The Fuego - a guest post

That's right, everyone... a guest post! Let me introduce you to Erin.

This girl has become one of my dearest friends.... via SKYPE! Ha! We haven't "officially" met in person yet, but our mutual friend suggested we meet because he thought we'd be such good friends. He was absolutely right. And as it happens, she's also a brilliant chef in the kitchen and an even MORE brilliant photographer! She and our friend Daniel have their own photography business, Lovisa Photo, and I highly suggest you check them out if you're in need of some beautiful, quality, creative photos. (they did our wedding photography and it was out of this world)

SO- Erin agreed (finally, ha!) to guest blog for me so you could get a little of her California tastes! Luckily enough for me, she sent in her post and it was the perfect, cali-esque, fun guest post. I'm going to be making it for lunch probably today, and you should too! Without further ado... 

Hello Recitherapy friends!!

I'm so flattered Sidney has asked me to share a recipe here! This is a quick and easy recipe that is so packed with flavor! And I'm ALL FOR quick and easy [...and flavor]. So a quick backstory, I lived in downtown San Diego for about a year and a half while I attended architecture school. One of the things I miss most about living in San Diego is all of the amazing and unique places to eat. I'm telling you... I've found the BEST calzone, BLT [sorry Sid], and coffee joint all in San Diego. Well THIS recipe is based off of a similar item I used to order at this coffee shop Krakatoa I just mentioned. Sounds funny right? Well its this amazing little coffee shop built into an old craftsman style home! You can sit inside, or outdoors on the deck surrounded by huge banana leaves and twinkle lights. This place quickly became a regular stop for me either for the great coffee or even better food items. One of my favorites was the Fuego, an everything bagel topped with a cream cheese "shmear" [which I'll be referring to as a spread, shmear is such an awful word anyways!]. Well this recipe is my homemade version of the Fuego, but you'll see I've taken it a step further to make it a heartier dish. Shall we begin?

For this recipe, you will need:

• Bagels [plain, onion, or everything work best]
• 1 8oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 8oz package of cream cheese [room temperature- I used reduced fat and couldn't taste the difference. Sorry again Sidney.]
• 1 small jalapeno [go bigger if you like more spice]
• 1 ripe avocado
• thick sliced bacon

First, let's prep the ingredients. Chop or grate about 3/4 of your block of cheese. The crumblier the better, but in my case grated worked too. Remove the seeds and dice your jalapeno. Now don't let the name "Fuego" fool you. Fuego is Spanish for "fire", but in this dish, I'm only adding enough jalapeno to give it a kick, not burn your mouth off.

When you're done, toss it all in a bowl and mix it all together. Make sure the cheese and peppers are well distributed throughout the cream cheese, but make sure not to over blend or your cheddar will lose its shape [we want nice chunks of cheddar].

Now you've made your cream cheese spread. Let's put this in a well sealed container [keep this in the fridge]. Toast your bagel well and generously spread your jalapeno cheddar cream cheese onto the bagel. You can eat it just like this [the Krakatoa way] and it is delicious. But if you're like me, you take the dishes you love and always try to find ways to make them even better!!

Let's slice up your avocado and place the slices on top of the bagel. Look how perfectly delicious that avocado looks!! Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper. Set aside while you fry your bacon. I like my bacon crispy and I really thought it added a great texture to the dish. That's IT!!! You're done!! This is so good I could eat it for breakfast OR lunch! 

Also, I tried topping it with an over medium egg and eating it as a breakfast sandwich. It was SO delicious [but very rich]. If you try this, only use bacon and avocado on one half.

Thanks for letting me share, and I hope you enjoy!! If you're in San Diego, don't forget to stop by Krakatoa and check out their amazing breakfast and lunch menu!  http://www.krakatoacafe.com/

Okay, this thing is TOTALLY up my alley! THANK YOU, ERIN for sharing this fabulous, go-to recipe with us! I know everyone is gonna try this at their next random girlfriend get together or as a quick, fun lunch to take out the door on the way to the baseball game.

And also friends, how great are her photos on here! Puts mine to shame!! Erin, you are the best! Cannot wait to chat soon. (and by soon I mean today!) Recitherapy readers... enjoy.

Don't forget to check out Lovisa Photo.

xox