A Breakfast Worthy of Birthday

A Breakfast Worthy of Birthday

My ideal birthday is very low key; nobody wants an energetic extravaganza between Christmas and New Year's. The weather gave me a great gift in the first real snow of the season. My gift to myself was this big, elaborately sloppy plate of huevos rancheros that forces you to abandon silverware and eat it with your hands.

If you want to play along at home, here's a breakdown:

• Pan toasted flour tortilla (little olive oil in the pan on top of whatever flavor was left from the onions)
• Sweet onion, sauteed with magical spice blend
• Black beans with chipotle powder and garlic
• 2 eggs cooked sunny side up with cheddar cheese on top (cooked with cover on), sprinkled with salt, pepper, and hot, smoked paprika
• medium salsa
• sour cream
• mixed greens
• half a perfectly ripe avocado, sprinkled with salt

Bonus birthday gift from my cast iron skillet: being able to cook onions, tortilla and eggs in it successively without having to clean it before (or after!) any step.