This is a Mexican delicacy which has its mystic in its simplicity. You have three main ingredients, corn tortillas, salsa, and cheese. From this starting point, you can make infinite variations adding other ingredients such as chicken, beans, onions, or by changing the main salsa type. I will show you my recipe for the basic dish, and you can get creative afterwards.

Chilaquiles

Many people debate whether Chilaquiles should be soft or crunchy. Personally I like them more on the crunchy side, but my wife prefers them softer. The trick to getting crunchy Chilaquiles is starting up with fried corn tortillas. If they sell them like this in your store you will skip a step. If not you can fry them yourself. Don’t be tempted to use Tostitos, or Doritos or similar chips since they will not withstand the cooking process and you will end up with something that resembles mashed potatoes. You need real corn tortilla chips for Chilaquiles. It is also a good idea to make your favorite salsa ahead of time before starting the dish.

For Red Salsa for Chilaquiles

3 Tomatoes
1/2 Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Serrano Chile (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
Pinch of Salt

Add all the ingredients to a blender. You can omit or add more chile according to your spicy tolerance. Add a 1/4 Cup of water. Blend until all the ingredients make a purée. The salsa will be bright red. Add to a frying pan. Turn the heat up to high heat and cook for 5 minutes or until the salsa changes from bright red to a darker richer color and the sauce becomes thicker. Let it rest for a while. Salsa tastes better when rested. You could even make the salsa the day before. Variations – You can experiment with other varieties of chiles, such as the jalapeño, chipotle, or serrano. You can also try the salsa with green tomatoes instead of red.

For Chilaquiles

4 Cups of Fried Corn Tortillas Chips or about 15 Corn Tortillas
Red Salsa for Chilaquiles (recipe above)
1 Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese or Monterrey Jack Cheese
1/2 Cup Diced Onion
1 Cup Cooked Shredded Chicken Breast
Sour Cream (optional)
3 Tbsp of Olive Oil

Add the Olive Oil to a large Frying Pan on medium high heat. Start by cooking the diced onion until it is translucent. If you don’t have Fried Tortilla Chips, you can make the cutting regular corn tortillas into 1 Inch Squares (or strips) and fry them up until the become hard and crunchy. Add the Fried Tortilla Chips to the frying pan and mix in 1 Cup of Salsa. Cook for 3 minutes. The tortillas chips will start to get soft. You can add as much Salsa until you reach the desired Chilaquiles tenderness. Be careful to add Salsa slowly and in small amounts. Too much Salsa you will end up with soggy mess. Serve in plates, and top with chicken and cheese. Variations – My wife likes to add a spoonful of sour cream on the top. I also like to add a layer of fried beans on the bottom.

Summer is a great time to enjoy outdoor cooking. One of my favorite recipes is a good old fashioned hamburger. Today there is a large variety of toppings and condiments that are placed over a hamburger. I like to experiment with new flavors, but sometimes I preffer something that brings me back home. It is easy to forget the genius and simplicity of a regular hamburger. Buns, beef, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, it needs nothing more.

Old Fashion Hamburger

When people share their hamburger recipes, I am amazed at how many ingredients they use to prepare the meat. After trying several recipes, I settled with the simplest one. Based on my cooking experiments, the best prepared hamburger meat only requires two ingredients, black pepper and kosher salt.  When I share my recipe nobody believes it is that simple. One thing I have noticed over several years of cooking is that some of the best recipes require the least amount of ingredients. One thing is for sure, a grilled hamburger taste better than anything cooked in a pan.

For Old Fashioned Hamburgers

1 1/2 Lbs Gorund Beef
4-6 Hamburger Buns
American Cheese Slices
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Divide the meat into 4 or 6 pieces depending on the size you want for your hamburgers. Form the hamburger patties trying to press the meat the less than you can. Season the patties liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the meat on the grill for 2 1/2 minutes on each side. If you don’t have a grill you can pan fry them until the meat crust has formed and is brown on each side. Place the meat on the bottom part of the buns, and add the cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and the top part of the bun. Condiments like ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise can be added by the guests. Variations – You can add bacon, onions or pickles.

So you baked the homemade bread. Your kitchen is smelling great. Now what to do with your rustic bread loaf. Well how about some tortas. Tortas are the Mexican variant of the Hero Sandwich. You can make them in all sorts of flavors and fillings.

Ham and Cheese Torta

Traditionally, a torta is not a torta without out some chicharon. Chicharon is fried pork rinds, which taste better than  how it sounds. The best quality chicharon can be found in Mexican butcher shops. The stuff they sell next to the potato chips is made from flour, and not real chicharon, so it should be considered a poor substitute. For the fillings you can use cooked chicken, ham, bacon, or basically any kind of cold meat.  You can also top with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and especially avocados. Go crazy with the cheese. This is my recipe for Ham and Cheese Tortas.

For Ham and Cheese Tortas.

1 Loaf of Homemade Bread (or store bought French Bread)
3 Pieces of chicharon
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
3 Pieces of ham
2 Slices of American cheese
2 Pieces of Lettuce

Using a serrated knife, slice the loaf of bread lengthwise to the size of torta that you want. Put the Bread sideways and slice to make two pieces. Spread the mayonnaise to the top part of the bread. Break the chicharon pieces and add to the bottom part of the bread. Layer the Ham over the chicharon. Top with the lettuce and cheese. Bring the top part of the bread to complete the sandwich.

Sometimes you want a pizza fast. Sometimes you just want a single serving of pizza. Sometimes everyone wants a different flavor of pizza. My mini pizzas solve all of these problems. I have tried all types of pizzas dough, both made from scratch and store bought, and nothing tastes better than this. It is a crunchy thin crust that you can enjoy with your favorite toppings. My kid approves of his cheese only mini pizzas, and even prefers them to any delivery pizzas. The best part is that you can have a pizza in about 7 minutes.

Mini Pizzas

When I was developing the recipe I wanted something that came out really fast. The fastest way to cook anything in your kitchen is using the microwave. The problem with using the microwave to cook pizzas is that you get a soggy result. The better way to get a crunchy pizza is to use the oven. This takes time, 15 to 20 minutes at least plus some time to preheat. After some trial and error I discovered that the best method was to combine both techniques to achieve both speed and crunch. I use thin pita bread for the pizza crust. When buying the pita bread make sure you get the thin one, and not the thicker type. You can vary the cooking times in order to get a softer or crispier pizza.

For a Mini Pizza:

1 Pita Bread
2 Tablespoons Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
1 Dash Herb of Provence (optional)
Toppings

Place pita bread flat on a board. Add the spaghetti sauce. Distribute sauce all over the pitta bread with a spoon, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Add the cheese over all the spaghetti sauce. Add the toppings.  Make sure you do not add a lot of toppings or they will not cook well. You should be able to see some of the cheese.Put a dash of Herbs of Provence all over the pizza to give better flavor. Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Cook in the toaster oven on 425 F for 5 minutes, or toast on high about two or three times. When you see the pita starting to brown, your pizza is done. Slice with a pizza cutter. *** The cooking times are for my microwave, and toaster oven. You might need to experiment on yours to see what is the appropriate time on your own equipment. The microwave time also varies when making more than one at a time. Basically microwave untilthe cheese melts. Bake or toast it until the crust browns.

Topping Suggestions:
Pepperoni Cheese
Cheese Only
Pepperoni Mushroom
Pineapple Ham (Hawaiian Pizza)
Bell Pepper, Olives, Tomatoes, Onion (Veggie Pizza)
Cooked Bacon, Ham, Pepperoni (All Meat Pizza)
Cheese Basil Tomatoes (Margarita Pizza)

If there is one restaurant you will never find in Mexico, it is Taco Bell. There have been two attempts to open franchises in Mexico, and both attempts have failed. The reason for this is that nothing in Taco Bell’s menu resembles Mexican Food. Even though you will see that a Taco Bell has menu many choices, it is usually the same prepared ground meat as the main ingredient. The difference in the menu items is the meat enclosure that can be a hard corn shell, a soft flour tortilla, or a corn basket.

Taco Bell Tostadas

The first time I took my family to Taco Bell I told them not to think about tacos, but to think about deluxe prepared nachos. With that introduction they knew what to expect and surprisingly they enjoyed the meal. I personally like the prepared ground beef that is the basis for most of Taco Bell’s menu.  Even though I know it is a badly Americanized version of a Mexican dish, the same could be said about fast-food Pizza. If you remember the old chihuahua commercials, you know that “Yo quiero Taco Bell.”  After several experiments to find a decent substitute recipe for the ground beef I came with the following. Notice that in the picture I used tostadas which are the same thing as taco shells but flat.

For the Prepared Ground Beef

1 Lb Ground Beef
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 Cup of water.

Mix the ground beef, flour, chili powder, paprika, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder in a bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. In a large frying pan, add the meat and the water. Cook over medium heat until the ground beef is cooked throughly and browned.

For the Fillings and Shells

1/2 Cup Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Diced Onions
1/2 Cup Red Bell Peppers
1 Cup of Lettuce
1 Cup  Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Can of Baked Beans
Sour Cream
Salsa

12 Tostadas or Taco Shells or Soft Tortillas

Scoop the meat into the Taco Shells. Add Tomatoes, Onions, Lettuce, Red Bell Peppers, Beans and Cheddar Cheese according to personal preference. Add a dollop of cream on top. If you want to spice it up add a spoonful of Salsa. You can use tostadas, or soft flour tortillas to make different types of tacos. If you are throwing a party, you can even use nachos chips and make Deluxe Prepared Nachos with the same ingredients.

If you lookup comfort food in the dictionary you will probably see a picture of macaroni and cheese. I have never met a kid that does not like macaroni and cheese. It was a favorite dish of mine when I was young, and it is now a favorite dish of my family. Macaroni and cheese recipes are known to come from Italy since medieval times.  Ever since, they have been a common recipe in most households.

Macaroni and Cheese

Instant macaroni and cheese dishes never tastes as good as a home-made one. Even the ones that come with a ready made cheese sauce instead of cheese powder are really not that good. After searching for a better alternative, I came up with the following recipe.

For macaroni and cheese

8 Cups of Water
1 1/2 Cups Elbow Macaroni
2 Tablespoons of Butter
3/4 Cups Evaporated Milk
1 1/4 Cups Cheddar Cheese
2 Eggs
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Add 8 Cups of water and 1 Tablespoon of salt to a medium boiling pot. Once the water reaches a boil, add the elbow macaroni to cook for 7 to 10 minutes according to your desired tenderness. Drain in a heat resistant colander. Rinse the pasta with cold water to stop it from cooking. Keep the pasta in the colander. Melt the butter under low heat in the empty boiling pot. Return the pasta to the pot. Coat pasta with the melted butter. In an mixing bowl, add the eggs, milk, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Whisk it throughly. Add it to the pasta mixture. Continue cooking under low heat and gradually add the cheese while stirring. Turn off the heat once you have a creamy sauce. Optional — You can add bits of ham, hotdog sausage, bacon bits to give it a different flavor.

There are no other more classical ingredients than those of cheese, bread, and wine.

Emmental Cheese, French Bread, White Wine

All ingredients date back to at least 6000 to 9000 years before christ. Separate them three and they can be a dish on their own right. Combine them and they become the most wonderful fondue. Credit for the creation of the dish is given to the Swiss. It was invented in the 18th century which is almost ten thousand years after we had the main ingredients. Who would have thought it would have taken so many years to combine the main ingredients together.

Swiss Fondue

The silky consistency of the cheese requires a special trick. The mixture of Kirch and Cornstarch must be added in the last stage of cooking in order to prevent separation of the cheese and wine. Failure to do this will result in a lumpy cheese mess. It is traditionally enjoyed by dipping bread in the cheese, but some will dip vegetables, meats, or even fruits. There is a certain etiquette to be followed which requires no double dipping, and no licking of the fondue fork with the tongue or lips.

Fondue on a Stick

I enjoyed this dish with my family today, and it was delicious to say the least. The preparation is very simple and quick. It a great way to give a fancy feast to three of the most common household ingredients on a Sunday afternoon.