That's a Wrap

By Carl Weiss

Image courtesy of Man Cave Munchies

Lately I have begun experimenting with wraps. I'm talking about those deliciously simple creations made by filling a soft tortilla with various ingredients, then wrapping them burrito style.  While the basis for the wrap is most decidedly south of the border, what you will quickly discover is that a wrap knows no geographic boundaries. Even better is the fact that you can create wraps using all kinds of ingredients.

The Wrappetizer

Recently, I had a friend drop by unexpectedly.  As most of my friends do, he expected to be offered something to eat.  The problem was he arrived on Friday, which is the day before I go grocery shopping.  As a result, the only things I had in the fridge were a bowl of salsa, a jar of green olives with pimentos and some leftover coleslaw.   Fortunately for my friend, I also had 2 soft tortillas in the refrigerator.  So, I pulled all these out of the fridge and built a pair of fusion nacho wraps that were a big hit. Thus, the wrappetizer was born.

Now it has become quite common for me to craft wrappetizers from whatever lingers in the fridge. Sometimes I will even cut them in rounds to serve to a crowd.  Stuck with leftover Kung Pao chicken?  No problem.  Start with a bed of chopped lettuce or Bok choy for crunch, spoon on some leftover Chinese food and pop the wrap in the microwave for 30-seconds or so.  Slice and serve. Want a sausage sandwich but run out of buns?  Slice the sausage in half lengthwise, then grill with onions and green peppers.  Tuck this into a wrap and top with mustard or remoulade, which is just tartar sauce infused with mustard.

Remoulade Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbls Dijon mustard
2 tbls pickle relish
1 tsp horseradish
1/2 tsp creole seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Stir and refrigerate.

Remoulade goes great on hot dogs, burgers, fish and crab cakes.


Aside from salsa, another natural starter for wrappetizers is hummus and/or guacamole, both of which can be whipped up in a blender.  (see the guacamole video below)  Either one can be the base for a Southwest wrap featuring black beans, fresh or frozen corn, diced tomatoes and whatever else is handy.  I have even made killer wrappetizers by layering leftover chili and Spanish rice in a wrap.

Wrap it Up

The substitution of soft tortillas for bread or buns can turn ordinary sandwiches into something extraordinary.  Want to wake up your family's breakfast?  Make BLT wraps, or scramble peppers and eggs then top with salsa straight from the fridge.  Have some sliced ham and cheese?  Instead of building a boring ham sandwich, lay some shredded cheese and sliced green olives on a soft tortilla and nuke it for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.  Then top with shredded ham, chopped lettuce or spinach and top with hot peppers and/ or remoulade.  You just turned a boring sandwich into a party on a plate.

I Need a Gyro

Stuck with leftover roast beef or steak?  Shred the beef and saute it with red or green peppers, a clove of garlic and onions, then top with diced tomatoes, sliced cucumber, shredded lettuce and feta cheese. You'll think you've died and gone to Athens.  If you do the same dish with pork, add a dash of ground cumin.

Getting Your Just Desserts

If you crave something sweet, you can create dessert wraps in a flash.  Peanut butter and jelly spread thin and rolled up is one of the simplest dessert wraps possible.  Want to take it to the next level? Start out with the peanut butter and substitute fresh blueberries, or sliced strawberries, then add a few chocolate morsels.  This recipe also works with a banana in place of the berries.  Into cheesecake? Cream a stick of cream cheese with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and spread a layer on a soft tortilla, then top with strawberry jam and roll up.  Yum!

The beauty of being a wrap artist is that the only limitation is your imagination.  If you would like to share any of your favorite wrap recipe with mes, email mancavemunchies@gmail.com.  For now, that's a wrap!

If you want to view other Man Cave recipes, go to mancavemunchies.com