Top Chef Tapas Extravaganza!

Last week my friend Amanda wanted to throw a little pot-luck get together to watch the TOP CHEF finale. I'm a huge fan so i of course said yes and suggested a tapas theme. Us two—plus our friend Marcus—jumped in to it and started looking for great tapas recipes. I decided to make bacon-wrapped dates and a Basque Piperade with eggs and crusty bread (both recipes from our Portland shoot from my favorite tapas restaurant in town: Toro Bravo / Chef John Gorham). Amanda made some amazing beef empanadas (she cooked the beef for hours the night before) and a super fresh salad. Marcus got inspired by his favorite dish from Andina and made a crab, shrimp and avocado salad on top of  home made chips (he actually cut up tortillas in cute holiday shapes and fried them!). He also made some super tender ribs that where delish! 

This is the "Basque Paperade" Dish. I cooked it all in a large skillet on the stove, then cracked the eggs and popped it in the oven for about 15 min. I did have to fudge the recipe a bit because it makes pretty large quantities. I used: 1 1/2 onions, a 28oz can of whole peeled tomatoes and a 12oz roasted red peppers. I also used regular eggs (not duck eggs), then followed the rest of the recipe.

_My bacon-wrapped dates

_Marcus's Ribs

_Amandas Empanadas

_Marcus Crab, Shrimp & Avocado salad on home made chips

The whole night was super fun and all the dishes where super delicious. We all really enjoyed it and want to do it again soon... what should be our next theme?

Lovely Huevos Rancheros

What a better Valentine's day gift than to cook something delicious for your hubby?! I knew we where going out for dinner, so brunch was the perfect option to start our lovely day. Almost every time we go out for breakfast my hubby picks the mexican option: breakfast burrito or the huevos rancheros — so I had to make one of these!

I decided for the Huevos Rancheros and i have to say they where super delicious, easy, and they took under 30 min to make. I started them by making a "sofrito", which the base of a lot of Latin America dishes. It consists of cooking garlic, onions and peppers until tender. I usually add this to black beans and to ground meat if I'm making tacos. It's also great with scrambled eggs. This sofrito will be the base for the sauce. If you're feeling lazy just buy a salsa and substitute it for this sauce (I would just warm it up). This serves about 4 people. Here is what I did:

INGREDIENTS::

_ 8 Cloves of garlic, chopped

_ 1/2 red pepper, chopped

_ 1/2 green pepper, chopped

_ 1 onion, chopped

_ 1/2 Jalapeño (optional)

_ Small corn tortillas (if you can get them at your local mexican store, they are super cheap!)

_ 2 cans of diced tomatoes

_ 1 can black beans

_ Eggs (depends how many people you are serving)

_ Cheddar cheese

_ About 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

_ Spices: Cumin, chili powder, chili flakes, Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS::

_ Make the SOFRITO: Heat up some olive oil and add the garlic, cook for about 1 minute, then add the peppers (no jalapeño jet) and the onion. Cook until tender. Set aside about 1/4 cup of this so you can add it to the black beans.

_Make the SAUCE: Add the jalapeños to the sofrito and let cook for a bit. Then add the can of crushed tomatoes, about 1 tbs of cumin, the chilis and salt and pepper to taste. Turn to high heat. Let it get to a boil, then simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes. This will thicken the sauce and let all the flavors blend together. Add some cilantro and re-season if necessary [If you're feeling lazy to make the sauce just buy your favorite salsa and warm it up]

_Make the BLACK BEANS: Take the 1/4 cup of the sofrito you made earlier and put it in a small saucepan over medium heat. Drain the can of black beans and rinse with water. Add to the pot and mash a bit (you can use a fork or a potato masher). Add about 1/4 cup of water and season with cumin, some chili flakes, salt & pepper, and my secret ingredient: 1-2 tsps of sugar. Cover until is all heated through. Add the cilantro.

_ Shred some CHEESE.

_ For the TORTILLAS: You can warm them up in the oven, we like ours pretty crunchy so I leave them for a while but definitely keeping my eyes on them. You can also just heat up in a pan. (2-3 tortillas per person—my hubby had 5 but he's definitely an exception!)

ASSEMBLING TIME::

_ Make sure the sauce is ready, the black beans heated through, the cheese shredded and the tortillas are warming up. Now you can start frying the EGGS, 1-2 per person (you can scramble them but there is nothing like breaking that yummy yolk and tasting all these amazing flavors together!).

_ Place your tortillas in a plate. Add some Black beans. Top with the eggs. Add some sauce all over the eggs and some extra on the plate. Top with cheese and some cilantro. Enjoy!!

You can serve this family style, just put everything in blows and let everybody make their own. If you do it this way i would recommend scrambling the eggs, it'll be a lot easier. Hope you make this soon!