Huevos Rancheros

Of Mexican descent and once distinctly southwestern, huevos rancheros (meaning ranch-style eggs) have gone the way of fajitas and are known all over the U.S. in countless variations. The dictionary definition is a couple of chili-smothered fried eggs atop corn tortillas, sided by refried beans and rice or potatoes. Salsa frequently takes the place of chili and flour tortillas are substituted for corn. The eggs might be scrambled, with or without cheese. Modifications include huevos Mexicana, for which eggs are scrambled with jalapeno peppers; migas, which includes strips of corn tortilla along with the scrambled eggs; and chilaquiles, which is like migas but more about the sauce or chili than about eggs, which may be excluded altogether. At a McCall, Idaho, coffee house called The Fogglifter, East Indian huevos rancheros adds curried lentils and pineapple-apple chutney.