improvise

Chile Colorado Burritos

/ toothpicktales / 1 Comment

Traditional Chile Colorado is a stew made with beef and red chile sauce.  Even the toughest cuts of beef will become tender when cooked slowly in the sauce for a long period of time.  I don’t always have the luxury of time when I cook, so I find ways to improvise. 

This meal took about an hour and a half to make, which could have been trimmed down to about 45 minutes, if I had used canned enchilada sauce, but I wanted to use my dried Guajillo and New Mexico chile pods for the sauce.

I didn’t record the amounts of the ingredients I used for this dish because I was in a hurry, and I only took photos of the finished product.  That said, this is an easy dish to make, and proportions are easy to figure out, on the fly.

I started by seeding the chilies and then steamed them.  I added a small amount of beef stock to the chile pulp and simmered over medium heat for a few minutes, to thicken.

I pan fried thinly sliced steak over high heat to medium-rare.  After a little chopping, I added the cooked beef to 14” burrito sized tortillas.

I added the rolled burritos to a large skillet and topped them with the sauce.  The burritos baked at 350º for about 15 minutes.  I added some shredded cheese to the top, after arranging the cooked burritos on a serving plate. 

A little salad and Mexican rice completed the deal.

Shrimp and Eggs

/ toothpicktales / 5 Comments

Is it just me, or does the idea of combining shrimp and eggs just seem weird?  Oh, I’m sure that there are bound to be chefs out there that know recipes that call for shrimp and eggs but, I’m just a simple home cook and, until this morning, shrimp and eggs lived in two different worlds. 

Eggs are extremely versatile, and there are many ways to prepare shrimp but, combing them into one dish never crossed my mind.  That all changed when I found some raw shrimp in the refrigerator this morning.  My daughter made (excellent) shrimp quesadillas a few nights ago and there were a few shrimp left over.

Raw shrimp doesn’t last long in the refrigerator so, quick action was needed.  I had planned on making simple scrambled eggs in the wok for breakfast but, I felt a sudden compulsion to marry the shrimp and eggs.  It was a beautiful ceremony!

Ingredients:

8 large, raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 large eggs

1/4 cup chicken broth

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1/2 teaspoon sake

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1 green onion, thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 Tbs canola oil

Directions:

In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Add chicken broth, salt, pepper, sake and oyster sauce.  Stir quickly, to incorporate.  Add green onions.

Heat a wok to medium-high heat.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the wok. When the oil is hot, add the shrimp.

Briefly stir-fry the shrimp until they turn pink. This might take only one minute.  Remove the shrimp and set aside in a warm place.

Add a tablespoon of oil into the wok and turn the heat on high.  When the oil is hot, add the egg mixture.

Scramble gently for about 1 minute, then return the shrimp to the wok.

Continue scrambling until the eggs are almost cooked. Remove from the heat and let it rest for a minute before serving.