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Bully Pulpit

The term "bully pulpit" stems from President Theodore Roosevelt's reference to the White House as a "bully pulpit," meaning a terrific platform from which to persuasively advocate an agenda. Roosevelt often used the word "bully" as an adjective meaning superb/wonderful. The Bully Pulpit features news, reasoned discourse, opinion and some humor.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

RE: Make Breakfast More Filling

Eggs are great, but lots of people get in a rut with them. Even the ham and cheese omelet gets old after a while. So here is a tasty way to start your day with eggs:

Juevos Rancheros (Ranch Style Eggs)

Warm up the oven. I put it on 225 degrees. This is to keep the plate and the tortillas warm.

Put about a teaspoon of your favorite saute medium in a small frying pan over medium heat. I use bacon grease, but olive oil or peanut oil will work. Butter works, too, but you have to watch out not to scorch it.

Lightly saute two corn tortillas. About 10 to 15 seconds on each side should do it. Yes, they will soak up the grease. Don't worry about it, that's their job. Put the tortillas on a plate and put that in the oven.

Put some more grease/oil/butter in the pan. About a teaspoon works for me. Let that warm up. Have a lid for the frying pan ready and drop 1/3 to 2/3 cup of your favorite salsa in and spread it around with a spatula. Put the lid on the pan. The salsa makes a bit of a mess when it spatters. Also, if the salsa has hot peppers in it, frying tends to throw off some fumes.

Fry the salsa for about thirty seconds and then break two or three eggs into the pan on top of the salsa. Cover the pan again and cook until the eggs are at your preferred done-ness. The salsa will steam the eggs and I find that 60 to 90 seconds produces an over-easy egg. Your mileage may vary. Put the eggs and salsa on top of the warm tortillas. Some people like some shredded jack or Colby (or Colby-jack) cheese on top. I like mine naked.

If you're feeling adventurous, the traditional accompaniment to juevos rancheros is chorizo, a Mexican sausage. Chorizo is not for everyone. It is very spicy and the texture sometimes puts people off.

Dive in!

A word about salsa. My favorite for making juevos rancheros is La Victoria Salsa Ranchera. It is hot, but not uncomfortably so. It is also very hard to find any more. Shotgun Willie's Black Bean Salsa works pretty well, as does El Pato Jalapeño Salsa (comes in a can, not a jar, look for the duck). When all else fails, Pace (the salsa, not the picante sauce) is completely acceptable. Some of the vegetable based (as opposed to fruit based) habañero salsas are good too, but those aren't for amateurs. Don't worry about being macho either, mild salsa works just dandy for this.

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