Leftover Corner: Spaghetti and Meatballs to Italian Burrito

I don't quite know what got into me this week. I've had a lone tortilla in the refrigerator for a while now, quietly mocking me and my lack of beans, rice, or any other Mexican fare, so that might have something to do with it.

Maybe I felt like channeling my inner child and playing with my food. Maybe I've lost my marbles. You be the judge.

I humbly present, for your approval, the Italian Burrito.

Ingredients:

1 Large Tortilla

Leftover Tomato Sauce

2 Leftover Meat Balls

1 Small Handful of Spaghetti

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Steps/Analysis:

First, get a pot of water boiling over High heat. Salt the water and add the spaghetti. Try to remember that cooked pasta always looks like more than when it was stiff and dry. This is going to be crucial when you try to fit it into a tortilla.

As the spaghetti cooks, break out your leftovers! Cut up two meatballs into bite-size pieces and set them aside.

If you have a George Foreman grill, as I do, or a panini press, you'll want to warm it up now. If not, you'll have to experiment with a pan on the stove top as we go along.

Now that I think about it, the oven might work as well, on very low heat.

At any rate, once your pasta is done, drain it as thoroughly as possible and return it to the pot. It's residual heat is going to help dry the pasta as well, which is very important to the integrity of the tortilla.

Add a few spoonfuls of leftover sauce to the pasta and stir to coat.

Get your tortilla out and prepare it with a thin layer of mozzarella cheese. Next, situate the spaghetti in the tortilla's center. Arrange the meatballs on top and spoon on a little more tomato sauce. Sprinkle a little more cheese over everything.

Wrap the tortilla as well as you can. Unfortunately, I cooked a little too much spaghetti and could not tuck in my ends--as you'll see in my pictures. That means I had to be a little more careful in placing it on the Foreman.

Serving/Notes:

Because my wrapping was a little untidy, I attached this beast with a fork and knife at first. Surprisingly, though, as I ate, I found that it was possible to pick the Italian Burrito up and eat it as I had originally intended.

My goodness, the tortilla is a marvelous thing, isn't it?

As far as taste is concerned, this isn't all that different from eating spaghetti and meatballs in the more conventional way. It is, however, a lot more fun, I think. In that respect, this was a worthwhile little experiment.

Leftover Corner: Meat Sauce to Pizza-dillas

Since my last blog post, my rustic tomato sauce has undergone an evolution. Basically, I turned it into a meat sauce by cooking up a pound of ground turkey and mixing it in. Now, that's all well and good, but not particularly tricky. I was, however, getting tired of the usual pasta iterations and tried to brainstorm a few new uses for my sauce.

Since my meat sauce usually winds up being more meat than sauce (It just happens that way; I think it's a character flaw of mine) it seemed to lend itself to less saucy applications. I looked through my refrigerator for additional inspiration, finding tortillas, shredded Mexican cheese, and little else.

That's when it occurred to me to marry food genres and create the Mex-Italian Pizza-dilla! (patent pending)

Ingredients:
Leftover Meat Sauce
1 Large Tortilla
Shredded Mexican Cheese
Olive Oil

Steps/Analysis:
First, brush a thin layer of olive oil on one side of the tortilla. Sprinkle on some salt if desired. Place the tortilla directly onto the top rack of a 375 degree oven. Let it crisp up a bit so that it will bear the weight of a substantial sauce. That should take between 5 and 10 minutes, but don't take your eyes off of it!

In the meantime, heat up the meat sauce on the stove top over low heat. You want it hot enough so that the cheese will melt on top of it.

When your tortilla is ready, spoon on a healthy amount of meat sauce, leaving some room around the edge. Sprinkle cheese over top and allow to melt.

Once melty and delicious, cut your pizza-dilla into quarters. I wouldn't recommend slicing it any thinner or the tortilla may not be able to support it's own weight.

Serving/Notes:
The Mex-Italian Pizza-dilla is quite the tasty culinary mutation. A fork is definitely a necessary accompaniment, though. Think of it as a life preserver in case you find yourself floating in a see of marinara.

Mexican Casserole

The stomach flu has sidelined the B.A. Gourmet for a few days. As soon as the rumbling subsided, though, I knew it was time to ditch the toast, bananas, and crackers for a Mexican meal.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of Ground Turkey

6-8 Flour Tortillas

2 Packets of Taco Seasoning

1 Onion

1 Bell Pepper

1 Can of Black Beans

1 Can of Enchilada Sauce

Shredded Cheese (Mexican Blend)

Steps/Analysis:

First, dice your onion and pepper into uniform pieces. Saute in a little olive oil over Medium heat until the onions are slightly translucent. At that point, evacuate the contents of your pan to a large mixing bowl.

Next, dump the ground turkey directly into the same pan, raising the temperature slightly to Medium-High. Using a spatula or large spoon, break up the meat and stir to cook evenly.

Once the turkey has cooked through, carefully drain the oil from the pan and return to the heat. Add one cup of water and both packets of taco seasoning. Stir thoroughly and allow the sauce to cook down for another 4-5 minutes.

Add the meat to the bowl with the onions and peppers. Then, drain the liquid from the can of black beans and add them to the bowl as well. Stir to thoroughly incorporate everything.

Pour half of the meat/onion/pepper/bean mixture into a large baking pan. Sprinkle on some cheese and cover with a layer of tortillas.

At this point, I decided to sprinkle on some more cheese and double up with another layer or tortillas, effectively making a quesadilla in the middle of the casserole. If that seems like overkill to you, by all means skip this step. I think it worked pretty well, though.

Spoon on the rest of the meat mixture, add cheese, a final layer of tortillas, and some more cheese on top. Put the pan in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top is brown and bubbly.

While the casserole is cooking, open up your enchilada sauce and heat in a small sauce pan over low heat.

Serving/Notes:

To serve, cut the casserole into squares and spoon some enchilada sauce over top. The end result is a little like a quesadilla, a little like a taco, and a little like an enchilada. It's a big ol' mess of Mexican goodness.

Rice and guacamole are welcome sides, as is a little hot sauce or salsa.

Breakfast Quesadillas

My two favorite food genres would definitely be "Mexican" and "Breakfast." Naturally, I'll take any opportunity to combine the two. They often work really well together and already have a pretty strong precedent to build off of: huevos rancheros.

Since I had some leftover tortillas from my mu shu pork dinner anyway, I invented the "Breakfast Quesadilla" this past weekend. It's a little more complicated than most of my recipes (involving a frying pan and a panini press), but is well worth it.

Ingredients:
1 Large Flour Tortilla
2 Eggs
2 Slices of Pork Roll
Salsa
Cheese (Mexican Blend)

Steps/Analysis:
First thing's first, get your pork roll browned in the frying pan over Medium heat. If you've never had the good fortune to try pork roll before, it's one of the more amazing benefits of growing up in New Jersey. It's a little bacon-y and a little ham-y and all good. There's a number of brands on the market in the area, but for my money it doesn't get any better than Taylor Ham.

The trick to cooking pork roll is to make a cut from the center of its round form to the edge; that will keep it from shrinking into a meaty dome over the heat. Once browned, remove from the stove and cut the slices into quarter circles.

Next, lower the heat on your stove to Medium-Low and coat your pan with a pat of butter. Pour in two beaten eggs and allow to partially set up. Just before the eggs are completely cooked, scatter the pork roll pieces over half of the eggs and spoon on some salsa. Then, gently fold the eggs (now more properly called an omelette) over in half. Allow the eggs to finish cooking.

At this point, you should definitely start heating up the panini press, if you haven't done so already.

To prepare the tortilla, sprinkle a thin layer of cheese over one half. Carefully, lay the eggs on top of that side and sprinkle more cheese on top of that. Then, fold the other half of the tortilla over and place in the panini press.

Once the tortilla is crispy and has those lovely, golden-brown grill marks you're done. Remove to a plate and cut into triangles (I find that a pizza cutter is the best tool for this job).


Serving/Notes:
A little hot sauce is a nice addition, but otherwise there's really nothing else you have to add to your quesadilla. All the goodness is already neatly tucked inside.

I'll eat just about anything in a tortilla, but this is the real deal: a hearty, hand-held breakfast that's kind of fun to make as well as being extremely tasty.

I imagine this dish would be nearly as delicious without using a panini press. You would just have to move fast enough so that the hot eggs melt all the cheese for you. You could probably toast the assembled quesadilla in the frying pan as well (a la grilled cheese sandwich), but it might be difficult to warm both sides evenly.

Taco Burgers

Today's post is inspired by another incredibly picturesque recipe featured on Closet Cooking. For the original recipe, click here: http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2009/08/taco-burger.html

The taco burger is another instance of good plus good equals gooder. Who doesn't love tacos and burgers anyway? Frankly, I'm surprised that I've gone twenty+ years on this planet without previously seeing a taco burger (in real life or, at least, in my dreams).

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Packet of Taco Seasoning

1/2 Large Onion

Cheese

Buns

Salsa

1 Avocado

1 Bell Pepper

2 Tomatoes

Lettuce

Steps/Analysis:

Place your beef (85% meat to 15% fat, I find, works best) in a large bowl. Dice the onion as small as you can manage and add it to the meat. Essentially, the taco seasoning is going to take the place of any other seasoning that you might add to a normal burger, so dump that in as well and get your hands in there. Mix to thoroughly combine everything.

Next, grab about a quarter of the meat (about one large handful) and form into a patty. Repeat three more times and lay them out on a plate. Use your thumb to indent the center of each patty so they don't swell up like giant meatballs on the grill.

Speaking of the grill, fire that sucker up on medium to medium-high heat. If you don't have a grill available, I'm sure a large pan on the stove top will work just as well. Lay the patties down and use the next 3-5 minutes to wash your hands and address your fixings.

The standard lettuce and tomato felt appropriate to me. To go along with the taco theme, though, I also opted for salsa, bell pepper, and avocado. Slice all the veggies as thin as you can manage and arrange the toppings on plates. If you have a lemon handy, you may want to squeeze a little juice over the avocado to prevent browning. If you don't, wait until just before serving to slice.

Be careful not to neglect your burgers. Flip them and let cook for another 3-5 minutes. My rule of thumb is if I can press down on them and only clear juice runs out (no red) they're done. When you're at that point, or close to it, throw on your cheese and any buns or toppings you'd like toasted. I went with the omnipresent Mexican Blend shredded cheese, but you could use just about anything.

When the cheese is melted, you're done!

Serving/Notes:

Some nice, sturdy steak fries go well with these burgers. Mine turned out absolutely massive and incredibly filling. Be careful how you arrange your toppings, though. Putting the salsa directly against the bun will cause it to become soggy long before you're finished eating. Structural integrity is key when it comes to homemade burgers, so a barrier of lettuce would serve you well.

I found the taco flavor was subtler than I thought it would be. I might try a higher ratio of seasoning in the future.

B.A. Breakfast: Guacamole Omelettes

Mmmmm, breakfast! Almost certainly my favorite meal of the day and the first thing I ever became proficient in cooking. A good breakfast needs a little time to come together. A quick bowl of cereal may suffice Monday through Friday, but when I roll out of bed around 11 or so on a Sunday morning, I need something a little more substantial.

Today's recipe is inspired by another blog that I've become familiar with just recently: http://closetcooking.blogspot.com

This guy's a little out of my league when it comes to cuisine, but I get the feeling he's had a lot more time to practice the craft. His blog also contains some of the best looking pictures of food I've ever seen. It's definitely worth a look.

When I saw Closet Cooking's guacamole omelette (http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2010/03/guacamole-omelette-with-salsa.html) I knew it was something I had to try. Guacamole? good. Omelette? Good. Guacamole omelette? Awesome.

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

Guacamole*

Salsa

Shredded Cheese (a Mexican blend, preferably)

1/2 Small Onion

1/2 Bell Pepper

Salt and Pepper

Steps/Analysis:

This is pretty simple as far as egg dishes are concerned. First, dice the onion and bell pepper and lightly saute over medium heat. When they're just browned, add a pat of butter to the pan and swirl around for even coverage. Reduce the heat to low.

Crack and beat the eggs in a bowl, adding salt and pepper. Gently pour into the pan. Resist the urge to play around with the eggs until they've started to set up and there's just a little liquid resting on top. At that point, slide a spatula under the omelette-in-the-making and give the pan a little jiggle so you know you'll be able to plate and fold the finished piece easily.

Sprinkle some cheese over the eggs and spread a healthy glob of guac goodness over one half (ideally the half directly opposite of the pan's handle, trust me).

Take the pan off of the heat and position over your plate. Start shimmying the egg off, but don't lose control over it. Use the lip of the pan to fold your omelette neatly in half.

Serving/Notes:

I recommend you spoon some salsa over the top of the omelette and add a dollop of guacamole on top for some more color. Chips or toast make a fine accompaniment.

Try to avoid overstuffing the omelette, if you can. The egg isn't dominant enough to take control of the dish and if you tip the balance too far, it can be like eating a big plate of guacamole - not a terrible thing, but not really what we're going for here.

*Why not use The B.A. Gourmet's spruced up guac? What? You don't have the recipe handy? Alright, here you go: http://thebagourmet.blogspot.com/2010/01/spruced-up-guacamole.html

Ultimate Mexican Pizza

I'll admit in advance that I had been enjoying several margaritas while preparing this dinner. I understand that, because of that, you may be suspicious about this next statement. Mexican Pizza is, quite possibly, the best dish I've ever made for dinner.


Also, please forgive the quality of this post's pictures. They were taken with my phone, rather than my usual camera.


Ingredients:
2 Boboli Pizza Crusts
1 Can Refried Beans
1 1/2 lbs. Ground Turkey
1 Onion
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning
Mexican Blend Cheese
Cherry Tomatoes
Black Olives
Jalapenos
Guacamole
Shredded Lettuce


Steps/Analysis:
Preheat the oven to 415 degrees. Put a large pan over medium heat on the stove. Slice the onion into very small pieces; a dice would be even better if you're confident enough in your knife skills. Lightly sautee the onion before adding the ground turkey.


Once the ground turkey is nicely browned and broken up, add the taco seasoning to the pan, according to the directions on the packet.


Around this time, lightly brush the pizza crusts with oil and place them in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. There's going to be a lot of Mexican goodness piled on these crusts, so it's a good idea to crisp them up a bit first. The process gives them a bit more structural integrity. While waiting on the crusts, open up your canned goods and get a couple baking sheets ready for the payload.


Pizza crusts at the ready, spoon on a healthy amount of refried beans and spread it out like tomato sauce. On top of that, apply a thick layer of the ground turkey/onion mixture. Sprinkle cheese on top of everything and put the pizzas back in the oven. Once the cheese is melted and bubbly, they're done. It'll take about 15 minutes or so.



While you're waiting, get your guacamole ready and slice up all your veggies and toppings. Lay them out nicely on a serving plate and mix yourself another drink.


Serving Suggestions:
A layer of guacamole applied on top of the pizza is the best kind of edible glue there is. Press your olives, tomatoes, jalapenos, and lettuce into that delicious mortar and enjoy. If you've done it right, the slice will look incredibly unwieldy. Your crust should handle it nicely, but a fork and knife is always an option if you're scared. Salsa and hot sauce should be invited to the fiesta as well.

B.A. Gourmet Instant Classic: Enchiladas

Since it's going to become very apparant within a few more posts anyway, I may as well fill you in; I have a weakness for Mexican food. Chipotle Mexican Grill is easily one of my favorite restaurants and Taco Bell is my favorite fast food. If there's a burrito on the menu, chances are I'll order it.



As a result, many of my early dinner attempts naturally leaned south of the border. I consider those recipes some of my greatest successes. Case in point, my enchiladas.


Ingredients:
10 8"-10" Tortillas
2 Packages of Purdue Short-Cuts Chicken Breast Strips*
1 Medium-Large Onion
1 Bell Pepper
10 Ounce Can of Enchilada Sauce
16 Ounce Can of Refried Beans
1 Packet of Fajita Seasoning
Shredded Cheese (I prefer a 'Mexican blend' for this and most other applications)
Sliced Olives
Sliced Jalapenos (Canned works well in this recipe)


Steps/Analysis:
A simple sautee: oil in pan over medium heat, sliced onion and bell peppers in pan until slightly browned and just a little soft. You're going to finish everything up in the oven, so you still want them to have enough structure to withstand that.


Dump your chicken and fajita seasoning into the pan. The seasoning packet will have its own instructions for the proper ratio of water to seasoning. Stir to warm the chicken strips and coat with the seasoning mixture.


Find a large, rectangular baking dish (look for something that will fit your rolled up tortillas snugly) and pour half of the enchilada sauce into the bottom. Open up all your cans and packages at this point and arrange them close to the pan and baking dish; there will be some dripping during the preparation.


Enchilada Filling and Rolling Instructions:
1. Spread a thin layer of refried beans onto the center of the tortilla.
2. Spoon chicken, onion, and peppers on across the diameter of the tortilla.
3. Sprinkle on a generous layer of cheese. This is going to help seal everything up and hold it all in place.
4. Place jalapenos and olives on top of the cheese. This is optional and interchangeable, of course, depending on what you like on your Mexican food.
5. Roll and place seam side down in your baking dish.
6. Repeat until you run out of tortillas or space in the dish, whichever comes first.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and cover with another layer of cheese.


Place dish into a 400-415 degree, preheated oven. Everything in your enchiladas is already cooked, so you're really only looking for all the cheese to melt. This should take approximately 10-15 minutes.



Serving Suggestions:
Chips, salsa, and guacamole are always welcome to the party. (Why not use the Spruced-up Guac I told you about a few posts ago?) Hot sauce is good too.


Notes:
Literally no complaints. I got rave reviews from my girlfriend and my family, including a mother who doesn't like heat and a brother who can't stand olives. If you're cooking for people with a taste for Mexican, this will knock it out of the park. This will definitely be a repeat performance.


*Purdue Short-Cuts are a must for any beginning cook. They have about a million uses and come in a variety of flavors. In addition, they cut huge chunks of time out of meal preparation at a reasonable price. Look for these to show up in future recipes.

Spruced-up Guacamole

Since I've got a few recipes back-logged at this point in time, I thought I'd parse some out as time and interest allowed. This first taste isn't a meal, but it is one of my favorite shortcut snacks/sides: Spruced-up Guacamole.

Ingredients:
Store-bought guacamole
Onion
Tomato
Bell Pepper
Jalapeno Pepper
1/2 of a Lime
Salt

Steps/Analysis:
I prefer organic guacamole out of a tub rather than a tube. That may be an aesthetic choice, though. Something about squeezing creamy, green goo out a small opening rubs me the wrong way and conjurs up all kinds of unappetizing imagery.

Dump the guac into a bowl and break out your cutting board. At this point, I encourage you to experiment with your own methods; see what appeals to your tastes. I don't think I've ever made this the same way twice, but here are the general ratios that seem to work best for me.

Onion is your work horse here. It's going to provide a lot of good, contrasting texture. I recommend up to half of a medium-sized onion, depending on how much guacamole you have. In any case, you should add about twice as much onion as any other ingredient. Chop and toss in equal amounts tomato and bell pepper and one small jalapeno.

A couple important notes about the jalapeno. First, scrape out all the seeds. You want the flavor, but a minimal amount of heat; that's not what guac is about. Second, wear gloves of some kind. I cannot stress that enough. Wash all you want, the raw jalapeno will stay on your hands and under your nails for days and you will pay the price. If you use canned or otherwise already processed jalapenos (which is certainly an option) this isn't as much of a concern.

Squeeze half of a lime over the mixture, no more. There's a lot of moisture in the tomatoes you added and you don't want soupy dip. The acid will keep your guac green by preventing oxidation and that nasty brown color. Stir everything up and salt to taste.

That's it! Serve and enjoy. 15 minutes of effort and the fresh ingredients will liven up any store-bought guacamole to the point where people will swear you made it from scratch. You can decide whether or not to tell them the truth. That's none of my concern.

Storage Tip:
If possible, put the guacamole back into the original tub. Get some plastic wrap and press it down right on top of the dip. You want to make as much contact as possible, removing all of the air that you can. Your guac will stay green for at least another day or two.