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Arizona cheese crisps or simply cheese crisps is a tortilla based dish and is said to be have been made famous by a cafe in Tuscon, Arizona. These open faced flour tortillas are buttered and toasted in an oven until crisp. They are then sprinkled with cheese and again toasted until the cheese melts. Cheese is not piled up high like in a pizza in the case of cheese crisps and they can be optionally topped with onions, scallions, cilantro, peppers or chorizo in case of a non-vegetarian version. As the name suggests these were crispy, cheesy and utterly delicious.
Ingredients:
2 tortillas (I used 8 inch whole wheat ones.)
2 tsp. butter
1/2 to 2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese / Mexican blend cheese
(I used Cheddar cheese on one and a blend of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero and Queso Quesadilla cheese on the second tortilla.)
1 tsp. oil
1 mild green pepper like poblano / anaheim (optional)
Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
* If using the green pepper, slice into thin strips. Heat oil on medium heat and saute the pepper slices until the skin starts to blister. Remove from heat and keep it aside.
* Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and spread 1 tsp. butter over each of the tortilla and place it in the oven.
* Toast for about 8 - 10 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown / crispier.
* Remove the tortillas from the oven and sprinkle cheese over the tortillas, leaving about 1/4 inch around the edges. Arrange the toasted green pepper strips if using (or it can be sprinkled before serving.)
* Return the tortillas to the oven and toast until the cheese melts, about 2 -3 minutes.
* Remove and serve immediately.
This is my entry under "Tortilla based dishes" for BM #53. Check the blogging
marathon page to see what my fellow marathoners are cooking today.
Comments
Chips and salsa is the most common complimentary stuff offered at Mexican restaurants and I chose to go with it for today's BM under the theme 'Accompaniments'. I went ahead with baked version though traditionally tortilla wedges are deep fried. One can keep it simple just sprinkling some salt or customize them with preferred spices. They go great with salsa / guacamole and we had them with chunky salsa. I have already posted salsa recipe before and so today it's turn for the chips.
Ingredients: (For 2 servings)
4 - 6 corn tortillas (Flour tortillas can be substituted. I used whole wheat flour tortillas.)
1 - 2 tbsp. oil (I used canola oil.)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. chili powder (optional)
1 tsp. roasted cumin powder (optional)
Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
* Mix salt, chili powder and ground cumin if using, in a small bowl.
* Cut each tortilla into 6 or 8 wedges using a sharp knife or scissors. (I cut each tortilla into 8 pieces and so totally had 32 wedges.)
* Generously brush each side of the tortilla piece with oil. On one side, sprinkle a little quantity of plain salt or the spice mixture whichever you are using.
* Or you can brush the tortillas with oil on both sides, sprinkle salt or the spice mixture and then cut them into desired number of wedges.
* Arrange the wedges in a single layer on a baking tray. Bake them until they turn crisp and turn not too brown. Rotate the tray midway once for uniform crisping. I had mine done in about 6 - 7 minutes. They browned at around 8 minutes.
Check here to see what other marathoners are cooking during BM #49.
Comments
I was attracted to this recipe since it was on the lines of a bean burrito. Baleadas come from Honduras and this healthy, filling meal is in fact that country's national food. It is one of the popular and original dishes of the region and is eaten as a breakfast, lunch or a light snack. When kept to the basic version, this hearty meal has only 4 ingredients - wheat tortilla, refried beans, crema / fresh cream and crumbled cheese. Going by the recipes online, cooked red / black beans, fresh cream, thick wheat tortillas and crumbly dry version of queso fresco are the ones specifically used. However there are other variations adding extra ingredients like a mixture of onion, tomato and bell peppers, hot sauce, plantain, avocado, scrambled eggs or meat.
I went with a recipe I saw on Kraft's website and they had substitutions with sour cream and feta cheese. Just going by the ingredients in a baleada, one can guess that it would be a substantial meal and I knew that my daughter would love it. I wasn't wrong and she liked it so much that she had it both for her lunch and dinner yesterday. If your palate is like mine and prefers spicy stuff, drizzle some sauce over it.
Ingredients:
8 -10 wheat tortillas
1 & 1/2 cups refried red / black beans
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
Method:
* I made my own tortillas with a pliable dough made out of 2 cups wheat flour, 1/8 tsp. salt, 2 tbsp. oil, milk and water. If using store bought ones, just warm them before assembling.
* You can use the store bought refried beans but I chose to cook them from scratch. I pressure cooked the black beans and just pulsed them coarsely in a food processor adding some salt. If you prefer, mash the cooked bans to mushy, add salt and fry the paste in 3 to 4 tsp. oil for a couple of minutes.
* Spoon the warm beans evenly on the tortillas and top with the remaining ingredients you have chosen to use. Fold the tortilla in half and serve immediately.
This is going to be a part of BM # 37 under the theme of "National Foods".
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