Chorizo - the Mexican Variety, Not the Little Snausage Links

I really miss Mexican food here. Unfortunately, because my wife is from Minnesota, she regards Mexican cuisine warily, if at all. I can forgive this, because of course this is a segment of America that, among other forms of individual and collective lunacy, stubbornly clings to "duck, duck, gray duck" (ha ha!) and fries anything that it can catch and impale on a stick at its reprehensible state fair. Though I love her still, her pepper phobia really limits the frequency with which I can crack into the vast hoard of Mexican spices that I smuggle back here each summer.

Now that the family is safely in Arizona, (a glorious land with Mexican restaurants on almost every corner and streets paved with masa), I can actually begin using this stuff. Since I'm cooking for myself, and thereby feeling lazy, I'll just make chorizo.

This is really, really easy and can be tweaked however you like. If you have adobo from chipotles, you should definitely add it.

The Chorizo itself
1 pound ground beef or pork or whatever (not people, you monster!)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp Mexican oregano (grind or crumble it up)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cloves fresh garlic
1/2 tsp cinnamon
salt, lots of salt
1 1/2 to 2 tbsp (or to taste) apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro
pepper

Preparation
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup red bell pepper/jalapeno/whatever (again, not people, you monster!)
oil
4 eggs
dash of milk
paprika
salt
pepper

Step 1: Prepping the Sausage (yes, chorizo is sausage)
Flatten out the meat in a non-reactive bowl (that's glass or plastic, the vinegar is an acid and will leetch out metal) and sprinkle the dry spices, salt, herbs, cilantro and garlic, mix together, then add the vinegar and mix again. Let sit for about 15 minutes to an hour or so. You can add too little vinegar and salt here, so you will have to guesstimate. If necessary, you can taste the meat after it's cooked a bit and add some more later.

Step 2: The Veggies
Mince up the onion and pepper and set aside. Easy, right? Think again! No, actually it's pretty easy.

Step 3: Eggs
Crack the eggs and add them to a bowl, then add the milk, spices, salt and pepper and beat them all together. Bonus points for not getting shell in the mix. Extra bonus points if you can crack the eggs with one hand!

Step 4: Cooking
Add oil and then sweat the onions and peppers in large pan until soft, then turn up the heat to medium high, heat a bit, then add the meat. LET IT BE. If you move it around, it'll break up into the little mouse turds that you see at Taco Bell, and I assume that you'd not want that if you're bothering to read a blog about cooking. Allow it to brown and form the meat into larger clumps. After 5 minutes, flip the meat. The moisture will run out and boil away - let it. You can taste some of the meat at this stage to confirm salt content. Add more salt or spices as needed (probably paprika and chili powder)

Step 5: Eggs
When the pan is pretty dry, add the egg mix to the pan. Let it cook for 30 seconds, then flip. them over to ensure the eggs are done on both sides. Turn off the heat and cover the pan for a few minutes. You can add cheese here if that's your thing.

Serving:
I like to add a bit of labneh on the side of this, but Mexican crema or sour cream works too. Eat with tortillas or in a burrito, garnishing as you please. 

Potato Leek Soup. With Bacon.

A few nights ago I sent my wife and son back to America for good.

The feeling of leaving a place that has become home to you is unsettling, and not a little disorienting. The uncertainty of the future and the transience of the present make for bad times in general, so I thought a bit of comfort food was in order. And what is more comforting than bacon? Thanks to Salah, we had a few extra slips crammed in the back of the fridge that we had to use anyways before they went slimy, so I decided to kick up  my usual potato leek soup with a bit of porcine bliss.

Leeks are generally neglected in American cooking, probably because they're hazardous to break down if you're not used to them. Much like spinach, if you're careless about your leeks, you'll get a big mouthful of grit, which is sure to ruin dinner for all but the most hardened Pica sufferers.

Until a few centuries ago, leeks had a pretty ignominious history. Though they taste heavenly, they were generally regarded as peasant food in the classical era, the Roman elites preferring a ghastly array of beasts encrusted with expensive spices and doused with garam - a seasoning made by fermenting fish, much like Worchestershire sauce or the process of isolating MSG. The poor, knowing better, and being too poor to acquire spices anyway, seasoned their food with herbs they grew in their gardens, including leeks.

Their delicate flavor is a great pairing with potatoes and butter, which makes them ideal for soups, which generally taste fantastic with both. I add carrots to mine to jazz up the broth a bit, and a bit of nutmeg for kicks.

Chilled and blended, this is called vichyssoise, which seems like it should be French but was apparently first popularized by the chef at the Ritz in New York in 1917. Being ridiculously simple, I'm sure it existed in some form or another before that.

Some notes: This soup tastes great with bacon as a garnish, but any sort of smoky flavor addition would work for those who don't dig on swine. To make it halal, simply remove the wine, which is just an enhancer here.

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter
1 large potato
1 medium carrot
2 large leeks
1/4 white onion
4 cloves garlic
2 strips bacon
1/2 c white wine
3 cups broth (or water)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup cream
a touch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt
pepper

Step 1: Prep
Wash and finely chop the leeks. You'll cut off most of the green ends and the base, then cut them along the length. This will allow you to wash the internal leaves, but don't disassemble them since you'll need them together to cut them efficiently. (see this link for a guide) Finely chop the onion and add it to the pile of leek. Mince the garlic and set aside. Cube the carrots and potatoes and set aside in another bowl.

Start to bake the bacon at 375 degrees, checking on it frequently to ensure that it's not overdone.

Step 2: Cooking
Melt the butter in a pot and add the onions and leeks. Sweat them on low medium heat until they're soft, then add the garlic. Add the roots, herbs, wine and broth, cover and let it cook down for a while.

Step 3: Blending
Remove the bay leaves and partially whip the soup with a stick blender, leaving some chunks for texture. Salt it, return the bay leaves and add the dry spices (except pepper, which goes in last) and the cream. Chop the bacon when it's done and add it as well. The texture should be somewhat smooth and thick, but not like oatmeal.

Step 4: To serve
This goes great with fresh French bread. Crack some pepper over the top and it's good to go!