Frito Pie...

[Debbie]

Top with a bit of mashed up avocado mixed with a bit of salsa, then top that with a bit of sour cream.. then top with sliced olives and sliced green onions or chives

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by philso

first thing i'd do is 86 the fritos and fry up some fresh tortilla wedges.

The only problem with that idea, philso, is that you would no longer be making a Frito pie - you would be making nachos! If you fried your tortilla whole and put your toppings on it, you would have a tostada.

To make a Frito pie - you must use Fritos! Here is a website that actually shows a picture of what I was talking about (splitting the bag down the side and serving it that way, etc.).

[philso]

Originally Posted by Michael in FtW

The only problem with that idea, philso, is that you would no longer be making a Frito pie - you would be making nachos! If you fried your tortilla whole and put your toppings on it, you would have a tostada.

To make a Frito pie - you must use Fritos! Here is a website that actually shows a picture of what I was talking about (splitting the bag down the side and serving it that way, etc.).

well, i'd have to admit that you've got me on that one, but from my point of view, it's largely a matter of semantics. i can say this because i didn't grow up eating frito pie. to me, fritos are just lousy imitation tortilla chips, no offense intended. i'll eat fritos if they are placed in front of me, but i think the real deal is better,like using real potatoes instead of instant for shepards pie.

actually, after posting that last, i thought that it might be interesting to slice up fresh tortillas into really thin strips and fry them up like chow mein noodles and then add the toppings. i think it might actually make a nice dinner. or at least different. top with chili, avocado chunks or guacamole, iceburg lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheese, olives,jalapenos, sour cream, g.o.'s, cilantro, salsa, etc. texmex chow mein! (excuse this coming from a rhode island boy)

[Michael in FtW]

Actually, philso - it's not just "semantics" - it's primarily a basic difference in indredients. Fritos are made from cornmeal and corn oil (to make the dough), rolled out and cut to size, and then fried in corn oil ... tortillas are made from corn flour (masa harina) which is not exactly the same thing (ground hominy - actually nixtamal - corn soaked in lye, ground once to remove the hulls, dried, and ground again into flour) then mixed with fat (generally lard) and baked on a griddle. To make tortilla chips they are then deep-fried in oil.

The idea of frying strips of tortillas (about 3/8 inch wide by 2 inches long) to use as a substitution for Fritos would probably make a good "Frito Lite" substitute. I've also heard of using won ton wrappers to make ravioli ... but I wouldn't call them real Italian ravioli, either.

[philso]

okey dokey. maybe frito-like pie, but definitely not frito pie (though i still think the frito-like version would be tastier!). actually, let's just go ahead and just call it nachos.

by the way, corn tortillas made from masa harina could be considered "city" food. something like white bread used to be eons ago. get out of town and people are still grinding whole corn kernals, not hominy, and patting them out by hand, not pressed. quite thick, quite tastey, & quite a different product. which version is a corn tortilla and which "tortilla-like"? semantics and also a moot point.