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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Drill Press Tortillas ( I need a life) lol

I need to explain this one. :)

I have the strangest dreams..... Sometimes I lay awake at night thinking of things to do, projects to make.. like my smokehouse, outdoor bar, cookers, etc..
Sometimes my night dreams are stranger than my day dreams. :)
One night last summer I dreamed I was making tortillas with my drill press. Just whipping them out one after another... pulling the handle down and pressing them into nice, flat, round circles.
When I woke up I couldn't leave it alone, couldn't forget about it.....

So.... I had to give it a try. :)

I cut two plates out of plastic cutting boards...


Since the drill press would be rotating, I wanted the bottom plate to rotate with the top. I thought it would keep the dough from tearing while being pressed.
I used some hardware for a folding door. Attached the ring to the plate and inserted the spring loaded pivot piece.


This fits in the hole on the bottom table of my drill press....




The top plate was different. I needed to make a "shank" long enough so the top plate wouldn't touch the rotating drill press handle.

Using what I had on hand, I combined a bolt and quick change drill adaptor... heck it worked. lol



Made my dough....




covered the drill press in plastic....



placed a sheet of waxed paper on the bottom plate, added my ball of dough, then another sheet of waxed paper on top....





It worked..............just like my dream. :)




I countersunk the bolt on the top plate, but it still left a divot in the tortilla. I didn't mind. lol








Now the decision to be made was.... should we eat them or not?

My friends and I decided that we have eaten some "iffy" meals while fishing and camping, these drill press tortillas looked pretty tame.


I heated up the wok, some oil, onions and garlic....




added smoked brisket that was marinaded in Andria's steak sauce......




threw in the drill press tortillas....




it was a cold and foggy day....


















I have to say, those were the best Drill Press Tortillas I've ever eaten in my life. :)



50 comments:

Rocco said...

i love those thick tortillas too, those are the only kind i buy here in chicago, great job jeanie!

Fr. Spike said...

I love it. I'll bet those would go great with some planer fajitas.

Rich Parker said...

That is awesome!

The brisket mixture looks really good.

Dan said...

I take it the ad below the finished product {food with a twist}was unintentional .
get it food with a twist drill press twist LOL
The boys from Hayden

cowgirl said...

Thanks Rocco!
They were tasty, I like thick ones too. It's almost like a cross between indian fry bread and a tortilla.
Hope all is well in Chicago land. :)

cowgirl said...

lol Fr. Spike! I like the way you think!
Thank you. :)

cowgirl said...

Hey Rich, Thanks!
The smoked brisket was tasty.. I used some steak marinade I got from Ashmont.
Thanks!

cowgirl said...

lol Dan, When I checked the ad awhile ago it had something about power tools. lol

Tim said...

Anytime the kitchen and the shop can intersect is a good time. Plus if you get any metal shavings in the food it counts as an iron supplement.

cowgirl said...

lol Tim, I like the way you think too. :) Nothing quite like power tools and food.
Thanks!!

Chez said...

gawd ferbid you should ever dream about chainsaw chili....

Mrs. JP said...

the divot mark could be your signature! I'm still trying to picture you making this wonderful toy. I'm sure I'll remember this post next time I'm slaving over tortilla dough :O)

cowgirl said...

Haha.. Chez... now you're giving me ideas. :) Thanks!

cowgirl said...

Mrs JP, it was fun to make.. one friend who was watching said..."who would think of making tortillas with a drill press".

I said "me" :)

They all agreed it sounded like something I'd do. lol

Hope you give it a try sometime. :)

creaky old fart said...

Jeannie--I must have missed something in your writeup. why would the drill press be rotating? If both plates are rotating together, wouldn't you get the same results by not turning the press on? Just use the leverage to flatten your dough?

I suppose you could also use a bearing press to make thinner tortillas...

Anonymous said...

I just cain't beleive it. You are either real bored or boarder line genius. Not much you cain't do huh.... Buddy

Becky said...

Just awesome!!

JunkerJunk said...

J, Im laughing out loud! But it's ingenous, and you continually show me how much of a genius and how creative you are!
Marty

cowgirl said...

Creaky, that would have been to simple. lol I had to do it exactly like in my dream. lol

They were tasty little buggers. :)

cowgirl said...

Buddy... it's just winter fun on the farm. lol I'm bored. :)

cowgirl said...

Hi Becky! Thanks, it was a lot of fun. :)

cowgirl said...

lol Thanks Marty, I think I just need to get a life. lol :)

Ashmont said...

Cowgirl you crack me up!That looks great... Yes you definitely have cabin fever.... Having been in a restaurant kitchen for many years like Chez I can tell you that there are a lot of unconventional tools that are used depending on the kitchen. Chainsaw ice carvings have been around for ever. Most tools are used when making food displays but I have seen cordless drills and a wire brush attached used in cleaning full sheet pans before being washed commercially. Band saws for cutting pork steaks and steaks..... Just use equipment with new blades and keep them clean.. I have for the most part retired for the restaurant stuff and just play now... 24 days until spring!!!!!

cowgirl said...

lol Ash, Thanks!
I loved the steak sauce.. :)

I have quite a few power tools but probably will stick to using them for my woodworking and farm projects. lol
Thanks for the ideas though!

24 days... hmmmm... maybe I can make it!


Thank you Ashmont. :)

SouthernStyle said...

Cowgirl

I am new to the blogging world and have spent some very interesting time following your blogs. I really have enjoyed your blogs they are to the point and full of good information. Keep up the good work!

SouthernStyle

Unknown said...

Why is there a South Beach Diet Ad right below that last picture of the stuffed Drill Press Tortilla??? "I lost 20 lbs on the South Beach Diet" Uh huh, maybe, but you weren't eating the pron shown above!

LOL!

tjus77 said...

More power.... grunt grunt grunt. We might have to change ur name to Jeanie the Tool Cowgirl Cook. Love ya... awesome food as usual.

Chris said...

Damn, Jeanie you are a productive thing aren't you? Fun idea. Any ideas for what I could make food related with my radial arm saw? ;)

cowgirl said...

Thank you so much SouthernStyle, I appreciate you reading my blog and for taking the time to stop by. :)

cowgirl said...

LOL Ted... that's a good one! I get a kick out of some of the ads that show up... :)
Thanks!

cowgirl said...

TJ... lol Thanks! Love ya too. :)

cowgirl said...

Chris, if I dream anything up I will be sure to let you know. :)
Thanks. lol

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

OMG... what dreams don't you act on???

Looks fabulous... sorry I haven't been around for awhile, I moved to the US Virgin Islands (I still giggle when I say that) for six months, and it is taking awhile to get settled. But i do think I am caught up, and will be back reading each of your new posts as usual...

Come take a look at my new blogs of Island life!

cowgirl said...

OMG you moved to the Virgin Islands... lucky! lol :)
That sounds so wonderful!

Watch out.. one of my dreams involves me basking on a beach with a bottle of rum. lol

I'm definately going to be checking out your pics. Take lots of them for me please! :)

Thanks and congratulations! :)

Anonymous said...

hey there! glad yer havin fun. i love crazy ideas that end up working good...yer so cool jeannie!

Mike (NYC)

cowgirl said...

Hi Mike, Thanks!

Hope all is going well with you.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Wow you are creative! incredible how you can act on your dreams and turn out a fantastic meal to boot!

Stopped by on Big Dude and Chris' recommendation and am so glad I did!

cowgirl said...

Thank you Katherine! It's nice to meet you. :)
Aren't Big Dude and Chris sweet and talented... I enjoy their blogs too.

Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it Katherine. :)

Frugal Canadian Hermit said...

lol. They turned out pretty good. Keep on dreaming Jeanie.

cowgirl said...

Hey Mark! Good to see ya. :)
lol the tortillas were pretty tasty. I sometimes wish I could turn my dreaming off. lol
Thanks Mark. :)

Anonymous said...

@cowgirl- what's the size of that wok? I take it's made of aluminum, right? Thanks. Love your posts!!!

cowgirl said...

Thank you Anonymous!
The wok is 18 inches in diameter. Yes it's aluminum..
I have a large discada but right now it needs patched...sprung leak in the bottom. lol

Thank you for checking out my blog and for stopping by!

jeanie

Anonymous said...

..thanks for the response. Are these aluminum woks any better than the iron-cast griddles for making tortillas. I wanna try home-made flour tortillas (1st timer) and was wondering if there would be any difference in taste using one utensil over the other. thanks once again.

cowgirl said...

You're welcome Anonymous! :)
I usually use cast iron for tortillas.. I have a griddle and several skillets that work great. I just used the wok because it was already hot.
If I could only have one pan for tortillas, I'd go with cast iron.

If you need a flour tortilla recipe, here is an easy one that I use........
I mix 2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix well then add

1 Tablespoon of lard (or shortening)

Mix well then add

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of warm water

Mix and form into ball, let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes

roll or press out and heat in a pan for a few minutes on each side.

There are pictures posted of how I make them under "Georgia Brunswick Stew" in the recipe section here.

Hope that helps Anonymous.. Good luck with your tortillas! :)
jeanie

Anonymous said...

..many thanks for the recipe @ cowgirl. Last question- if you wanted to prepare fresh home-made tortillas for an outdoor party of about 50 people would you still use your cast iron griddle/skillet, your wok, or the discada (considering the fact that you can use a discada to make tortillas of course)? Cheers.

cowgirl said...

You're welcome Anonymous..
I would use the cast iron griddle just because I could make more tortillas at a time. :)
After frying the tortillas, they need to either be stored in plastic baggies or wrapped to keep them moist and pliable.

To reheat them, you can wrap a stack of them in foil and heat in an oven on low.

Good luck with your party, hope it turns out well for you!

Smokin Don said...

A little late but I am new here, still had to comment. The dangdest thing I ever seen!! You had a strange dream but you made it come true! While in Houston I actually seen an automatic tortilla maker. A gas fired oven, framed in glass, they put the dough in the top. t pressed them & dropped on rotating paddles that went to the bottom baking as it went & dropped into a basket. Now I can just see Jeanie coming up with one! :) Smokin Don

cowgirl said...

Haha Smokin Don Thanks!! You're giving me more ideas. :)
Good to see ya, thanks for stopping by!

Unknown said...

I need a drill press in my kitchen for nothing but food prep. Using a De Walt hand drill is a little hard to get the holes straight in pineapples. Convincing my wife that I'm not ready for an asylum may put the brakes on it.

cowgirl said...

lol Arlen I like your hand drill idea. :)
Thanks for stopping by!