Apparently, Santa reads this blog. Look what I found under the tree on Christmas morning!
If there's anything you want for Christmas, be sure to leave it in the comments before Santa reads it again next year!
The silver thing with the handle is a tortilla press. It's made of cast-iron; the silver color is from a rough anti-rusting coating. The simple machine is made of two discs of iron hinged at the bottom, and a handle that presses them together, squashing the masa harina (dough made from water and corn flour) into a perfect little tortilla.
The circular pan on the right is a comal, which is a cast-iron pan with no sides, and used specifically for making tortillas. It's not necessary - you can use an ordinary cast-iron or other skillet - but it's fun to have an "authentic" piece of cookware for the job.
They're both about 7" wide, perfect for cranking out small corn tortillas.
As luck would have it, my wife had some beef, peppers, and onions on-hand for me to make fajitas. What's more, she even bought some corn flour just days before on a grocery shopping trip. What a happy coincidence!
My head tortilla chef (7 y/o son) has been having as much fun as I have with these.
In addition to fajitas, I also made up a recipe for "Breakfast Tacos". There is nothing remotely authentic about this recipe. It probably doesn't even qualify as Americanized Tex-Mex. Anyway, the kids like it. To make your own:
Breakfast Tacos
Ingredients for tortillas:
2 c. masa harina flour
1c. water
Ingredients for filling:
6 eggs, scrambled with milk
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
4 slices bacon, diced
grated cheese
sour cream
salsa
wedge of lime
To prepare:
Mix masa harina and set aside
Fry bacon in cast-iron skillet.
Just before it's done, add the onion and pepper.
As they finish together, scoop them to one side in the pan, and sprinkle in chili powder to taste into the hot oil. You're essentially cooking the spices, which softens them up so they're not gritty, and releases the flavor into the oil. The oil, in turn, then distributes the flavor throughout the food. Oil is a wonderful carrier of spices. That's one of the reasons spicy oily foods taste good - the flavors are carried in the oil, which then coats your tongue.
After 20-30 seconds, add the eggs, and stir until you get scrambled eggs.
Hopefully, you've been making tortillas as you've been cooking the eggs, because it's time to eat!
Making corn tortillas with a press is very easy compared to rolling flour tortillas. Lay a piece of wax paper or plastic on the bottom plate, put a small ball of masa harina on the wax paper, and lay a second piece on top. Use the press to flatten the dough. Open the press, peel off the top layer of wax paper, and flop the tortilla onto your hand. Carefully peel off the other layer of wax paper, and lay the tortilla onto the hot comal or skillet. Cook for about 30 seconds on side A, side B, then side A again, and stack them onto a plate. They should begin to puff during cooking, which is the steam cooking the insides.
Some tips:
You want to avoid overcooking, which will leave them too stiff to fold. It's also important that the masa harina be a stiff dough, the consistency of a stiff cookie dough, otherwise you won't be able to get it off the wax paper.
To serve:
Scoop a spoonful of egg mixture into a line down the center of your tortilla, and top with your favorite taco condiments. The boys like theirs smothered in cheese and sour cream. In fact, I think they think that tortillas are just a medium for eating cheese and sour cream.
Heather likes hers with the same, plus some salsa.
My choice was to top the eggs with a little cheese, and using a wedge of fresh lime, sprinkle lightly with lime juice. It cuts through the oils and creates makes a fresh, light, almost tropical flavor.
Fold, and enjoy!
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