The Secret to Crispy, Delicious Quesadillas - Recipe

Crispy Quesadilla with Pecorino and Onion & Garlic Jam

Pretty much everyone loves a quesadilla. Whether you are feeding a 3-year old with mild Monterey jack, or a sophisticated foodie with taleggio and grilled figs, a tortilla and melted cheese is quick to make and irresistible. Let me tell you about a simple trick which will take your quesadillas from tasty but floppy to crispy and delicious.

First a word of warning: this only works with corn tortillas. Flour quesadillas are fine too, but that's a different article. I prefer corn because it adds more flavor and texture.

Anyhow, here is the secret: brush both sides of the quesadilla with a bit of oil before putting them on the pan or griddle on medium-high heat, and then let it cook plenty of time on each side.

I told you it was easy! It doesn't need to be a lot of oil at all, but the difference is amazing. When you cook a quesadilla dry, the shell simply heats up and dries out a bit, which is ok. But when you brush on a bit of oil and let it cook awhile, the tortilla gets crispy / chewy and tastes amazing, like a perfectly fresh tortilla chip.

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If you are lucky, a bit of the cheese might run out and brown and stick to the edges like the top of a great mac & cheese and now you've got some serious flavor going.

To get your creative juices flowing, here's a tasty quesadilla I made the other day, filled with green peppercorn pecorino, red onions, and (incredible) Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic & Onion Savory Jam. I served it with a quick chevre & cilantro sauce and some smoked paprika. You should substitute ingredients wildly and make whatever sounds good to you!

Crispy Quesadilla with Pecorino and Garlic & Onion Jam
Makes 1 quesadilla - multiply as needed
Vegetarian & gluten-free; not vegan
Preparation time: under 10 minutes

• 2 taco-sized soft corn tortillas
• 1/4 cup grated green peppercorn pecorino cheese
• a few thin slices of red onion
• 1 tablespoon Stonewall Kitchen garlic & onion jam (see link above)
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (anything that can handle heat, like canola)
• pinch of kosher or sea salt
• 2 tablespoons goat cheese (aka chevre; my favorite is Laura Chenel)
• small handful cilantro leaves, chopped fine - reserve a couple for garnish
• smoked paprika (see link above)

1. Heat a cast-iron skillet, flat griddle, or other frying pan over medium heat.
2. Sprinkle the cheese on one tortilla and top it with the onion.
3. Spread the jam on the other tortilla and cover the first one.
4. Brush one side with the oil and put that side down in the skillet, then brush the other side with oil.
5. Cook for several minutes on each side, until it is developing beautiful crispy brown spots. The one in the picture above could actually have gone a few more minutes.
6. Meanwhile, beat the goat cheese with a bit of water until smooth like thick yogurt. Bruise the minced cilantro with your fingertips to release the flavor and stir it in to the goat cheese with a bit of salt to taste.
7. When the quesadilla is done on both side, remove it to a cutting board and carefully cut it into quarters with decisive presses of a sharp knive. Place on plate, sprinkle with a bit of salt, dust the plate with the smoked paprika, add a dollop of the goat cheese sauce and munch intently.

Cherry-Pumpkin Seed Muffins From The "Farm To Table Cookbook" - Recipe

Cherry-Pumpkin Seed Muffins From The "Farm To Table Cookbook" - Recipe

Sarina gave me this beautiful new book, the The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally by Northwest author Ivy Manning for our anniversary. It is organized by seasons, with an emphasis on ingredients that you might find at a farmer's market, and includes recipes both from the author and a who's-who of excellent regional chefs.

Last Saturday morning, my daughter and I made the Cherry-Almond muffins from the book, but since we can't use almonds or almond extract in our house we substituted pumpkin seeds and vanilla extract. It turned out to be great that we made them, because a few hours later, Sarina was in labor and we took the last few muffins to the hospital with us. They were much better than hospital food for a late night snack! (Not that those Swiss Miss vanilla pudding cups aren't delicious. Ok, they're not.)

To make this recipe, you'll need to pit the cherries. The book suggests putting them in a plastic bag and smushing the pits out, which I'm sure would work. I used this very simple and inexpensive "hole punch" style pitter which works great too, as long as you aren't trying to do ten pounds at a time. Hint: do it in the sink, and keep your bowl of pitted cherries a foot or so away so you can be sure not to get any pits mixed in.

Here's our nut-free version of the muffin recipe, which Manning curated from Chef Lee Posey of Portland's Pearl Bakery. By the way, if you make them, please come back and fill out the Recipe Tester Form! Your feedback is always needed.

Cherry Muffins With Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas)
Yields 12 Muffins
Vegetarian; not vegan or gluten-free

• 6 tablespons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup whole milk
• 8 ounces fresh cherries (Bings or Lapins), pitted and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted in a skillet or oven
• 1/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas), raw

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease or line 12 muffin cups.
2. Beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy, either in a mixer or by hand.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
4. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
5. Gently mix half of the flour mixture into the butter, then half of the milk, then the remaining half of each. Do not overbeat or the muffins will be tough.
6. Stir in the cherries and toasted pumpkin seeds.
7. Distribute the batter into the muffin tins, and top with the raw pumpkin seeds.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Cool and chow.

Some Amazing Chocolates To Try - Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon Wrap-Up

Guittard chocolates for baking (or, um, eating)

The first Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon was a resounding success! 20+ chocolate artisans showed up to offer samples and talk about their work. For only a $20 entrance fee and unlimited tasting, this was a fantastic bargain for anyone who lusts for cacao.

This year's event was made slightly surreal by the sight of an enormous cruise ship docked right outside the the Bell Harbor Conference Center, filling the view out the salong windows. Apparently the ship caused a short circuit in the building, which in turn lost air conditioning. Some of the chocolatiers said the warmth was affecting the "snap" of their chocolates, but I have to say it wasn't a big deal. Definitely an application of Murphy's law!

I had the awesome responsibility of being a judge for the event, which was sponsored by TasteTV. I spent a couple of hours wandering from booth to booth, gorging, being awed by both the natural flavors of chocolate and the amazing confections built on top of them. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Amano Chocolates really demonstrated the principle of terroir. Their Ocumare Grand Cru and Cuyagua Premium are from adjacent valleys in Venezuela, yet taste completely different.
• Kekau Chocolatier, out of Eugene, Oregon, makes truffles in both very traditional and quite extreme flavors. The Black Truffle Honey, with juniper and rosemary was spectacular. I was a little scared of the Smoky Blue, with Rogue River smoky blue cheese and chipotle, but I have to admit it worked!
• Local favorite Theo showed beautifully with both their single origin bars, and their 3400 Phinney line of flavored bars. My new favorite is the Fig, Fennel, and Almond Dark Chocolate.
• Poco Dolce, out of San Francisco, makes this great line of "tiles", which are little stacked squares of chocolate in a box. You can sometimes find them at Whole Foods. Try the Burnt Caramel, and I dare you not to eat them in one sitting.
• Claudio Corallo is an agronomist who makes some of the most ideological chocolate you will ever find. The heirloom varieties of chocolate are beyond Fair Trade. Everything is grown sustainably and with biodynamic principles. He's working with local growers to revive abandoned plantations for future generations. The chocolates are not conched, so they have somewhat of a gritty texture. (Some of the Blanxart bars you find in good stores have a similar quality). No flavors, not even vanilla is added, nor are any emulsifiers.  I'm not going to say I exactly loved the experience on a pure palate level, but it is educational and fascinating and I'd try it again.
• Last but not least, I was thoroughly impressed with the offerings from Guittard. I love all of the new micro-boutique chocolate artisans out there, but we shouldn't forget the old-school gangsters. Guittard has been doing it right since 1868, and they have clearly learned a few things along the way. I found that their single origin bars had extremely clear flavors on the palate, and the 91% Nocturne bar was amazingly smooth for a product with no added cocoa butter. I also loved Quetzlcoatl bar, and of course they offer a complete line of baking chocolates and cocoa powder.

Several other bloggers wrote reviews of the event, including Gastrolust, Seattle Bon Viv, Culinary Fool, and Cookie Baker Lynn.