 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / March 2005tonight's dinner update
My freelance attempt at quesadillas turned out to be lovely, but anyone familiar with Mexican cuisine would probably have cringed. I made flatbreads / tortillas with a mixture of fine polenta and wheat flour. I made a spanikopita-type of mixture with fresh spinach, garlic, onion, feta cheese, cottage cheese and a generous handful of mint (love mint in spanikopita). Rolled out flatbreads, filled them with spinach mixture, toasted in a flat-press sandwich maker / toaster (don't know what they're called in the US). - my attempt to make it low-fat Once cooked, I topped each with a salsa-kind of thing made with ripe tomatoes, cilantro / corriander leaf, onion, lemon juice and a couple of chillis (deseeded because Mum doesn't like it that hot). Everyone agreed it was very tasty and we have enough left over for a light lunch tomorrow. The cats and d*gs went "phooey" at the concept of vegetarian food! I have enough polenta pastry to have a go at a chicken one tomorrow night. DH and I consider this to be a successful continuation of the "wrapped food of the world" concept we've been exploring periodically over the last 12 months (every culture seems to have its version of flat-bread-wrapped-around-tasty-stuff-and-baked/BBQ'd/grilled/fried) Tish > My freelance attempt at quesadillas turned out to be lovely, but > anyone familiar with Mexican cuisine would probably have cringed. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Tish Dang I'm hungry again! > My freelance attempt at quesadillas turned out to be lovely, but > anyone familiar with Mexican cuisine would probably have cringed. Sounds lovely. Might have to try it. Frank and Nikki send their commiserations on the vegetarian menu. Their Meowmie never makes anything that they would like (but then, they get fresh meat every two days, so they shouldn't complain). I made veggies au gratin this evening. Steam-cooked some cauliflower and broccoli so they were a bit crunchy, and cut a zucchini in slices lengthwise. Salted the slices and let them 'weep' on a tea towel for a while, then dried off the excess water. Poured a little olive oil in the bottom of a pan and lay the veggies in the pan. Mixed some oat bran (should be bread crumbs, but I didn't have any), shredded Parmesan, lots of chopped chives and parsley, and whole cream. Poured on top of veggies and baked in oven for 20 minutes until the cheese mix was nice and crisp. Mmm!  SignatureMarina, Frank and Nikki marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki > My freelance attempt at quesadillas turned out to be lovely, but > anyone familiar with Mexican cuisine would probably have cringed. [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Tish Well, they don't sound anything like the cheese quesadillas I make, but they sound good. I buy ready-made tortillas (easy to find in Southern California) and fill them with grated cheddar cheese, chicken and onion. I cook them in the microwave until the cheese melts (45-60 seconds, depending on the microwave) and serve them with guacamole. I have them for dinner, with a green salad, 3-4 times a week. Joy > Well, they don't sound anything like the cheese quesadillas I make, but they > sound good. I buy ready-made tortillas (easy to find in Southern [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Joy Try cooking them in a big non-stick skillet on medium heat. I wipe the skillet with oil, and assemble them in the skillet (put the cheese on the whole thing, and hot filling on half) - fold over, and flip once, Nice and crispy/toasty/flaky on the outside, and tender/moist on the inside. Yum! Much better than nuking, IMO - which I have done as well. :) -L. > > Well, they don't sound anything like the cheese quesadillas I make, > but they [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > -L. I can see that would be good. However, I like them soft, and it's less trouble to nuke them, and one less item to wash. I find that, cooking for one, I like to keep things as simple as possible. What sort of hot filling do you use? Joy > > Try cooking them in a big non-stick skillet on medium heat. I wipe the > > skillet with oil, and assemble them in the skillet (put the cheese on [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Joy I stir-fry onions until they are soft and start to sweeten, then add green pepper - cook awhile longer. I then add salsa (just a little) a tad of light corn syrup (just to cut the acidity of the salsa, not necessary), a bit of garlic and onion powder, chili powder, and usually left over roasted chicken. I sometimes add zuchini, spinach or broccoli - we really like vegetables. Just cook everything on med. heat in the skillet, while stirring occassionally, until tender. You want most of the liquid to cook off, so don't cover the skillet. Then use as filling. Yum! It's a great way to use leftover chicken. I usually roast a whole chicken, DH eats the legs and thighs for a couple of meals and I use the breast meat for quesadillas, although they are quite good using the leg and thigh meat (I actually prefer them that way). :) -L. > I stir-fry onions until they are soft and start to sweeten, then add green > pepper - cook awhile longer. I then add salsa (just a little) a tad of [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > quesadillas, although they are quite good using the leg and thigh meat (I > actually prefer them that way). :) You can't fool me! That's a fajita, not a quesadilla! Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > I stir-fry onions until they are soft and start to sweeten, then add green > > pepper - cook awhile longer. I then add salsa (just a little) a tad of [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > You can't fool me! That's a fajita, not a quesadilla! Actually it *is* a quesadilla - is grilled in a tortilla like a quesadilla and the pieces of veggies are small. :) If I made one for you you'd say "That was one yummy quesaduilla!" ;) -L. >> You can't fool me! That's a fajita, not a quesadilla! > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > -L. Hrm, maybe. But anything that involves onions, green peppers and chicken sounds like a fajita to me =P Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca >>> You can't fool me! That's a fajita, not a quesadilla! >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Hrm, maybe. But anything that involves onions, green peppers and chicken > sounds like a fajita to me =P Not that it matters cause it sounds yummy, but to me it has to have melted cheese inside to be a quesadilla. Jo >>>> You can't fool me! That's a fajita, not a quesadilla! >>> [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Not that it matters cause it sounds yummy, but to me it has to have melted > cheese inside to be a quesadilla. Oh, wasn't there cheese in it? I must have just assumed it would have cheese! The 'ques' part of it pretty much means cheese, I think. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > > Not that it matters cause it sounds yummy, but to me it has to have melted > > cheese inside to be a quesadilla. > > Oh, wasn't there cheese in it? I must have just assumed it would have cheese! > > The 'ques' part of it pretty much means cheese, I think. Yes, there is cheese in it. I made some tonight, actually. :) If my camera wasn't full, I'd take a shot of the leftovers so you could see it REALLY is a quesadilla! ;p -L. >> > Not that it matters cause it sounds yummy, but to me it has to have > melted [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > -L. Still think it sounds yummy. I always believed quesedilla roughly translated meant grilled cheese sandwich made on tortillas to shut up the kids at the restaurant who won't eat real Mexican food. Or that they were invented by children as an afternoon snack for after school. Jo > Still think it sounds yummy. I always believed quesedilla roughly > translated meant grilled cheese sandwich made on tortillas to shut up the > kids at the restaurant who won't eat real Mexican food. Or that they were > invented by children as an afternoon snack for after school. > > Jo I dunno about authentic quesadillas, but I know Tex-Mex have other "stuff" in them. I cook a lot of Mexican foods - some more traditional than others. My brother is a pretty die-hard authentic Mexican gourmand. I, OTOH, just like the spices, techniques and ingredients. :) I also made a big pot of Mex rice. I use Vigo brand yellow rice mix, add sauteed onions and green peppers, garlic, black pepper and onion powder. I use chicken broth instead of water to cook it. When it's almost done I add a can of drained, chopped tomatoes and a few black olives. Sooo yummy! -L. > translated meant grilled cheese sandwich made on tortillas to shut up the > kids at the restaurant who won't eat real Mexican food. Or that they were > invented by children as an afternoon snack for after school. I've eaten quesadillas all my life. I grew up eating them always made with corn tortillas. I didn't know flour tortillas existed until I was 10 years old or so, when a national bakery in Mexico started selling flour tortillas nationwide. In theory, a quesadilla is nothing more than a cheese (we do not have yellow cheese in Mexico) taco, grilled. They even make a special kind of cheese for quesadillas, called "asadero" (meaning "grilling" cheese), though I prefer the flavor of oaxacan cheese. In Mexico city they sell quesadillas on street corners, but it's the only place where you can have a quesadilla made without cheese. When you order a quesadilla there, they ask you what you want in it: mushrooms, meat, rajas, etc. They roll out a fresh corn tortilla, stuff it with what you want, and grill it in a hot comal. YUM!!! SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> translated meant grilled cheese sandwich made on tortillas to shut up the >> kids at the restaurant who won't eat real Mexican food. Or that they were [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > corn tortilla, stuff it with what you want, and grill it in a hot comal. > YUM!!! Waitasec. I thought cheese was a tex-mex affectation, not something used much in real Mexican cooking? I've never even heard of oaxacan cheese; what's it like? Also, what are rajas? Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca > Waitasec. I thought cheese was a tex-mex affectation, not something used much > in real Mexican cooking? Yellow chese and "cheese on everyting" is indeed a tex-mex thing. However, Mexico has a wide variety of cheeses that are used in our cooking. Mostly as a garnish, mind you. > I've never even heard of oaxacan cheese; what's it like? Also, what are > rajas? Oaxacan cheese is very much like mozzarella. Rajas refers to strips of poblano chiles that are usually cooked with onions and crema. SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> Waitasec. I thought cheese was a tex-mex affectation, not something used >> much [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Oaxacan cheese is very much like mozzarella. Rajas refers to strips of > poblano chiles that are usually cooked with onions and crema. What would be good to stuff a Chili Relleno? Charlie likes those and I can manage a coating and a sauce he likes. Jo > What would be good to stuff a Chili Relleno? Charlie likes those and I can > manage a coating and a sauce he likes. I assume you mean cheese? I would stuff it with panela, nice and mild and it won't melt away. The coating for chiles rellenos is very simple, my mom just covers them in flour, then passes them through egg wash and fries them. SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com > Oaxacan cheese is very much like mozzarella. Rajas refers to strips of > poblano chiles that are usually cooked with onions and crema. Victor, hope you don't mind me jumping into the thread here, but it's kind of on the same subject - when we were in Ecuador last year, we stopped in a town called Cayambe and had a delicious snack of locally produced queso de hoja and bizcochos - the cheese was very stringy and pale, mild and creamy in flavour, it was more flavoursome than mozzarella, and stringier :-) Very tasty. Does this sound like the Oaxacan cheese? I know Mexico is a long way from Ecuador but perhaps it's similar. I'd love to try and get hold of something like that here, though it's probably a long shot in London. Is there anything commercially available in the US that's like that? Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield > Victor, hope you don't mind me jumping into the thread here, but it's Not at all, it's usenet after all... :) > mozzarella, and stringier :-) Very tasty. Does this sound like the > Oaxacan cheese? I know Mexico is a long way from Ecuador but perhaps It does. I just did a quick google search, since I've only been in Ecuador once and didn't have any cheese... :) They say it's very similar to mozzarella, so it's also similar to oaxaca. > it's similar. I'd love to try and get hold of something like that here, > though it's probably a long shot in London. Is there anything > commercially available in the US that's like that? There are many brands of mexican-style cheeses for sale here in Texas, among them Noche Buena and Cacique. Just look for "oaxaca" cheese. SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com > There are many brands of mexican-style cheeses for sale here in Texas, > among them Noche Buena and Cacique. Just look for "oaxaca" cheese. Thanks Victor, I had a quick look online but so far found nowhere in the UK on the web, but I am sure it must be available somewhere in London. Will keep looking! I found the Cacique website, anyway :-) Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield > It does. I just did a quick google search, since I've only been in > Ecuador once and didn't have any cheese... :) I meant to ask, where did you go in Ecuador? I found it such a beautiful country, very welcoming and friendly people. We went to Quito and then to Hacienda Cusin near to Otavalo, and then the Galapagos. Would love so much to go back one day - it's a long way from here, though :-( Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield > I meant to ask, where did you go in Ecuador? I found it such a beautiful I went to Guayaquil, my best friend from college married a girl from there and I was in the wedding. SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com > > I meant to ask, where did you go in Ecuador? I found it such a beautiful > > I went to Guayaquil, my best friend from college married a girl from > there and I was in the wedding. Ahh - we flew over there and briefly touched down, but did not see any of the city. Maybe next time... Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield >> Oaxacan cheese is very much like mozzarella. Rajas refers to strips of >> poblano chiles that are usually cooked with onions and crema. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >though it's probably a long shot in London. Is there anything >commercially available in the US that's like that? I think availability will vary greatly according to where you are in the States. Here in this part of Oklahoma selection is almost nonexistent. But, when I visit may family out in California most of the grocery stores have a wide selection. In fact, there are parts of Bakersfield (where I grew up and my parents and a brother and sister still live) where you have to read Spanish to read the advertisements on store fronts. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html > I think availability will vary greatly according to where you are in > the States. Here in this part of Oklahoma selection is almost [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > still live) where you have to read Spanish to read the advertisements > on store fronts. Wow! I guess that's rather like parts of London where a good knowledge of the Urdu or Bengali language is very helpful in feeling at home :-) There must be somewhere that stocks Latin/Spanish-type foods, I'll just keep looking... Deb. Signaturehttp://www.scientific-art.com "He looked a fierce and quarrelsome cat, but claw he never would; He only bit the ones he loved, because they tasted good." S. Greenfield
|
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.