine. Now your filling is done.

In the meantime, arrange two tortillas side-by-side on a cutting board. Divide a 1/2 cup of cheese between them. Add the eggs to the pan and toss until just combined—they should be very moist. Spread half of the egg-onion mixture over the two tortillas in one layer. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup of cheese over the top and fold in half, pressing down so the sides adhere.

Clean out the pan and return it to the stove over high heat. Toast the tortillas on both sides, until dark and crispy with cheese oozing out the sides.

Repeat the process with the other 2 tortillas. Serve immediately, and enjoy.

*Note: I use Mission Carb Balance Plus Flour Tortillas. They taste absolutely identical (we did a taste test to prove it) to regular flour tortillas, only they have 5g of protein and 11g of fiber per tortilla. Kind of obsessed.