nonsense! http://ramiroberrelleza.com Most recent posts at nonsense! posterous.com Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:23:00 -0800 Mexican quesadillas http://ramiroberrelleza.com/mexican-quesadillas http://ramiroberrelleza.com/mexican-quesadillas

 

In commemoration of the National Cheese Lover's day I'd like to share with you the recipe for the father of the mexican cheesy dishes, the Quesadillas*.

Ingredients (makes for 12 - 16 quesadillas)

  • 2 cups of tortilla flour (you can buy it on the supermarket or in Mexican stores)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 1/4 cups of water
  • Tortilla press (optional, but very helpful, you can get it in Amazon, Bed Bath and Beyond, Williams-Sonoma and similar stores)
  • 1 medium ziplock bag
  • 1/2 to 1 pound(s) of grated cheese (Asadero is the typical cheese, but Jack, Colby or Mozarella works well too)
  • Hot Sauce (optional)

How to

  1. Pour in a mixing bowl the tortilla flour, the salt and the water
  2. Mix thoroughly (your hands are the best tool for this) for about 3 minutes, until everything is incorporated and the dough resembles cornmeal. If the dough is too dry, add water to the mix (a teaspoon at a time)
  3. Once the dough is ready, split it into 16 parts (or less, if you want bigger tortillas), and knead each part into a round ball.
  4. Heat up a griddle (or a pan) on medium.
  5. Split the ziplock bag in two, and place one part of it in the tortilla press. 
  6. Center one of your dough balls in the tortilla press, and put the other part of the ziplock bag on top
  7. Close the press and well...press.
  8. Carefully peel off the tortilla and put it on the hot griddle
  9. Wait for about a minute, and then turn the tortilla (normally we would cook for a bit longer, but for quesadillas this should be enough)
  10. Turn the tortilla again, and put enough cheese on it to cover half of the tortilla
  11. Bend the tortilla over the cheese.
  12. After about 30 seconds, flip the quesadilla
  13. Wait until the cheese melted (but before the tortilla burns) to remove from the griddle.

To Serve

If you're not going to serve the quesadilla as soon as it's done (which I recomend), you can put them in a tortillero, or just cover them with a towel, to keep them hot. 

Extra Points

While the quesadilla is a fine dish by itself, I normally complemented with some extra filling. This can go from simply putting "salsa" or "pico de gallo" in it, to something more complex, such as chorizo, ajillo mushrooms or your favorite taco filling. 

*Note: This recipe is for the (much better) kind of quesadilla that you would eat a Mexican's house for dinner, not the deep-fried variation you normally get at Mexican restaurants in the US.

Hope you like it!

Ramiro Berrelleza

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/18535/ramiro_el_nuevo.jpg http://posterous.com/people/10xNqMFwK5j ramiro berrelleza ramiro ramiro berrelleza Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:13:00 -0700 Eggs Benedict, take one http://ramiroberrelleza.com/eggs-benedict-take-one http://ramiroberrelleza.com/eggs-benedict-take-one

 
Eggs benedict is one of my favorite breakfasts. Almost every time I go out, I'll order them if they're available. However, since reading Kitchen Confidential,  I've been a bit resilient in order them, specially in sunday brunch (people who've read the book will now why) .
 
That takes us to last night. At about 10pm I was home alone, and very hungry. I went to my fridge, almost empty if not for a few eggs, a couple of sticks of butter, half a pack of english muffins and bacon. OMG, what a serendipitous moment!  The only edible things in my fridge (other than beer), were the ingredients for a couple of portions of eggs benedict.
 
Never having prepared this before, I binged  for eggs benedict and ended up with this recipe from the food network. After reading it two or three times, decided it was simple enough for me to handle it. And voila, an hour later I was enjoying a couple of nicely done eggs benedict, with some left for the next day
 
I must say that the recipe was a lot easier to prepare than I though. The hollandaise sauce, which I always thought of as something only chefs could pull off, was actually fairly simple.  One lesson I learned this time is that bacon was not the best choice, its bold flavor tends to overpower the delicate flavor of the hollandaise. Ham, or Canadian bacon, would've been a better choice (one excuse to make them again in a couple of weeks).
 
While my benedicts weren't the best I've ever had (that honor goes to the Pomegranate Bistro in Redmond), they were (in my totally unbiased opinion ) pretty tasty. Add to that the fact that I made them from scratch, and you have a very happy late night diner.
 
Cooking is always fun. Done in the middle of the night, trying to make one of your favorite dishes from scratch, for the first time, is even better!
 
Enjoy the pics!

Ramiro Berrelleza


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