Tag Archives: salsa

Appetizers and Small Plates, Easy to Prepare, Lighten Up, The Daring Kitchen, Vegetarian Dishes

Black Bean Cakes with Pineapple Salsa and Avocado Crema

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Recipe for the Daring Kitchen
This month, The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness. We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties.

I Want a Taste of You, Baby Cakes

This recipe was all the doing of my buddy Karen – you see, this month has been banana cakes and not in the good way.  My schedule’s relentless and although I’ll never cop to biting off more than I can chew, my mouth is as full as my plate and work is looking like an endless buffet.  Karen and I are cooking buddies, seeking out new techniques in the kitchen and regularly participating in the monthly challenges proffered up by the online foodie club, The Daring Kitchen.

Karen immediately dug through her mental rolodex of recipe majesty, a good thing because my brain was more fried than a bucket of chicken from the Colonel.  She remembered a fabulous black bean cake recipe from Emeril Lagasse would be perfect to make.  I was relieved for her quick wit and paired the cakes with a fresh pineapple salsa enlivened with piquant red jalapenos and a simple avocado crema made with greek yogurt and lime.  The final result was ridiculously good – a composed plate that looked like it should be served at a fancy pants restaurant rather than the picnic table in my backyard.  Plus, the time we spent cooking was a welcome respite from the piles of work in front of me.  Good times! Continue reading Black Bean Cakes with Pineapple Salsa and Avocado Crema →

Low Brow Treats, Main Courses, Meat Dishes, Recipes

Sonoran Hot Dog

Awwwwwww…STREET MEAT!

I get it fairly, but I am a hot dog junkie.  I’m talking Tyrone Biggums crackhead junkie for a hot dog.  I love footlongs, Hebrew Nationals, burnt Oscar Meyers around the campfire, red onion laden Grays Papayas, ASU’s Dave’s Dog House with the buttered buns, a charbroiled and blistered dog from Ted’s and a Ben’s Chili Bowl half smoke.  I love them equally and unabashedly.  Even the dirty water dog has a special place in my heart.  So of course, after moving out to the wild, wild west, it was only a matter of time until I discovered the joys of the infamous Sonoran dog.  The dog hails from the Mexico/Arizona border, and features a bacon-wrapped link that is grilled and then topped with a bevy of condiments.  We’re talking pinto beans, shredded cheese, tomatillo and jalapeno salsa, chopped tomato and diced onion to name a few.  Traditionally, these bad boys are served on a sturdy Mexican roll with ketchup, mayo and mustard, but you can choose your toppings according to how you like them and use whatever roll you’d like to get the job done.  I like a sesame-seed hero roll myself.

Although crisping this bad boy up is great on the grill, you can use a rack over a cookie sheet under your oven’s broiler if you are grill-less.  I like to use a natural casing dog as my first choice, and a snappy Nathan’s brand or Sabrett’s brand dog as my second choice, since they cook up so love-er-lee.  But again, with a dog with this much DIY potential, feel free to rock it the way you want it.  Just make sure it’s loaded up, because that is the name of the game.

Sonoran Hot Dogs

Ingredients
4 hot dog links
4 slices of thick cut bacon (mesquite-smoked if you can find it)
1 c. of whole pinto beans
1 tsp. of adobo seasoning
1/2 tsp. of chili powder (can be ancho or chipotle if you like)
1 tbs. of olive oil
4 tbs. of chopped tomato
4 tbs. of chopped onion
1/4 c. of shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, a blend, you name it)
1/4 c. of tomatillo salsa (or other green salsa variety)

tabasco ketchup (optional)
jalapeno mustard (optional)
mexican crema or lime mayo (optional)

Begin by wrapping each hot dog with a strip of bacon.  Cook hot dog on the grill until bacon is crispy and browned on both sides.  Alternatively, you can place a rack over a cookie sheet and cook under your broiler for 7-10 minutes per side.

While the hot dogs are cooking, warm your beans.  Add your beans to a small saucepan with the adobo seasoning, chili powder and olive oil.  Taste for salt and season.

To assemble, squirt bun with a little ketchup, mustard and mayo (if you’d like it).  Top with the hot dog and spoon a few tablespoons of beans on top.  Sprinkle cheese over the beans to melt and then top with tomatoes, onions and tomatillo salsa.  Eat quickly and blissfully before the whole thing falls apart.

Appetizers and Small Plates, Lighten Up, Recipes, Sauces and Condiments, Vegan Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes

Fresh Tomato Salsa

There’s something to be a said for a good recipe passed on from trusted cook to trusted cook.  Finding one of these gems is truly like finding a hidden treasure – the question is whether you’ll share once you do.  Given that I’m not at all proprietary, and I love the fact that these posts get you guys cooking, eating and sharing in turn, how could I not pass it on!

This one comes from my grandmother, Vo, who was given this recipe by a friend, who in turn received it from her grandmother – the same recipe that she used back in Mexico.  Something as seemingly pedestrian as salsa becomes a celebration of the sweetness of ripe tomatoes and the piquant flavor of jalapeno.  I was surprised to learn that there’s nary the lime or bit of oil in this one – just veggies and goodness. Continue reading Fresh Tomato Salsa →