Chili's Fajitas For Two
From: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur
(Plume; June 1997; ISBN: 0452275873; PB)
Cookbook Heaven @ Recipelink.com

Menu Description: "A pound of steak, chicken or combination on a sizzling skillet. Peppers available with Fajitas request".

Chili's is perhaps the restaurant most responsible for introducing the famous finger food known as fajitas to the mass market. Company CEO Norman Brinker discovered the dish at a small restaurant on a visit to San Antonio, Texas. When Chili's put the item on its menu in the early eighties, sales immediately jumped a whopping 25 percent. One company spokesperson told Spirit magazine, "I remember walking into one of the restaurants after we added them to the menu and all I could see were wisps of steam coming up from the tables. That revolutionized Chili's."

Today Chili's serves more than 2 million pounds of fajitas a year. If all of the flour tortillas served with those fajitas were laid end-to-end, they'd stretch from New York to New Zealand, on the other side of the earth!

Today just about every American knows what fajitas are-the Southwestern-style grilled chicken, beef, or seafood, served sizzling on a cast iron skillet. And everyone has their own method of arranging the meat and onions and peppers in a soft tortilla with globs of pico de gallo, cheese, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, and salsa. The tough part is trying to roll the thing up and take a bite ever so gracefully without squeezing half of the filling out the backside of the tortilla onto the plate, splattering your clean clothes, while goo goes dripping down your chin. This recipe is guaranteed to be as delicious and messy as the original.

Server two as an entree

• Marinade
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed
• 3 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Dash onion powder

• ---

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or 1 pound top sirloin or a combination of 1 chicken breast half and 1/2 pound sirloin
• 1 Spanish onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
• Dash ground black pepper
• Dash salt
• On the Side
• 1/2 cup pico de gallo
• 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup guacamole
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 6 to 8 6-inch flour tortillas Salsa

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a small bowl. Soak your choice of meat in the marinade for at least 2 hours. If you are just using the sirloin, let it marinate overnight, if possible.
2. When the meat has marinated, preheat your barbecue or stove top grill to high.
3. Preheat a skillet over medium high heat. Saute the onion slices in the oil for 5 minutes. Combine the soy sauce, water, and lime juice in a small bowl and pour it over the onions. Add the black pepper and continue to saute until the onions are translucent and dark on the edges (4 to 5 more minutes). Salt to taste.
4. While the onions are sauteing, grill the meat for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until done.
5. While the meat and onions are cooking, heat up another skillet (cast iron if you have one) over high heat. This will be your sizzling serving pan.
6. When the meat is done remove it from the grill and slice it into thin strips.
7. Remove the extra pan from the heat and dump the onions and any liquid into it If you've made it hot enough the onions should sizzle. Add the meat to the pan and serve immediately with pico de gallo, Cheddar cheese, guacamole, and sour cream arranged on a separate plate on a bed of shredded lettuce. Steam the tortillas in a moist towel in the microwave for 30 seconds and serve on the side. Serve salsa also, if desired.
8. Assemble fajitas by putting the meat into a tortilla along with your choice of condiments. Roll up the tortilla and scarf out.

Tidbits
At Chili's, bell peppers are optional with this dish. If you like peppers, combine a small slice of green or red bell pepper with the onion, and saute the vegetables together. Follow the rest of the steps as described.