Red Rock Frittatas

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Stephanie

If you are in Colorado, Nebraska or Missouri, you may have heard the Red Rock Relish buzz. It has a super cool name and logo (love the bear), and I’ve been dying of curiosity to try it. Lucky for me, my sweet friend Whitney Snow is a partner in this delicious and newly launched business. I mentioned it to her on the tennis courts several weeks ago (yeah, I’m actually thinking only of food while whacking that ball), and a couple of weeks ago I found the happiest sack on my front porch with Red Rock Relish. Now, I’ve never used relish. On anything. Ever. I just never saw the point. But Red Rock Relish is void of pickles and chock full of jalapeños. Cha-ching. Now you’re talking. I immediately went after it with some blue corn chips which seems like a fitting vehicle for jalapeño related items. It was addictive and just screaming with good flavors. I put a lid on it and spent the next few days deciding what to DO with it. I could just grab a spoon, or I could enjoy the beauty of fresh ingredients already chopped and mixed for me in this convenient little jar. When does that ever happen? I’m loving this new trend of prepared food with ingredients that would be exactly the same as if you had made it at home.

The Red Rock Relish recipe actually starts with Whitney’s  mom, Cissy Fletchall. As Whitney tells it, every time she made it (slaving away in the kitchen for hours, filling the house with fumes that lingered for days), she would give it to family and friends who were back just days later asking for more. Everyone loved the relish! Whitney’s husband, Shawn Snow, began to research how they might produce it, and they decided to make it a family affair along with Whitney’s cousin Jen, and her husband Jamie Hiner. As so many brilliant ideas and successes begin, two heads (or 5) are better than one. Cissy’s original recipe called for jarred jalapeños, but Whitney and Shawn felt it was important to use only fresh ingredients for the best flavor. So, after much experimenting and what sounds like many, many batches, they came up with a medium and a hot version of Red Rock Relish. And if you have cooked enough with jalapeños (and other chiles), you’ll know that the heat in the chile peppers is not consistent. One can be more fruity with a slight hint of heat, and another has you coughing up your lungs just from slicing it open and releasing that fiery heat. Hats off to the folks at Red Rock Relish for finding a way!

In the end, I really just wanted Red Rock Relish in my breakfast. Or my dinner. Did I mention, lunch? So, I incorporated them into southwestern themed frittatas which are perfect for whatever meal you are hungry for. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, this would be a fabulous treat for brunch. I have a thing for mini-versions of food, so I made them individually in a muffin tin, but honestly, you could put this in a 8×8 baking dish (or something near that size), and be just as happy cutting squares out of that. Whatever floats your boat, and isn’t that the key to happiness when it comes to food? Anway, I’ll warn you because you need to know: THESE ARE CRAZY DELICIOUS. Dave was totally thrilled to have these for dinner and snuck off with a couple for breakfast this morning at his desk. I decided they needed to be my early lunch today. You get the idea…they are going fast.

RedRockFrittatas

Red Rock Frittatas

recipe by Stephanie Kunstle… with the help of the fantastic Red Rock Relish from Cissy Fletchall, Shawn & Whitney Snow, Jen & Jamie Hiner

Note: I made these in a muffin tin, and honestly, it was a bit of a pain to get each one out after they were baked… When I do them again I will use paper muffin cups or do a larger version in a 8×8 pyrex baking dish. Feel free to experiment, but you can be sure it will be so delicious no matter what “form” you use. Also, if you don’t live near a store that sells this relish, never fear, you can buy it online and find locations here!

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. regular olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
  • 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed clean
  • 6 oz. crimini mushrooms, quick rinsed or wiped clean,
  • 10 large eggs
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 rounded Tbsp. Red Rock Relish
  • 1 rounded cup of shredded cheddar
  • sliced avocado, sour cream, fresh cilantro leaves, and Red Rock Relish for garnish

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups or grease a 8×8 baking dish.
  3. Poke deep holes with a fork all over the cleaned potatoes. Microwave them on regular heat for 10 minutes. Once cooked, carefully slice them into 1 inch cubes, leaving the peel on.
  4. In a large sauté pan, melt butter with oil over medium low heat. Add chopped onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until softened. About 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms into 1/2 inch thick slices (I always slice about 1/4 inch of the dried end off and use the rest of the mushroom).
  5. Add the mushrooms to the pan, turn the heat up to medium high, and stirring almost constantly, brown them but take care not to over cook them… turn off the heat when they are still be slightly firm.
  6. Stir potatoes into onion/mushroom mixture, and season with salt and pepper.
  7. Beat 10 eggs together well, with 1/2 tsp. salt and the measured relish.
  8. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full with the veggie mixture, or cover the baking dish with the veggie mixture. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies, taking care that the relish doesn’t all sink to the bottom and end up on one corner of the pan or a particular muffin cup. I used a large liquid measuring cup to pour out the eggs, and gave them a quick stir every couple of pours to make sure they relish was evenly distributed. (I had about 1/2 cup of veggie mix left at the end, so if you do too, save that and use it for a quick scramble on another day).
  9. Whether you use a muffin tin or a deep baking dish, set it on a baking sheet to catch drips. Bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes.
  10. Open oven and sprinkle the cheese on top of each muffin cup or over the baking dish, and continue to bake for 10 more minutes if you are using muffin cups or about 20 more minutes if using a baking dish. Total baking time for muffin cups: 25 minutes, total baking time for 8×8 baking dish, about 35-40 minutes. Egg will be set, and slightly puffed.
  11. Allow just about 5 minutes or so to let the eggs cool and serve with slices of avocado, small dollops of sour cream, Red Rock Relish and a scattering of fresh cilantro leaves.

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Banana Chocolate Pecan Muffins

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Stephanie

This is what happens when you take my Grandma Salazar’s banana bread recipe, and start fiddling… Adding chocolate and nuts to banana bread isn’t cutting edge, but adding them to this particular banana bread is divine.

We had only been living in Munich just six weeks, and when I wasn’t in class at the Goethe-Institut desperately trying to absorb this very new-to-me language, I was in my kitchen in our sunny loft in Haidhausen with a view of red, sloped rooftops and church spires, looking for an excuse to cook and quite homesick for anything familiar. I emailed my mom, asking for the recipes for Grandma Salazar’s banana bread and Grandma Dickerson’s zucchini bread (which you can find here). A little piece of me, and a little piece of home. Over the last 12 years, this served as a lovely loaf for breakfast or tea with a smear of cream cheese, a healthy snack for nursery school students made with GF flour to cover all bases, and slowly morphing into a place for my dark chocolate to hide, and then sealed last year as a muffin with pecans for ski season. Easy to transport (muffins are surprisingly resilient on road trips), easy to eat, and so satisfying. It soon became the thing we had to have if we were headed for the slopes. So, this past weekend, my Renaissance Man realized I was a bit buried under my “to do” list and enlisted himself as Pastry Chef. Proof that the recipe is a good one… These were his first muffins ever, and didn’t they turn out lovely? Wives, now’s the time to shoot this link to your hubs, ASAP. Husbands, diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but muffins made by you could be a close second. Cracking myself up here… Alright, people. GO BAKE!

TheTrianglePlateBananaMuffins

Banana Chocolate Pecan Muffins

recipe adapted from my Grandma Salazar’s Banana Bread, tweaked by Mama Rita, and then further adjustment and additions from me… how recipes evolve.

Note: Makes 18 muffins. You can easily substitute gluten free flour if you’d like to go that route. If you are anti-muffin or want something you can slice, you can butter and flour a loaf pan, pour this in, and bake for about 45-50 minutes. Everyone happy now?

Ingredients:

  • 3 ripe to very ripe bananas
  • 1/3 c regular olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2/3 c sugar
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 c flour
  • 1 cup roughly chopped pecans
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c oatmeal for sprinkling

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Line muffin tins with paper cups… You’ll need 18.
  3. In a standing mixer, with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, mash bananas until they are nothing but pulp and liquid.
  4. Add olive oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix well at medium speed.
  5. Add the sugar and mix well.
  6. Add the dry ingredients, mixing as you go, starting with the baking powder, soda, salt, then the flour.
  7. With mixer on low, add the pecans and chocolate until just combined.
  8. Scoop about 2 Tbsp. of the batter into each muffin cup. I like to use a cookie scoop that measures 1 Tbsp.– a couple scoops per cup, and the batter slides right out with the little sliding scooper-thing (is there a name for this?).
  9. Top each muffin with a sprinkling of oatmeal. This is purely about aesthetics, but don’t underestimate it’s effect!
  10. Bake on middle rack for 18-20 minutes, or just when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. These will not brown like a loaf of bread does after nearly an hour in the oven, so do not wait for browning or you’ll have 18 hockey pucks.
  11. Allow to cook on baking racks, and store in an airtight container or freeze for future breakfasts, ski trips, or afternoon snacks…good for late-night blogging too.

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Mama Rita’s Brownies

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Stephanie

These brownies are so decadent and delicious. I had a hard time just naming them “Mama Rita’s Brownies” because they sort of need a name like Mama Rita’s Off-The-Charts Brownies, or Mama Rita’s Crack Brownies or Mama Rita’s Talk-to-Me Brownies… but you get the idea. Might be a bit hard to google down the road, so I just left it alone. ANYWAY, these are the brownies to make when you want something special, but have no more than 10 minutes to pull it together. Mama Rita, if you didn’t know, is my mama, and anything that comes out of her kitchen is worth a blog post, really. This is the only brownie recipe for me, and so after a solid 12 years of baking these, I realized this recipe had to be shared.

A dear old friend from the Lone Star State just spent the weekend with us, and he’s got a thing for chocolate too. Rather than slaving away in the kitchen, I prefer to cook food that still allows me time to hang out and catch up. So, this was an easy thing to mix together right after dinner, and fun to serve the guys as we all put our feet up and sat down to watch Sons of Liberty. An all American show and an all American dessert!

TheTrianglePlate Brownies_edited-1

Mama Rita’s Brownies

recipe by Rita Salazar Dickerson

Note: the extra dark chocolate and the nuts sprinkled over the top are completely optional, and sometimes I even put the nuts on just one side to give everyone their favorite nut-free or nut-full brownie. So, do what you want! Makes 9 brownies, or feel free to do this in a 9″x13″ baking pan if you want to feed more mouths…they will just be half as thick (so a bit anti-climactic for me) and you’ll need to pull them from the oven after about 25 minutes.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 c butter, melted
  • 1/4 c regular olive oil
  • 3/4 c baking cocoa powder (I like to use an organic, fairly traded cocoa)
  • 1 and 1/2 c sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 big pinch of salt (or 1/4 tsp if you want to be nit-picky or need a visual)
  • 1 c flour
  • 1/2 (or so) chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c (or so) chopped pecans

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  2. Butter an 8″x8″ baking pan.
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter with oil and cocoa.
  4. Whisk in eggs, sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt.
  5. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon and mix well.
  6. Pour into baking pan, using a rubber spatula to spread evenly.
  7. Sprinkle the chocolate and nuts over the top.
  8. Bake for about 35 minutes or so, until a toothpick comes out clean (but it may have a couple moist bits on it, which is a good thing).
  9. Allow to cool and cut into squares before serving (or just throw that thought out the window and eat them piping hot with a fork…they won’t be firm brownies until cooled, but sometimes, a hot brownie is the way to go!).

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