Sunday Breakfast Sandwich

Just yesterday I was headed home from the Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa (by the way, a great hotel on Cannery Row). I was there for a business dinner the night before. My daughter Jasmine and I stopped on highway 1 at the Whole Enchilada Marketplace to get a latte. But when I walked in, I knew I discovered a special little deli. I ordered a sandwich called "The Diabla" and it was the best little sandwich I ever had. Seriously. I was so inspired that I made a few this morning for breakfast before we headed over to the beach in Santa Cruz. If you want to make to make yourself - and the people you love - the yummiest breakfast sandwich ever, try this. It may not be exactly the same as the one in Moss Londing, but it's really, really close!

- Good, fresh whole grain bread (ir sourdough, or croissant, etc)
- 6 large eggs
- 6-8 pieces of Thick cut bacon
- 3-4 Anaheim Chiles
- 4 -5 slices Pepper Jack or Havarti Cheese
- a little butter - and a little salt and pepper

• Wash and dry chile peppers and then roast under broiler for about 15-20 minutes, making sure to turn to make sure that the skin gets roasted/charred.


• Fry the bacon on medium low heat (according to directions).


• Remove from oven, slice in half, remove skin, remove seeds - and put to the side.


• Crack eggs in bowl and then whisk with fork to scramble. Then heat pan with a little butter and scramble eggs with a little salt and pepper.


• As soon as the eggs are cooked, place the cheese over the eggs (while still in the pan) and cover. This will help the cheese melt over the eggs before you add to the sandwich.


• Toast the bread, and butter a little bit.


• Now just make the sandwich - I added the bacon first, then the chile and then the eggs. Mash it down a little and then cut the sandwich in half.
  

A little coffee, some fresh strawberries - and this little, tastey sandwich - and you'll have a great start to a weekend morning.

Let me know what you think. And tell me about your favorite sandwich at The Whole Enchildada Marketplace!

Update: My brother Darien recreated the sandwich with a Croissant - and it looks better than mine! See for yourself:

Pork Chops and Garlic-Tossed Pasta

Yesterday, my friend Evelyne had this amazing little party to celebrate her daughter's high school graduation and her sister's 50th birthday. She had a french theme that included french music playing along with french, sub-titled movies in the background. She made Chicken Basquez that was delicious and I brought a dish that was SO not meeting the theme, but I noticed that my dish was gone in a few minutes. The dish I brought is one of my all-time favorites because it's easy, fast, fresh and so, so, tasty. It combines all my favorite flavors in one dish. What I love is that the sauce is created naturally from browning the pork chops with the olive oil and garlic. You'll see what I mean by going through it yourself...

Pork Chops and Garlic-Tossed Pasta

6-8 pork chops - for this dish, the thinly cut chops with the bone works best.
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
2-4 tbls freshly chopped or crushed garlic
1 lb spaghetti (thick, not angle hair)
1/4 white wine
1/4 c chopped, fresh basil
1/4 c chopped, fresh parsley
1/2 c freshly, grated parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly, ground black pepper to taste
optional - crushed red chile pepper

• Boil water in a large 2 qt pot ( this is to boil the spagetti)
• Cook spaghetti according to the package directions so that the pasta is ready about the same time that the pork chops are getting removed from the pan.
• Heat large fry pan to medium-high with a few tablespoons of olive oil (just enough to cover bottom of pan).
• Place pork chops in and sprinkle with salt and black pepper and smear some of the fresh garlic on the top of the chops.
• When brown on one side, flip over and brown the other side. You want to make sure that the chops are cooked all the way through. If you've used thicker chops, you can place in a baking dish, covered with foil or a lid and finish cooking in the oven. This why I like to use the thin ones - by the time they've browned they're also cooked through the middle as well.
• When both sides are a nice carmelized, brown color, throw in a little of the parsley and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste (not too much salt because remember the cheese is salty, so you don't want to over-do it).
• Once you've tossed around a bit, you can remove the chops. Hopefully, the pasta is about ready. If not, it's fine to just remove the pan from the heat and then reheat once the pasta is done. Don't rinse or wash the pan - this is what makes the whole dish!
• When the pasta is ready, it's time to toss in alittle more olive oil into that same frying pan that you cooked the chops with a large tablespoon of fresh garlic for about 20 seconds (don't let it burn). And then the remaining parley and basil.
• Remove the pasta directly from the water and throw into the pan and start tossing vigorously, making sure to scrape all the pan drippings off the bottom of the pan. You want the pasta to pick up all those flavors.
• Once you've done that, you'll notice that the pasta will begin to stick to the bottom - immediately add the wine and continue to toss until all the flavors are mixed it's really nice and hot.
• Now you can add as much parmesan cheese as you like.
• Get a nice big pasta bowl and add the pasta from the pan to the bowl. Top with more parsley and parmesan cheese.
• I like to put the chops around the side of the dish, but you can put them in a separate serving dish if you like.

Serving suggestion:

This is great with a glass of wine and side of greens, like mustard greens, spinach or a light salad tossed with olive oil, lemon and vinegar.

I hope you love it as much as I do!