Food Nirvana: Chilaquiles

I am a regular reader of Simply Recipes, a recipe website maintained by a woman named Elise who lives in Sacramento, California. One of the reasons I like the site is that Elise writes fairly often about locally grown food. And in her case, local is the central valley of California, where I grew up. So Simply Recipes is a taste of home for me, way out here in New Jersey.

Among the site's many virtues is the collection of Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes. Each and every one of them is excellent and you should hop on over there and fire up the stove to make them. Now.

Today I would like to take a moment for some special reverence for Elise's chilaquiles recipe. As soon as she posted the recipe I knew that I would be making it. And that's what I did last night.

Every once in a while, I read an interview where an individual is asked what the menu for their last night on earth would be and the answer is some nonsense about steak and lobster. But it always makes me pause, because I've never really had an answer to that question.

But now I know the answer: chilaquiles. I basically followed Elise's recipe and made the red chile sauce, substituting 4 dried anaheim peppers for the anchos because 1) I wanted a milder pepper in case I could induce JT to give it a try (go ahead and laugh.....that's what he did when I suggested it) ; and 2) I love anaheim peppers, not to mention 3) my Wegmans (a very reliable source of Mexican ingredients) was out of dried anchos. I used a combination of mild cheddar and monterey jack cheese instead of the cotija, because that's what I was in the mood to eat. I kept some El Pato by my side in case a little more heat was necessary.

I served the chilaquiles with lettuce, cilantro, red onion, and avocado, some refried beans, and a poached egg.
Heaven on a plate. Seriously, heaven. Go make yourself some chilaquiles. Not only will you thank me, now you'll know what to serve for your last night on earth.