Versatile Mexican Tomato Sauce (salsa)

By Danny

Salsa Used in A Variety of Mexican Dishes

My mom uses this all purpose sauce to make a variety of traditional Mexican dishes. It's a staple in the Mexican kitchen and it can be endlessly modified. It's basically three ingredients, but the modifications come with the amounts, how you prepare them, and the cooking process. I used the sauce to make Chilaquiles, a popular Mexican breakfast.

Mexican Tomato Sauce after the jump...

The Sauce

2 tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 Jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until sauce is smooth. The sauce is ready to use at this point. It needs to be simmered for a few minutes, so I usually add it to whatever ingredients I'm cooking. For the Chilaquiles, I add it at the very end and let it simmer for a few minutes. You can sautee chicken and add it toward the end of cooking. Pork, beef, anything really!

Chilaquiles

3 Tortillas sliced into wedges
1/2 onion
4 eggs
1/2 cup of Tomato Salsa from above recipe
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add the tortilla and fry until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onions and saute until soft. Add the egg and stir until cooked. 1 minute before eggs are finished cooking, add the sauce. Continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

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Make Your Own BBQ Sauce From Scratch!

By Danny

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Yes, that's right. BBQ Sauce! I've always wanted to make my own and the perfect opportunity presented itself yesterday. Michael finally got around to putting together the grill he bought AGES ago, so I decided to take advantage of the lazy Sunday afternoon and make my own BBQ sauce. I used a recipe I found on-line but the proportions of the ingredients were WAY off---things were not looking good. The doubt on Michael's face was palpable, and full blown panic was right around the corner..

More on how I saved the recipe after the jump...


Even with the adjustments I made, the sauce still didn't taste like "Barbecue" sauce. I myself began to doubt my skills. Could this terrible recipe be saved? I knew in the back of my mind that the smoke from the grill would add that last bit of flavor that would push the sauce in to the "BBQ realm", so I decided to have a bit of faith and use the sauce...and boy am I glad I did! It turned out spectacular! Because I was improvising the amounts in the recipe bellow are estimated. This is a good base for a BBQ sauce that you can add or subtract ingredients to!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

1 can of Tomato Sauce
1/2 a small can of tomato paste
4 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
1 Medium sized onion, minced
5 Garlic Cloves, crushed
2 Teaspoons ground dry mustard
3 Tablespoons vinegar
4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons white wine
2 Teaspoons ground cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Heat the olive oil over medium/low heat. Add the onions and garlic and sweat for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. The sauce will be thick and should be added to grilled meats on the last 10 minutes of grilling, otherwise the sauce will burn.

We sliced up some chicken breasts into thick chunks and placed them on skewers with onion wedges in between. Delicious!

Do you have a favorite BBQ Sauce recipe? Leave us a link in the comments!

The Best Stir-Fry Marinade Recipe!

By Danny

Easy Stir Fry Sauce

Oh the stir-fry. The stir-fry holds a special place in my heart because it always reminds me of my first cooking experiments back in my college days. It's been a good five years since I made a stir-fry but on a recent trip to the east coast, two of my friends made delicious stir-fry's for me, and that got me thinking about pulling this dish out of memory lane. It's a simple dish, really. But the key to a delicious stir-fry is definitely the marinade. Last night I concocted this marinade using lime and Ginger. It was superb!

Check out the recipe after the jump...

Lime and Ginger Stir-Fry Marinade

1 Lime, juiced
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 Teaspoon grated fresh Ginger
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
1 Shallot, chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk. This marinade can be used as a traditional marinade or it can be added to meat, vegetables, tofu, etc while they are cooking. It is really versatile. Also, ingredient amounts can be adjusted to taste, which will give you a totally different flavor experience...Truly versatile recipe!