Archive for the ‘Just Food’ Category

Know Your Coffee

Coffee comes from a bean grown on a bush, almost always in a mountainous geographic region.  There are two major types of coffee beans: Robusta and Arabica. 

Robusta beans are grown at lower elevations, flatter terrain, making them easier to pick.  They often have twice as much caffeine.  Robusta tends to be the chosen bean for commercial coffee uses, including the food service industry.  Arabica beans are grown at higher elevations, have a smoother, richer flavor and usually cost more.

Roasting the beans is a major factor in the resulting taste.   Light roasts such as New England yield a mild flavor.  Medium roasts, like Viennese, produce a richer flavor.  Dark Roasts, such as French, can be quite robust.

Most specialty coffee is Arabica and is categorized three ways: by country of origin – Guatemala, Costa Rica; by blend – Mocha Java; by roast type – French Roast.

These days there are eco-symbols to look for as well.  Fair Trade means the beans were purchases directly from farms and that fair prices were paid for the beans.  Organic means that, at least, 95% of the beans must have been grown without using synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.  Rainforest Alliance refers to a group of growers following strict standards for soil, water and fair labor practices.

Coffee, like wine, has different sensory components to evaluate:  acidity, aroma, body.  Acidity refers to the feeling of dryness at the back and around the edge of the tongue.  It’s a pleasantly bitter sensation.  This is not sourness.  Aroma is the smell and like wine there are common descriptors: nutty, fruity, earthy, caramel, buttery.  Body relates to how ‘heavy’ the brew feels in your mouth.  Think of a cabernet sauvignon wine vs a pinot noir.  Think of whole milk vs water.

Brewing method also affects coffee.  The usual method of making coffee in a restaurant is the automatic drip.  This method is used for making a whole pot.  The taste often deteriorated over time as the pot sat on the warmer to keep it hot.  The Double Eagle uses thermos pots hold hold coffee, sealing the coffee in, keeping it hot and preventing evaporation which would concentrate the bitter aspect into an unpleasant flavor.

Cones are used to make one or two cups of coffee at one time and so are not favored in restaurants.  A plastic or metal mesh cone shape is place over a mug or pitcher, a paper filter is added, then the ground beans, then hot water is poured over the grounds.  The method is used for immediate consumption.

The French Press is popular for home brewing and has made it’s way into some high end restaurants and coffee houses.  A tall glass coffee pot with a plunger/filter apparatus attached to a lid is used.  Coffee grounds are added to the pot, hot water poured over the grounds, swirling the grounds throughout the liquid allowing the coffee flavor to infuse into the hot water.  When ready, the plunger/filter is pressed through the liquid, straining out the grounds, pushing the grounds to the bottom of the pot, leaving the coffee above the compressed grounds.  This method is considered elegant and upscale.

Double Eagle/Peppers Café serves Seattle’s Best Coffee, a whole owned subsidiary of Starbucks.  Jerry chose Level Three Decaf.   Medium acidity, crisp with hints of nutty-ness, clean finish.  Best with butter-rich, higher fat foods.  Perfect with desserts.  Excellent for an afternoon coffee break.   Blends well with liqueurs.  This Decaf is processed using sparkling water instead of chemicals to remove the caffeine.

Jerry chose Level Four for regular coffee drinkers.  Darker, richer, elegant, even complex flavor profile. Nuttier, fuller bodied than the Decaf.  Definite after taste.  Lingers on the tongue cleansing the palate of other flavors, elbowing them aside to be King of the hill.  Almost like chocolate lingers and slowly dissipates, so too does this blend. 

Well, food fight is a little strong.  But, we are having quite a discussion about the Besame Picante Chicken.  When we put the Besame Picante Chicken dish on the menu, I described it as spicy, smokey, sweet….kinda in that order.  Now, customers are saying it’s like a Mexican BBQ Sauce.   I can understand the logic with the smoke flavor and the sweet notes but spicy is the one that disrupts the BBQ idea for me.  I grew up in the south where every family had ‘their’ bbq sauce recipe, tweeking this ingredient or that, to achieve their unique sauce.  But, I don’t remember spicy being a big part of the mix. 

 Now, this was southern Louisiana where even the potato salad had Tabasco AND Cayenne in it.  So, zippity-do-dah, I know hot.  But, the BBQ sauce was always mildly peppery.  Even here, in New Mexico, I find the BBQ sauce  smokey and sweet but not hot.

 Admittedly, I can’t recall ever having a “BBQ sauce” in Mexico.   Items just aren’t cooked that way.  Each Mexican state does have characteristic cooking techniques and spices but I just don’t remember anything like American BBQ. 

I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has a different experience and who can give specific examples of a Mexican BBQ sauce.   Email: doubleeaglerestaurant@live.com  

And, do drop in to try it. Let me know your comments pro/con/suggestions.

Vacations Can Be A Wonderful Thing

Line Cook Juan Campos took some time off recently and headed into the interior of Mexico to visit family.  Being an inventive sort of guy-always suggesting ideas in the kitchen, Juan paid close attention to the food he was being served, both in homes and restaurants.  One evening, an aunt served up some shrimp in a reddish sauce over rice.  It was out of this world!  Juan asked his aunt what the sauce was called.  She said salsa de camarones – shrimp sauce – meaning this is the sauce she likes to put on shrimp.  Juan asked if she would tell him how to make the sauce.  She said of course and listed the ingredients.  Juan was stunned to learn that good ol’ Merican Ketchup was used in addition to a number of other items.   Juan asked if his aunt had been to Texas to learn how to make this sauce.  Nope.  Her own idea. 

Well, Juan brought the recipe back and made it for the kitchen crew.  Everyone agreed this was a great sauce and that GM Jerry would certainly make this a special.  We use the specials to ‘taste test’ ideas for the menu…that’s prime time.  So, a plate was prepared and Jerry tasted the shrimp sauce over rice.  He had one word – fantastic!   But, Jerry thought shrimp might make an expensive plate. How would the sauce work on chicken?  The experiment was a success!  Fantastic on chicken, too!

Thus was born our newest menu addition – Besame Picante Chicken – Kiss Me Chicken!  A seasoned grilled breast of chicken served over Spanish Rice with your choice of black beans or refried.  On the menu for Peppers Café lunch and dinner!

Kitchen never reveals recipes exactly but we know it’s got ketchup for the sweetness. There’s chile for spicy hotness.  There’s garlic and onions. There’s got to be chipotle chile for the smokey depth of flavor. So, you’ve got a smokey, sweet, hot sauce that will have you reaching for tortillas to mop up every drop. 

Service starts Monday, August 8 for lunch.  Stop by Monday or Tuesday for Lunch or Dinner in Peppers Café and try the Besame Picante Chicken or go for it and order the Shrimp and get a Special Deal!  Buy one Besame Picante Chicken or Shrimp and get another Peppers entrée for ½ price.  Just tell your server you got an email about the Besame Picante sauce and you are in – no coupon needed! 

 Don’t forget Happy Hour for all cocktails, beer and house wine is Monday-
Friday 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM to closing.

It’s time we bit back!   Yes, we use non-endangered species and, yes, they are pretty sustainable.  They’ve made it since the dinos so I’ll bet they make it through lunch.   And, they are actually pretty tasty if you like fish tacos!  I’ve discovered a hidden niche market.  Secret fish taco lovers in Las Cruces, NM!  Who knew? 

Admittedly, it’s not a big market but those who do love fish tacos can recite their favorite fish taco restaurants and go into great detail about tastes and textures.  They get this far-away dreamy look in their eyes and their voices take on this “I remember when” tone.   They finish each other’s sentences:  “You remember that little place in San Diego with the” “Chipotle Chile sauce!”  “Yes, and the”  ” Napa cabbage slaw” 

I just wanted a nice, fun special for Lent but these guys are as aggressive as a Mako shark on 20 lb test line and I may have to make space on the full-time menu.  In the mean time, I really get a kick out of the satisfied smiles they give when they munch down on our Shark Tacos!! 

Now, some people are turning up their noses at Shark Tacos.  Kind of baffles me.  I grew up in Louisiana with the Cajuns and they were pretty firm about eating anything that didn’t eat them first.  So, my tastes are varied and wide.  (no butt references, please)  I will always try something.  Last month, I was eating grasshoppers in Santa Fe so shark ain’t no hill for a stepper.  (crispy and crunchy with a chile salty seasoning on them: the grasshoppers, I mean)

Drop in and try a Shark Taco today.  You can buy just one or get the lunch or dinner plate. 

Cleaning your mill-style coffee grinder:  wipe down and thrown in a piece of soft white bread

Cleaning your burr-style coffee grinder:  wipe down and thrown in uncooked white rice

Arborio Rice is usually used for risotto.  It’s starchy texture works for rice pudding as well!  Make it the same way you
make risotto but use hot milk instead of water.  Richer: add sweetened condensed milk to the hot milk  Flavors: add
lemon zest, vanilla, cinnamon sticks or coffee beans to the milk as it heats.  Strain out the flavorings before adding
the milk to the rice.   Add 1 tsp of sugar per portion to the rice pudding just before serving.  Add some dried fruit
if you like, as well.  The heat and wetness of the risotto will soften the fruit.

Lighten up those mashed potatoes by mixing in an equal amount of boiled and mashed:  celery root (celeriac) or
cauliflower (you may need to put through a food processor),  turnips, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes.  All work
great for a ‘something different’ dish.

When making a gratin – potato or vegetable, there’s always the problem of sticking to the pan.  Solve that by
butter and bread crumbing the dish instead of just buttering.  That fine coating of bread crumbs really helps
and is barely noticeable in the product itself!

Like roasted garlic  but company just showed up and you dont’ have time to pop it in the oven?  Use a dry skillet
over medium heat and add the unpeeled cloves.  Cook 10 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent
scorching.  Let the cloves cool and the garlic slips easily out of the skin.  Great with a little cheese on some bread or
crackers.

Peeling shrimp and throwing away the shells?  Freeze em!  When you are ready, thaw and pop the shells into
a skillet with a little olive oil.  Heat till the shells turn red.  Grind the shells in a food processor.  Wipe out the skillet,
add more oil and saute onions and carrots till onions are translucent.  Add chopped tomato and the ground shells.
Cover with water by 1″ and simmer for 45 minutes.  Strain and freeze portions of the stock.  Date and label clearly.
Use within 6 months.

Maize.  It’s what the Indians called corn.

 How many of you remember that commercial?  Dates you…and me….

 Well, serving New Mexican food means one is very much aware of corn in its many forms.  Hominey in Green Chile Stew.  Tortillas. Masa for tamales.

But, perhaps, the most important contribution corn has made to New Mexican cuisine is the tostada.  Those crisp triangles of seasoned, salted satiation (Yeah, I had to look it up, too.  Means your tummy is full and you are happy.)  They are God’s little shovels for salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, chile con queso, beans, potato salad, bits of left over enchilada sauce after the enchilada is eaten.  They carry stuff.  And, yes, sometimes they break and you have to double dip but that’s OK.

 We started serving the tri-color chips when they first came out many years ago.  More expensive but more fun.  We liked them for their colorful flair.  The taste was OK and they got the job done moving things from plate to mouth. Then, a lot of people followed and soon many restaurants had the fun chips.   After a while, the fun wore off for us, not the customers, they seemed to like them.  But, we started looking more and more at taste and quality.

 Then, we moved away from the trans-fats and, instead of buying the chips already fried, we went to the tortillas and fried them ourselves in the approved oil.  We felt this improved the flavor profile but customers did not react to, mention or, apparently, notice the change.  Which is good since making changes to foods to improve the ‘healthiness’ does not have a positive public perception. “If you are making it better for us, you are taking away the taste!” 

 Then, in 2009, during one of our periodic reviews of what we do, how we do it and, most importantly, why we do it, we looked at the chips.  I think it’s interesting that most people know a lot about their job as far as how to do things, what to do.  But, when you start asking why something is done this way, in this order or in this way, you get the blank stare.  “Because we’ve always done it this way.” Is the usual answer.  I think one of the most important questions we ask ourselves is why we do things a certain way.

 So, we embarked on the ‘chip caper’ or ‘the tale of the missing chips’.  We ate at many of the Mexican food places in town and some out, if we were traveling, and stole chips.  It’s called market research.  We didn’t have as many volunteers for this as for when we were taste testing margartias but that’s another story.  We tasted, compared and analyzed different components of the tostada chip:  size, color, texture, general appearance, salted/unsalted, oil residue if left on a paper bag, strength(you want a strong shovel), flavor, thickness and other factors.

 You know we eat first with our eyes, then with our nose and finally with our mouth.

 Change is hard.  For everyone.  No matter what they say.  Work habits are extremely hard to change. It can take months for a change in work habits to make it’s way into the work culture.  It takes daily reminders by Managers to do something the new way.  It’s not easy.  So, thinking about changing something as important as the chips took lots of discussion.   Even worse, the purveyor who sold us our chips was not coming out favorably in the comparisons.  Not that he didn’t try very hard to correct the problems we now felt his product had.  Many recipe variations.  Hard work on his part.

But, we felt we owed it to the customer to find and use the very best product.

 And, find it, we believe, we did.  We won’t make public the source for our tortillas but their product met and surpassed all our expectations and demands.  We are very proud to serve them.  We feel this new tostada chip is excellent.  We do season our chips with a Chef Campos house recipe seasoned salt mix. Simple, subtle, not overwhelming but certainly present, even in the after taste.  After you swallow, the mouth feel tells you “Ah! Not the usual chip!” 

 Come in soon and get a side of guacamole or some chile con queso stuffed with spinach and try these new chips.  We think you will fall head over heels just as we did.

I thought you might like to see what we think about when we get a customer comment of food preparation -

A customer was shocked, shocked to discover we do not de-stem our fresh spinach leaves when we make a spinach salad.  He let us know that we were total idiots for do this and he failed to understand how we could possibly stay in business which such a practice going on…..

Posted For Staff Meeting Discussion

 REF:  Spinach and Stems

 Regarding the customer comment that we should de-stem the spinach for the fresh spinach salad, I note that we have been serving the spinach salad this way for many years without one comment on the stems. Pro or con.  Given that we have, in fact, had many compliments on the salad and that sales of the salad do not seem to have been affected by the stem or no stem concern.   I think we will leave things alone and monitor the situation for further customer reaction.

 It’s safe to say that, at home, most people probabaly de-stem their spinach for salads.   While at the same time, most people leave the stems on when cooking fresh spinach. 

 We have chosen not to waste the stems on fresh spinach for our salads since we don’t have an active compost pile at this time.  We feel the stems add a texture and a sharper flavor to the fresh spinach which would be wasted if we did de-stem.  We believe that, given the carbon footprint used to get the stems from the farm to the factory to the distributor and then to us, we would be contributing to global climate change if we did not use the stems in some way.

 We take this stand proudly and greenly and call upon the restaurants of the world to make this change in spinach saladry composition.   Come!  Join us as we do our part to change the world!  Unite to stop this waste of human food while thousand are starving in Africa!

 In any case, if the comment comes up again, say, ”Our Chef likes the texture and sharper flavor of the stems.  He thinks it adds a little something different to the salad.”  And report the comment in the Daily Log or at staff meeting.

Jerry

Know Your Tea 

Tea is a beverage made by steeping processed leaves, buds and/or twigs of the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, in hot water for a few minutes.    There is only one true tea plant: the Camellia sinensis.  There are four basic types of true tea: white tea, green tea, oolong tea and black tea.  The difference is in the processing.  This can include oxidation, heating, drying and the addition of other herbs, flowers, spices and fruits.

 Tea is a natural source of the amino acid theanine, methylxanthines such as caffeine and theobromine and polyphenolic antioxidant catechins.  It has almost no carbohydrates, fat or protein.  It has a cooling, slightly bitter, astringent flavor.

 The term herbal tea usually refers to infusions of fruit, herbs, leaves, roots, bark or other parts of a plant or some plants.  Herbal teas usually contain little or no Camellia sinensis.

Camellia sinensis is an evergreen plant and grows in tropical to sub-tropical climates. In addition to tropical climates (at least 50 inches of rainfall a year), it also prefers acidic soils.  Many high quality tea plants grow at elevations up to 1500 meters (5,000 ft), as the plants grow more slowly and acquire a better flavor.  Only the top 1-2 inches of the mature plant are picked. These buds and leaves are called flushes and a plant will grow a new flush every seven to ten days during the growing season.

Tea plants will grow into a tree if left undisturbed, but cultivated plants are pruned to waist height for ease of plucking.

Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant (C. sinensis sinensis) and the large-leaved Assam plant (C. sinensis assamica).  There are about six varieties grown in different areas of the world.

These types of tea are distinguished by the processing they undergo. Leaves of Camellia sinensis soon begin to wilt and oxidize if not dried quickly after picking. The leaves turn progressively darker because chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released. This process, enzymatic oxidation, is called fermentation in the tea industry although no true fermentation happens (that is, the process isn’t microorganism-driven). The next step in processing is to stop the oxidation process at a predetermined stage by heating, which deactivates the enzymes responsible. With black tea this is done simultaneously with drying. Without careful moisture and temperature control during its manufacture and thereafter, fungi will grow on tea. This form of fungus causes real fermentation that will contaminate the tea with toxic and sometimes carcinogenic substances and off-flavors, rendering the tea unfit for consumption.

Tea is traditionally classified based on the producing technique :

White tea

Young leaves (new growth buds) that have undergone no oxidation; the buds may be shielded from sunlight to prevent formation of chlorophyll. White tea is produced in lesser quantities than most other styles, and can be correspondingly more expensive than tea from the same plant processed by other methods. It is less well known in countries outside of China, though this is changing with increased western interest in organic or premium teas.

Green tea

The oxidation process is stopped after a minimal amount of oxidation by application of heat, either with steam, or by dry cooking in hot pans, the traditional Chinese method. Tea leaves may be left to dry as separate leaves or they may be rolled into small pellets to make Gunpowder tea. This process is time consuming and is typically done with pekoes of higher quality. The tea is processed within one to two days of harvesting.

Oolong

Oxidation is stopped somewhere between the standards for green tea and black tea. The oxidation process takes two to three days. In Chinese, semi-oxidized teas are collectively grouped as blue tea, while the term “oolong” is used specifically as a name for certain semi-oxidized teas.

Black tea/Red tea

The tea leaves are allowed to completely oxidize. Black tea is the most common form of tea in southern Asia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Malasia, etc.) and in the last century many African countries including Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi and Zimbawe. The literal translation of the Chinese word is red tea, which is used by some tea lovers. The Chinese call it red tea because the actual tea liquid is red. Westerners call it black tea because the tea leaves used to brew it are usually black. However, red tea may also refer to Rooibos, an increasingly popular South African Tisane or herbal tea. The oxidation process will take between two weeks and one month. Black tea is further classified as either orthodox or as CTC (crush, tear, curl), a production method developed about 1932). Unblended black teas are also identified by the estate they come from, their year and the flush (first, second or autumn). Orthodox processed black teas are further graded according to the post-production leaf quality by the Orange Pekoe system, while CTC teas use a different grading system.

Post-fermented tea

Teas that undergo a second oxidation, such as Pu-erh, Liu’an, and Liuboa, are collectively referred to as secondary or post-fermentation teas in English. In Chinese they are categorized as Dark tea or black tea. This is not to be confused with the English term Black tea, known in Chinese as red tea. Pu-erh, also known as Póu léi (Polee) in Cantonese is the most common type of post-fermetation tea in the market.

Yellow tea

Either used as a name of special tea processed similarly to green tea, or high-quality tea served at the Imperial Chinese court.

Kukicha

Also called winter tea, kukicha is made from twigs and old leaves pruned from the tea plant during its dormant season and dry-roasted over a fire. It is popular as a health food in Japan and in macro-biotic diets.

Orange pekoe is a term mainly used to describe a grade of tea found in the grading system used for sorting black teas (Orange pekoe grading).   The system is based solely upon the size of the processed and dried black tea leaves.

The term “Orange Pekoe” is used in the tea industry to describe a basic medium grade black tea consisting of many single whole tea leaves of a specific size; however, it is usually used in popular Western culture to describe any generic black tea, or in some cases, even a specific variety of black tea.   Black teas to be graded in this system must be obtained from new flushes, which are the terminal leaf bud along with a few of the youngest tea leaves. Grading is based solely on the size of the individual leaves and flushes, which is determined by their ability to fall through screens of specific meshes ranging from 8–30 mesh.   This parameter also determines loosely the wholeness, or level of breakage, of each leaf, which is also part of the grading system. Although the grading system is not an indicator of quality, the size of the leaves will, more often than not, influence the taste and clarity of the resulting brew.  Black teas of the basic grade (Orange Pekoe) are highly fragrant, with strong floral and fruity aromas, as well as a pleasant woody note. The taste should be slightly bitter with no astringency, and a sweet aftertaste.

The term “Orange pekoe” is commonly misused to denote a variety of tea, as seen on this package.

When used outside the context of black tea grading, the term “Pekoe“, or occasionally “Orange pekoe“, describes the unopened terminal leaf bud (tips) in tea flushes. As such, terms such as “a bud and a leaf” or “a bud and two leaves“, used to describe the “leafiness” of picked flush, are often used interchangeably with “pekoe and a leaf” or “pekoe and two leaves“, respectively.

Huevos Rancheros was the first ‘Mexican’ dish I remember eating.  I remember 2 corn tortillas soft fried then dipped into red enchilada sauce and laid on the plate with just an inch of overlap on the tortillas.  Two eggs cooked together sunny side up were put on the tortillas.  More red Enchilada sauce over that.  Sprinkle of chopped onions.  Sprinkle of shredded cheese. Plate on the table.  Dig in.  Beans were nowhere near.  Our beans were red beans and came with sausage over white rice on Mondays.

I was raised in southern Louisiana so this was VERY exotic. Turtle, alligator, various types of duck, Canadian goose, deer, oysters, crawfish, catfish – all these were no surprise to find on the supper table.  But, Huevos Rancheros sounded like something a bullfighter would eat before facing the bull.  We kids would stomp the floor and snap pretend castanets – which would shake the whole house since it was wood frame set on concrete piers – till Mom would give us ‘that look’ indicating her patience was gone and we should stop ‘acting the fool’ and sit down.  Which we did with swirls of our pretend capes.

It was even more fun when we found out this was a breakfast dish.  Breakfast for dinner.  Man!  We were living on the edge!  Who knew it would be so hard to add HR to the Double Eagle/Peppers Cafe Menu?

Actually, it WAS on the original Peppers Café menu when we first opened Peppers and the sales were poor so I eventually took them off and put something else which would sell better.  Other items like banana enchiladas or green chile cheese stuffed wontons proved more popular than the Huevos which were on every Mexican joint’s menu from Texas to California.

About January, 2010, John Ritter started mentioning that people were asking about Huevos Rancheros and I started warming to the idea of having them back onto the menu.  Simple dish.  Good food costs.  Easy to make.  No extra items needed. And, there’s that breakfast-for-dinner excitement thing!

Plus, I considered it ‘ligher’ fare,  in calories at least.  That seemed to be a trend for our area.

So, without any testing or tasting or even much discussion, since everyone had heard of Huevos Rancheros.  Everyone knew what they were, how to make them.  No problem.  No worries.  I published the new menu sheets, mentioned the change to Chef – again, no problem – changed the cash register and instructed the Servers.  And, bid Adios, Muchachos!

The next morning I find news in the Daily Log that there had been some discussion among the dinner cooks as to what was Huevos Rancheros when the first order came it.  The cooks sent out their version which the customer reported as strange.  So, the next order, the cooks tried something else.  Again, the customer reported “how could you screw up Huevos Rancheros?”

Of course, I immediately went to Chef Campos.  Chef was baffled.  Chef had instructed all three evening cooks in what to do.  How could they screw it up?   Sure, enough, when the evening cooks come it, Chef and I were at the back door waiting.  Seems the cooks all know different versions and argued among themselves totally ignoring Chef’s instructions.  Talk about steamed clams!  Chef was furious.  Long discussion about following instructions, the importance of consistency, customer satisfaction is the key to success – all out usual buzzwords.

So, I started researching Huevos Rancheros.   Turns out, HR is a Mexican dish based upon a Spanish dish of baked eggs.  But, as always in cooking, regional differences based upon item availability takes the lead in the evolution of recipes.  I didn’t look further than the northern Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo Leon and the American Southwest.

Here is what I found as regional recipes for Huevos Rancheros.

All the Mexican states use a rough chopped cooked red salsa of tomatoes and peppers – the peppers may differ but the basic idea is visible pieces of tomato, peppers, sometimes some onion and always garlic.

Baja California Norte
Smear of mashed beans (black or pinto) under two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs,  hot salsa, sprinkle of local soft white cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.  Sometimes chopped avocados are added right before the hot salsa.

Baja California Sur
Smear of mashed beans (black or pinto) under two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa, sprinkle of local soft white cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.  Sometimes one tortilla is laid down, some kind of seafood – cooked shrimp or cooked fish or drained ceviche – topped with another corn tortilla then the eggs, salsa and cheese.

Sonora
Smear of mashed beans (always pinto) under two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa, sprinkle of local soft white cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.  Sometimes a green salsa (no tomatoes)  is made with chopped roasted pork or shredded pork  (Think ropas viejos)

Chihuahua
One corn tortilla dipped into the hot salsa and laid on the plate, smear of mashed beans or whole beans, second corn tortilla dipped in the hot salsa, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa – red or green, sprinkle of local soft white cheese.  No beans on the side.

Nuevo Leon
Smear of mashed beans (always pinto) under two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa, sprinkle of local soft white cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.  Sometimes the tortillas are stacked and have chopped beef or ground beef between them.  I suspect this is a recent (last 30 years) development taken from the Tejas border recipes.

American Southwest:

California
Smear of mashed beans (black or pinto) under two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa – red or green, almost always including cilantro, sprinkle of monterey jack cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.  Sometimes there are slices of avocado inserted between two stack tortillas.

New Mexico – South

Smear of mashed beans (almost always pinto) under two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa – red or green sometimes with cilantro but never with cumin, sprinkle of Monterey jack cheese and yellow cheddar cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.

New Mexico – North
Two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa – red or green, always with cumin and sometimes cilantro, sprinkle of shredded Monterey jack and cheddar cheese.  Spoon of mashed or whole pinto beans on the side.

Texas
Two soft fried corn tortillas, two soft cooked eggs, hot salsa – red or green, sprinkle of yellow cheddar cheese.  Spoon of beans on the side.  Sometimes the tortillas will be stacked and stuffed with ground beef. Sometimes they use flour tortillas instead of corn.

These are general findings and variations abound.  Just order Huevos Rancheros in every Mexican restaurant you enter and find your favorite combination.

Who knew?

Know Your Balsamic Vinegar

Vinegar comes from Old French “vin aigre” meaning sour wine.  Vinegar is made from various sources – wine, cider, malted barley, rice wine and fruits – but the best of the best is called balsamic vinegar.  Brewed for over 600 years, true balsamic – Aceta Balsamico Tradizionale – comes only from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, especially the towns of Modena and Reggio Emilia.  It is barrel-aged for a minimum of 10 years and as many as 25.  Small 3.5 oz bottles may cost well over $100.00 or more but only a few drops are needed to impart its powerful essence.  It is sometimes even sipped as a digestif.

Inexpensive (relatively) versions are sweetened and colored with brown sugar or caramel to mimic long ageing but even the best of these come from Modena.  The real thing requires elaborate formulation and ageing: 

1. Local grapes, usually Trebbiano but sometimes Lambrusco or Spergola, are crushed an juiced.  The unfermented juice, called must, is boiled over an open fire in copper containers until reduced by as much as half. 

2. The must is inoculated with ‘vinegar mother’, a gummy mixture of various bacteria and fungi, often culled from previous batches.  The mother ferments the sugars into acetic acid. 

3. The developing vinegar is aged in a succession of different barrels, coopered from oak, chestnut, mulberry, birch, juniper, ash or cherry – each imparting its distinctive flavor to the vinegar.  Stored in hot, drafty attics, the vinegar evaporates as it ages.  The missing vinegar is called the angels share.  Due to the reduce volume each barrel used is smaller in size.