GASTRONORMOUS

I made these quesadillas the other night as an afterthought to go along with a pot of rice and beans, but the quesadillas ended up being the star of the meal. I used a spice blend from a wonderful spice shop in Denver, CO called Savory. Normally, I am not a big fan of spice blends, but all of the blends from Savory I have tried are perfectly balanced and utterly usable. The main ingredients in the blend I used here, the Adobo Caribbean blend, are onion powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, cumin, Mexican oregano, black pepper, and red chile (note: not chili) powder, so if you don’t want to buy this blend, use about 1/4 tsp of each of these ingredients, plus the extra cumin and oregano the recipe calls for (you should taste while cooking and adjust the spices as necessary as the proportions of the Adobo blend are probably not as equitable as the alternative I suggest).

I used frozen corn for this recipe, but this summer I will make it with fresh corn! (Note: canned corn will not work here.)

Pan-roasted-corn Quesadillas

1 TB butter or oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 10 oz. package of frozen corn (or the equivalent of fresh corn kernels cut off the cob)
2 tsp Adobo Caribbean spice blend (or 1/4 tsp of each of the spices listed above)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper, to taste
4 oz sharp cheddar and/or jack cheese, divided
4 flour tortillas

Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for a minute. Add corn, then stir in Adobo blend, cumin, and oregano. Keep cooking, stirring frequently using a wooden spatula. Once or twice while cooking, add a splash of water and use the spatula to scrape all the spices that are sticking to the bottom of the pan; this deglazing will impart of warm, caramelized flavor to the corn. The water should evaporate quickly at this high heat. After about 10 minutes, or once the corn is browned, the onions soft, and the water evaporated (the mixture should be very dry), taste the corn mixture and add salt and pepper if needed (the Adobo blend has salt in it, so be sure to taste before salting), turn off heat and set aside.

Heat up your griddle, or large cast iron or non-stick skillet (I used my cast iron griddle). No need to add oil or butter, tortillas brown nicely without the use of added fat. Place a tortilla on the griddle and, working quickly, place about 1/8 of the shredded cheese evenly over half of the tortilla, then put on top of that as much corn as half a tortilla can bear, 1/4 -1/2 cup, then top off with another 1/8 of the cheese (having cheese above and below the corn mixture helps the whole thing hold together). Fold the tortilla over the filling and grill until golden-brown, then carefully flip the quesadilla over and brown the other side. Repeat process with next three tortillas (if using a griddle, you can do two at once).

Serves 4.

My husband loves seltzer. We are constantly buying 1 liter bottles of it, despite the impact all those bottles have on the environment (we recycle them, but not buying them would make even less of an impact). A couple years ago I bought him an old fashioned seltzer bottle, but the C02 cartridges, which were good for one use each, were expensive, hard to find, and made their own impact on the environment. Besides, the level of fizziness they produced wasn’t exactly “right” for his discriminating palate. So we eventually went back to buying seltzer.

Now there is this new kind of seltzer maker that uses a cartridge that makes up to 110 liters each, has adjustable fizz settings, plus, looks like an adorable penguin [$249 to $299]. If this look is a bit too “formal” for you, there is also a more utilitarian version [$79 to $129]. It seems like a lot for a soda maker, but considering we spend $5 to $10 a week on seltzer, for us anyway, this actually isn’t too bad a deal. Plus, since you can refill the cartridges [for $19.99] there is much less of an impact on the environment!

Now, if we could only find a kitchen with more counter space/storage we could buy one!

Last Sunday, February 24th, I attended, along with the Hubs and my friend (and future contributer) who wishes to be referred to, for the purposes of this blog, as The Predicate (what can I say, my friends are nuts for grammar!) the Fondue Takedown, hosted by the inimitable Matt Timms at the Slipper Room, a venue perhaps better known burlesque queens than cheese kings. We arrived about 20 minutes late, hoping we hadn’t missed anything. We hadn’t, and indeed the natives were growing restless. Timms made an announcement right after our arrival that the fondue was taking longer to cook than planned, but that they hoped to get started soon.

I walked over to the long fondue-cooking table and saw the problem: each of the 8 entrants were cooking their fondue in a large aluminum roasting pan over 2 sterno flames! Such are the aggravations of hosting a cooking event at a burlesque bar–no real cooking facilities. I peered wearily at the still-watery offerings and the accompanying signage. Some of the posted recipes were unusual (entry #8-brie and apple brandy, #6 goat cheese and herb), some complex (#1-beer and jalapeño reduction, with gruyere, cheddar, jack, and non-reduced Brooklyn Brewery beer, #7-veggie pizza fondue), some traditional (#3 and #5-gruyere and wine), some mysterious (#2-”magic, secret fondue” and #4-never got beyond the inedible watery-soup stage).

A bit to my amazement, I must admit, all but one of the fondues did get to an acceptable stage of doneness. Timms made the announcement that we could now descend upon the fondue table, with a reminder: no double dipping; plenty of skewers to go around! Dairy-induced pandemonium ensued. Lines formed on each end and both sides of the long table, everyone heading towards the center, and people wielding wooden skewers elbowed their way to the table from the sides as well. It was like cross-town traffic on Fromage Boulevard–nobody was going anywhere. The Predicate and I gave up trying, which was an especial disappointment to me, not only because I paid $10 to get in, but also because I had intended to write about the event for this blog, and not actually getting to taste the fondue would make that difficult.

But, Hubs came to the rescue. He dove into the crowd armed only with a bread-studded skewer and miraculously emerged with it laden in gooey fondue for me to sample. This is the method by which I tasted all of the entries. My hero! My very own Sir Lance-a-lot of fondue! (Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Cheese does this to me.) The Predicate waited until the crowds had thinned, and the fondue had thickened, to sample what was left.

I personally like #3 the best. It was one of the more traditional ones–gruyere, swiss, and white wine–but it had a pleasant, fruity note that I found appealing, plus the texture was great (some of them, notably the veggie pizza fondue, had a grainy texture). However, entry #1, with the beer and jalapeño reduction, won the contest. That fondue was indeed delicious, but I must admit that I didn’t taste the beer or jalapeño, so the reduction, etc., seemed like a bit of wasted effort. For a recipe so complicated, it was funny that it was less nuanced in flavor (in my opinion) than the relatively straightforward one. But who am I to say?

The loser of the event (#4–inedible watery soup fondue–zero votes!) received a fondue cookbook as an appropriate consolation prize. The winner won 50 bucks. Everyone in between got nothing at all except the honor of having participated. In the end, it was a fun event and Matt Timms is a very capable, funny, and irreverent host. I might suggest that the tasting be organized differently in the future (Hubs suggested that perhaps the chefs could stand behind their creation and pass out samples to people as they orderly shuffle down the table, which I thought was a good idea). But maybe the mayhem is part of the challenge of it.

Keep an eye out for Timms’ other events, like the Chili Takedowns.

This is a really easy stir fry that uses frozen vegetables, thereby skipping a lot of the washing, chopping, and prep that causes many people to avoid making stir fry (on weeknights, especially). When I made this the first time, my husband said that he didn’t realize an Asian dish made at home could be this good!

Avoid the frozen stir fry vegetables with sauces and everything included. I like the good quality organic stir fry vegetables that I have seen at both health food stores and super markets (store brand frozen veggies in my experience taste a little water-logged). This recipe calls for Siracha sauce, a Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce available in most big markets. Siracha is a staple condiment in my household–we use it in everything from quesadillas to pasta sauce.

Of course, if you have the time and will, please do use fresh veggies–about 3 cups worth of chopped ones of your choice.

Veggie-peanut Stir Fry

1 package extra firm tofu, or a couple chicken breasts, cubed, or other protein (optional)
peanut or canola oil
1/2 onion, sliced (if there is onion in your stir fry veggies, skip this)
2 cloves of garlic (or more to taste), minced
1 10-12 oz. package of frozen vegetables
1 heaping spoonful of unsweetened peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
2 TB soy sauce
Siracha sauce to taste (I like things spicy, and I use about 1 TB)
1 scant TB honey
couple dashes dark sesame oil
handful of dry roasted peanuts (optional)

If using the tofu, cut into fat sticks, about the size of 3 stacked dice. Place in a single layer on a paper towel-lined plate, put a couple layers of paper towel on top, put another plate on, then weigh down with something very heavy (I use my marble mortar and pestle). If you are adding onion, use this time to slice that and get all your other ingredients at the ready. After about 10 minutes, the tofu should be drained enough.

Heat about a half-inch depth’s worth of oil on the bottom of a wok or very deep frying pan. Once oil is very, very hot, carefully add about half the tofu in a single layer; stand back– it will splatter! Fry for about 3 minutes, until deep golden brown, then flip over (I use tongs) and fry for a couple minutes more. Carefully take tofu out of the oil and drain on paper towels. While tofu is still piping hot, season it with salt and generously with freshly ground pepper. Repeat with second batch.* Turn off the heat and dump out almost all the oil. Be sure to wipe up anything that drips over the side of the pan, especially if you have a gas stove.

[If using meat, simply stir-fry in a very small amount of oil until cooked through. Remove from the pan, and set aside. Then add a few teaspoons of oil to the pan.]

Reheat the wok. Add the onion, garlic, and vegetables. Fry 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now, plop in a big spoonful of peanut butter, and stir in quickly so that it doesn’t burn. Immediately after that is stirred in, add the soy sauce, siracha, and honey. Stir to incorporate. Add a few tablespoons water and continue stirring (if it seems really water, don’t panic–the water will quickly evaporate to create a thick sauce). Taste at this point to see if you want to add more honey, soy sauce, or siracha, to your taste. If it seems dry, add more water as you cook. After you have adjusted the seasonings, add the tofu or meat and sesame oil. Cook about a minute or two longer, stirring constantly. Toss in peanuts, if using, immediately before serving.

Serve over rice, if desired.

Serves two, generously.

*Tofu notes: The oil must be extremely hot. You might test heat by adding just one piece of tofu. If it doesn’t hiss and splatter, the oil isn’t hot enough. If tofu is cooked in oil that isn’t hot enough, it will turn out really oily, rather than crisp on the outside and greaseless on the inside. Frying, esp. things like tofu with a high moisture content, can be very dangerous as the oil can splatter. You might want to consider wearing glasses if you don’t already! It seems like a lot of trouble, but once you get used to the process it is easy, I swear! You can skip this step and add the tofu “raw,” if you’d like. It holds together better if fried first, though. If skipping the frying step, add the tofu earlier in the cooking process, right after before the peanut butter. Baked tofu is denser than regular tofu and would be good in this, but I would avoid the flavored varieties.