Huervos Rancheros with Rice & Beans

This is my favorite breakfast.  I’ve had some great versions in restaurants and diners over the years and I’ve always wanted to give it try at home.  If you Google it you’ll get back over 400K recipes, so there are all sorts of ways to approach it, some more traditional than others, some complex and some simple.  I reviewed a handful of recipes and combined some thoughts and came up with this quick and easy version.

  

Rancheros Sauce

Ingredients:

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 diced onion

1 can green chilies

1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

¼ tsp crushed garlic

Cilantro

Fresh ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

Avocado oil (or oil whatever you have on hand)

Steps:

1. Sauté the onion and garlic in avocado oil for a few minutes in a skillet
2. Add the diced tomatoes and green chilies, including the juice from the cans
3. Roughly chop 2-3 chipotle peppers and stir into the mixture along with a teaspoon of the adobo sauce
4. Stir in a small handful of chopped cilantro
5. Add some fresh ground pepper and a pinch of salt
6. Continue to stir and simmer for a few minutes
7. Transfer the mixture into a food processor or blender (I used our Magic Bullet) and pulse a couple times, to smooth things out a bit but not so much that it turns into a puree
8. Transfer back into the skillet and set aside and keep warm

Rice & Beans (optional)

I made this as a side because we happened to have some left over rice around.  My kids love it.

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked rice

1 can of pinto beans, rinsed

1 small can of black beans, rinsed

1 jar of pickled jalapeños (this is the secret ingredient)

¼ tsp crushed garlic

Cilantro

Cumin

Fresh ground black pepper

Pinch of salt

Avocado oil (or oil whatever you have on hand)

Steps:

1. Add a few tablespoons of oil to skillet and once hot add the pinto and black beans
2. Sauté for several minutes, stirring frequently – ideally some of the beans will start to develop a crunchy coating but in general you don’t want the skins to split
3. Add the rice and a little water, and continue to sauté stirring frequently; add a little more oil if you need to
4. Add a dusting of cumin, fresh ground black pepper and salt to your taste
5. Drizzle in a couple tablespoons of pickled jalapeño juice from the jar; sprinkle a few of the pickled jalapeños in too if you like it spicy
6. Stir in a handful of chopped cilantro
7. Set aside and keep warm

Alternate riff: If you prefer to stay away from the pickled jalapeños, use the juice of couple limes instead

The Main Event

The main event is the egg and corn tortilla combined with the rancheros sauce.  You can buy soft corn tortillas and fry them in oil, or lightly pan fry them in a skillet with just a touch of oil (or cooking spray), or you can buy them ready made from the supermarket as I did.  When you buy them, they come in a sleeve and basically look like a regular corn taco shell but are flat instead.

Ingredients:

1-2 eggs per serving

1-2 corn tortillas per serving

Cilantro

Cojita cheese*

Diced jalapeño pepper (optional)

* I actually prefer Queso Fresco, which is a fresh cheese that it widely used in Mexican cooking.  However, its shelf life is only a couple of weeks and I often don’t get through it all in time.  A good substitute is Cojita, which is a dry aged cheese similar to Parmesan.

Steps:

1. Using your skillet again, fry 1-2 eggs per serving; be careful not to overcook it, you want the whites just done enough with the yolk still a bit runny so that when you cut into it, it oozes over everything and creates an awesome mess
2. Place 1-2 corn tortilla on a plate
3. Place a scoop of the rancheros sauce over the tortilla(s)
4. Place the egg(s) over the rancheros sauce
5. Place a scoop of the rice and beans off to the side (if you make this optional side)
6. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro across the plate
7. Sprinkle some diced jalapeño across the plate (optional)
8. Grate some Cojita cheese across the plate

 For Technologists

This breakfast came out great – I think because I didn’t focus on following a recipe but instead I committed to a vision I had of the end product.  I had acceptance criteria – it had to be easy and relatively quick to whip up, it had to taste great and have just the right amount of spicy kick.  If I executed it well and was happy with the result, I could always address mechanics of the recipe afterwards, so that it would be repeatable for next time.  Isaac talks about this approach and more in his recent post Ten Ways To Improve IT Culture with Agile, DevOps, Data, andCollaboration.

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Beef with Long Hot Peppers and Sticky Rice

Beef with Long Hot Peppers and Sticky Rice
This dish is a spin on a favorite from a Chinese restaurant near the office.  This restaurant has a dish called Chicken with Long Hot Peppers.  It’s simple and fantastic and I've gotten many others hooked on it over the years - I don’t even look at the menu when we go there, my order is automatic. This dish is quick and easy to make at home when you have a craving for something satisfyingly hot and spicy – this time I did it with beef instead of chicken because that is what I had on hand.  I also cobbled together this marinade from several different recipes – so it’s an experiment that I think came out well – but don’t be afraid to tinker with it to your taste.
Ingredients  1 1/2 lbs of thinly sliced beef * 3-6 long hot peppers (I only had 3 on hand this time but definitely use more normally) Marinade (see below)  * The beef should be sliced very thin.  We have a slicer, so I pulled a bag of pre-sliced beef from the freezer to make this dish.  However, you can find thinly sliced beef in most supermarkets – but in our experience your best bet to find it thin is an Asian supermarket. Note: If you are want to try it with chicken like the original dish then the chicken should be tenderized and cut into thin narrow strips.
Marinade: 1/2 cup of vegetable oil 1/3 cup of soy sauce 1 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp chili infused sesame oil 1 tbsp agave nectar (or honey) 1 tsp crushed garlic 1 thinly sliced green onion Several cranks of freshly coarse ground black pepper Directions Ideally, marinate the beef for a several hours, but in a pinch I've marinated for as little as 30 minutes and it still comes out great.	These are the guys you are looking for – they’re most  often green but can be red as well. Generally, the firmer they are the milder they are – the  wrinkled ones usually pack more heat

For the sticky rice: Prepare rice per package directions – we use sticky sushi rice and make in a pressure cooker, but you can it on the stove top in a pot as well For the peppers: Cut the stem ends off the peppers, cut in half longwise, remove the seeds and veins Chop in thin (~1/8 inch) strips - sideways, not longwise Toss into very hot non-stick skillet or wok Quickly hit them with vegetable oil non-stick spray, or mix in a tiny bit of oil to lightly coat Sprinkle in a pinch of salt Sauté on high heat for a few minutes, until they start to char slightly but are still crisp Transfer to a bowl and set aside

For beef: Drain the marinade off Toss into very hot non-stick skillet or wok Sauté on high heat for a few minutes When almost done, toss in the peppers and mix together, cook for another minute  To serve: Place a mound of rice (~1 cup) on a plate Place some of the beef and pepper mixture around the rice Place a dollop of chili garlic sauce on top of the rice (you can find this in most supermarkets – I get it in Shoprite)

For Technologists

It’s a brand new year – traditionally a time for reflection and resolutions.  This dish is a favorite and reliably works for me.  Sticking with favorites is a good thing – “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” – be it a technology, tool, technique, process or approach.  However, that should not stop us from experimenting and trying new riffs on familiar things.  Worst case, it may not work well but we learn something new.  Best case we may find new favorites – and more or better success.  This year, resolve to look at your “favorites” and look for opportunities to adjust and improve – be agile.

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