Had some friends over last night for dinner. One gentleman is a chef by education and trade and wanted to cook for us but I didn't want to do that the first time they were over. Just didn't feel right. But I also painted myself into a corner because he's a college trained chef and worked in some swank seafood places in Charleston, SC. :shock:
I'm sure he would have been gracious no matter what we made but I wanted some special. So we went for quesadillas because you can add your fillings/ingredients as you like.
For those who don't know what a quesadilla is, it's basically a flat burrito with the tortilla browned on the outsides after you assemble your preferred filings.
Our selection of fillings were:
-Carne Asada (marinaded taco steak. See below)
-Spanish rice http://elise.com/recipes/archives/00004 ... h_rice.php
-Onions
-fresh cilantro
-tomatoes
-shredded lettuce
-black beans
-4-blend mexican shredded cheese
-Salsa
-sour cream
-guacamole
I forgot to get some bell peppers but no one complained.
For the carne asada, I used this marinade http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blog ... asada.html. The lime gives it a great zesty flavor. It calls for skirt or flank steak but that would require and extra trip across town to the store that sells it. So I went with some thin cut top round. Sprinkled some Lawry's seasoning and beat the every living tar out of it with my tenderizing hammer. I let it marinade in the fridge for 4 hours in a zip lock bag. Turned and adjusted the bags every 1/2 hour or so to make sure the marinade got to all the meat.
I used the George Forman grill because I wanted to keep the juice drippings. Let the grill get fully hot and brown the outside of the meat on both sides. Leave the inside just a little pink. In a pot, I dumped the juice drippings from the grill, 1/2 the leftover marinade, and the juice from the black beans can. Brought it to a quick boil and them simmered it. While it was cooling a bit, I cut the meat in 1/2" size pieces. Took a little while but worth it. Cut the meat at an angle across the grain so the juices soak in. I added the meat to the pot and just let that stay warm. Any pink left in the meat slowly disappeared without drying the meat out.
I had everyone get a flour tortilla, add their fillings to half of it, then I folded it over and placed in the Forman grill. I could fit 2 at a time because I have the jumbo model. Worked awesome! Nice crispy outside and heated the fillings and melted the cheese to bond it all together on the inside. A word of caution: This doesn't work so good if your quesadilla is thin with little fillings. The grill does close enough to squeeze the tortilla on both sides and brown it. So when the kids just wanted a cheese quesadilla, I used a spatula to press the it down on the grill. A griddle pan with something to put some weight in the quesadilla would work instead of the Forman Grill.
There's a quesadilla maker you can buy but it's a piece of junk and doesn't work so good. Anyway...
We knew the chef friend and his family liked he because he came back for thirds and asked for the recipe. Wish I took some pictures but it was busy evening. But trust me... it's good eatin'!!
I'm sure he would have been gracious no matter what we made but I wanted some special. So we went for quesadillas because you can add your fillings/ingredients as you like.
For those who don't know what a quesadilla is, it's basically a flat burrito with the tortilla browned on the outsides after you assemble your preferred filings.
Our selection of fillings were:
-Carne Asada (marinaded taco steak. See below)
-Spanish rice http://elise.com/recipes/archives/00004 ... h_rice.php
-Onions
-fresh cilantro
-tomatoes
-shredded lettuce
-black beans
-4-blend mexican shredded cheese
-Salsa
-sour cream
-guacamole
I forgot to get some bell peppers but no one complained.
For the carne asada, I used this marinade http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blog ... asada.html. The lime gives it a great zesty flavor. It calls for skirt or flank steak but that would require and extra trip across town to the store that sells it. So I went with some thin cut top round. Sprinkled some Lawry's seasoning and beat the every living tar out of it with my tenderizing hammer. I let it marinade in the fridge for 4 hours in a zip lock bag. Turned and adjusted the bags every 1/2 hour or so to make sure the marinade got to all the meat.
I used the George Forman grill because I wanted to keep the juice drippings. Let the grill get fully hot and brown the outside of the meat on both sides. Leave the inside just a little pink. In a pot, I dumped the juice drippings from the grill, 1/2 the leftover marinade, and the juice from the black beans can. Brought it to a quick boil and them simmered it. While it was cooling a bit, I cut the meat in 1/2" size pieces. Took a little while but worth it. Cut the meat at an angle across the grain so the juices soak in. I added the meat to the pot and just let that stay warm. Any pink left in the meat slowly disappeared without drying the meat out.
I had everyone get a flour tortilla, add their fillings to half of it, then I folded it over and placed in the Forman grill. I could fit 2 at a time because I have the jumbo model. Worked awesome! Nice crispy outside and heated the fillings and melted the cheese to bond it all together on the inside. A word of caution: This doesn't work so good if your quesadilla is thin with little fillings. The grill does close enough to squeeze the tortilla on both sides and brown it. So when the kids just wanted a cheese quesadilla, I used a spatula to press the it down on the grill. A griddle pan with something to put some weight in the quesadilla would work instead of the Forman Grill.
There's a quesadilla maker you can buy but it's a piece of junk and doesn't work so good. Anyway...
We knew the chef friend and his family liked he because he came back for thirds and asked for the recipe. Wish I took some pictures but it was busy evening. But trust me... it's good eatin'!!