Fresh Lemon Meringue Cookies

I often have extra egg whites, and I hate wasting food.  SO, here is a recipe for using up those extra egg whites.  Meringues can be tricky to pull off at first, but it's not impossible.  Just be patient.  Also, I enjoy making these because it's not big and heavy like other desserts.   It's pretty much just egg whites and sugar..... light as air, super crispy and with a bright burst of lemon flavor.  They're great for summer when you want something sweet, but not all the extra calories.

Fresh Lemon Meringue Cookies

4 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup lemon zest

food coloring (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Line two un-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  Prepare your electric mixer.  Take a paper towel and dab it with a little bit of distilled white vinegar.  Rub the paper towel over the inside of the bowl and on the fitted whisk attachment.  Then, with a dry paper towel rub the bowl and the whisk.  This ensures that the bowl and the whisk are super dry and clean.  There cannot be any moisture in this mix of the egg whites worn't work their magic.  And, the magic of the egg whites are essential to this recipe.
2.  Place the egg whites in the mixing bowl, whisk on medium-low speed until the egg whites are frothy,  Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and cream of tartar to the egg whites, continue to whisk until the egg whites form soft peaks.  (This means that the egg whites are billowy, thick, and soft) Turn the mixer up to medium, and add the sugar, one tablespoon at time in 30 second intervals to the egg whites.  When all the sugar has been added, turn the mixer up to high and beat until the egg whites and sugar have reached stiff peaks.  To test for stiff peaks gently put a clean spatula or spoon on top of the egg whites and pull straight up.  If the egg whites form a point (a slight curl is okay), stay straight up, and do not fall, then you've reached stiff peaks.

3.  Gently fold in lemon zest.  Prepare a pastry bag with a fitted tip, wilton size 12 will be fine.* (I do not recommend using a star tip for this cookie because the lemon zest tents to clog it up).  With yellow gel food coloring and a clean paint brush, carefully paint vertical stripes on the inside of the pastry bag, four stripes would be fine.   Add the meringue to the pastry bag, and pipe meringues onto prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 30 minutes.  When the timer is done, just turn off the oven.  You do not need to take the cookies out of the oven.  Just let them sit in the warm oven.  They can stay in the oven for a few hours.  This ensures that the cookies are light and crispy.  If the cookies are taken out of the oven, it's totally fine, but the insides of the cookies will be slightly chewy.  It's your preference!  (Sometimes, I make these cookies at night, and just let them sit overnight in the oven)

*If you do not have a pastry bag, and have no idea what a wilton size 12 tip is, it's no problem!  You can either add yellow food coloring to the mixture and fold it in, so it has a streaky effect, or completely mix it in make it all yellow!.  And either scoop the meringues onto the trays, or put the meringues into a large ziplock bag with a snipped corner.

Double Decker Taco Supreme

My cooking club did some experimenting with copycat recipes.  They were all great!  This particular recipe was presented by my friend Kayte (the same person who introduced me to Mint Julep Baby Back Ribs! She has a knack for finding GREAT recipes!)  Anyway, she told us that the Taco Bell Crunchy taco supreme was a guilty pleasure of hers.  Well, the Taco Bell Double Decker taco's were a guilty pleasure of mine.... so I added a flour tortilla and some beans, and voila! The double decker taco has been reborn in my kitchen.  I haven't had one in YEARS, so it was so fun to indulge!!  My kids enjoyed it too.  My mom likes these better than regular crunchy tacos because the soft flour tortilla on the outside of the crunchy taco acts has a hammock to catch everything that falls out of the crunchy taco shell that breaks after the first bite.

Copycat Double Decker Taco Supreme

Beef Filling

1 1/2 Tablespoons masa harina

1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dried minced onion

1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon powder

1 1/3 pounds lean ground sirloin

12 crunchy taco shells

12 small flour tortillas

1 can refried beans

Sour cream

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

For Beef filling: Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl, make sure they're all evenly distributed throughout the whole mixture.

Place the ground beef into a large skillet over medium high heat.  Break up meat with a wooden spoon until it's well broken down.  Cook meat until it's all brown.  Carefully put meat into a strainer, and strain off fat.  Rinse with hot water and continue to drain off fat at water.  Return beef to the pan, add spice mix and an additional 3/4 - 1 cup of water.  Return heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, until most of the moisture has cooked out, but meat isn't completely dry.

While meat is simmering chop up lettuce, and tomatoes.  Grate cheese.  Heat up beans in a small sauce pan, and warm the small flour tortillas.  When all ingredients are prepped, assemble the tacos.

Assembly:  Fill crunchy taco with beef.  Add a dollop of sour cream to the top of beef.  Add lettuce, cheese and tomatoes.  Set taco aside.  Add a spoonful of refried beans to warm flour tortilla, use the back of the spoon to spread beans all over the flour tortilla.  Place prepared taco in center of flour tortilla with beans.  Fold up side of flour tortilla to cover the crunchy taco.  Repeat with remaining taco ingredients.  Serve and enjoy!!

Mint Julep Babyback Ribs

I'm in a cooking club, and for our second meeting, the theme was "Anything BBQ", one of my friends, Kayte, one of the best home cooks on the planet, said, "I'm making Mint Julep Baby Back RIbs".  The cookbook clubbers all looked at each other, we had a month to find recipes.  But, she knew something that we didn't.  These are the best ribs!!  These ribs have a bold flavor that shines through a rub, a glaze and a sauce.  They're delicious.  The recipe comes of Steve Raichlen, a barbecue genius.  I've made no changes to the recipe as it is perfect.  Cheers!

MINT JULEP RIBS 

With Bourbon Mint Barbecue Sauce

FOR THE RUB:
2 teaspoons iced tea mix (made with sugar, not artificial sweetener)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons dried mint (peppermint or spearmint)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
FOR THE MINT GLAZE
3 tablespoons mint jelly
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons sugar
2 racks baby back ribs (4 to 5 pounds total)
Bourbon Barbecue Sauce (see below)
You'll also need:
2 cups hickory chips, soaked in water to cover for 1 hour, then drained
(optional-only if using a charcoal grill)

1.  Make the Rub: Place the iced tea mix, sugar, mint, paprika, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Set Aside.

2. Make the Glaze. Combine the mint jelly, lemon juice, butter, bourbon, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often, and cook until the mint jelly is dissolved and the mixture is syrupy, 5 minutes. Set the glaze aside.

3.  Prepare the Ribs. Remove the thin, papery membrane from the back of each rack of ribs: Turn a rack meat side down. Insert a sharp implement, such as the tip of a meat thermometer, under the membrane (the best place to start is right next to the first rib bone). Using a dishcloth or pliers to gain a secure grip, pull off the membrane. Repeat with the other rack.

4. Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Sprinkle the ribs on both sides with rub, rubbing it into the meat. Cover the ribs and store in the refrigerator while you set up your grill.

5. Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. Brush and oil the grill grate.  Arrange the ribs, bone side down, in the center of the grate over the drip pan away from the heat. If working on a charcoal grill and using wood chips, toss half on each mound of coals. Cover the grill and cook for 1 hour.

6.  Brush the ribs on both sides with the mint glaze. Recover the grill and continue cooking until the ribs are well-browned and cooked through, yet tender enough to pull apart with your fingers, 15 to 30 minutes more, or 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours in all. Brush the ribs once or twice more with glaze, and if using a charcoal grill, replenish the coals as needed. When the ribs are cooked, the meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by about 1/4 inch.

7.  Make Bourbon Mint Barbecue Sauce. (Recipe Follows).  Cut Ribs into individual strips, and brush heavily with Barbecue Sauce.  Serve and Enjoy!

Bourbon Mint Barbecue Sauce

Yield: About 1-1/2 cups
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/3 cup mint jelly
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1.  Combine the ketchup, chili sauce, mint jelly, bourbon, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke in a heavy saucepan. Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the sauce until thick and richly flavored, 8 to 10 minutes, whisking from time to time. Correct the seasoning, adding a little more vinegar for tartness, sugar for sweetness, and salt and pepper to taste.

Adobo Verde Chili Sauce

I got this recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Rick Bayless.  I love the freshness of the sauce, and the versatility of the sauce.  You can put it on anything, tacos, burritos, eggs, taquitos, salad, any meat, shrimp  or just dip some tortilla chips in it.  The  original recipe uses this sauce on shrimp tacos, and the ingredients were: corn tortillas, sauteed shrimp, cojita cheese and Adobo Verde Chili Sauce.  Delicious!  But, we didn't really understand the true value of the sauce itself until I started experimenting with leftovers, it's just so tasty!  The spiciness of this sauce depends on your personal preference.  The original recipe calls for 4-5 serrano chilies.  Serrano chiles are about three times hotter than jalapeno's.  I decided to use a combination of both jalapeno's and serranos, because I haven't embraced the super spice yet.

Adobo Verde Chili Sauce

2 whole cloves garlic
3 jalapeno chiles
2 serrano chiles
2 cups loosely packed, roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed
2 cups loosely packed, roughly chopped parsley, stems removed
1 cup olive oil
salt

1.  In a large skillet over medium high heat, lay the garlic and the chiles, and cook until the chiles are very soft and browned, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, and let cool slightly.  Place garlic in blender or food processor.  Carefully slice chiles in half and scrape out seeds.  Roughly chop chiles and add to blender or food processor with garlic.  (OR, use your best judgement and add a few seeds to the blender as well.)
2.  Add the cilantro, parsley, olive oil and salt to the blender with the chiles and garlic.  Process or blend everything in the blender until the sauce is smooth and looks like pesto.
3.  Serve with anything you'd like!

Huevos Rancheros for One

There are tons of recipes for Huevos Rancheros, they're all different and they're all right.  The best thing to do is cook what you like.  There is a lot of versatility with this recipe.  I like it because it's crunchy, it's spicy, it's different and delicious.  This can be made with fresh salsa or Adobo Verde Sauce.

Huevos Rancheros for One

A handful of tortilla chips, or a corn tortilla deep fried
1 egg
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup refried or black beans
1/4 cup chorizo
1 Tablespoon cojita cheese
Garnishes: avocado, tomato, salsa, adobo verde sauce, olives, cilantro, and hot sauce.

1.  On a plate, place the handful of tortilla chips.  Fill a small saucepan, about half way with water, and add 1 tablespoon vinegar.  Bring water and vinegar to a boil.  When the water is at a very gentle boil, carefully crack the egg into the boiling water.  Use the back of a wooden spoon to create a gentle whirlpool around the egg, this helps the egg white get fluffy.
2.  As the egg cooks, cook the refried beans in a small skillet.  When heated through, put beans on top of tortilla chips.  Wipe out skillet, and add chorizo.  Saute chorizo until it's cooked and hot.  Add chorizo to the top of the beans and tortillas.
3.  Check the egg to see if it's cooked.  If done, carefully remove egg with a slotted spoon, add to the top of chorizo.  Add garnishes and enjoy!

Easy Chicken Toastadas

Serve with corn salad, and a margarita!  Cheers!

Easy Chicken Tostadas

1 pound boneless chicken pieces

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more oil for frying
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lime
1 can re-fried or black beans
1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
avocado, cut into strips
Cojita Cheese, crumbled
corn tortillas
Adobo Verde Sauce
Other optional toppings: black olives, shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, salsa, red onion, cilantro

1.  Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.  Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and place in oven.
2.  Lay chicken pieces onto a cutting board, and pat dry with paper towels.  Slice chicken into small pieces.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, when the skillet is almost smoking add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds.  Then add the diced chicken and spices.  Cook until chicken is cooked through.  When done, put into a bowl, cover with foil and set aside, or keep warm in oven.
3.  Heat beans in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and warmed through.
4.  In a small skillet, just big enough to fit the corn tortillas, add vegetable oil until about 1/2 inch deep.  Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat, careful not to splash the oil.  When hot, fry corn tortillas until golden brown and crispy.  Keep warm in oven on the prepared baking sheet.
5.  Assemble Tostadas.  On a crispy tortilla, spread on beans, then top with chicken, tomatoes, cojita cheese, avocado and Adobo Verde Sauce.  Add any other toppings that you desire.  Enjoy!