Miguel's Cocina White Sauce Experiment

When Brian and I were in San Diego last May, on a recommendation, we ate at a restaurant called Miguel's Cocina. The food was actually not too great. HOWEVER, they have this white queso jalapeno sauce. It's delicious! So good it made up for everything.

As it turns out, they give the recipe out!

It requires quite a few ingredients that I don't normally buy, so it's taken me awhile to get around to try it. I ended up subbing jalapenos for green chili's and chicken bouillon for chicken base to make the grocery list even easier for me. I also cut the recipe in half (3.5 cups is too much -fattening- even for me, the lover of this sauce - Brian doesn't like it nearly as much...)

Everything was going great. I learned how to make clarified butter and roux (also, what that was). But when all the make-me-feel-like-a-real-cook stuff was done and I was adding the cheese, the sauce seemed really grainy.

I cut everything in half, except the sour cream.

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Oh, well. Still, part of me wants to throw it out and start all over because I know it's not as good as it could be...buuuuutt...it's good enough :)

We Like to Eat: Chicken-telli

(Formerly "Creamy Chicken a la Ciccotelli" but it was too long to say, so we shortened it.)

This one came to be when we found a bunch of ingredients we liked and we put them all together. That’s always good. Like S’mores. Or ice cream-fruit smoothies. Or Chicken Parmesan smothered with Oreos. Ok, maybe it doesn't always work.

What you need:
Egg noodles (enough for however many people are eating)
Chicken
Lawry’s
Cream of Chicken
Bread Crumbs (the Italian kind, because plain is just boring)
Butter

Boil some water. While that's heating up, cut up some chicken. Douse the chicken with Lawry's. Because everything is better with Lawry's. Like Oreos. Ok, again, maybe not everything.

Throw the egg noodles in the water (or pasta, we've made it with spaghetti, too) and fry up the chicken. While those two are cooking, get a baking pan out and pour in a can of goodness (cream of chicken). Maybe two, depending on how creamy you want it. Whatever. Pour in the chicken and the noodles when they're ready too.

Mix it all together so everything is coated in goodness. Then sprinkle the breadcrumbs across the top. Be liberal. This is Isa's favorite part. Cut little pats of butter and throw them around to your heart's content.

Bake at whatever temperature makes you happiest for however long it takes for the butter to melt and the goodness starts to bubble a little. It should come out looking something like this:

If it tastes like the best thing you've eaten since Tongan Pancakes, then you've done it right. If it tastes like sand, make sure you used bread crumbs and not actual sand. Someone may be playing a terrible prank on you.

Try it out and tell us what you think in the comments. :)

We Like to Eat: Tongan Pancakes

I’m not really sure where this name came from. I learned it on my mission in California. It was a recipe passed around the mission until it ultimately found its way into my kitchen. And the people who taught me didn’t know where the name came from either. And now, neither do you. But it doesn’t matter. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, right?

What you need:
Ramen (chicken flavor is the best)
1 egg
BBQ sauce
Bread

So here we go. Boil some water. Scramble the egg. Mix the flavoring into the egg.

Drop the Ramen into the boiling water but do not break it up. Let it sit for about 30 seconds and flip it over. Another 30 seconds or so (no longer than a minute total) and take it out. Move it to a frying pan on medium-high heat and open the noodles so they make a rectangle. Pour the egg up and down the center of the whole thing.

Let it cook and then flip it over. You may have to push the egg back into the noodles if they start running. While it’s cooking, grab a plate and put two slices of bread on it. Once the egg is completely cooked on both sides, lay the noodles flat over the two slices of bread. Add barbeque sauce.

Close it and eat it.

So good.

I have yet to meet anybody who doesn’t like this. It’s simple, fast, and yummy. Let me know what you think in the comments.