Further evidence of a slight obsession.

Have I said I'm obsessed with Tortas? Well, I totally am. So when a fellow torta loving pal of mine threw a party this weekend, I sure as hell knew what party food I was bringing (it was a pool party, too, so the gross factor of torta-covered hands and communal swimming was pretty hilarious).

Torta Sliders

How would the messiest sammich on the planet hold up to sliderization? With a few alterations, not too badly at all. Miniature white onions and roma tomatoes are helfpul, as is making your own mini-bollilos. Creating the thinnest frittata ever helps, too (unless you have access to dwarf-quail eggs, in which case I say, salud!). I found it amusing that the circumference of a standard shot glass proved the best size for the egg and cheese cake.

So, let's go through a little step-by-step, and you too can be the Queen (or King) of Mexican Sammich Party Food!

Mini Bollilos

1 package active dry yeast (approximately a tablespoon and a half)
1  1/3 cups warm water (wrist warm - about 100f)
1 tablespoon honey (if you're going vegan, unrefined sugar is fine)
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening, chilled
11/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

 For glaze:

1/4 cup cold water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

A few months back, my ma thrifted me a small stand mixer, so that's what I'll describe using here. Good ol' fashioned elbow grease works just as well.

Sprinkle your yeast over the warm water in the larger mixing bowl and let sit 5 minutes. Stir your honey, lard, and salt into the mix, and stir. Still using your mixing hooks, add 1 cup of bread flour, then 1 cup of all purpose, slowly pouring the flour into the center of the bowl as you're mixing. Let it incorporate, then add another half cup of each. If the dough holds together at this point, do not add more flour. I had to add the last half cup, however.

Switch to dough hooks and let your dough knead for 10 minutes. It'll look a little shiney and have a bouncy, elastic feel to it when handled. Oil another large bowl, remove the dough from the machine to the bowl, cover, and let sit in a warm area for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Grease two baking sheets.

Punch the dough down and divide into three large pieces. Using a dough cutter or large knife, cut each piece into thirds, then thirds again. (Complicated? You're hoping to end up with about 30 pieces of dough, each about 1 inch x 1 inch). Put them on your greased oil sheets, cover with a towel, and let rise another 30-40 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 375f.

Mix your water and cornstarch in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the glaze is clear. Using a basting brush, brush each bun with a little cornstarch (how cool is this vegan pastry glaze!) Then, using a paring or other small knife, score each bun once along the top, making a slash about half an inch long.

Bake them until golden, about 25 minutes. They'll have an interesting hollow sound when tapped ;)

The star of this sammich is the egg and cheese cake, plus TJ's amazing soy chorizo (if you don't have access to a TJ's, any soy-based mock beef will do, but make sure to spice it up with some chili powder and garlic). Basically, you'll make a thin frittata, about the thickness of a single fried egg:

Then, use your standard shot glass to cut circles out of the cake.

For assembly, follow the directions here, using the following substitutions:

Small white onions, 2 inches in diameter max, sliced as thinly as you can
Small roma tomatoes, sliced crosswise, super thin
Whole jalapenos, sliced thin, diagonally
Lettuce leaves, torn into 1.5inch pieces

Use bamboo kebab sticks, if toothpicks won't make it all the way through (they didn't, in mine). And there you have it! 30 awesome, tiny sammiches.