Tag: Savory

Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce

3 Comments

Sauces are one of those things that seemed hard or mysterious to me. After all, if they weren’t hard, why is buying them pre-made such a prevalent practice, even among those who consider themselves good cooks? Why do we surrender the biggest flavor payload in our dish tos omething that makes a gloopy sound as it oozes out of plastic or glass jars? A few weeks ago when I hosted my late summer BBQ, I decided to make my own sauce and it was really pretty easy.

Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 cup organic or reduced-sguar ketchup
  • 1/4 cup white or apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 molasses
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation

  • Finely chop your onion and garlic.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat your EVOO. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes until soft.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and stir.
  • Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes. Keep scrapping and folding the sauce off the sides of the pot and stirring. If the sauce seems a little thin you can simmer for another 2 minutes, but keep stirring and folding so it doesn’t get gooey.
  • Taste the sauce and add a little more salt and pepper, as needed.

The end result should be a crowd pleasing, sticky sauce with a nice balance between sweet, savory, and heat. I personally prefer ridiculously spicy sauces like Famous Dave’s Devil Spit or the Memphis/Kansas City varietals, which are hotter and more vinegary, but this sauce was lovely and hit the right notes for a crowd where you can’t go to far in one direction or another. You know a sauce is great when people lick their fingers instead of using a napkin and I saw a lot of that going on.

Enjoy the bragging rights for making your own sauce, and Nom On,

~Crunchy

Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini

Leave a comment

Mmm….it’s Saturday again and we’re hungry. You know what that means…. Saturday afternoon lunch, ba-by! And on the board this time is a crispy, gooey, cordon bleu panini. Let’s do this.

Chicken Cordon Blue Panini

Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini

Special Equipment

  • Option One: Cast Iron Gridle + Cast Iron Skillet or Foil Wrapped Brick
  • Option Two: Panini Press

Ingredients (per sandwich)

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2  thin-cut chicken breast (at the deli, asked for a thin cut or find pre-packaged that is labeled thin cut)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 thick slices french bread per serving (from the bakery)
  • Butter or yogurt butter spread
  • 1 slice alpine lace swiss cheese (from the deli counter)
  • 1 slice black forest ham (from the deli counter)
  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp Mayo

Preparation

  • Slice your thin cut chicken breast into strips and then cut in half. Season with salt and pepper.
  • In a small pan, heat your olive oil over a medium flame and toss the chicken strips in there. Stir a few times to get a little sear and then cover the pan with a lid. Heat through about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the flame and transfer to a bowl. Set aside.
  • Butter bread slices and place one slice in a pan or on a cast-iron griddle, buttered-side down. Layer with swiss cheese, then ham, then chicken. Top with bread slice.
  • Heat the first side until you get nice grill marks, light brown or black, depending on how much crisp you want on your crust.
  • Flip over and heat the second slice until grilled and cheese is starting to melt.
  • Transfer to a plate or cutting board and remove the bread slice that doesn’t have cheese melted to it. Add either a tbsp of mayo, dijon mustard, or a tsp of each. Add back to your sandwich.

This is a dense and flavorful sandwich so you can just eat the hell out that on its own. Pair with pickles, salt and pepper dusted tomatoes, or even a little salad if eating a sandwich with no side freaks you out.

Nom On,

~Crunchy

Chili-Cheese Sauce

Leave a comment

Generally speaking, I don’t have food addictions. I get on kicks where I will eat a lot of something for a few weeks and move on to my next fixation. Chili-cheese dip seems to be my one constant. I have been making it for so long I have it down to a fine science, and it. is. GOOD. So good I had a guest just take the whole pot off the stove at a party once and sit in a corner, hovering protectively while he shoveled chips heaped with it in his mouth. I think he was even making that weird, growling noise zombies do when they first get infected. Anyway, this dip will solve all your chili-cheese related cravings and situations. Just make sure you have Worcestershire sauce on hand to cure anyone that is starting to turn.

Chili Cheese Dog

Chili-Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 can Turkey Chili with Beans, your favorite brand.
  • 1 can Ro-Tel Chili Tomatoes – This is the point where you control the heat. There are mild, regular, and hot versions.
  • 1 cup freshly grated cheese – This is where you control the kick. Any cheese melts and you can make your dip smokey, creamy, mellow, or spicy. NO processed cheeses like velvetta and no skim-milk cheese. It has to be real cheese that you shred yourself. The better the quality, the better the dip.

Optional, cold add-ins

  • Chopped red or white onions
  • Cilantro
  • Green Onion
  • Sour Cream

Preparation:

  • In a small sauce pan, heat the chili over a medium-low flame.
  • Drain out all the liquid from the canned tomatoes, then stir into the chili.
  • Once the chili mixture starts simmering, give it about a minute and keep stirring. Turn off the heat completely.
  • Fold in your freshly grated cheese and stir until the cheese is totally melted and blended into the chili.
  • Fold in your cold toppings last, if you are using any.
    • Note: If this mixture is intended to smother, a hot dog or fries for example, add you cold toppings AFTER you smother.

Wait, that’s it? 

Yep! The trick is less about the ingredients than the process. You see, melted cheese is completely easy to screw up. It doesn’t microwave and you can’t ever let it come into contact with direct heat. If you have tried to make cheese dips or melted cheese in the past and the end result was an oily, scorched mess, that’s why. Folding the cheese into your already hot chili that is beginning to cool achieves the perfection you’d otherwise need a double broiler for.

I have my sauce, now what?

Well, it’s not rocket science, but there are a few things to keep in mind. First, you already have your cheese folded in so if you want to make chili dogs or hamburgers, DON’T add slices of cheese and then smoother. Secondly, as I mentioned before, save your cold toppings for last. Even if you want to serve this as a batch of smothered nachos, sprinkle your onions and sliced green onion around after you smother the tortilla chips. Only fold in the cold toppings if you intend to serve as a dip or eat straight out of a bowl as a chili.

I don’t like canned chili. Can I use my own?

Yeah, absolutely. But, don’t use a low-sodium, low-fat recipe. There is a time to cut calories and sodium, and chili-cheese day ain’t it. Simply put, the FAT and SALT are what make this dip addictive. If you don’t make your chili with enough of these things, the cheese is going to bland it out like there is no tomorrow and the chili-tomato mixture won’t save you. If you have a really solid chili and have crowd-tested it and been given the thumbs up, by all means, use it! But please add more salt than you would normally so it stands up to that full cup of cheese and extra chili and tomatoes.

Where’s the love for us vegetarians??

I do love you guys! I have a great chili for you right here! Fold in some cheese and ditch the pasta in this recipe if you are looking for a great veggie chili-cheese sauce. If you are vegan, just skip the cheese. Enjoy!

So, now you have no reason to stop at a fast food joint the next time you need to get your chili-cheese fix.

Nom on,

~Crunchy

Turkey Spinach Meatballs

Leave a comment

Meatballs are one of those versatile dishes that might seem mystifying or hard to make, but they don’t have to be. I will likely post more meatball recipes when we get back to the cooler, fall weather, but a turkey-spinach meatball has the right flavors for summer.

Spinach Turkey

Turkey Spinach Meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1 10-ounce package of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 cup herbed or plain breadcrumbs
  • 2 tablespoons grated onion
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 pound ground turkey

Preparation

  • Mix the spinach, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, and garlic salt together in a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add the ground turkey into the mixture and mix with your hands.
  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and place a rack inside a shallow baking pan.
  • Shape your mixture into 2-inch balls and place on rack. You should end up with about 14-16 meatballs.
  • Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. The center should no longer be pink and you want the internal temp to be about 160 degrees.
  • Drain on paper towels.

Ok, I have meatballs. Now what do I do with them?

Well, to be fair, you can eat them on their own, with a nice cherry-tomato salad or fat slices of seasoned beef steak tomatoes. It’s low carb, super healthy, and perfect if its summertime and you want hearty without the heavy. But here are some other options. My personal creation, Farmer’s Market Soup, is at the very end and also a fabulous option if you want healthy and hearty. Highly recommended as an alternative to chicken noodle soup if you have a household suffering from flu and cold season and your need to nourish them back to life!

Capellini and Meatballs

  • Simmer them in 2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Reduce the heat to low.
    (Tip: The sauce can wait, but the pasta can’t. Always make your sauce first and reduce heat all the way down to low.)
  • Bring water to bowl and add a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil to the water, plus a little salt. Cook the pasta for 4-5 minutes and drain. Only do a very light rinse or you will lose all the oil.
  • Divide pasta and simmering meatballs into four bowls and serve with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper.

Meatball Subs

  • Simmer them in 2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Reduce the heat to low.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Cut open 4 sandwich rolls; crusty, french rolls from the bakery if you’ve got ’em.
  • Ladle meatballs and sauce into rolls. About 4 meatballs each.
  • Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers, then top with a slice provolone cheese.
  • Bake for 2-3 minutes at 400 degrees to melt the cheese and lightly toast the bread.

Swedish Meatballs

  • Prepare one package of egg noodles according to directions on package.
  • Combine 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg in medium sauce pan and stir.
  • Fold in meatballs and simmer for about 5 minutes, until sauce and meatballs are all heated through.
  • Pour over egg noodles, garnish with a little fresh parsley for color and serve with salt and pepper to taste. Red pepper flakes can also be offered if your brood likes their meals with a little kick.

Farmer’s Market Meatball Soup

  • In a large pot of dutch oven, add meatballs.Step One Meatballs
  • In a cast iron or stainless steel skillet, add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a BUNCH of fresh, chopped squash. There are so many types of squash in season during the summer and many farms just sell medley bags in their stalls with green, yellow, etc. Include one or two peeled and chopped carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until a little tender. Don’t cook them all the way down as they need to survive the soup boiling process. Toss them in the pot with the meatballs.Step 2 Saute Squash
  • Next, in the same skillet, add more olive oil and pop in a head of roughly chopped spinach. If you can find a market stall that sells mixed bags of kale, spinach, and arugula (or other combo of dark, leafy greens) that is even better. Also add in a 1/2 basket of sliced white mushrooms. Sauté these gently, just until the leafy veggies wilt. Add them to the pot.Step 3 Saute Spinach
  • Take a moment to savor all that lovely color. Mmmm….Colorful Veggies
  • Next, add water to the pot, enough to just cover the top of all the veggies. I am guessing this is close to 8 cups. Bring to a boil.Step 4 Add Water
  • When the water is boiling, I add two large cubes of either chicken or vegetable bouillon to the water. This saves you the trouble of using broth (which spoils and is expensive) and adding a lot of salt.
  • Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Now, here you have a choice. If you just want a light soup, you can simmer for another 10 minutes and be done with it. If you want a little more bulk to the soup you can return to a boil and either add 4 tablespoons of rice, lentils, couscous, or quinoa to your broth.
  • Simmer with the lid on for 10-15 minutes.
  • At this point I do a few rounds of taste testing. I try a spoonful and if its a little bland I add salt and black pepper, about 1/4 teaspoon at a time. I just keep stirring, tasting, and seasoning until I hit the ‘oooohhhh yeaaaah’ flavor. This is totally your call.

I serve this soup piping hot in a huge bowl with a hunk of lightly toasted french bread. I also put out crushed red peppers, Sriracha, salsa roja, pepper sauces like Franks or Tabasco, salt, pepper, sour cream, and grated parmesan cheese. It’s a fun soup to doctor up and I like to provide all the options.

Nom On,

~Crunchy

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Leave a comment

I’m a huge fan of fried chicken, but less excited about what the saturated grease does to my stomach. Enter this easy recipe that gives you utterly yummy, juicy chicken legs with 1/3 of the fat and none of the nasty. It does take about a day of advanced planning, but in general, it’s a very easy dish.

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Ingredients

  • 9 or 10 chicken drumsticks
    • Budget Note: If you buy a big batch of drumsticks on sale and freeze them, you can defrost half the batch at the same time you marinate them.
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • Pepper hot sauce – Tabasco, Franks, or Louisiana hot sauce all work
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup plain or Italian breadcrumbs

Preparation

  • In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, a few dashes of hot sauce, and the salt and pepper together and stir.
  • Pour the mixture into a large freezer-sized ziplock bag. Add the chicken drumsticks, frozen or fresh, into the bag with the mixture. Move the chicken and mixture around to make sure it’s all coated and place in the fridge to marinate.
    • Fresh chicken – 3 hours
    • Frozen chicken – 24 hours.
  • Once your chicken is done marinating, pour the bread crumbs into a bowl or onto a plate. Roll each drumstick around to fully coat and place on a baking sheet coated in olive oil.
  • Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Now you got yo’self a plate of chicken. Serve with whatever you normally like – baked beans, corn on the cob, potato salad, or mashed taters and gravy. No KFC shiz-nits for you!

Nom On,

~Crunchy

Salsa Verde

2 Comments

So, you like Mexican food, but maybe you are getting a little burnt out on that red tomato flavor? Enter the verde! This is a great sauce that you can use for just about any dish you would normally garnish or make with a salsa roja or ranchera sauce and get a great, new taste. It’s easy to make and way more flavorful than the crap sold in cans in the “stuff non-white people eat’ isle. Give it a try, you’ll be pleased.

Salsa Verde

Ingredients

  • 1 pound tomatillos
  • 1/2 large, white onion, chopped
  • 1-to-2 Serrano chili peppers, chopped
  • 1 garlc clove, minced
  • 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

  • In a small sauce pan, add tomatillos, onion, peppers, and cilanto.
  • Add enough water to just cover the veggies, about 2 cups.

Salsa Verde Progress

  • Add cumin, salt, and pepper.
  • Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Using either a blender or, ideally, an immersion blender that you can stick right in the pot, puree the ingredients.
  • Taste the salsa and add a little more salt, a 1/4 teaspoon at a time until you are happy.

What can I do with my salsa verde?

This sauce is great to use for enchiladas and casseroles, especially if you are looking for an alternative to ranchera sauce. You can also garnish tacos and rellenos, or make a wet burrito by covering in a generous amount of sauce, sprinkling with jack cheese, and baking at 325 degrees for about 5 minutes. You just want the cheese to melt.

If you like to grill, you can use this sauce as a marinade for chicken or garnish on shrimp. The cumin in the sauce makes it very robust so it can stand up to any cut of steak as a garnish, too.

If you are into creative pizzas, you could use this sauce instead of tomato, add slices of cooked steak, chopped white onion, and chopped tomatoes with shredded mozzarella or jack cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro when its out of the oven. Damn, I am making myself really hungry.

Feel free to check out my recipes using salsa verde if you are looking for ideas.

Nom On,

~Crunchy

The Verde Burger

1 Comment

This weekend I went on a salsa-making rampage. This led to the need to use it and thus The Verde Burger was born. I call it The Verde because it is full of tasty green things – a thick turkey patty stuffed with avocado and diced jalapeño and drenched in freshly made salsa verde, which, of course, gets its color from the tomatillos and Serrano peppers used to make it. Add slices of Monterey jack cheese and juicy beefsteak tomato, and you got yourself a party.

The Verde Burger

Ingredients

For the patties

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 1 jalapeno, diced
  • 1 large, ripe avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped
  • 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the rest

  • 4 onion hamburger buns
  • 1 large beefsteak tomato, cut into 4 thick slices
  • 1/2 cup salsa verde, prepared in advance

Optional fixings

  • 4 leafs of romaine or other leafy, dark green lettuce
  • Thin slices of red onion
  • Roasted pasilla pepper fillets

Preparation

  • Heat up your grill – cast iron griddle, George Forman electric grill, or outdoor grills all work just fine.
  • Combine all the ingredients for the patties and form into 4, thick burgers.
  • Grill the burger patties.
  • Layer the bun with a slice of tomato, the patty, and smother in salsa. You can add your optional garnishes next, if using.

How do I get the perfect burger?

  • Flip the patties only once so each side gets browned.
  • DON’T PRESS on the patties or otherwise fiddle with them beyond the one flip. You will lose all the juices.
  • Don’t overcook. 155 – 160 degrees internal temp is enough. They will finish cooking as they rest.
  • Add your cheese slices right before you remove the patties from the grill. They will melt from the internal heat and not become rubbery or overly melted this way.

I dedicate this burger to Kermit the Frog. It’s not easy being green, but at least he’s got color- coordinated eats.

Nom On,

~Crunchy

Chile Rellenos: Fried batter goodness

Leave a comment

I think it’s safe to say that we all have our favorite dishes from any cuisine. And no matter how complicated and labor intensive it is to make it on our own, we anoint the dish worth the effort to learn. On this particular weekend, I decided that dish would be the Chili Relleno. After god knows how many hours, and god knows how many glasses of wine (I refuse to believe the wine delayed the process one bit,) the end result was stinging eyes, possibly a chili seed that got in my nose from itching it, a sense of pride, and a fully-bellied nap afterwards meant for the gods. It’s called, winning!!

Chile Rellenos

Special Equipment

  • Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

  • 12 pasilla or Anaheim peppers
  • 1 pd block of jack or pepper jack cheese
    • *Note: If you have a smoked cheese, this is the time to use it. Some basic grocery stores sell habanero pepper jack and farmers markets often have cheese merchants that sell some amazing smoked cheeses.
  • Grapeseed Oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt

Preparation

  • Roast chili peppers

There are a few ways to do this. You can either brush the peppers with olive oil and roast them under the broiler, you can put them in a cast iron skillet or on a cast iron griddle, or you can put them right on the burner. The goal is to char the skins and get the peppers soft and flaccid. ( Heh, heh, she said ‘flaccid.’)

Roasted Peppers

When the chiles are done roasting, put them in a plastic bag to steam for a few minutes. If you don’t have time to finish the project you can actually leave the peppers in the bag until you are ready to make your rellenos.

Steamed Chiles

  • Slice a small opening into the chiles and scoop out the seeds. Using a paper towel and over the sink with the facet trickling, scrap the chard skins off the peppers.
  • Cut the 1 pound of cheese into 12 strips of equal size.
  • Stuff each pepper with a slice of cheese and close them up.
  • Mix the egg, flour, milk, baking soda and powder, salt and pepper and whisk with a fork. Sprinkle flour on your cutting board or prep surface.
  • Pour a fair amount of oil into your skillet, up to 1 inch and heat over a medium-high flame. (Personally, I don’t like cooking with that deep an oil bath because it splatters like crazy and is wasteful. I don’t cook with cheap oil, so I pour enough in to make about 1/4 inch bath and it browns the batter just fine.)
  • Now comes the tricky part. With your skillet oil slightly smoking, take a stuffed pepper and roll it in flour, than dip into the batter. Place the gooey, dripping mess into the oil and fry. Using tongs, each side only needs a minute or less, so roll as gently as you can to brown all sides of your relleno.
  • Once all the batter is fried, use tongs and transfer to a plate. Repeat that exact process with each of your peppers.
  • Once you have all your peppers fried, you may need to pop them in the microwave for just a few seconds to make sure that cheese is melted inside. This will depend on how thick the slices of cheese were that you stuffed the peppers with and how deep an oil bath you used.

How do I garnish and serve the rellenos?

Ok, this dish is popular all over central and south America and garnish styles do vary. If you are used to eating your rellenos served drenched in a mild ranchera sauce, you can certainly do that. I have had them that way, sometimes baked with a little cheese on top of the sauce. I have had rellenos served almost as a soup, the tomato sauce more a delicate broth than a sauce.  However, there are some communities that serve the dish plain and offer salsa roja or salsa verde and maybe a little sour cream to garnish as you see fit. I recommend you try it WITHOUT a sauce bath at least once because they are amaze-balls.

Try to eat your fill of rellenos BEFORE you look over at the disgusting, oil-splatter, batter-drip-covered nightmare your kitchen has become. It will bolster your spirits for the clean up job ahead. Or, if you have kids of chore-doing age, make those little punks deal with the mess while you take a nap and really give all that cheese and batter carte blanche access to your thighs.

Nom On,

~Crunchy

The Perfect BLT: Bacon loves tomato

Leave a comment

I don’t know what it is about a BLT that just screams perfection, but they can do. You see it on the menu or realize you have some tomato in your veggie drawer about to go to wasted veggie heaven so you think BLT…. and it’s super lackluster. The promise of simple greatness is there, your current sandwich stinks though. Like all simple dishes, it comes down to ingredients and prep. Let me show you the way; bacon loves tomato.

Ingredients

  • Bread – This is a very personal decision. Some swear it has to be white, some like a hearty whole grain, other’s go Rye or Sourdough. All I ask – new, beg of you – is get high quality bread. The best you can find and afford.
  • Thick cut Bacon – If a package has more than 9 slices, it’s false advertising.
  • Ripe Beefsteak Tomatoes – I know these aren’t always available. If you must, at least get a handful of Roma tomatoes.
  • Leafy Green Lettuce – Iceberg is basically a head of water, so only get that if there are no other options.
  • Mayo or Miracle Whip
  • Salt and Pepper

Preparation

  • Either pan-fry or bake your bacon to about 155 – 160 degrees. Let it rest.
    Note: Generally there are instructions on the package if you want to bake and I follow those, but reduce the time by a minute or two. You NEVER cook bacon to a full 165 degrees because it continues to cook through its internal heat and will ruin the flavor and texture. 
  • Slice your tomato to resemble a hamburger patty; thick and juicy. Dust each slice with salt and pepper. Tomato loves salt and soaks it up, so be liberal.
  • Rinse and tear your lettuce in large, ragged chunks.
  • Lightly toast the bread
  • Add mayo liberally to top and bottom slices of bread. If it oozes out a little with each bite, that’s about right.
  • Layer the bottom slice with lettuce, bacon, tomato, then top with the final slice of bread.
    Note: When it comes to sandwich construction, think of lettuce as a barrier between bread and water. What is pictured is a sandwich that will be consumed immediately, but if you hate soggy bread or this sandwich will be eaten later, use a piece of lettuce on both sides. So, lettuce, bacon, tomato, lettuce. Got it?

What stuff should I not add to my BLT?

  • cheese
  • avocado
  • mustard, ketchup, or hot sauce
  • fried egg or egg salad
  • tuna or chicken salad
  • deli meat

Look, I appreciate the desire to joux. I have made my BLT with many of these things and realized I now have an egg salad sandwich with bacon. Or a turkey club. If you start adding the stuff listed above, it’s not a BLT and you’ll be missing the point.

Nom On,

~Crunchy

Quesadilla Flight: The cure to the Saturday lunch doldrums

Leave a comment

Oh lord, it’s Saturday afternoon again. The whole family is milling around, wanting lunch and a stack of sandwiches just sounds so….weekday sad. The errands are done and maybe you have a little more time to cook than usual. You look in the fridge and see a bunch of random, almost used up stuff like chicken breast, deli meat, and a couple hunks of cheese. I keep a stack of corn tortillas handy to handle Saturday afternoon, because nothing uses up leftovers and delights the palate like the quesadilla flight!

The Quesadilla Flight

Ingredients

  • Cheese – any kind, seriously. You can use cream cheese, too. I find jack or mozzerlla to be the most-kid friendly, so if you have that, use it.
  • Filling – empty your fridge of things like the tomato and avocado that are close to spoiling, the almost empty tub of deli meat, that lone left over chicken breast, the ubiqutous 1/2 onion … you get the idea. These all sound obvious but you can use up squash and that 1/4 jar of spaghetti sauce, too. Corn tortillas are one of the most versatile canvases ever, so don’t assume your flight has to only offer the more classic Mexican cuisine flavors.
  • Corn tortillas – they are healthier, tastier, and less caloric than flour. They are also smaller in size and maximize your number of canvases to make your combos. You’ll see.
  • Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

  • Thinly slice veggies or finely dice whole pieces of meat such as chicken breast or pork tenderloin. Thinly sliced or finely diced ingredients cook better in quesadillas.
  • Shred your various cheeses and, depending on how compatible the flavors of the cheese, either keep them seperate or blend them. For examle, jack, cheddar, and mozzerella can be blended. Gouda usually can’t pair unless you have another nutty or smokey cheese like gruyere left over also. If you really want to up the diversity of your flights, don’t combine cheeses.
  • Let the crazy begin! I just go with flavors and pairings that I know to go well together based on what I have to work with. Cheddar, ham, and tomato slices. Pepper jack, turkey, and avocado slices. Cream cheese with tomato and olives. Jack with shredded chicken, diced onion, and cilantro. If I have nutty or smokey cheeses to use up, I add thin apple slices and some sauteed onions. Some cheeses pair well with pesto or berry jams, and of course if you have left overs from spaghetti night, just do a thin smear of tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham, and olives.
  • To cook the quesadillas, just put your pan over a medium-low flame and add a litte EVOO. Place the tortilla into the pan and rub around to coat. If using sauce, spreads or jams, spread that first. Then, sprinkle the cheese and then layer meat and then veggies. I let the cheese melt a little and then fold the tortilla over. You just want to cook each side to lightly brown and get the cheese gooey.
  • Repeat with various combos, based on your ingredients. I generally end up with quite a variety, even in I just omit an ingredient here or there or sub another. The goal is to make a flight, so they shouldn’t all taste just the same.
  • Serve with dips, lime or lemon wedges, or extra tomato slices dusted with salt and pepper. A little side salad if you have it handy.

Note: These guys get cold fast, so I am basically a short order cook. Serve as batches are ready and encourage your peeps to dig in. As Chef, you should be nomming as you cook. For this reason, I don’t make the same quesadilla twice in a row or your batches won’t be ‘flights.’

Dips to serve with my flights?

Before you warm up the griddle, you can make these easy-prep dips before you start the flights.

Quick Guacamole Dip

Ingredients

  • 2-3 Ripe avocados, cubed
  • 1 or 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 Red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 to 3 Garlic cloves, roughly diced
  • Fresh squeezed juice from 1 to 1 1/2 Limes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Ground cayenne, to taste
  • Cilantro, ripped or roughly chopped

Preparation

  • With a fork, mash and stir the avocado. You can leave it a little chunky; it’ll get smooth as you mix in your spices.
  • Fold in the tomato, onion, diced garlic and stir.
  • Squeeze in the lime juice and stir.
  • Add in about 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Stir and taste.
  • Add in a few shakes of cayenne. Stir and taste.
  • If your guacamole seems bland, you can add in a little more salt or cayenne, but don’t go too crazy. Ground spices are more potent than freshly chopped peppers so the taste changes quickly.
  • Cover with plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
  • When you serve, sprinkle a little cilantro on top.

Spiced Sour Cream Dip

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Ground cayenne, to taste

Preparation

  • In a small pan, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil.
  • Add in a half cup of chopped yellow onion and sauté until they are clear and soft.
  • In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of sour cream with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne or black pepper.
  • Fold in the sautéed onion.
  • Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

Doldrums be gone, and Nom On!

~Crunchy