Crunchwrap Supreme and Egg in a Onion Bowl. No explanation necessary.

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme - 578 Washington St #3, Brighton

     I was beginning to dream of Taco Bell. Yea. It was going on week three of my mexican food cravings... when all of a sudden, I got the world's best idea. Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme. That was it. I had a date with my kitchen for Saturday, and it was going down. Now, this was kind of a Crunchwrap Supreme on steroids, but I'm ok with it. Tons of ingredients. Recipe here, description to follow. See the picture sequence at the bottom!

Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

A few large tortillas

1/2 lb lean ground beef

Refried beans

1 or 2 tbs guacamole

A couple tortilla chips

Shredded cheese of choice or cheese sauce

1 Tbsp taco seasoning

1/2 tomato, diced

Diced onion

Diced orange pepper

Lettuce

Cilantro

1 Tbsp sour cream

1) First sautee up your ground beef. I used about a half pound and had plenty left over. I also added in some minced onions and orange peppers into the meat for a little excitement.

2) Add in 1 Tbsp of taco seasoning. Supposedly you should use 2 Tbsp of taco seasoning per 1 pound of meat. Upon beginning the cooking process, I realized I had forgotten to buy taco seasoning, so I just made my own:

        1 Tbsp chili powder

        1/4 t garlic powder

        1/4 t onion powder

        1/4 t red pepper flakes

        1/4 t oregano

        1/2 t paprika

        1/2 Tbsp cumin

        1 1/4 t salt

        1 t pepper (I used white pepper)

3) Steam your tortilla so it's easier to fold. 

4) Spread about a tablespoon or so of refried beans in the center of your tortilla. One ingredient at a time, add shredded cheese (or cheese sauce if you prefer), a scoop of your meat, tortilla chips, guacamole, cilantro, lettuce, tomato, and finally sour cream. 

5) Fold one edge of the tortilla in to cover the toppings and repeat as you work your way around the tortilla. My tortilla ended up being a little tiny, so I took a fourth of another tortilla and put it in the middle of mine to fill the whole. This way I could grill it without the toppings spilling out. 

6) Get a nice cast iron griddle or pan hot and set on medium heat. Press your beautifully wrapped gift with a heavy object to kind of press all the ingedients together and "seal" it closed. I used a bowl to press it down and then put a lid on top to keep heat it. I put the cheese side of the crunchwrap down that it could start warming up and melting as quickly as possible. Be careful not to let the tortilla burn, and flip it after about 4 minutes. 

This puppy was 10 times better than any crunchwrap supreme I've ever had at Taco Bell... which is maybe 3... but still. The cheese was gooey, the beans were warm, the chips weren't as crispy anymore (but that's ok), and the vegetables on top were still a little cool and refreshing. This was like a sushi experience, but mexican. Each bite had a ton of different flavors from all the spices, the vegetables, the meat, the cream. Oh man. And the tortilla was just barely browned and toasty on the outside and it held together just perfectly. I died and went to heaven.

Go ahead. Give it a shot! I guarantee it'll be worth it.  

                                                      

                                                 
Scrambled Eggs in an Onion Bowl - 578 Washington St #3, Brighton

     I seriously don't know how this hasn't been done before. Well, maybe it has, but I don't know why I have not seen pictures pasted all across pinterest for it... because it was the shiz. So the other day I was thinking about onions and breakfast...eggs specifically. Then... instant genius. What if I take an onion and put scrambled eggs in it? Woah. First problem: how do I cut the onion. I was thinking bloomin' onion style and pouring the eggs into all the little crevices, but that would be difficult. Then Margaret suggested just cutting an onion in half and pulling out a few layers on the inside. Perfect.
     So... here goes.

Scrambled Eggs in an Onion Bowl

1 large sweet onion
Finely diced vegetables of choice
Minced basil and cilantro
1 or 2 eggs
Splash of milk
Salt n peppa
Cheese of choice
Olive oil


1) Take an onion, cut it in half, drizzle it with a little olive oil, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake it for 30 minutes or until it's tender but still holds its form. Once out of the onion, pull out the center rings of the onion so that the rings that remain form a bowl (it's ok it there's a hole in the bottom of the onion if you cut the end off during preparation. That part remains flat on the bottom of your dish, so there shouldn't be much egg seepage out. 

2) Scramble an egg or two and add your veggies and cheese (I used orange peppers, mushrooms and freshly grated parmesan cheese). Pour the egg mixture into the onion bowl and fill it until it's almost overflowing.

3) Sprinkle some more cheese on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the egg is set. You may have to bake it longer, depending on how large your onion bowl is and how much egg there is to cook. I used a small circular Pyrex dish. But any oven safe dish should work. Top with a little sprig of basil (if you're going for that professional look). Once out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes before eating. 

     This little gem was phenomenal. The egg puffs up while in the oven, so it looks like a big muffin with an onion base. True, it takes some time to make, but they were delicious. I even used the middle rings that I pulled out as a second mini onion bowl. Bite sized scrambled eggs!

     Next time I'm thinking of adding a little balsamic vinegar to the onion while it bakes the first time. It could give it a little bit of a sweet taste. Could be good. Thoughts?

                                                 
Porthole Restaurant - Lynn, MA
http://www.portholerestaurant.com/

     Beach day success. Kenna, Sarah, Emily and I all went to the beach for Memorial Day and were just famished when we left. Not exactly... but why not eat? After searching across the country for the Porthole Restaurant, we landed a seat outside on the deck. Never have I ever been so confused by the staff of a restaurant. There were about 5,000,000 people working and they all seemed to be bipolar. Whatever.

     Probably one of the best parts of the meal was the huge loaf of bread they delivered to our table. It was a big puffy seeded loaf and came with a thousand butters and crackers. We ate every scrap.
     Something on the appetizer menu called Rumaki caught my eye. I had never heard of it, so I asked our absent-minded waiter. Supposedly it was broiled chicken livers with water chestnuts wrapped in bacon. Go ahead... make that grossed out face. But I had to get it. These little balls of death came to the table piping hot and served with cocktail sauce. Weird. I wonder if it's normally served with that or if they didn't know what else to serve it with. It was exactly what it said in the menu. I am a fan of chicken liver, so I enjoyed it. However, I don't think I could eat more than 2 without feeling like I needed to take a trip to the doctor.

     In an attempt to be healthy, I ordered Baked Stuffed Haddock. I failed to see the "Buttery crumbs and scallops" part in the description. The fish itself was good... and so was the absolutely butter soaked mountain of crumbs and scallops that it sat on. While delicious, picking that dish was probably one of the poorer choices I've made trying to prolong the health of my arteries.