LMAO Anne posted here and didn't tell me. She's never on! She left for work, so I hope I remember to catch her and tease her about sneaking ina post (since she hasn;t been online in...oh gosh over a year I think). What a scamp! Posting that and not saying boo about it.
Yeah, I didn't mean anything by the onions. Frankly a potato peeler will work. It exposes the flesh a bit more vigorously and will trigger the onions natural chemical defense basically making it spicier and also make you tear up.
A mandolin is great too, but far more to clean off, IMO. A knife I can clean in like 30 seconds. Even a potato peeler is a moderate time sink. Each to their own though! It's why there can be too many cooks in the kitchen. It would be fine anyway someone makes it, but everyone's way can clash. :D
Honestly, I had been asked about my "recipe" for a sandwich. I was really proud of my modest little project. It's not really a recipe. It was just a little dither. I also like it. I mean humankind made cooking an art because you have so little to work with and nuance goes a long way.The only reason I was a bit obnoxious (sorry about that) is little points in history people have shared recipes, thinking nothing of it, and then boom! Capital gains! I have no problem giving the recipe, I just want to sell it without having to give someone else credit or something. OCD makes me paranoid sometimes though. :s
Anyway, I guess I'll share a recipe fitting of how the others here have taken it. Which I am humbled by.
So this a fancy dish when it comes to cost. I've had numerous people ask me for my "recipe" which I'm glad to give. It is, however, mostly the ingredients. The preparation is very easy. There's no wrong way to do it. Test different methods. I'm not a purist cook. I rarely measure. Sorry, culinary school. And this my magnum opus to date. It's sort of oxymoronic, a snack-meal.
DO be galled by the ingredients if you feel it frivolous. This is my holiday meal for Anne and other friends. Sometimes on Birthdays, sometimes when we have really bad year/month and just a surprise for them. Think of it as both a hobby and activity. I also made it once and everyone wanted more. TBH I don't like them that much myself. I mean they're good, but I feel for those who think; why would spend that much on
this. Because that's what my friends like most that I make, and I aim to please.
So...surf or turf quesadillas
- Tortillas (I use Mission)
- Four Cheese Mexican Shredded Cheese (I use Sargentos)
- Hand chopped Cilantro (Don't use dried, this is not the place to skimp)
- Hand slices white onion (this can be prechopped at my local grocer, but I do it by hand because it's more therapeutic). I like it sliced, not chopped, but do what you like, it's for YOU, or YOUR friends/family.
- Sliced tomatoes. Remove the skin unless you like it. Try not to get big hunks of white material, again, unless you like the texture.
- The grand daddy of expense...
- Crab meat. This is what makes it go from good to quite expensive. I use canned brand, I forget the name of, sometimes. Though our grocer has frozen snow crab on sale often, and I indulge in it with potatoes, asparagus and hollandaise sauce, before or after this point depending on if it's prompting the meal I'm describing, or a result of left over meat.
- Ribeye side soft tissue works well if you're allergic or prefer red meat over seafood. You want that really pull apart meat though so it's soft. That is unless you prefer a firmer texture.
Now, I have done taste tastes. I have a rating scale I pester people to give me to rate my food. I shell out the cash, do the cooking, but I get to variate the exact mix and expect a rating. 1 is acceptable, but I won't let you eat it. 10 is acceptable, but I won't believe you. So my friends never give those two answers. Heck I never give myself those two ratings. They are neither the best nor worst I've had/made.
If you want an alternative, I like refried beans. It's still slightly pricey, but definitely grocer equivalent to an average sit down restaurant above American fast food and not closer my area has as fine dining. I have eaten at places that cost $80 and been less satisfied than my surf or turf quesadillas.
The only preparation I do is this. Chop the cilantro, slice the onion, dice the tomato and shell the crab. Put some butter in a pan on 3 or 4 (so lower than medium) then crisp or firm the tortillas. After the first part one is done, I lay it out and rebutter the pan put the next tortilla in. Then I spread the pico de gallo (the mix of cilantro, onion and tomato--in case you both, don't know and won't search it) and then put the cheese on. Then I put the meat on top.
If I'm using the refried beans, I spread that on first, then put on the cheese and pico de gallo last.
Top it with the next tortilla, and put another one in (If sharing. One is usually quite enough for each person, you can even split one, as I often do with one of friends that wants to try it but not eat a whole. It's a good appetizer to have a quarter.) Put the tortilla "sandwich" into the microwave, or if you're more adept than I, put it in the pan. I admit, I always get sparse cheese in the pan and it's just better to microwave it. One minute served me well, with all three wattages of microwaves. So it probably will you as well.
Sadly, that's my Magnum Opus. I can make many other dishes, some much more complex some even more stupid simple. The ingredients make the meal. I wish it wasn't true. Until you try the the higher end cheeses, fresh vegetables, and good cuts of meat, it won't mean much. I certainly don't have this often. Maybe four times in a year at most, sometimes as little as once a year.
If you don't like it, I'm sorry. It's a great waste. All i can say is it's not to your taste, or you need to vary quantity of this or that. It's really a meal that's mostly measured "to taste". *shrugs*
For dipping I like a local dairy's mexican sour cream, and another recipe of guacamole.
For sides I often get a feel for the rest of the group. I've had fruit. Hard cheeses. Veggies and salad dressing or hummus. Shrimp cocktail. Spanish rice. Black Beans. It really just varies.
Alternatively, an actual main dish of crab or steak, with the quarters being appetizers. Then a salad, or asparagus, and potatoes.
I think TBH a large part of what makes it so good, is that it's made with love. I mean that. I enjoy making it. It's not just to eat, but to feed my friends. It's something to talk about. It's my gift, a true gift, because I know my friends would never buy it themselves. It's a treat for them. Sadly, I think the recipe's magic is lost when you might make it yourself.
I thought I would at least share it.