Loodje

Crispy Cheesy Thing

2010-02-20T01:23:46Z

I've been promising this post for what seems forever ... and ... I've no idea why it's taken so long ... but here it is ... the Crispy Cheesy Thing ...

This is a very simple recipe and pretty much identical to a ...

Mexican tostada, but much simpler. Airn and I enjoy this from time-to-time when the mood suits us ... this means pretty much a lazy cook day ... and when we're tired of leftovers.

First, let me introduce you to what is called ghee. Ghee is clarified butter, but not really ... because true ghee comes from India and is produced from milk from cows that are completely different than those found in North America.

These Indian cows produce milk that has a different flavour than American cows [which are raised and slaughtered to appease American taste buds.] Supposedly this milk imparts a 'nutty' flavour to the ghee ... and I'm sure the Indian cows are much happier roaming the streets and pasture lands as they please knowing they're not going to become a tasteless, overcooked McDonald's hamburger patty ... okay ... enough on the "please don't eat animals and be a vegetarian" agenda.

Just look into the eyes of dat purdy cowie ... how could you allow it to be slaughtered ... it should be left alone to roam around your living room just like this baby!

If you've never used ghee ... and enjoy cooking ... then ghee will be a major innovation in your kitchen. Unlike butter ghee never burns ... ever ... and it has a higher flash point than butter ... which means you can use it at higher temperature without worry of a fire in the pan. Interestingly enough you do not want to use ghee at high temperatures because it can over-fry [make tough and dry] your food and some possible carcinogenic overtones with that as well. For me the best part is that nothing sticks to the pan ... but remember, according to the late Frugal Gourmet, Jeff Smith ... "hot wok, cold oil; food won't stick" ... and the same thing applies to ghee. Here is a jar of ghee that is made here in British Columbia:

By the way I make my own ghee ... that way I know exactly what goes into it ... I'll post those instructions at another time. Words to the wise and frugal: don't buy ghee from one of those health food stores ... it'll cost you a fortune ... seek out an Indian grocery store ... you should be able to find a jar as shown above in the $10-12 range.

So, let's start! First we must assemble the ingredients:

a bunch of tortillas

a bit of ghee

some shredded cheese

a nice pancake griddle [we won't eat this, but mine comes from the early 1940s, so it may be hard to find]

Adjust your heat to medium low ... we don't want too much speed of cooking or burning either. Now using about the amount of ghee you see here, place on griddle and wait until it completely melts. Move pan so that roughly an equal amount of ghee covers the pan.

Place a single tortilla on the pan and spin it under your hand to apply the ghee over the tortilla. Now turn the tortilla over ... do it by hand ... it is much easier ... and you won't burn your hand if you're careful! Trust me ... lol ...

Apply a thin layer of shredded cheese ... I would like to emphasize thin otherwise things will be oozing later. This is the good time to place some spooned-on refritos, green chillies, salsa, diced tomatoes or sour cream. Put them along and on top of the grated cheese. I haven't shown this so as not to set your minds willie-nillie and make yaw'll confuffered and all.

Now place a big-enough lid over the tortilla to allow the cheese to melt and the veggies, if any, to warm up. You can lift the lid to see how things are going, but of course you'll be releasing heat. Speaking of heat ... here is where you want to check the temperature of your stove to make sure you're not burning the tortilla.

Your tortilla should look like this when done ... a little freshly ground black pepper if desired. If you haven't yet, then you can add salsa or sour cream now.

Move your finished tortilla to a plate ... you'll definitely want to use a spatula now ... unless you're very brave ... or very calloused.

Now fold the tortilla in thirds ... one side toward and over centre ... and the other side as well. It will look like the above ... an honest-to-goodness Crispy Cheesy Thing! And again if you haven't already you can create some dipping sauces ... such as salsa and/or sour cream ... YUMM!

Now how could that be any easier? Just one will fill you up. This is not lo-cal, so think twice before you make seconds!

Crema De Chile Poblano - Spicy But With The Heart And Soul Of Old Mexico

2007-06-11T03:44:39Z

[Warning ... this is not a vegetarian recipe!]

Another recipe here - and I think another one of the triumphs of prepared cuisine. There is a store named Deals Only in Bellingham, WA. This is a somewhat funky store run by Russian folk and full of deals - overstocks and out-of-date items - kick-outs from stores - and just plain junk - with an occasional fungus, beetle or two thrown in there as well for good measure. It isn't as cheap as it used to be - but compared to regular retail stores in the area - and Bellingham prices ARE CHEAP compared to Vancouver, BC - you can save a significant amount of money. There is something that I refer to as "The Deals Only Effect" - which is buying far more than you actually need and then running out of space to put it - as well as forgetting that you actually DID buy it in the first place.

One day we found a shelf-load of this soup:

in the store - my EX dj_1979 and I bought a can and brought it home for lunch. Well the result was so good - we went back and bought every can that was left on the shelves - several dozen at least. A real treat on those certain days in winter in Bellingham where such a thing is a pick-me-up. These cans were treated like royalty - never wasted - always revered. As the number of cans started to dwindle - the sensors went out to seek more - and to eat less of this. It was never available again at Deals Only. I could not find it even in the Mexican food stores that you find around the U.S. - such places are even scarcer in Canada. But I understand that in the Southwest U.S. especially the border cities that this soup can be found in stores. Extensive research on the Internet showed that this soup is prized by thousands of people all of whom lament the lack of availability of it in the local stores.

I found a recipe by Doc Lagniappe on the Internet that described this soup and how to reproduce it ... and make it even better! I've added the text below without change:

Poblano peppers are the most popular pepper in Mexico - you see it often arranged together, dried and hanging from ceilings.

Don't get these peppers mixed up with bell peppers, habaneros, jalapenos and the like. They are just a tad spicier than ordinary bell peppers and significantly less than most of the others. They can be hard to find - especially in Canada.

Here's my take on the recipe. I like it.

1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom with garlic. The U.S. version doesn't have its label in French ... and neither in Spanish.

3 poblano peppers - nice and firm - if you don't want it too spicy - use less - but I'll assure you it will not taste rich. Put these peppers 5 cm below the grill element on your meat grill covered with a single piece of aluminum foil - this way clean up is a snap. Roast the hell out of them. They should be black all over. This can take quite a bit of time and the smell can wind up a bit staggering. When they are done - take them out and run under cool water to stop the cooking. Peel off the - rather disgusting - plastic-like peel, pull off the stem, open it up flat and remove all the seeds. Stick this into a blender or food processor. Normally the blender will deliver a completely homogeneous result - the food processor somewhat less - both are nice. Add the soup concentrate from the can - all of it - scrape, scrape.
Just a note here about pepper roasting - don't worry about how black and bubbly the skin becomes - that makes it easy to remove - but if you over-roast the pepper, the flesh itself will dehydrate to the point of making the skin harder to remove ... so like many things ... do keep an eye on it. Even if you over-roast though ... all is not lost ... the soup will come out fine ... just a little more work on your part! Remember roasting a pepper imparts a smoky taste to the final result ... something that is desirable especially with mesquite-roasted chipotle peppers.

Now a half can of half-and-half and half a can of 2% milk - or just go for it with an entire can of half-and-half. In Canada we get this 18% coffee cream which is not available in the U.S. from what I've seen ... this might be a bit over the top calorie-wise. Blend or process well - and I mean a really long time. When done move the mixture to a 4 litre sauce pan and heat it up ... nice and hot. Pour into soup bowl and top with a dollop of sour cream and cover with freshly ground black pepper - a very little finely chopped parsley or cilantro is a nice touch too ... don't go overboard with the cilantro ... it has far too strong a taste and will overpower the soup.

Really ... semi-homemade soup just doesn't get any easier than this.

Green Goddess Dressing

2006-11-25T04:18:09Z

[Warning ... this is not a vegetarian recipe!]

Many years ago Bobby, my first lover, and I used to go to a restaurant in the Pompano Beach, Florida area called "One Potato, Two Potato." We had a favourite waitress there (don't we all)... one day she left... eventually the restaurant folded. Who knows why?

One of the memorable things from this restaurant was a salad - it was basically iceberg lettuce quartered and placed into an iced stainless steel bowl and served with a set of different salad dressings to chose from on the side. One of them was Green Goddess Dressing. There was never an option... it had to be Green Goddess Dressing. The flavour never left me... I had absolutely no idea what it was made of... and I never tasted it again for over 25 years.

I always planned on researching it... and of course the Internet made this possible... a few times I ran it by... but today I actually made it from the original recipe with just one slight modification...

I changed the 2 cups of mayonnaise to 1 cup and then added 1 cup of real sour cream. This I felt was important because as I remembered it - the dressing was a light dance of sour and salt [from the anchovy].

As far as preparation is concerned... a blender... or food processor... no need to chop, mince, etc... just stick everything in... and process for a long time... the mixture will become green and have a runny texture. When done, just stick the blender or food processor container in the refrigerator for at least two hours. At that time it will become quite thick... pour it into a nice serving item for the table.

Now take that very cold (not frozen) iceberg lettuce, quarter it up, serve one quarter to each person in a bowl. Have them cut it up themselves into coarsely blockish pieces... then have them serve themselves the dressing on top of the lettuce cubes... a little freshly ground pepper... no salt! The fork perfectly stabs the lettuce cubes and lifts the dressing to the mouth... sigh...

It turned out to be exactly how I remembered it was... the best of all possible salad dressings. Turns out that (from the links I've given) this was developed in San Francisco by a chef to honour a man and his play... and it was the most popular salad dressing until ranch dressing came along. So odd that it is almost never found anymore. I did find this:

I saw this in my local organic market, but have not tried it. It would be hard to believe that it would taste as fresh and good... but it is organic.

Knowing how well fresh dill goes with salmon, it is not much of a stretch to imagine how good salmon would be with this dressing as a sauce... I'm going to try that too!

Give this salad dressing a go... even if you freak out at the thought of anchovies... you just can't find that taste there... there is no fishy smell either. Lucky for Airn and me, there are two more iceberg lettuce quarters in the refrigerator and enough leftover dressing for tomorrow!