Tour of Fifty States: Arizona's meal

This week’s meal was from Arizona.  A couple of weeks ago, we had our state meal from New Mexico, but as I’ve learned, the cuisines are pretty distinct.   New Mexican cuisine is known for its dedication to the chile (the official "state question" is "Red or green?" which refers to the preferred color of chiles) and plentiful corn tortillas.   Arizona's style of cuisine is often called Sonoran after the Mexican state of Sonora that Arizona borders to the south.   During the Mexican Revolution in 1910, thousands of Sonorans fled to Arizona. Because of this, a lot of “Mexican” cooking in Arizona reflects Sonoran cuisine. For instance, in Sonora wheat is a common grain, so wheat tortillas are eaten more frequently in Arizona than corn tortillas. The state’s cuisine also includes Native American customs, such as harvesting fruits from cacti like the saguaro and prickly pear.  These fruits are eaten raw or dried, as well as being turned into syrups, wines, and jams. 

Source:  http://arizona-guide.info/food/

Menu:  Beef Chimichangas, Arroz Rojo, Refried Black Beans, Flan

Outcome:  The Chimichangas were quite good.  I didn’t make them the way the recipe I had originally found – due to Bill and I both being sick for the majority of the week, neither of us were up to preparing a roast and shredding it.  Instead, I used some eye of round quick-sautéed in the skillet and to be a little healthier, I baked the Chimichangas instead of deep-frying as is traditional.  Directions are given for the version I made.  The Arroz Rojo (Red Rice) was Knorr “Spanish Rice.”  Again, we weren’t up to 100% yet and the 7-minute side dish worked out perfectly. (And the refried black beans were canned.) The next day we enjoyed the flan – as you can see in the photo, I cooked the sugar/caramel a little longer to get it nice and dark (although flan is usually much lighter in color.)

Next up:  Ben’s turn! He chose Missouri!

Arizona's meal

Beef Chimichangas

 Prep time:  10 min.  Cook time:  15 min. Ingredients:

• 2 lb. boneless beef eye of round
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 10 (8") flour tortillas
• Guacamole (purchased or homemade)
• Salsa
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• Sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 º F
2. Slice the beef into very thin slices, then into thin strips.  Saute in a hot skillet just until the strips are brown, remove from the pan, and set aside. 
3. Spoon beef strips and top with cheese in the center of each tortilla. Fold ends over filling; fold sides to center to make a packet.
   
4. Place Chimichangas, seam side down, on a cookie sheet.  Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
   
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

Flan
 Prep time: 20 min.  Cook time:  1 hr. Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

  

  The flan really did look much better than this picture shows!  :)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt sugar until liquefied and golden in color. Carefully pour hot syrup into a 9" round glass baking dish, turning the dish to evenly coat the bottom and sides. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely.
5. To serve, carefully invert on serving plate with edges when completely cool.