Cookbook #75 Mesa Grill and Ranch Style Eggs Tostada

Mmmm...Mesa Grill...love those southwestern flavors.  I came home from my sister's bday brunch at Mesa Grill thinking about all of the phenomenal sounding recipes on the menu.  It took me a good 2 weeks to remember I had a Mesa Grill cookbook.  That is danger in having entirely way too many of them.

Funny thing is, I adored this cookbook for the first few months--I  used it nonstop.  How I forgot it was in my library is beyond me, especially after visiting Mesa Grill at Caesars. When I remembered, I skipped (okay I don't skip, but why is that we stop skipping and galloping as adults?) over to the bookshelf, pulled it off the shelf and flipped expectantly through the pages to see if anything sounded similar to the current menu items.  Know what?  Mesa Grill apparently does not radically change their menu a lot because there were tons of recipes that I'd seen on the menu, that I could now try at home.  I'm definitely not complaining here because I had the hardest time deciding what to order when I was there.  I wanted to try a little of everything....Queso Fundido,  Blue Corn Waffle, Scrambled Eggs Chilaquiles. All of these, or some variation are in the cookbook.  I wish I could write some indepth and profound cookbook review here, but really, it can all be summed up with, "I love this cookbook...again."

When we were at Mesa Grill I finally decided upon the Ranch Style Eggs Tostada.  Remember how I mentioned in that post that I didn't get a good shot?  Well, I'll share the bad shot just so you can see how clever Mesa Grill really is.  Crispy tortilla, scrambled eggs, cheese and the most outstanding chili sauce...

I was a bit dubious on whether the cookbook had the real recipe.  The restaurant sauce was a bit fiery, but also had a bit of sweetness.  It was definitely worth trying at least.

I substituted 1 tbsp of Chipotle powder because I didn't have the pasilla powder that the cookbook called for.  And here's where I'll share the most profound cooking info ever.  If a recipe calls for a 15 oz can of tomatoes (or 15 oz can of anything really) and you only happen to have a 28oz can, you don't actually have to tear your pantry apart for a 15 oz can or become sad at the anticipation of making a grocery store run for one ingredient.  You can actually open the big can and use less.  You would think that is obvious, but it took me a good hour of scouring and cleaning my pantry out and almost getting dressed for the store, to realize this. 

Some would say this onion and chili powder concoction looks a bit scary, but for those who appreciate a fiery pepper, this screams yummy heat.

A bit of red wine, and the tomatoes...

And you have the deliciousness that is the tomato chili sauce.  The cookbook calls for finely dicing the ingredients, but I opted for a regular dice and an immersion blender to make a less chunky sauce.  I swear I couldn't live without that stick blender.

The sauce is probably the major force in this recipe since all of the other parts are just your standard scrambled cheesy eggs or fried tortilla.  I added some mushrooms to my pan before adding the scrambled egg.  I'm sure Mr. Flay thought long and hard about not adding any veggies or other items to this dish.  I thought long and hard about what I would do with the mushrooms in my fridge quickly moving towards the inedible stage. 

I may have gotten a bit carried away with the sauce, but it was pretty darned tasty.  It had that sweet hint that the restaurant sauce had too.  The best thing is that you can make this sauce the day before and your Saturday morning breakfast or brunch comes together in no time at all.

Ranch Style Eggs Tostada

adapted from Mesa Grill by Bobby Flay

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2 1/2 cups canned plum tomatoes and their juices, pureed until smooth and strained
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
2 tablespoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 flour tortillas
8 eggs
2 tsp butter
shredded cheddar
avocados (opt)

Directions

1. To make tomato chili sauce, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add the wine and cook for additional 10 mins.
3. Add the tomatoes, water, ancho chili,  chipotle chili, honey and cook over medium-high heat until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally, about 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the lime juice just before removing from the heat. Sauce can be made the day before and refrigerated overnight.
5. Heat frying pan with a few tbsp of olive oil, enough to coat bottom or pan.  Fry tortilla in pan about 30 seconds on each side.  Remove and drain on paper towel.  Repeat with remaining tortillas, adding more oil if needed.
6. Crack eggs into bowl, add a few tbsp of water and scramble well with fork.
7. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium. Add the butter to the pan, melt and swirl to coat pan.
8. Add eggs and gently scramble until cooked through
9. Place one tortilla on each plate, top with eggs and cheese and tomato chili sauce.  Garnish with sour cream and/or avocado if desired.