Brace Yourselves--I've Created a Recipe!

Yes.  You are on the right blog.  In the way, way distant past, my copying a restaurant's dish would not have been unusual.  Now, my turning on the cook top for any reason is unusual.

As I remember it all started with Daniel's nachos.  The Daniel's restaurant I remember us going to was on University Drive.  I still have the recipe card where I wrote down my "interpretation."    It was probably in the '70's or '80's when nachos were first introduced--onto our scene, anyway.  I made Wick Fowler chili, cooked fabulous pinto beans, drained them, put all over "Jimenez" chips, and popped into hot oven after smothering with finely grated cheese.   We loved them.  My sweet Terri made me Daniel's nachos one year for my birthday!

Then there was my homemade Taco Bell.  I tried to season my ground beef as well as theirs, cooked and blended pinto beans, and we had all the trimmings for tacos, burritos, and tostados. It was a production and quite fun and delicious!  Oh, I would save Taco Bell hot sauce packets to use on my dishes!

I was fixin' reuben sandwiches before they were popular.  I got the bread, the pastrami, the sauerkraut, the mustard, and buttered and grilled them in a skillet.  My sweet kids would even eat sauerkraut!  They ate almost anything--as Susan reminded me recently with this story:

I used to serve canned spinach (ugh), and to make it more palatable (?) I would top it with chopped hard-boiled egg.  So help me I think they ate it.  I know Jack did.  He loved canned spinach.  It was his "health food."

But I digress.  Today's spectacular achievement is duplicating Reata's chicken tortilla soup.  It is my very favorite thing there.  I always get the "Saddle Pack" combination with the soup and field greens salad.  The soup obviously does not have a lot of ingredients, but it is so delicious.  Actually, I'm not quite through perfecting my recipe, but I'm just excited to be close.  And don't laugh at how easy it is.

REATA'S TORTILLA SOUP

Chicken Broth (details below)

Better than Boullion to taste 

Chopped white rotisserie chicken (I love Sam's)

Lots of freshly squeezed lime juice

Chopped avocado 

Grated mozzarella cheese

Crispy strips for topping

*They include chopped jalapenos, but I have them left off

Make your broth*, add chicken and lime juice.  Let flavors cook together a bit.

Add chopped avocado just long enough to warm.

Spoon into a bowl, then add cheese and top with strips.**

*The part I haven't perfected yet is the broth.  Today I used something fancy that I just stumbled across at Kroger.  It is Imagine organic free range chicken broth!  "Imagine" that!!!  It was a bit strong for me.  Next time I may just use water and the Better than Boullion, which is in a jar in the soup section at the grocery, I think.  Or I may just use ordinary chicken broth with added BTB.  I was introduced to this product by one of the chefs at Silverado, and I think it is amazing!!!  Both the chicken flavor and the beef flavor will do wonderful things for your corresponding dishes.  In this case, however, I don't think the broth makes so much difference.  The secret is in...drum roll...the lime juice. 

**The tortilla strips I bought at the grocery store are not nearly as good as Reata's.  I even warmed them--but they are too short and fall down into the soup and get soggy.  I may check with Reata about buying some there.

I know I've jumped the gun here, but you can't imagine how accomplished I feel today. It really tasted pretty much like theirs!  I'm thinking of changing my name to Paula, or Giada, or Shay!

Oh, by the way.  You might want to either eat this in private or make sure everyone with you is eating it.  The mozzarella is incredibly stringy and requires some unsightly negotiation.