Egg's in Hell

--That Tex-Mex Crave (Recipes)

If you have a friend or relative who likes cookbooks then I have the perfect book for them this holiday season. I am one of those people who owns 50+ cookbooks that fit my taste. One of my favorite styles of regional eating is Tex-Mex but there is so little known about it and it is perceived as the bastard child to Mexican cuisine. Believe it or not theres a whole lot more to Tex-Mex than just burritos and nachos with pickled jalapeños and yellow cheese. If you want to learn the real scoop on this fascinating cuisine then the best reference guide to check out is "The Tex-Mex cookbook" by Robb Walsh. This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. What I love about it is how authentic it is, the stories, photos and recipes with stories behind those recipes are so real you almost feel like a lifelong native of Texas after owning it for a couple years.


The Tex-Mex cookbook

I purchased this book a few years ago and have been using it like a bible for my quest to become an expert in Tex-Mex. It is my dream to one day open Chicago's first and only real Tex-Mex restaurant. Complete with great plates of food, a party atmosphere, music, outdoor seating and of course homemade margarita's. Look out for "T's Tex-Mex Inn" in the next decade. I am going to use my site to let others join in and see and read about my Tex-Mex experiment. Please keep in mind, I am by no means an amateur I have been preparing Mexican food for over 10 years now and its really helped the last couple years blending that into Tex-Mex cooking.

First up is a breakfast recipe perfect for a hangover or any campfire cooks that might be looking for something new.

Robb points out that: ""Ox eyes" or "eggs in hell" are among the colorful names for eggs poached in hot sauce."

Ox Eyes (Serves 2)
Recipe source: Robb Walsh (Tex-Mex Cookbook)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
one 15 ounce can pureed tomatoes
4 eggs
4 flour tortillas, warmed
salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. add the onions and peppers and chiles and saute until translucent. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. (The sauce should be runny and fill the pan to the depth of an inch, if it s too solid add water.) Salt to taste.

Stir the sauce well and then gently break the eggs into the pan. Cover and allow to cook for 4 minutes or until the egg whites are well set but the yolks are still soft, or to desired doneness. Sprinkle fresh ground pepper on each egg.


Eggs poaching in salsa

To serve, put 2 tortillas on each plate. Gently lift the eggs out of the pan and place one on each tortilla. Spoon the sauce around the egg's and serve with refried beans.


one helluva breakfast taco

Bonus Recipe: KingT's Refried Beans

2 cans of pinto beans or a combo of pinto and chili beans

--I have to use the Kuner's southwestern brand available at TI. I like to use a combo of their pinto beans, chili beans and ranchero beans.

four slices of bacon

3/4 cup of chopped onion/jalapeño

Cook the bacon till crisp and remove. Saute the onion/peppers mixture in the bacon grease until browned and add the cans of beans reserving some of the liquid.


Before

Let the beans cook thru and mash everything together with a potato masher and add the chopped up bacon and top with cheese.

Note: reserved liquid can be used to get the consistency you prefer.


After

also...

West Texas stacked enchiladas