Egg Recipe Round-Up {Food of the Month Club: March}

Hola amigos!  Welcome to another edition of the Food of the Month Club Recipe Round-Up.  This month, my foodie friends and I have an egg-cellent selection of egg recipes to share with you, so let's get crackin'.

Girlichef baked this beautiful Lemon Meringue Pie with a "smooth and tangy and oh-so-puckery" lemon curd and mountains of billowy meringue.

I'm so glad Nicole from Presley's Pantry revealed the secret to her Korean Fried Rice, because now I know what's been missing from mine: Spam!

Gail from Good Deal Meals offers us a couple of time-saving tips for making Spinach-Bacon Quiche.  Mmm-mmmmm!  So many of my favorite ingredients in one tasty dish.

The lovely ladies from Peru Delights have two recipes to share with us.  First up is this creamy Peruvian ice cream called Queso Helado. And best of all you don't need an ice cream maker for this recipe.

They also made us a light and fluffy Orange Chiffon Cake to celebrate Chiffon Cake Day (March 29).

I went a little egg crazy.  I shared how I stumbled onto my recipe for Breakfast Enchiladas stuffed with Huevos a la Mexicana, which has quickly become a family favorite.

I shared my dream of one day sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Spain, sipping sherry and snacking on an array of tapas, including Tortilla Española (Spanish Omelet).

And I admitted that some mornings all I really want is a divorce.  In the form of Huevos Divorciados served with a two gorgeous, contrasting salsas.

With Easter just around the corner, I just had to share these beautiful Cascarones, fun Mexican confetti eggs, from my friends at Muy Bueno Cookbook, that you can make at home.

As always, a big THANK YOU to my amazing foodie friends for joining me in the Food of the Month Club.  If you would like to be included in next month's Round-Up, be sure to tune in Sunday, April 1st, to find out what ingredient will be our Food of the Month for April.

Tortilla Española {Food 'n Flix: Last Holiday}

What would you do if you found out you only had three weeks to live?  That is the premise of this month's Food 'n Flix featured film, Last Holiday.  Queen Latifah  stars as Georgia Bird, a quiet, woman living a non-eventful life, who starts to live the life she always dreamed of after learning she only has 3 weeks to live.

If it were me, I'd want to spend that time with Hubby and the kiddies.  But, like Georgia, I'd also want to see the world.  New York...Rome...Paris....Greece...  So many possibilities.   But if I had to choose just one, I'd pick the one place I've ALWAYS dreamed of visiting...Spain.  I can just see myself sitting at a sidewalk cafe, sipping on a glass of sherry and snacking on a variety of delicious tapas, like slices of jamon serrano, Spanish cheese, and Tortilla Española (Spanish Omelet).

Since I'm not dying (at least I don't think so), it doesn't look like I'll be traveling to Spain any time soon.   But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a Spanish tapa at home.  Tortilla Española is one of my favorite go-to meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  And it is so easy to make.

Tortilla Española
(Spanish Omelet)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• Cilantro (optional)
• Mexican Crema (optional)

Directions:
Heat the butter and olive oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until the butter has melted.  Carefully add the potatoes to the skillet; cover the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes turn a light golden brown.  Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the sliced onion and saute for about a minute.

Gently pour in the beaten eggs; season lightly with more salt and pepper.  Cover the skillet and let the Tortilla Española simmer until the egg is completely cooked through.

Carefully, flip the Tortilla Española onto a serving plate.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with a dollop of Mexican Crema.  Enjoy!!!

Agua de Tamarindo {She Made/Ella Hace}

For this month's installment of She Made / Ella Hace, Heather (Girlichef) and I are cooking with Tamarind.  Tamarindos are sweet and sour pod-like fruit used to make sauces, Ponche, and almibar (syrup) for Nieve Raspada.  But the most popular use for Tamarindos here in Mexico is in Agua de Tamarindo.  Can you believe that in the 3 years since I started this lil' blog, I have yet to post my recipe for Agua de Tamarindo?  Unbelievable!

Agua de Tamarindo is the only Agua Fresca I remember drinking during our visits to Mexico when I was a little kid.  As soon as we'd cross the border into Sonora, my grandpa would stop at the same tiny restaurant in el centro (downtown) for lunch.  I don't remember what we ate, but I do remember the sweet and tangy Agua de Tamarindo.  All these years later, Agua de Tamarindo is still one of my favorites.

Whenever I make Agua de Tamarindo, I have to buy double the amount of Tamarindo, because Hubby, the kiddies, and I all love to snack on it like candy.

Huevos Divorciados

Every once and awhile, I like to scare Hubby when he first wakes up by announcing, "I want a divorce!" But no matter how groggy he is in the morning, Hubby only chuckles at my joke that he never falls for, because he knows it just means that we're having Huevos Divorciados (Divorced Eggs) for breakfast.

Huevos Divorciados is a fun way to serve fried eggs.  The "divorced" part of this breakfast comes in the form of two very different salsas.  One egg is served with a tomato-jalapeño pepper salsa, while the other egg is served with a tomatillo-serrano chile salsa.  Traditionally, Huevos Divorciados is plated with a serving of Refried Beans keeping the two eggs separate.  Personally, I prefer my beans on the side, because I think the salsas look prettier served side-by-side.

Have you ever had Huevos Divorciados?

Huevos Divorciados

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 Roma tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seed removed (you can also use yellow or banana peppers)
• 15 tomatillos (husks removed)
• 2 to 3 serrano chilies
• 1 onion, cut in half
• 2 cloves garlic
• Eggs (you need 2 eggs per serving)

Directions:
For the Red Salsa: Place the tomato wedges, the jalapeño pepper, half the onion, and one clove garlic in a medium saucepan.  Cover with 1-1/2 cups of water.  Simmer over medium heat until the tomatoes are completely cooked.  Remove from heat and let cool 10 to 15 minutes.  Pour the tomatoes, jalapeño pepper, onion, garlic, and the water into a blender cup; puree until smooth.  Pour into a serving bowl; season with salt.

I was out of fresh jalapeños, so I used a banana pepper instead.

For the Green Salsa: Place the tomatillos, the serrano chilies, the remaining onion and garlic in a medium saucepan.  Cover with 1-1/2 cups of water.  Simmer over medium heat until the tomatillos are completely cooked.  Remove from heat and let cool 10 to 15 minutes.  Pour the tomatillos, serrano chilies, onion and garlic into a blender cup; puree until smooth.  Pour into a serving bowl; season with salt.

In a non-stick skillet, heat a little vegetable oil or butter over medium heat.  Fry two eggs at a time to desired doneness.  (I like my yolks runny, but Hubby and the kiddies like them completely cooked.) Transfer the fried eggs to a plate.  Ladle about a 1/4 cup of green salsa over one of the eggs and 1/4 cup of the red salsa over the other egg.  Serve with Refried Beans.  Enjoy!!!

Sharing this post with The Food of the Month Club!

Food 'n Flix: Last Holiday

I had so much fun hosting Food 'n Flix back in December, I pretty much begged Girlichef (the mastermind behind this genius idea) to let me host again this month.  The movie I've chosen is  Last Holiday , starring Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, and Gérard Depardieu.

Queen Latifah stars as shy, unassuming Georgia Byrd, who after learning she only has 3 weeks to live, starts to live the life she's always dreamed of.   Along the way, Georgia befriends Chef Didier (played by Depardieu) who reveals the real secret of life..."Butter!"

Last Holiday is a heart-warming, feel-good movie that reminds us to "love more, laugh more and not be so afraid."

Did I mention that there's food involved?  There's all kinds of yummy, deliciousness to tempt and inspire you.  Everything from New Orleans-style Gumbo to Poulet Tchoupitoulas to Bananas Foster.   All of the food in the film was provided by Food Network chefs.  And there's even an appearance by one of my favorite celebrity chefs....Emeril Lagasse!




How to Participate:
1. Watch the chosen film, Last Holiday.  Taking inspiration from the film, head into the kitchen and cook or bake or make something.

2. Post about it on your blog with a link back to THIS post and a link to Food 'n Flix  (Use of the logo is optional.)

3. Your must post must be current (during month of film). And of course we don't mind if your post is linked to other events...the more the merrier.

4. Have fun with it!

5. Email your entries to me at: leslielimon@lacocinadeleslie.com and be sure to include: 

                     ~Your name
                     ~Your blog's name and URL
                     ~The name of your dish and the permalink to the specific post you're submitting
                     ~Attach a photo of any size (or just give me permission to "pull" one from your post)
                     ~Indicate "Food 'n Flix Submission" in the subject line

    Deadline for submission is: March 29th (2012) 

*watch for the roundup to be posted on March 30th!

Breakfast Enchiladas

 A couple of weeks ago, after a busy morning of helping Hubby in his our upholstery shop, I hadn't even started to think about what we would have for lunch that day, let alone get any grocery shopping done.  So I headed to the kitchen to see what I could find.  I wasn't feeling very inspired so just grabbed some eggs, a tomato, an onion and a couple serrano chilies, and set out to make Huevos a la Mexicana.

Huevos a la Mexicana is one of my favorite go-to meals for breakfast or dinner, but I wasn't really in the mood to have them for lunch, no matter how delicious.

I stood in front of my stove wondering what I could do to jazz up the Huevos a la Mexicana even more.  I opened the fridge and saw that I had some leftover enchilada sauce and corn tortillas.  Suddenly I had one of those cartoon-like moments where you can actually see the wheels turning in your head.  My idea was to turn my Huevos a la Mexicana into Huevos Rancheros, using enchilada sauce instead of a tomato salsa.  It sounded like a genius idea in my head, but when I went to plate it...it looked like a hot mess.   A very delicious hot mess, according to my 12-year old son, Nicky.

By this time, the wheels in my head were spinning at full steam.  I had the right combination of flavors, I just needed to work on the presentation.  And then, I had what Hope (my 14-year old daughter) calls the most brilliant idea I've EVER had.  I'd turn those Huevos Rancheros into Enchiladas.  Scrambled Egg Enchiladas.  No, wait.  Breakfast Enchiladas!  (That you can enjoy anytime of day!)

And a new family favorite was born.  



Breakfast Enchiladas

Ingredients:

• 3 dried ancho chilies
• 2 dried guajillo chilies
• 1 dried chipotle chile (optional)
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 1 to 2 serrano chilies*, chopped
• 8 eggs, slightly beaten
• 12 to 16 corn tortillas
• Queso fresco, crumbled or grated (or your favorite cheese)

Directions:
For the Enchilada Sauce: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water and the dried chilies to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from heat and let soak for about 20 minutes or until the dried chilies have softened.  Remove the stems and seeds from the chilies and puree in a blender until smooth with the water they were cooked in.  Pour the puree into a wide saucepan.  Reheat and season with salt.  *The dried ancho and guajillo chilies do not produce a lot of heat, but the dried chipotles DO.  So you can omit the dried chipotle if you prefer a milder sauce.   



For the Huevos a la Mexicana:  These eggs are called "a la Mexicana" because they are made with chopped red tomato, white onion and green chilies that are representative of the colors of the Mexican flag.   *Now if you're worried about the heat, you can substitute chopped green bell pepper for the serrano chilies without sacrificing the flavor.



While the chilies are soaking, heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute the chopped tomato, onion and sliced chilies for about a minute.  Add the eggs and continue to cook until the eggs are completely cooked.



Heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil over medium-high heat in another skillet.  Fry the corn tortillas, one at a time, in the oil for about 30 seconds per side.  Dip each tortilla in the Enchilada Sauce.



Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the Huevos a la Mexicana onto each tortilla.  Top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of cheese.  Gently fold the tortillas in half and transfer to a serving plate.



Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the Enchilada Sauce over the enchiladas and serve with Refried Beans.  Enjoy!!!







Sharing this recipe with The Food of the Month Club & The Lent Club.

Food of the Month Club: March

As the months pass by, it's getting harder for me to decide on which food or ingredient to feature for the Food of the Month Club.  There are so many delicious foods to choose from.  And I would love to cook with all of them.

To make things a little easier for me, I decided to choose an ingredient with versatility.  Something that could be used in both sweet and savory dishes.   And then it hit me.  Well, actually it knocked on my door with my weekly order delivered straight from the farm....Eggs!

Eggs can be fried, baked, poached, or hard-boiled.  But they are so much more than just a delicious breakfast food.  They can be used to make soups, sauces, salads, pastas, quiches, custards, cakes, souffles, meringues....  I could go on and on.  But what I really want is to see what tasty treats you come up with for the Food of the Month Club.  

So, let's get cracking!  


How to participate:

1. Cook up something delicious using Eggs as one of the main ingredients.  
2. Post the recipe(s) on your blog, making sure to link to this page in your blog post(s).  You can also add the Food of the Month Club badge to your post and/or sidebar.  (Current recipes only.)
3. Email your entries to me at leslielimon@lacocinadeleslie.com by March 30th.  Be sure to  include:

*Your name 

*Your blog name 

*Permalink to your blog post 

*Photo of your recipe or permission to pull one from your post

       4.  Visit La Cocina de Leslie on March 31st for the recipe round-up.