Cinco de Mayo--Salsa

For as long as I can remember, I always thought that salsa was meant to be chunky. I was happy buying the classic Pace salsa: jarred, chunky, and as unauthentic as you can get. But recently, I discovered that true Mexican salsa is more blended. I like to compare American salsa and Mexican salsa with peanut butter. Americanized salsa is like chunky peanut butter and Mexican salsa is like smooth peanut butter. Both consist of the same ingredients, but are prepared in different ways. The first experience I had with real salsa was in Oregon, when a friend made Tomatillo salsa. I was hooked at first bite. It was spicy yet sweet, and smooth yet not overly blended. 

And what is salsa without tortilla chips? My favorite brand is Santitas. (Plus they are usually the cheapest of all the brands--thank you grocery stores!) 

However, I must share with you my recent discovery and infatuation with homemade baked tortilla chips. Baked, spicy, crunchy--gah, so good! Okay, enough with my ranting and on with the recipes!

Authentic Salsa
Yield: About 6 cups (AKA a ginormous batch)

• 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (peeled) with juice
• 2 10-ounce cans Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)
• ¼ cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 jalepeño, quartered and sliced thin
• ½ cup cilantro
• Juice from ½ a fresh lime 
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until you get desired consistency. Refrigerate for at least one hour, and then serve with your favorite tortilla chips.
2. Note: This makes a large quantity, so you may have to work in batches.
3. Another note: If you prefer a milder salsa, remove the seeds from the jalapeno.

Pico de Gallo (salsa, but not really)

• 2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• cumin to taste
• salt and pepper to taste 

1. Mix everything in a bowl. Yep, that's it.

Tomatillo Salsa

• 5 large tomatillos, about 2.5 pounds
• 2 medium Vidalia onions, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 jalapeno or habanero pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves
• 1 avocado

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Place tomatillos, onions, garlic cloves, and jalapeno (or habanero) into a small roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast at 375°F for 1 hour, until the vegetables have released their juices and the tomatillos are slightly browned. Place cilantro into a food processor and pour in cooked tomatillo mixture. Puree the mixture, adjust seasonings if necessary. Add in the avocado and puree a bit more. 
3. Note: You can either roast your veggies or puree them raw.

Baked Tortilla Chips

• corn or flour tortillas
• spices: salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, basil, chili powder, cayenne pepper, etc.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lay the tortillas on a cutting board. Stack in a pile. Slice tortillas with a knife, cutting into 4-8 equal triangles (cut like you would a round pizza).
3. Arrange tortilla triangles in a single layer on baking sheets. Lightly spray with vegetable or olive oil (optional). Sprinkle with spices. Bake for about 6-7 minutes until crisp and the edges start to curl and turn slightly brown. Watch chips carefully after 5 minutes because they can burn easily. 
4. Once chips are done, removed from the oven to cool. They will continue to crisp as they cool.

 Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Since Cinco de Mayo is just a day away, I thought that I would share this with you. If you are wondering, this is the t-shirt that I will be wearing on May 5, 2011. Yes, there are 5 jars of Mayo on my t-shirt. Isn't it fantastic? Haha :)  Also, Cinco de Mayo is the same day as my best friend's birthday. So Happy Birthday Carl. Think of me when you eat salsa (and Mayo).

The Devil's Onion Eggs

Okay, you may be wondering why this post is called "The Devil's Onion Eggs"...Well I will tell you. You see, this Easter we found an interesting article in the Deseret News about dyeing eggs the old-fashioned way--with onion skins. Yep, you heard that right, onion skins! I was intrigued by this so I decided to try it out. And as you can see from the picture above, the eggs turned out beautifully. Okay, why the "Devil" then?...this one is pretty self-explanatory. What do you do with boiled eggs? You make deviled eggs out of them, of course! Hence the name: "The Devil's Onion Eggs" (plus they are so devilishly good).

The Devil's Eggs AKA deviled eggs. You will want to keep this recipe because they are extraordinarily yummy.

Here is the link for the Deseret News article: Dyeing Easter eggs with onion skins

And I am going to post it on here too. Hurrah!

Onion Skin Easter Eggs

Step 1: Collect a small bag of brown and red onion skins. Often the local grocery store will save the skins if asked.

Step 2: Soak the skins in warm water. This method of dyeing eggs works best if the skin pieces are large.

Step 3: Cut small squares of cloth big enough to cover the egg completely. Soak the cloths.

Step 4: Place the soaked onion skins around the egg.

Step 5: Wrap the soaked cloth around the egg and tie a string or elastic tightly at the top.

Step 6: Cook the eggs slowly.

You should gently cook your eggs, but not boil them. Below are instructions for cooking eggs in a shell.

Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Add enough water to come at least one inch above the eggs. Cover and quickly bring just to boiling. Turn off heat. If necessary, remove the pan from the burner to prevent further boiling. Let the eggs stand, covered, in the hot water about 15 minutes for large eggs (about 12 minutes for medium, about 18 for extra-large).

Step 7: After cooking, immediately remove the cloth and skins and rinse the egg in cold water. Dry the egg, and then use a small amount of olive oil and rub the egg until it shines.

Remarkably, these dyed eggs taste nothing like onion. The end result is an egg that looks hand painted and good enough to display at any Easter feast.

Soak the onion skins.

Surround the egg with onion skins and wrap with cloth (we used cheesecloth).

The process.

Cook slowly in a pot of water.

The end result: beautiful, marbled eggs.

And then we dyed eggs the traditional way too, with good ol' food coloring and water.

Oh little brother...BYU and Batman, the two best things in life.

Deviled Eggs. My sister's fiance made these. It's not every day that you find a guy who can make delicious deviled eggs.

Deviled Eggs 

6 large eggs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar
½ teaspoon spicy brown mustard
¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Place eggs in medium saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from heat, cover and let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile, fill medium bowl with 1 quart water and 1 dozen ice cubes. Pour off water from saucepan and gently shake pan back and forth to crack shells. Transfer eggs to ice water with slotted spoon and let cool 5 minutes. (Or just use the Easter eggs you already boiled.)

2. Peel the eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Transfer the yolks to a small bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, mashing the mixture against the sides of the bowl until smooth.

3. Arrange the egg whites on a serving platter and fill with the yolk mixture, mounding the filling about ½ inch above the whites. (You could put the yolk mixture into a sandwich baggie and snip off the end and pipe it in that way. You could also use a nice decorating tip with a piping bag, or just a good ol’ spoon. Whatever floats your boat!) Serve immediately.

*Note: I am not a fan of mayo, so I decided to add sour cream in addition to the mayo. The sour cream gives these deviled eggs a little "tang" and makes them really scrumptious.

*Make-Ahead Note: You can make the deviled eggs up to 2 days ahead. Wrap the peeled egg white halves tightly with a double layer of plastic wrap and place the filling a zipper lock plastic bag, squeezing out all the air. Refrigerate until ready to fill and serve.