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.

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