Okay, so in yesterday’s post How to Melt Butter, I talked about the fact that for the next several weeks, I am going to concentrate on going over culinary fundamentals.  I really want to cover the basics of cooking, and in doing so, equip all the home cooks out there with the skillz to understand what I (and other food writers) are talking about when we write recipes and to make absolutely glorious food.

And to prove that I wasn’t afraid to really get back to brass tacks, I started the series off with How to Melt Butter.  Today, I want to crank up the level of difficulty a shade or two and talk about how to make brown butter. 

I wanted to do something a little more advanced for a couple of reasons.  First (and most importantly), making brown butter riffs off melting butter.  But I also wanted to show practical applications of various techniques that we discuss.   This should keep things interesting and arm you, o gentle readers, with some extra knowledge in the kitchen.

How to Make Brown Butter

Tools: Knife, pan, wooden spoon

Ingredients: 1 stick of butter, 3-4 leaves of a fresh herbs, preferrably sage (optional)

Goal: Turn a rectangular stick of butter into butter puddle

The Trick: Melt the butter evenly (not necessarily quickly) and cook it so that it just smells nutty.

The Plan:

Step 1-5: See How to Melt Butter, but leave the skillet on the heat and leave the stove on medium.

Step 6: Continue cooking the butter until it just starts to smell nutty.  This will probably take no more than 30 additional seconds.  If you can’t smell very well, wait 30 seconds.  If the butter turns the color of amber ale or a light wooden table, it’s ready.

Step 7: (optional) Toss in the fresh herbs.  They will immediately sizzle and fry in the butter.  Stir them around the pan once or twice.  This will be enough to impart their flavor into the butter.  Note: I like sage-brown butter sauce as a quick flavor boost to gnocchi and ravioli.   Of course, if you are making brown butter to add to a dessert or something, definitely omit this step.

Step 8: Take the skillet off the heat and skim off any foam from the brown butter.  After that, you should be ready for the next  step in your recipe!

Okay, it’s that simple.  Enjoy!

Thanks to jessicafm for the picture.

Related posts:

1. How to Melt ButterMelting Butter Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve...
2. Howto: Cook Brown RiceMy interest in eating brown rice and sharing its preparation...
3. I Love ButterI went to a class on classic cooking techniques tonight...

Okay, so it’s been a while since I’ve blogged steadily.  I apologize.  I got wrapped up in a new project that should be really cool and really perfect for local food producers, but it also has eaten into my blogging time.  (It’s sort of pre-alpha right now.)

Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of great people encourage me to keep blogging, so here I am…  Blogging.

With that said, free time is at a bit of a premium.  So for the next few weeks, I am going to do my best to post 3-4 times per week.  However, the content for these posts is going to be a little unusual. 

See, I’ve been meaning to go back and cover the basics for a while.  I realized while writing some articles for Big Blend Magazine and SheKnows that I take certain things for granted.  Namely, when I say to use a particular technique, I tend to have a general idea of what that means.  Now, if the technique is really wild, I’ll go into greater detail, but for something like melting butter, I just say “melt the butter” and move on.

However, as is the case with most culinary techniques, there’s an art to melting butter.  Seriously.  So I am going to spend the next few weeks going into intricate detail about the basics of culinary manuevers starting with … butter melting.

Also, it has occurred to me when I articulate the purpose of BlogWellDone.com, I say that I firmly believe everyone can cook, but sometimes, novice cooks just need a little know-how.  As a blogger and a food fan, I want to give them that know-how.  Still, I think I’ve fallen down sometimes on know-how providing.

Well not anymore. 

How to Melt Butter

Tools: Knife, pan, wooden spoon

Ingredients: 1 stick of butter

Goal: Turn a rectangular stick of butter into butter puddle

The Trick: Melt the butter evenly (not necessarily quickly.)  Butter burns very quickly, so you don’t want part of it to be liquid and part of it to still be in butter form

The Plan:

Step 1.  Obviously, the most important thing you can do to melt butter is bring it to room temperature long before you need it melted.  (Well, maybe 30 minutes before .)  Room temperature butter is going to melt a lot more evenly because the outside and the inside are the same temp.

But I forgot to take the butter out of the fridge and I have to cook now…

Yeah, that happens.  It’s okay.  Not perfect, but it happens all the time.  That’s why you should always do Step 2.

Step 2.  Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized pieces (that means 8 slices per stick.)  You can also cut lengthwise (as pictured), but I don’t think the butter melts as evenly.

Step 3.  Warm your pan.  Put your skillet on medium heat (no more) and let it get hot for about a minute.  Adding the butter to a warm pan will start the melting process immediately.  If you put the butter in a cold pan, the process is slower and uneven.

Step 4.  Let the butter sit for 30 seconds.  The heat from the skillet will do most of the work, all you have to do is make sure the pan isn’t getting too hot and buring the butter.

Step 5. Get ready to stir.  After 30 seconds, you should have 8 thin pieces floating on a small ocean of melted butter.  If you’re not careful, some of the melted butter may burn soon, so you want to finish the melting.  To prevent this, take your wooden spoon and stir the butter.  Those last little bits will disappear and you will be ready for the next part of your recipe.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Robert S. Donovan and jessicafm for the pictures.

Related posts:

1. How to Make Brown ButterHow to Make Brown Butter Okay, so in yesterday’s post...
2. I Love ButterI went to a class on classic cooking techniques tonight...
3. Hot Dogs with Peanut Butter SauceHot Dogs with Peanut Butter Sauce Inspiration comes from all...

“Charging a pan” is another technique and term I throw around on the blog a lot that I wanted to explain further.

What is Charging a Pan?

In brief, charging a pan is just another name for preheating it.  It’s quite simple, all you have to do is put the pan on the burner, turn the burner on high and let it sit.

However, note that I said “preheating it” and “it” was a singular pronoun referring to the pan only, not the pan and oil in the pan.  If you put anything in the pan when you charge it, that thing might burn.  I was reminded of this fact this very morning when I served my son scrambled eggs with a nice aftertaste of BURNT.

I’m glad we understand each other.

Why Charge a Pan?

There are a couple of reasons why you want to charge a pan.  The best reason is when you are using a technique like a sear or a saute, which requires cooking the food over very high heat.  If you put the food in a cold pan, it can stick, it won’t cook evenly, and it won’t get that beautiful hard sear.  Also, getting the pan very hot will minimize the impact of adding food to the pan, which always causes it to cool.

Secondly, it is vitally important that you charge your pan if you are cooking something over a wok.  Have you ever seen the burners in a Chinese kitchen?  Those things are like mini jet engines, only hotter.  If you are at home on your standard burner, you need to get your wok HOT HOT HOT before stir frying for the best results.

Last, if you have an electric stove like some people (me, sadly), you should charge your pan so that it gets hotter faster.  If not, you are going to be killing a lot of time waiting for oil to get hot and water to boil.

When Good Pan Charges Go Bad

As mentioned above, just charge the pan, don’t charge the oil.

Also, you shouldn’t always charge the pan.  If you are cooking delicate foods (eggs, soft vegetables, seafood), all charging your pan will do is cause burnt food.

Last, keep in mind that even though you charged your pan on high heat, it doesn’t mean you can’t turn down your burner once you add the food.  Seriously, medium and medium high are your friend!

Thanks to Mel B. for the picture of Steam!

No related posts.

One of the things you’ve probably seen a few times on the blog is the concept of a three second fire.  I use this technique to gauge if a fire is ready to start cooking.  (Oh, and I wish I could say I invented the method, but I pretty much stole the whole concept from Steven Raichlen because he’s a pimp behind the grill.)

Anyway, I wanted to define (definitively) what a three second fire is.  All you need to do is start your grill, come back a short time later, hold your hand above the grill about eighteen inches and start counting:

one Mississippi…two Mississippi…three Mississippi

Now, at this point it should be too uncomfortable to leave your hand above the fire any longer.  If you can leave your hand there a bit longer, the fire is too cold.  If you had to remove your hand before that, it’s too hot.

Remember, though, three second fires are not a way to prove how manly you are by keeping your hand above a roaring flame.  If your hand is too hot, move the darn thing.  There’s no reason to get burnt and besides, if the fire is too hot, you’re going to burn your food anyway.

The Three Second Fire in Review

Okay, here is the three second fire in summary:

1.  Make Fire!
2.  When the coals look they like are ready to go (no black, all gray) hold your hand above the fire
3.  Count three seconds.  If you need to move your hand at that point, the fire is perfect.
4.  If you have to move your hand before three seconds, it’s too hot.  Slow the flow of air or push the coals around.
5.  If could keep your hand above the grill for longer, consider adding more charcoal, increasing the air or pushing the coals together

Happy grilling!  Enjoy!

Thanks to Robert S. Donovan for the pic.

No related posts.

The Tasteful Olive

Gourmet Olive Oils and Vinegars

So, by now, you may have heard me mention The Tasteful Olive and you may have noticed that I have been cooking with a lot of fancy balsamic vinegars and olive oils.  Well, that is because I met some tremendous foodies here in Overland Park, KS who run The Tasteful Olive, a gourmet olive oil and balsamic vinegar store.

Basically, the tasteful olive features rows upon rows of containers, each holding a different flavored oil (mostly olive, but some truffle) or 12-18 year old balsamic vinegar with flavors ranging from lemon to black currant to fig to chocolate to vanilla.  Oh, and did I mention, samples are completely free!

The thing to do is give yourself an hour to just go in and try each one separately.  Then go back and mix and match (my personal favorite is still the Persian lime olive oil with the lemon balsamic, but you come up with your favorite.)  Then buy them and cook with them.  You’ll find recipes on their site and this one!

—

The Health Benefits of Olive Oil

Unsurprisingly, they are big advocates of consuming olive oil at The Tasteful Olive.  Jeanne and her husband both espouse it’s health benefits on a regular basis.  You can read more about it on Jeanne’s blog.

Baking with Olive Oil

They also want everyone to try baking with olive oil instead of butter because its healthier (and if you use a flavored olive oil, it’s tastier, too.)  As such, they hand out helpful charts to anyone considering baking with olive oil that tell you how much olive you need to replace an amount of butter.  I have typed the chart in below.

They recommend you use a lighter olive oil (*cough* Hojiblanca from Australia *cough*) but use what you have.  Do be careful, though.  I have found that olive oil cakes can dry faster than cakes that use butter.

By my calculation that means I need 2 1/4 cups of olive oil to make Ina Garten’s pound cake.  God bless that woman!

What Are You Waiting For?

You know where to get good olive oil and balsamic (at least in KC, but look for The Tasteful Olive online), now get to cooking!

—

Picture taken from http://www.thetastefulolive.com.

Oh, and as I’ve noted before, The Tasteful Olive has given me free and discounted bottles of both their gourmet olive oils and gourmet balsamic vinegars so that I could create recipes.

Related posts:

1. Four Courses of Olive Press Olive OilNever one to turn down a challenge, when The Olive...
2. Big Acres Gourmet Products Milagro Mole Brushed Shrimp[caption id="attachment_701" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Milagro Mole Brushed Shrimp"][/caption] Mole sauce...
3. Big Acres® Gourmet Foods Milagro Mole Roasted Pork[caption id="attachment_680" align="alignright" width="102" caption="Milagro Mole"][/caption] $10,000 disclaimer: @melanieyunk gave me...

Let’s Talk Risotto

I don’t know if I have ever gone into the risotto making process, but it was a dish I set out to conqueror when I decided I was going to be a serious home chef.  So, it always has that feeling of being really important, even if it’s not that difficult to make.  Even better, it makes a satisfying, hearty vegetarian dish.

You know, I say that it’s not difficult to make, but it’s not entirely difficult to mess it up, either.  The good news is that I’ve made most of the mistakes one can make when cooking risotto and I’ve boiled them down in the following essay I call “Making Risotto.”

Making Risotto

Okay, so there are a few things to keep in mind when making risottos.  First, no matter how you’ve heard Gordon Ramsey pronounce it on Hell’s Kitchen, it’s “ruh-ZO-toe”, not “ree-SOT-to.”

In all seriousness, the real first thing you have to think about when making risotto, however you pronounce it, is the rice.  You need an Italian short grain rice, which usually means, Arborio rice.  Why?  Because it can hold a lot of liquid (good for flavor) and because it’s full of starch  (good for making the risotto creamy.)  You can still use the risotto technique on other rice grains, but it’s not going to be the same.

The second thing to think about when making a risotto is the liquid you are going to use to cook the rice.  See, the risotto making process includes cooking the rice slowly by adding cooking liquid a ladle or two at a time.  Most of the flavor of the dish is going to come from whatever went to flavor the liquid.

A lot of times you’ll see risottos start with an alcohol (white wine and champagne are my two personal favorites.)  After that, the recipes just call for “broth or stock.”

Balderdash I say!  (I really do say balderdash, actually.)  Yes, you want to use a broth or a stock, but you want to use one that is has a really nice flavor.  This excludes store bought broths.  (They’re good, but they’re not risotto good.)  So, if you bought your broth/stock from the store, you should really think about adding your own flavors (what chefs call fortifying it.)  We’ll be fortifying our stock in the following recipe.

Now you may be asking yourself why we can’t just add nothing but alcohol.  Well, I have it on good authority that a) it doesn’t taste very good and b) it doesn’t cream up like a risotto should.  So, there you have it, we start with liquor, then we’ll use good-old fortified stock.

Now, recipe time.

Mushroom White Wine Risotto

This is a great risotto, made hearty with some lovely mushrooms.

You will need:

• 2 onions, 1 minced, the other roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 8 cups broth or stock
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound assorted mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• (optional) 1/2 mascarpone cheese
• Parmesan cheese

Yes, I realize the ingredient list is a little convoluted.  That’s because we’re making three things: the stock, the mushrooms, and the risotto itself.

First, the stock.

Put the roughly cut onion, carrots, celery, and cilantro in a pot with the broth/stock.  Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.  Taste the stock.  Is it awesome?  If not, keep cooking it for a while longer.

Next, make the mushrooms.  6 oz (3/4) of the stick of butter goes into a skillet.  Once melted, add the garlic and stir it around in the butter.  Then add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt.  Cook until the mushrooms are brown and shriveled.

Now, it’s risotto time.

In a skillet with high sides, add the olive oil and let it get hot over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add the minced onion and another pinch of salt.  Cook until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.  Then add the rice and toast for about a minute, stirring so that the rice is coated in oil and onion as much as possible.

Add the white wine.  Let the rice cook until it is completely dissolved.  Then add the 2 ladles of stock, stir, and let the rice cook.  Continue adding stock until the rice is fully cooked through and cannot absorb any more liquid.  (Believe me, that’s going to take a lot of stock.)  Then add in the mushrooms and stir until they are warm.

Stir in the rest of the butter and mascarpone cheese (if you want.)  Top with Parmesan and serve immediately.

As my old culinary teacher Cody Hogan once said, the guests must wait on the risotto, because the risotto will not wait on the guests.  So, what are you waiting for?

Enjoy!

Note: if you find that your rice is too hard, try lowering your heat to either medium or the space between medium and medium-high.

If that doesn’t help, try toasting your rice for a shorter period of time.  I’ve heard it’s possible to overcook the outside of the rice so much it can’t absorb liquid.

Related posts:

1. Let’s Talk Turkey: Green Bean CasseroleHi everyone.  I am alive and well and only slightly...
2. Let’s Talk Turkey: Pumpkin CheesecakeOkay, the following recipe is not mine…at least not completely. ...
3. #MeatlessMonday Vegetable Stir Fry[caption id="attachment_1000" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Stir Fry"][/caption] So, I was asked...

The dinner was also the first time I have been back to Benton’s in, well, longer than I can remember.  Not that I had a bad meal, but I’ve been trying to explore other culinary destinations in Kansas City.  Monday night reminded me that sometimes it’s good to go back again.

The event featured several stations including: a sirloin station with a morel sauce, a seafood/salad station, a lobster bisque station, a carvery station featuring four different types of meat, and the night’s crowning achievement: a banana’s foster station.  The contents of the sirloin station are fairly obvious (sirloin with morel sauce), the seafood had king crab legs and oysters while the accompanying salad station contained a delicious mozzarella salad (I’d like to call it a caprese, but it was more flavorful), and strawberry salad in parmesan baskets. 

The morel sauce was delicious and the oysters were surprisingly nice for being in the middle of Kansas.  The mozzarella salad was also very good and rumor has it the strawberry salad was nice.

The rubber really started to hit the road with at the carvery station.  There were several meats including a smoked bison, a lamb rib roast, and some of the juiciest, most tender prime rib I’ve had the privilege of eating.

It was so good I hunted down Chef Nicholas Boucher to ask how I could make it at home and despite the fact I forgot to introduce myself as a food blogger and started writing down his every word as he spoke, he was pretty forthcoming about how to reproduce the prime rib at home.

First thing’s first: you’ll need some good prime rib.  Can’t do this without good prime rib.  (That’s my addition.)

Then:

1.  Preheat your oven to 500.  “I prefer a hot oven,” explained Chef Boucher.
2.  Put the prime rib in the oven.  Do not season with anything but a little salt.  (Chef Boucher explains that herbs or pepper will burn.)
3.  Sear the prime rib.  You are not looking for time, but for an appearance.  (You want a nice caramel color says Chef Boucher.)
4.  When the prime rib has reached that color, remove the prime rib and set the oven to 185.
5.  Put the prime rib back into the oven and cook for another 1-2 hours or until the meat has reached an internal temperature of about 135.

Let the meat rest for about 10 minutes and then serve with sides including mushroom medleys, asparagus, au gratin potoates (like Benton’s) or your own favorite sites.

Then, you know what to do!  Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Review: Amor Fiery Steakhouse de BrazilTonight for our wedding anniversary my wife and tried the...
2. Rib RubKC Masterpiece Rib Rub This is the standard rib rub...
3. Salmon En Papillote/Cooking With WineOn Monday, I made salmon en papillote, which is salmon...

We stopped by the grocery store after lunch to pick up some juice.  As trips to the store often go, our quick trip turned into an hour-long buying orgy as we suddently realized how badly we needed asparagus, broccoli, red bell peppers, and chicken.  Oddly, enough, all of these things were on sale.  Funny how that works out, huh?

Anyway, I have a hankering to poach some salmon and stopped by the fish counter to check the prices on fish.  Then I walked off without buying anything, much to the surprise of both my wife and the poor fishmonger who gave me sort of a funny look.

“Aren’t you going to buy anything?” Mrs. WellDone asked.

“Nope, fresh fish shipments come into Kansas City on Tuesdays.  That stuff has been sitting around for five days,” I replied.  (And truth be told, it kind of looked like it had been sitting around for a few days, but that’s another story.)

The Moral of the Story…

As you have doubtless read before, the ingredients make the dish.  To get the best possible dish, you need the best possible ingredients.  Or in other words, better fish, better fish.  Fish that has been sitting around either in the freezer or the fishmonger’s counter is pretty much never going to taste as fresh as fish bought the day it has been brought into the city.

So I urge you to find out what day(s) the seafood comes into your city and try to buy it and serve it on those days or perhaps the day after. 

How?  Just ask the fishmonger.  And be careful about how he/she answers.  You want to know the day the store got the fish, not when the store pulled it from the freezer or anything.  You can also ask local chefs.  That’s how I found out.

But I Live on the Coast!

I’ve heard that doesn’t matter.  Living all my life landlocked in the middle part of the country doesn’t exactly make me an expert in the fishing business on the coast, but as I understand it, the fish still goes from boat to processor to warehouse before ending up at the grocer.  Sure, coastal fish doesn’t have to travel as far to reach your shelves as it does mine (unless you are, say, buying Maine lobster in California or Pacific salmon in New York), but I am pretty sure the flow of fish to store doesn’t happen every day anywhere.

Bonus Tip when Buying Fish

One other thing.  No matter, where you live: central US or coastal US, beware fish where the the narrower end has been tucked under the wider.  That’s sometimes a fishmonger trick to hide fish that is drying out (and hence don’t buy it.)  Sometimes fishmongers fold the narrow end to make the fish look pretty, though, so what you want to do is ask to examine that part.

If the narrow end is dry, discolored, or smells fishy, change your menu plans.  Old fish tastes fishy.  You don’t want that.

Okay, get to eating fish and enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Top Chef & Salt Crusted Fish[caption id="attachment_661" align="alignright" width="170" caption="Fantasy Top Chef"][/caption] Yes, that’s right...
2. #GoJunkFood Fish and Chips!#GoJunkFood Are You Ready for Fish and Chips? I look...
3. Cooking With Your Kids: Macaroni and Cheese with Tuna FishPoint of order.  Yes, I skipped a night last night. ...

Brie

So on yesterday’s inaugural Foodies’ Night In (#fni) Twitter chat sponsored by @cookingwcaitlin, we were talking all things cheese with @AlouetteCheese. 

And as things go, we started talking about baked brie because what cheese conversation would be complete without talking about baked brie?  There were lots of suggestions about making it with fruit and jam and honey and while that’s good, it’s not my thing.  I like my brie savory with a little bite to it.  So let’s talk about making

Baked Brie with Spicy Sundried Tomato Pesto

Making baked brie is actually really simple.  I did a lot of research on the topic and found that all recipes really seem to follow the steps laid out in this eHow article.  Basically all you do is bake, top and eat.

How to Make Baked Brie with Spicy Sundried Tomato Pesto

The key to making this recipe really tick is choosing a good brie.  (Not necessarily an expensive brie, but one that has French roots and has a good, strong flavor you like.)  The other key is make sure you offer your guests, your family, or just yourself, sturdy crackers or crostini that can take the punishment of having the cheese spread over it.  If not, you get crumbs.  And no one likes brie with crumbs!

You will need:

• 8 sundried tomatoes
• 8 leaves basil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• One wheel of brie cheese
• 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce

(Optional) You can also toast 4 tablespoons of pine nuts and add 2 tablespoons of them to the pesto, but do so only if you know none of your guests have allegies to pine nuts.

Preheat oven to 350.

In a food processor, add the tomatoes, basil, and garlic.  Pulse 5-10 times or until everything is well broken down.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto has reached the desired consistency.  Then add the sugar and the Parmesan.  Pulse 4-5 times to make sure it is well mixed.  Also, taste the pesto.  You should not need salt, but make sure you taste it just to be sure.

Next, cut the top mould of the brie off with a sharp knife.  Place it on a baking sheet and cover with the sriracha and then the sun dried tomato pesto.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the brie has just started to get melty.

Serve with crostini or crackers and fruit.  Enjoy!

Thanks to Helga’s Lobster Stew for the picture.

Related posts:

1. Baked Cheese Three WaysReady for Baked Cheese Appetizers Over on FabulousFoods.com, I did...
2. Baked Ziti – Junk Food Post #5How’s everyone feeling?  Still hungry?  Good because unResolution month rolls...
3. 2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative Recipe 12: Baked Rice in a Pumpkin[caption id="attachment_647" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Shawna Coronado's Fall Harvest"][/caption] When Shawna...

Egg Tostada

Okay, I’m back and it’s #meatlessmonday time!

Yeah, I know it’s been a few weeks and I feel real bad about it, but I shall make it up to vegetarians everywhere I promise.  But enough of that for now, on to

Fried Egg Tostadas!

I wanted to do something a bit fancier for tonight’s post.  For instance, at some point in time I am going to expose my version of Jasper Mirabile’s recipe for green lentil soup (or you know, I might just ask him for it).  However, quite frankly, things just didn’t go as planned tonight between forgetting to pack BWD, Jr.’s swimming trunks and the fact I hadn’t eaten much all day.  So I gave up on anything fancy and instead whipped up a little Mexican sauce, fried up some eggs and happily went to town.

By the way, I promise you, my food tasted better than that picture.  Tonight was all about rush jobs, even with the picture!

Making Fried Egg Tostadas

This is probably the quickest meal I’ve ever made… If it’s not, it’s right up there.  Which was a good thing.  I was starving.

You will need:

• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon epizote
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 4 inch corn tortillas
• 4 tablespoons refried beans

Open the can of tomato sauce and pour it and the spices into a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally.

Get a skillet very hot over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil.  Crack the eggs over the skillet and fry them for about a minute.  Then flip and cook another minute.  Remove from the heat.  Don’t worry about pretty.  The eggs get covered up by the sauce.

Next, cook two corn tortillas thirty seconds on each side, just to get them soft.  Then assemble your tostada by spreading the beans on the tortilla, then adding the egg, and finishing with sauce.

Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. #meatlessmonday Scarmabled Egg Tostadas[caption id="attachment_543" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Eggs on Tortillas"][/caption] This #meatlessmonday, I...
2. Good Food! unResolution Month Post #2: Fried Egg Rolls[caption id="attachment_860" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Egg Rolls"][/caption] Welcome to day 2...
3. Good Food! unResolution Month Post #4 – #MeatlessMonday Avocado Egg Rolls[caption id="attachment_860" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Egg Rolls"][/caption] And now two traditions...