Breakfast Tacos

March 9, 2014

I have a real thing for breakfast, always have. Though as far as cooking it goes, I tend to drag my feet in the morning, especially after a night of drinking. Breakfast Tacos are one of those marvelous hangover meals fit to feed a crowd. If you're lucky enough to wake up to a friend making them for you, that's a friend for life. When The Sun Flights and I found ourselves in Lafayette, LA in the heart of Cajun country it was truly a homecoming. We're talking about a remarkable and prideful culture, one steeped in traditions from the Acadian people and one very much centered around food. These kindred spirits of ours would hold heated debates on the best spice mixtures, critically taste and critique every meal and offer advice for the next preparation. I was smitten. After our first nights in town, one of our host, a Texas native greeted us in the morning with a breakfast taco buffet.We knew we found a second home in Lafayette and life long friends. So gather your krewe one morning and serve up some breakfast tacos, they will be indebted to you for life. I however will be chasing breakfast tacos all over SXSW this week...

Breakfast Tacos

12 corn tortillas

2 cups refried beans

24 small red potatoes, quartered* and roasted

1 dozen eggs scrambled with or without cheese

Roast potatoes in oven for roughly 40 minutes with olive oil and salt and pepper and any other desired seasonings. In a skillet with butter or oil heat tortillas till golden. Refry beans and keep warm. Scramble eggs to desired texture. Set up buffet and enjoy!

Suggested Garnish-

Salsa, Fresh Cilantro, Hot Sauce, Shreeded Cheese, Sour Cream, Avocado, Sausage

*to get perfect breakfast potatoes, after cutting, place in a tub of salted water for a few hours or overnight

Cheesy Grits

February 24, 2014

Grits is one of those staple items you'll find in every household once you've past the mason-dixion line. For those Yanks' not familiar, grits is something like a porridge and filling like an oatmeal. Made of alkali-treated corn or 'hominy', grits is a hop skip and a jump from corn meal and polenta (all 3 are made from stone ground corn but different types of corn).

I have had a tremendous amount of southern hospitality these past few weeks, as I've been on tour through out the country with The Sun Flights and we've had grits prepared for us most often as cheesy grits. Theres truly nothing like waking up and starting your day with a hot pot of grits.

You can do a lot with grits as its a blank slate that can be dressed up just about any way you'd like, putting a fried egg on top (mixing it in raw egg creates a scrambled texture), grilled veggies, shrimp, cheese or even brown sugar and cinnamon, anything goes! The most fantastic thing about grits is that it is CHEAP. The simple unassuming cardboard box holds a bounty of choices and eating a filling hot breakfast for under a buck is what its all about. They are also very easy to prepare and can be ready in under 5 minutes!

Cheesy Grits

2 cups water

1 cup milk (optional)

1 cup grits

1 teaspoon butter

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Bring water & milk to a boil. Add grits and cover for 5 minutes. Stir in Cheddar and desired seasonings. I like to stir in an egg if you want a protein rich breakfast!

2013 Recipe Round Up

December 31, 2013

Happy New Year!

What an amazing year its been. I have travelled and tasted more food then I can remember! I have meet so many beautiful people and created a wealth of tasty recipes in 2013! 2014 is bringing in a world of change as I embark on an eight month national tour with the phenomenal folk duo, The Sun Flights. Our tour entitled Roam to Ramble is a union of music + food as we weave our way through our country collecting stories, recipes and friends. I hope you follow the journey. In the meantime, check out my favorite recipes of 2013!