BBLTA. Whats that you say?

Over the years the BLT, in my opinion, has gotten a boring and basic stereotype. So how can you make it more indulgent? Well, here we go... Let's double the amount of bacon and candy it in the oven. That just makes the bacon taste that much better! Add a little avocado in the middle of the layers of bacon. It adds a nice creamy factor. We also stepped up the bread as well and got fresh sour dough from Holeman and Finch bakery.

Out of the grocery bag:

• Peppered bacon  12 slices (about 3/4lb)
• Brown sugar
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced to desired thickness
• 2 avocados
• lettuce (we used red tipped lettuce)
• Mayo
• Sour dough bread

Candy the Bacon

Set your oven to 475. Place a cooling rack or grilling rack on a cookie sheet. Lay out the strips of bacon and top with brown sugar (don't worry about over coating them, the extra sugar will melt down and drip off.) Bake until crispy, about 25 min.

The Assembly:

Toast the bread in butter in a saute' pan on one side. This makes it so rich and sumptuous. Put alittle mayo on the base, then add the bacon, avocado, then bacon again. Salt and pepper the tomatoes then load them on followed by the lettuce and the top layer of bread. Voila! the most amazing BBLTA!

Enjoy!

Authentico!

Well since we moved from California we have had a hard time finding real Mexican food. You know the little tacos topped with onion, cilantro and the fresh salsa whether it be the super hot red chile, or the tangy tomatillo kind.  Where we live, they are all the red light, as I call them, Mexican joints that just warm up prepared food.  The way I look at it, Mexican food should be the freshest tasting food you can eat.  So I have been working on perfecting my version of the chicken/steak taco.  After eating at every mainstream, hole in the wall, taco truck, general store, really any place that sells tacos that I could find, when we lived in Cali, I put together my favorite flavors from them all.  So lets get those taste buds going...


Tomatillo Salsa (Rick Bayless)

 

8 ounces (3 to 4 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (1 or 2 serranos or 1 jalapenos), stemmed
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
6 sprigs of fresh cilantro (thick bottom stems cut off), roughly chopped
1/4 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt

Directions

Roast the tomatillos, chile(s) and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until blotchy black and softening (they’ll be turning from lime green to olive, with charred spots. Don't worry), about 5 minutes. Flip them over and roast the other side. Cool, then transfer everything to a blender, including all the delicious juice the tomatillos have exuded during roasting. Add the cilantro and 1/4 cup water, then blend to a coarse puree. Scoop into a serving dish. Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove excess moisture. Stir into the salsa and season with salt, usually 1/2 teaspoon.

The Meat:  Chicken or Steak

1 lb of your choice of meat
Cumin
Spicy Mexican chili powder
Salt
Pepper

Season the meat generously with all the ingredients.  Cook chicken completely and steak to preferred doneness.  The grill works wonders or if you don't have a grill or it's the wrong season, a grill pan works great too!

Chop up meat finely

The assembly:  choose your favorite tortillas (corn,flour). I like the small corn or the fajita size flour.  Top with cilantro and white onion, cover with the super yummy salsa and enjoy!  Oh yeah the Wifey loves them with fresh guacamole.