UPDATE: WE WON!!! South of the Border Super Bowl Baskets

Greetings, Cook's Tour Readers!  


Terry here with BIG news!  I was notified by the FoodBuzz people yesterday that the recipe we submitted was chosen as the Grand Prize winner!  Chef George Duran (Hunt's Tomato spokesperson, host of TLC's "Ultimate Cake-off", and and author of "Take This Dish and Twist It") chose our South of the Border Super Bowl Baskets out of the recipes submitted by FoodBuzz Featured Publishers.  Chef George will be coming to our home to do a food demo!  More details to come about that.  


In the meantime, some folks have asked for a written version of the recipe, which I am happy to supply.  The recipe is quick, easy, delicious, and will be a terrific snack for your Super Bowl parties!  Please watch the video below to see exactly how we did this.  But first, I must give credit to my husband, Barry, for coming up with the recipe idea - the man is very talented!


South of the Border Super Bowl Baskets
(this recipe makes approximately 12 baskets)


1 package flour tortillas
PAM Cooking Spray
1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
2-3 links fresh chorizo sausage
1 can refried beans
Shredded Mexican cheese
Guacamole
Sour Cream


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Take small ramekins and place in large roasting pan. Spray ramekins with PAM.


Heat a saute pan.  Split the chorizo sausage casing down the middle and remove the casing. Drop the sausage into the pan and break up.  Cook thoroughly.  


Using an upside down glass bowl, cut tortillas to fit ramekins and place one in each ramekin. Bake tortillas for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Move rack to top level and set your oven to broil.


While tortillas are still warm, spread approximately 1 tablespoon of refried beans on bottom of each tortilla. Next, add about a tablespoon of cooked chorizo, followed by a tablespoon of Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilies, and cover with small handful of shredded cheese.  Slide pan of ramekins under broiler and broil for approximately 2 minutes. Watch carefully.  Remove from oven when tortillas are crisp and brown around edges.


Remove tortillas from ramekins, arrange on serving platter. Top with a dollop of guacamole and sour cream. Enjoy!


Printable recipe here!




















As part of a promotion from FoodBuzz and ConAgra, yours truly won a package of ConAgra food items and an HD Flip Video Camera with which to create a new recipe especially for the upcoming Super Bowl!


Our idea: South of the Border Super Bowl Baskets.  Made with flour tortillas, ground Chorizo sausage, Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, refried beans, and topped with shredded cheese, guacamole, and sour cream - it's the perfect all-in-one football snack.  The chorizo and Rotel tomatoes with green chilies add just the perfect amount of spice to this dish.  


They asked us to videotape the recipe in the making so attached below is my first attempt ever at a food video.  Let me tell you, that video stuff is not as easy as it looks!  The writing, directing, filming, editing, voiceovers - the list goes on and on!


So while the video may not be "Food Network" quality, our South of the Border Super Bowl Baskets are (as we say in football lingo) "up and good!"  Besides being "super" easy, they are delicious.  You can prep them ahead of time and then just finish them off in the broiler for a few minutes right before serving.  This way you won't miss any of the big game.  Hope you enjoy eating them as much as we did creating them!

"Rain" O'er Me

A couple of interesting things for you today. And, by the way, Happy Sunday to you! I hope it's a nice day wherever you are reading this from. Here in Seatt...um, New Jersey, yes, it's still raining. This is Day 18? 28? Who knows? We're all a little bit soggy here. BUT, I did see a sprite of sun on the weather map for Tuesday-Thursday, so things are looking up.

My camera is not back from the repair shop yet so I've included a photo taken a few weeks ago of my glorious Double-Knockout Rose tree - beautiful, yes?

I just whipped up a batch of delectable cookies - these are SO good. Chocolate-Chunk Cookies with Pecans, Dried Apricots, and Tart Cherries. Hellooooo? Sound good? I think so. And easy? Absolutely. Get the recipe here or below. I added some unsweetened coconut to the second batch on a whim. Either way, these are terrific.

Next: here in northern NJ we are surrounded either by mediocre chain restaurants or a glut of Italian restaurants. Now, I am certainly not opposed to above par Italian restaurants, but there are times when you want to move away from the norm and try something a little different. Good breakfast spots are especially hard to find here. Sure, we've got iHOPs, and this being NJ, diners galore, but they all offer the same tired breakfast standards.

We (OK, not really me, but my ever-intrepid culinary explorer husband) found a little Mexican/South American restaurant in Lyndhurst that serves wonderful breakfasts. Today I enjoyed the Huevos sobre Arroz con Chorizo (translation: eggs over rice with chorizo). Barry had Huevos Rancheros served with a delicious, spicy green salsa. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the chorizo was flavorful and crispy. Everything is homemade and the owner is very personable. Being a small, independent shop, they don't have a web site, but if you live in the north Jersey area and want to try something outside the norm, I heartily recommend the Bagel Stop Mexican Cafe at 290 Ridge Rd in Lyndhurst (201-460-0001). It's not much on atmosphere, but the food is very good.

Have a good week and may the sun start (or continue) to shine in your little neck of the woods!

Chocolate-Chunk Cookies with Pecans, Dried Apricots, and Tart Cherries

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Yield: Makes about 34 cookies 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 2 large eggs 9 ounces fine-quality bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate 3/4 cup quartered dried apricots (about 4 ounces) 1 cup dried tart cherries (about 5 ounces) 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (about 4 ounces) Preheat oven to 375°F. In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Chop chocolate into 1/2-inch pieces and stir into batter with apricots, cherries, and pecans. Working in batches, drop dough by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, about 12 minutes total, or until golden. Cool cookies on baking sheets on racks 5 minutes and transfer with a spatula to racks to cool. Cookies keep in airtight containers at room temperature 5 days.