Sunday, January 14, 2018

Easiest Recipe in the World. HA!


Easiest recipe in the world. HA! So my daughter, Madeleina, and her friend Adrian brought home some fantastic soft tortillas.
"Dad, if you don't want to cook tonight, let's just have tortillas, okay?"
"Ok, Madeleina, no sweat."
I was lying, of course. While I had some of the ingredients, I needed a few, so hopped to the store for fresh cilantro, chicken thighs, a fat pork chop with the bone in. Came home, opened a can of good black beans, then put minced onion and garlic in olive oil in a small pot. When ready I added diced Roma tomatoes, then added the beans. 20 minutes later I added chopped cilantro, achiote, white vinegar. Turned down heat, let simmer for an hour.
While that started, I washed and dried the chicken thighs, rubbed them down in garlic and olive oil, then seasoned with cracked black pepper and pink sea salt. Put in to bake at 325 (last 20 minutes raise to 390 to get crisp skin).
Started rice with garlic and olive oil, added water when ready, and salt, then added Jasmine rice when all was boiling.
Put on a small fry pan, high heat. Washed the chop, dried it, floured it, seasoned it with a bit of olive oil and pepper, seared it, then tossed the pan into the oven next to the chicken pan.
Cooked ingredients on, I chopped tomato, onion, cilantro and then mixed in the juice of three good limes with a bit of salt and pepp and a touch of garlic to make my pico de gallo.
When that was done I set it aside, added achiote (to make yellow rice) and smoked paprika from Peru to the rice, then resealed.
I got a good avocado, cleaned and sliced it.
I opened a container of sour cream,
I shredded part of a bar of good sharp cheddar cheese, our preference around here.
An hour later, everything done and cooling, I turned one of the burners--electric stove, so flat glass top-- on high, and one by one heated the soft tortillas on it, turning them once or twice. Burned three fingers, but browned those tortillas just right. Was looking at 20 minutes of cleaning that glass top in the morning.
Set out a baking dish. In each tortilla I put either some chicken or pulled pork, a bit of black beans, a bit of rice, pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado, then shredded cheese.
Rolled them up, one by one. Tossed them into a 325 oven. While they were in there I made nice salad and plated it on the three plates.
Mdeleina came in from an apparent nap just as I was pulling out the tortillas.
"They look great, dad! All you need is a little sauce on top and they're done. Isn't it great not to have to cook sometimes?"
Ha. I didn't say a word. She'll be a mom some day and I will tap her on her shoulder from the great beyond and say: "Isn't it great not to have to cook sometimes?"

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