Friday, September 12, 2008

huevos rancheros


Con queso Italiano, mozarela e ricotta. <--- See what I did there? Gave the names of two Italian cheeses in Spanish that are cognitives in English. But why? Because huevos rancheros is eggs ranch-style in Spanish, a Mexican dish, but used here with Italian cheeses instead of Mexican cheeses because that's what I like and that's what I had. Therefore, what you see here is an American amalgam of what the cook knows to be Mexican but with a few Italian ingredients. I'm American. It's what we do here in America. That's why. Notice the French fries? The technique for French fries originates in Belgium, but potatoes themselves are New World vegetables, from Central America, unknown to Europe before Columbus, so they're preeminently American.  Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. That kills me.  

The chief feature of this dish is the pork chili that fills the plate. It's key flavor component, aside from the pork and chilis and the tomato and the tomatillo and the large amount of onion and garlic is cumin, but only a trace amount of that because it's so strong, about 1/2 teaspoon for a huge pot of chile.

chili = the fruit of so-called pepper plants of which there is wide variety and degree of hotness.  No less than five different types of chilis were used for the above dish.  Two cans of prepared Anaheim for mild vegetable chili flavor, a small package of frozen Hatch for different chili flavor and increased heat, procured from roadside vendor where they roast them right there, a small can of jalapeño for a sharp chili flavor and even greater heat, dried habeñero flakes in small amount for different deep flavor and extreme heat, plus a tablespoon of Tabasco™ sauce, for yet another chili flavor and slightly different kind of heat. The resulting complexity of the various chili flavors and heats is outstanding and compelling.

No proprietary chili powder was used for that ^^^ up there. I hate that stuff. It's awful. Always gives me such the heartburn. I keep trying it and end up tossing out the whole can. Even those little packages of taco mix are all totally gross. The most direct way of ruining a meat-based dish, with the intention of making it hot, in imitation of south of the border, that I can think of. Best to just stick with specific chilis and mix them yourself with your own herbs and spices. Better still to grow your own chilis, dry them, and render specific species to powder.

chile = a stew-like dish made from chili peppers. Also the name of a country in South America. Don't ever conflate these two words or people could die.

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