Chilaquiles and Eggs

I spent my Saturday night making cookies for dinner and playing Xbox. How was YOUR weekend?

There was actually a whole lot of awesome this weekend. I had a much needed and relaxing facial at Skin by Marywynn [I’m addicted, and go every six weeks]. I ate a delicious vegan mezza plate at Dar Salam. I saw Django Unchained [so, so good–go see it!]. We met up with friends who were in town for brunch at Mother’s Bistro, and followed it up with a trip to the Portland Art Museum for The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece exhibit. High fives for a really good weekend.

We try to balance out the weekend eating with a little bit of eating in and out. It’s easy to get sucked into doing the latter because this is a breakfast town. Most places have a line, some well before they even open. We have a few go-to spots that we utilize to avoid most of that, and then coupling it with something as simple as an egg sandwich at home usually takes care of the rest. Very rarely do I try out something new for breakfast, though. It’s mostly because I usually have to do a little more planning and actually have food in the fridge, not for a lack of want. 

I had picked up the ingredients for these chilaquiles for the Christmas Mexican feast, but it was really unnecessary. We had way too much food as it was. I saved it for a breakfast, and put a fried egg or two on top instead of adding chorizo [although both would have been stellar]. The sauce that you make for it is really, really good. I fully intend on using it for enchiladas one day. It’s just as spicy as you’d like it to be. The original recipe said to use FOUR chipotle chilies in adobo. That’s damn insane, even for us. I used two, plus the roasted jalapeño in the sauce. It was still super spicy, which is fine by me.

Instead of frying my own tortilla chips, I tossed them into the oven under the broiler, stirring them occasionally, and flipping them when they started to brown. Way less greasy. Way less messy. I was a fan of that. If you can make your own pita chips, why not corn ones? It’s almost too easy [seriously, I almost burned a few. Keep an eye on it!]. Make sure you garnish with radishes and cotija cheese. I have a not-so-secret love affair with radishes. I’m the girl in the taco shop hoarding them in the salsa bar. I’m the girl buying bunches of them at the store, and eating them as soon as I get home. I really do like them a lot.

Inspiration: Saveur

Ingredients

• 6 plum tomatoes, cored
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 1 jalapeño [de-seeded if you’re so inclined], sliced in half
  
• 1 small white onion, quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 canned chilies in adobo
• 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt to taste
• 10 corn tortillas cut into 1″ pieces
• 4 eggs, cooked as desired
• cotija cheese, for garnish
• radishes, for garnish

Preparation

Set the oven on broil, and place the rack on the top spot. Spread aluminum foil on a baking sheet and lightly grease a baking sheet. Spread the tomatoes, garlic, jalapeño, and onion on the baking sheet. Place them in the oven for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until they start to blacken and blister. Remove from the oven and place the vegetables in a blender or food processor. Add the chipotles, cilantro, oregano, and 1/4 cup of water. Blend until smooth. Taste and add salt as needed. The sauce stores well overnight if necessary.

On the same baking sheet, without the aluminum foil, spread the tortilla pieces on it in as  close to a single layer as possible. Make several batches if necessary. Place them back in oven, keeping an eye on them, stirring and flipping until they start to brown.

Start your eggs, cooking them as you see fit [fried, poached, scrambled, etc]. Heat the sauce in a deep walled sauce pan on medium heat. Once it begins to simmer, add the tortilla chips, and stir to coat. Once they’ve had a chance to soften and soak up the sauce, about 2-3 minutes, remove from the heat. Serve immediately, unless you like soggy tortillas. I don’t. At all.