Chilaquiles: The Best Thing I Ever Ate (Breakfast Edition)

You know that show The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network?  The one where famous chefs talk about their favorite meals?  Well whenever I watch this show, it always spurs a conversation in my house about what the best thing I ever ate was.  For someone who loves food and traveling as much as I do, trying to narrow down my favorite meals is usually no small task.

But I have to say that when it comes to breakfast, there is one meal that stands out above all others in my mind: the chilaquiles I had on my 29th birthday at Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah.  Even though I had lived in Utah for 4 years at the time, I had never heard of Boulder, Utah or Hell's Backbone Grill until I picked up Bon Appetit's May 2009 issue and read the article The United Plates of America: A Guide to the Best Things to Eat, Drink, and Buy in All 50 States (if you haven't read this article before, I recommend that you click on it - you just might discover something that you didn't know about in your own state too).  After I read the article, I googled Hell's Backbone and saw that it had also won acclaim from Fodor's, the New York Times, and Zagat and I decided that I absolutely had to eat there before I moved away.

So for my birthday we went on a road trip and camped in various parts of Southern Utah.  We ended up at Hell's Backbone on the morning of my birthday for brunch:

 
I ordered the chilaquiles and I was blown away.  Of course I had had chilaquiles before, but none this good.  Maybe it was just because everything tastes better when you've been camping.  Maybe I was on a birthday celebration high.  Whatever the reason, these chilaquiles were the BEST. THING. I. EVER. ATE!

Watching that show on the Food Network gave me a fierce craving for this delicious dish.  Since I'm 650 miles away from Hell's Backbone this morning, I decided that I had better just make some for myself.

Chilaquiles (pronounced chee-lah-kee-less)

vegetable oil (for frying the tortillas)
8-12 small corn or flour tortillas (if you don't have tortillas on hand, you can use tortilla chips instead)
salt (to season the tortillas with)
1 14 oz can of red chile sauce (if you can't find red chile sauce, substitute salsa or enchilada sauce)
6 eggs, scrambled
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
grated cheddar cheese (as a garnish)

Pour enough vegetable oil into a large skillet to cover the bottom and heat over medium heat.  Cut tortillas into quarters:

Once oil is heated, fry tortilla pieces in three separate batches for about 2-3 minutes per side (until starting to lightly brown and crisp slightly).

When you first put the tortilla pieces in the oil, they'll look like this:

After 2 -3 minutes, flip them over (they should be light brown and slightly crisp, like so):

Remove tortilla pieces from skillet and season with salt.  Drain tortilla pieces on a paper towel lined plate (to remove excess oil):

Remove excess oil from skillet and add red chile sauce:

Heat until just boiling, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to heat sauce through:

As the sauce heats, whisk 6 eggs and 1 Tbsp cream together in a medium sized bowl:

And scramble over medium heat in a separate skillet:

Once sauce has heated, add tortilla pieces, turning to coat:

Cook until tortillas start to soften slightly (about 3 - 5 minutes).  Remove tortillas and place at the bottom of a shallow bowl:

Top with scrambled eggs:

Drizzle with more red chile sauce:

Top with cheese and enjoy!

I Can Explain . . .

I can't believe that it has been over two months since my last blog post. I know that makes me a sad excuse for a blogger, but as the title indicates, I can explain!

The past two months have been some of the most hectic of my life. On March 18th, I defended my thesis:

The flyer for my seminar.

I celebrated by buying myself a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Two days later, I went to Australia for two weeks to celebrate. A few highlights:

The Great Barrier Reef as seen from my helicopter flight - one of the coolest things that I have ever done, bar none.

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, as seen from Circular Quay.

After I got back, I had to frantically finish up all of my work in lab, pack up my house and move everything down to San Diego, only to turn around and fly back to Utah to attend my graduation ceremony and get hooded:

Me and my thesis advisor.

This red, white, and blue hood made me feel like a super hero.

And a week later, Paul and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. I can't believe it has been a year already. Where does the time go?

Our cake topper came with a little flag that said Happy Anniversary.

Believe it or not, one year old frozen/thawed wedding cake tastes surprisingly delicious.

But now, it is official. My committee has signed off and after five long years, I am back in San Diego (for at least a few years, that is)! And in honor of being back, I decided to treat Paul and my sister to a feast of Baja style shrimp tacos (what better to eat in San Diego than Mexican food?). These tacos are super light with just the right balance of sweetness and tartness, and the best part is, you can spice them up anyway that you would like. I used salsa and tortillas from Trader Joe's (oh how nice it is to be near a Trader Joe's again, I cannot even describe!), but you could really use anything that you like.

A pound of shrimp for under $5? Have I mentioned that I love Trader Joe's?

Our family friends have an apiary, so I got to use their delicious honey in my marinade.

Handmade tortillas - thanks "Trader Jose"!

Baja Style Shrimp Tacos

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp honey
handful of chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp Cajun Creole seasoning (can be found in the spice aisle)
1/4 tsp paprika
1 pound shelled, deveined shrimp, tails removed

flour tortillas

Whisk together first eight ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Toss shrimp in marinade to coat evenly and refrigerate in marinade mixture for at LEAST one hour (but I highly recommend marinating the shrimp for a longer period of time to let the flavors set in, up to overnight). Spray a heavy skillet with non-stick spray and heat on high. If using raw shrimp, cook shrimp until just opaque and remove. If using pre-cooked shrimp, heat until just starting to brown and remove. Pour marinade into skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until marinade thickens and sauce forms. Place several shrimp in each tortilla and spoon sauce over shrimp. Top with whatever taco toppings you prefer (I am a purist, so I usually just use cheese, salsa, and fresh squeezed lime), and enjoy!

Party Pleaser

Because fate is cruel and for whatever reason we can never seem to live in the same place at the same time for more than 2 months in a row, Paul had to move back to San Diego to start his new job and my evil committee refused to let me leave until after I defend my thesis (a mere 81 days from now but who's counting?). Of course instead of working on said thesis, I decided to throw him a going away party. One of his friends was nice enough to volunteer to bring duck tacos made with a duck he had shot and killed that morning, so I decided to stick with the Mexican theme and try my hand at making a seven layer dip.

Seven layer dip is one of those dishes that always looks so elegant and delicious when other people make it, but I was sure that I was going to manage to ruin it somehow and make it look unappetizing. I read some tips online and was encouraged when I read that the nice thing about seven layer dip is that you really can layer the ingredients in pretty much any order that you like (basically the only rule is to be sure to put the guacamole layer below the sour cream layer so that the sour cream does not turn brownish) and it will still be delicious (in other words, a dish that is pretty much impossible to mess up, which is right up my alley). I thought I would share it with all of you because a.) it is super easy but looks fancy and time consuming, b.) it is delicious, and c.) I think it would be the perfect thing to make ahead and take to a New Year's Eve or Super Bowl party.

Seven Layer Dip

1 oz package of taco seasoning (I used Old El Paso, pictured below)
16 oz can of refried beans
1 cup guacamole
1 cup salsa
16 oz sour cream
1 small tomato, diced
6 oz can sliced black olives
2 cups cheddar cheese (or Mexican cheese blend)
1 bunch green onion, sliced

Mix refried beans with taco seasoning and spread over the bottom of a 13" x 9" casserole dish.


Top bean layer with guacamole and spread with spatula to cover.


Top guacamole layer with salsa. Top salsa layer with sour cream.


Garnish sour cream layer with diced tomato, olives, cheese, and green onion. Serve with tortilla chips.