It has been quite the dig to try and find these recipes and before I show you Nancy's directions here is the recipe that I found to be the most valid. The person who posted this recipe stated that he knew someone who worked at the Estrada's in Fresno and he hounded her and finally plied her with some beers and this was the information he received:
Recipe:
The woman gave him a one pound jar of fresh mortared garlic and salt - 75% crushed garlic and 25% salt by weight. 1 tsp of the garlic/salt was added to 2 cups red wine vinegar for the dressing.
The tostada consisted of a crispy fried corn tortilla, refried beans spread over the top to cover the tortilla and then top with choriso or longanisa that has been cooked and drained. Sprinkle the top with grated cheddar cheese. Place on a preheated plate and place under the salamander until piping hot, then dunk a big tong full of shredded iceberg lettuce into the cold garlic vinegar mixture and drop on the top of the tostada. The vinegar that drips off the salad hitting the super heated plate creates the wonderful sizzle. The final thing is a little salsa on the top - the salsa consisted of canned chopped tomatoes, sugar, diced green chilies and a little soy bean oil and salt.
Cooks Notes:
Nancy used lovely Fiesta plates - they are safe to 500° but with only the broiler in her oven she was unable to recreate the famous sizzle - I really think the only way to do this is with a salamander or perhaps a special pizza oven. Nancy's other note was that the dressing was not right and she thought next time she might want to try half apple cider vinegar. I have done quite a bit of research on this dish and have found all kinds of dressings and most of them do add some oil. If after further tweaking, Nancy gets the dressing on point, I will post her new recipe.
Robert Irvine of Restaurant Impossible visited the Estrada's in Daly City, CA. I guess they were going down the tubes and the couple running the restaurant had only owned it a few years. Robert completely revamped the menu and one look at the menu shows that they kept what they list as "Sizzling Tostada." I could not find the show to stream but I did find a clip and some information that the restaurant had turned things around and was now profitable and paying off their debt. Good job Robert! The menu now does not look a thing like the Estrada's menu of old.
Resource
Fiestaware, Kohl's, Macy's, Fiesta 4-Piece Place Setting, Poppy
Choriso or longanisa, grocery and specialty stores
BUENO, BUENO, BUENO,
ReplyDeleteYes, Yes, Yes! Thank you for stopping by. Jj
ReplyDeleteSo many happy family memories driving up to Daly city to eat at Estradas...we always ordered the tostada compuesta and my mom also ordered the chili...the sound of broken plates was often heard from cooking the compuestas!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much...what a wonderful restaurant...I'm interested if you know how they made the baked macaroni of old..when in Fresno, Estradas was located off Blackstone Avenue and of course in Colma..what a joy to have experienced!!
ReplyDeleteWe used to eat quite often at the one in Visalia growing up there. My father was actually friends with the cook or owner... The one thing he learned about these tostadas that his friend had claimed was a key ingredient was they made the refried beans from King City Pink beans. We have been buying and eating King City pink beans ever since and they do make a very fine refried bean.
ReplyDeleteEstrada's was were I learned to like guacamole as a child mostly because they served it in a bowl that was made out of a deep fried crunchy tortilla. My sister and I always fought over the bowl at the end and usually had to end up splitting it between us.
My mother often went with her girlfriends for lunch there and always brought home half of her cheeseburger and fries. The cheeseburger was served on grilled sourdough and was delectable.
Eric F
I too would be very interested in the baked macaroni recipe! I have googled many Spanish recipes looking for it. I can still bring up the taste in my memory!
ReplyDeleteI worked there in early 80s for 4 years
ReplyDeleteFood was out of this world
Cruz son ralph grandson matt
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ReplyDeleteI have everything down. I use jack cheese instead of chedder. I have tried making the salsa using those ingredients but thats one thing I can't get it to taste right
ReplyDeleteThe tostada compuesta did not have cheddar cheese
ReplyDeleteAnyone have the macaroni recipe?
What happened to Don and LouAnn?
ReplyDeleteI worked at the Fresno location, I have been looking for this recipe for years. Would you happen to have the recipe for the macaroni and cheese?
ReplyDeleteMy dad was one of the cooks there! Delicious food!!
ReplyDeleteCan you get the compuesta dressing recipe? Please!
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