Soft flour tortillas on the outside, crispy corn tortilla chips inside! Grilled meat! Cheese! Everything you always wanted in a quesadilla, and more.
Lunch
Coctel De Camaron: Sonoran Style Shrimp Cocktail
This easy Mexican shrimp cocktail is made with Bloody Mary mix, along with crisp cucumber, avocado, red onion and hot sauce and it’s ready in about 5 minutes.
BLT Lettuce Wraps
Tomatoes are at their best, and something about the heat and humidity of the Arizona monsoon season makes me almost totally inert and immobile. This is about all I can muster dinner-wise, so I’m lucky that it’s fairly healthy… It turns out that mayo and bacon are better for us than expected, and my versions is also low-carb.
Parmesan Pepperoni Crustless Pizza
If you bake a layer of Parmesan cheese in the oven it will crackle and pop after a while, turning into a crispy, cheese cracker that’s much tastier than any pizza crust I’ve encountered. I topped this baked cheese crisp  (which is a popular dish called Frico in Italy) with pizza spices and toppings before sliding it into the oven. The results: crustless pizza!
Parmesan Pepperoni Crisps
Bring a little sunshine into your life with these bright and happy two-ingredient pizza flavored cheese crisps.
Chile Colorado Tostadas with Crispy Tofu
I replaced the beef with crispy tofu, which adds just the right amount of heft and bite, and served it on crunchy baked tostada shells topped with Queso Fresco, scallions, radish and sliced pimento-stuffed olives. Recipe link in profile.
Beef Patty Tacos
Teresa Matias told me that to help satisfy her children’s cries for burgers when buns weren’t handy, she would fold a hamburger patty into a tortilla and fry it. Topped with cheese, lettuce, and tomato, it later became a regular menu item at her restaurant, Teresa’s Mosaic Cafe.
Apparently, a lot of moms had the same experience, because the beef patty taco has been standard restaurant fare around southern Arizona since at least the mid-1970s.
Chicken Molé Amarillo
Nuttier and less sweet than its chocolate based cousin, this version of Molé Amarillo is the personal creation of Chef Suzana Davila of Tucson’s Cafe Poca Cosa. She specializes in these complex sauces, and her recipes are longtime local favorites which is one reason why I wanted to feature the recipe in my upcoming cookbook Taste of Tucson: Sonoran Style Recipes Inspired by the Rich Culture of Southern Arizona. Serve this dish with tortillas and a pretty, salad, as Suzana would.Â
The Moist Maker
The Moist Maker is inspired by “The One Where Ross Loses it Over a Sandwich.” My version uses leftover dinner rolls instead of bread.
My Mom’s Marinated Flank Steak, “Sonoranized”
I marinated myself a flank steak using my mom’s recipe from the 80s, adding in some Mexican oregano and extra citrus to #sonoranize it a bit so now it’s an Ohio meets Tucson recipe.
The Italian Stallion Hot Dog
This no-recipe recipe is my tribute dog to Sweathog, Vinnie Barbarino. This recipe has become very popular since I first created it for my monthly column on the FoodNetwork.com. The people of the Internet have spoken, and they have said that it’s a cross between a pizza and a hot dog, and that is not untrue.
The Cheesiest Cheese Crisp with Chipotle Ranch Drizzle
The cheese crisp is the perfect comfort food. A cross between a Mexican pizza an an open-faced quesadilla, Southern Arizona restaurants started selling the dish more than 50 years ago and it’s become a staple of our local Sonoran style cuisine.Â
Quinoa Burrito Bowl With Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette
Healthy burrito bowl recipe with quinoa, black beans and avocado tossed in a chipotle lime vinaigrette dressing.
Quinoa, Tepary Bean and Egg Breakfast Bowl
Start your day with this Tucson Sonoran style power breakfast bowl. It’s high in protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.
Gooey, Creamy, Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
A cheesy chicken and broccoli casserole featuring my copycat condensed Cream of Chicken Soup recipe.
Chicken Pot Pie in a Mug
For centuries, people believed that it was impossible to make a chicken pot pie in the microwave. I have proven them wrong.
Italian Style Grilled Chicken with Parmesan and Sun-dried Tomatoes
This is a healthy and extremely flavorful way to dress up boneless skinless chicken breasts. Adding just a small amount of butter on top, and using grated parmesan for a garnish, keeps the fat and calories down.
Snack of the Day: Nacho Cheese, Slim Jims and Beer Nuts on a Bagel.
This snack is best eaten very late at night, preferably after attending a party of some other festive gathering. It’s easily assembled and pleasant to look at, even when blurry.
Spicy Sonoran Chicken Salad
This spicy and crunchy Sonoran chipotle chicken salad can be served in lettuce taco wraps, tortas and sandwiches or meal sized salads.
Sprinkles Fairy Bread Sandwiches
Make any day a celebration! Just barely sweet, these sparkly sandwiches make a fun breakfast surprise, after-school snack, or party food.
Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem “Fairy Bread” from A Child’s Garden of Verses, fairy bread is a popular treat at children’s parties in Australia, New Zealand, and other little pockets of the world.
This recipe is from my book Sprinkles!:Â Recipes and Ideas for Rainbowlicious Desserts. The photograph is previously unpublished
Grilled Mini Pizzas With Edible Flowers
Celebrate spring with these easy, grilled pizzas topped with lemon flavored Mascarpone cheese, fresh tomatoes, pepperoni and oregano flowers.
Crustless Quiche With Five Kinds of Peppers
A simple and satisfying crustless quiche that has all of the things I love; peppers (both hot & sweet), onions, Swiss, Gruyere, eggs, and cream.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Apparently, in the olden days, every casino in Las Vegas offered a $1.79 chicken dinner. If you won a $2.00 bet, you’d have enough money to buy one, so the dealer would shout, “Winner, winner chicken dinner “. Chicken is still pretty cheap, so you, dear reader, can be a winner every time you make one of these recipes.
Greek Country Salad
A classic Greek Salad of chunky vegetables and feta tossed in a light vinaigrette will prove that you can indeed win friends with salad.
Johnny Marzetti Three Ways
To demonstrate the various ways that a recipe can be modified I came up with two versions of Johnny Marzetti based on the original recipe from the Columbus Ohio restaurant which I also posted.
Fennel, Blue Cheese & Spanish Chorizo Mini Pizzas
The fun thing about pizza is that I can throw a bunch of seemingly unrelated items together and make something new. I’ve been experimenting and have found that almost any combination that tastes good on a salad will also be good on a pizza.  For these mini pizzas I started with a classic herb and cheese crust. I used good olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead of tomato sauce. For the toppings I did a hot layer of fennel and blue cheese, and then a cold layer once it came out of the oven. of meats and fresh tomatoes.
Chicken Parmesan in Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce
I want to eat warm hearty meals in Autumn colors. Casseroles baked in stoneware dishes with rich sauces. Meat, cream, smoked cheeses, tomato sauce, and, I want the recipe to be fast, and easy, so that I can eat right away. Something that I can make from memory because I’ve been doing Atkins and I find I instantly become insanely hungry.
Sicilian Shrimp with Hot Peppers and Lots of Garlic
These shrimp go great with a glass of wine and a conversation. It’s a dish to be shared, because if everyone is eating it, you won’t have to worry about reeking of garlic… or you could just eat it all by yourself when no one else is around to the same effect. It’s fun either way.
Fettuccine With Whole Clams
Recipe for a more creamy, cheesy white clam sauce than the traditional version of Fettuccine with clams. This recipe is per person, so if you have a crowd, you’ll need a bunch of cans of clams.
Arizona Cowboy Caviar
My Arizona Cowboy Caviar recipe is made with lentils, chile peppers and red onion in a spicy citrus vinaigrette.
Lox and Cream Cheese Frittata
Recipe for Lox and Cream Cheese Frittata with Fresh Tomato and Red Onion.
Thai Green Papaya-less Salad Recipe
Here in Tucson it can be hard to get fresh green papaya, so I use packaged coleslaw mix instead in this spicy Thai cabbage salad inspired by Som Tum.
Rotini With Caviar and Parmesan
Rotini pasta mixed with a hearty dose of caviar and Parmesan cheese. You will love the way the caviar sinks in between the pasta’s nooks and crannies.
Chipotle Deviled Eggs
I’ve been having an unyielding urge for deviled eggs. Since I like a salty-spicy combo I’ll use caviar for a garnish when I’m feeling fancy. Otherwise I’ll just use capers. I feel that it’s important to buy organic eggs and I always try to buy eggs that come from chickens that are fed flax seed, giving their eggs a healthy dose of Omega3. They’re a great idea for vegetarians.I learned how to make hard boiled eggs from Martha Stewart (not in person… on her website). Here’s the link if you want to check out her instructions.This recipe serves one as a snack. For a crowd, multiply the recipe by the number of people expected to eat them.
Homemade Thin and Crispy Pizza
It took me forever to figure out how to make a thin crust pizza at home. I practiced stretching the dough for months. First I tried to roll out the dough onto a pizza stone. That did not work. Then I purchased a non-stick 16″pizza tray with holes in it which was perfect, but it still took me awhile to get the process down. There were a lot of misshapen hole filled crusts that I would have to peel off of the pizza tray and wad up in a ball for another go around. Below is my step-by-step procedure for getting the dough almost paper thin. I also posted an IPhone video below my husband Jason made of me that illustrates the whole procedure.
Easy Pita Sandwich
Hummus and nonfat feta add protein without a lot of calories to this easy vegetarian dish so feel comfortable adding as much as you see fit.
Jackie’s Famous Gazpacho
My husband woke up, looked at me in from his side of the bed and declared this the “Week of Gazpacho”. And so, it is.
Classic Caesar Salad Recipe
CAESAR SALAD DAYS | This is a story about choices, creativity, personal power, and a salad. Specifically, the Caesar salad from the 1967 Joy of Cooking.
Onion-Barley Matzo Ball Soup
A hearty vegetarian version of traditional matzo ball soup modified from an onion and mushroom soup recipe that my mother used to make when I was a kid.
Baked Falafel Recipe
How to make baked falafel. I knew I wanted a healthy falafel sandwich with the falafel baked, not fried. So after a little internet research on how to construct a baked falafel, I came up with this recipe. It makes 3 sandwiches with two falafels each.
Visit Jackie Alpers @ The Food Network
Order Jackie’s Newest Cookbook: Taste of Tucson
About Jackie Alpers
