Truffle Mutt

So Good

 
This tri-tip roast was supposed to enter my Mexican marathon but after a bit of reading on egullet and chowhound I fired up the barbecue instead.  No, it wasn't all the talk about tough, chewy, overcooked and stringy meat that made me want to try grilling it, but rather the few hidden phrases like, "gastronomic treat" and "serious good eats".  Honestly, how could I not go for it after hearing claims like that?

Thanks to Bobby Flay's recipe for skirt steak, this roast was slathered in a not-for-amateurs-fiery-hot chipotle sauce with a tangy, buttery avocado relish.  Both of which were fantastic even on their own!  Did I happen to mention this was really good?  I should have. 

I served it with roasted potatoes, golden beets and carrots done on the barbecue too.  No, if your taste buds are all fired up then you may want to find a tri-tip for yourself.  Mine was from the fine folks at Hoven Farms at the Calgary Farmers Market.  Leave one for me though.

Red Pork Tamales

 I made TAMALES!  So cool.

Mom and Dad just got back from their snow bird vacation in San Diego and they returned with loads of goodies.  Jewelery from the markets, handmade glass pendants and FOOD.  That's right lets skip straight to the good stuff. 

I got a tortilla press, dried hibiscus flowers, Mexican oregano, cinnamon and a million and four dried chilies.  Maybe a million and five.  I have anchos, chile negros, pasillas, japanese, guarillos and arbols.  Mounds of them!  Are you getting a sense of my happiness?  It's almost impossible to get Mexican ingredients in this part of the world, so yes, chilies really are that exciting!

Thanks for the silver chain Dad.  It's beautiful too!  :)   

Setting out to put at least a small dent in my chili supply I tried my hand at making tamales.  I was able to find both the dried corn husks and Masa at Salsita, which was formerly the Boca Loca store at 777 Northmount Drive NW.  It turns out they also have frozen banana leaves, which you can also use for tamales.  Those will have to wait until next time, as will my quest to find real lard.

Don't let what you read about tamales scare you away.  They are time consuming, but no more so than making pasta or bread and they are definitely worth it.  They freeze well too.

Sunnyside up Mexican Style

Alright, this picture might require something in the way of a description.  You can see that it's partially eaten, but just so you know I didn't intended to take a picture of it all messed up and devoured.  It's just that it really did looked a better at this point. 

And in case you're still stumped, my dinner wasn't really dinner either.  I'll give you a clue, it starts with huevos and ends with rancheros.  Yeah, you guess it!  It's huevos rancheros!

In about 15 minutes, Rick Bayless (via my copy of Authentic Mexican) helped me transform one very ripe tomato into a fiery Mexican classic.  Sure, it wasn't very dinner-ish, or photogenic, but it was sure yu-u-mmy.   

Huevos Rancheros:  

1 ripe tomato
1 canned chipotle chili
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
2 corn tortillas
2 eggs
salt

Preheat the oven just to warm it and put your plate in there.

Chop the tomato and chipotle and add to a food processor.  In the skillet cook the whole garlic cloves until browned and then toss them into the food processor too.  Blend until the mixture until it is almost smooth and then set aside.

In the same skillet heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil until very hot, but not quite smoking and pour in the tomato sauce mixture.  This fries the sauce and deepens the flavour, but be warned it also splatters hot sauce and oil all over the place.  Trust me it's worth it.  Fry the sauce until it thickens and then pour into a bowl and place in the warm oven. 

Next heat another tsp or so of olive oil in the pan and quickly fry the tortillas to warm them and then place them in the oven as well.  Lastly, fry two eggs sunny side up.  When the eggs are done slide them onto the warm tortillas and spoon over the tomato-chili sauce.  Enjoy.

*Adapted from Rick Bayless Authentic Mexican

It's Official

Woohoo!  I can finally make it official.

I'm trading in my job, my office and my production accounting certificate for a chef's knife and culinary school.  Here's to hoping I keep my fingers in tact in case I need to return to my calculator!  :) 

Sure it's a little bit crazy, but then again that's me.  From food crazy to food blogger and now this.  I'll be leaving an industry I've known for the last 12 years and moving myself squarely to the bottom of the pecking order.  And guess what, I can HARDLY wait.   Schools in on September 7, 2010.  Let the count down begin.