Quesadillas: One-Pot Wonders

As soon as I got Emeril Lagasse's cookbook, Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders, (a preview copy since I was selected for a blogging party) I browsed through the book and bookmarked the recipes I wanted to make first.

Those first few choices were based partially on what supplies I had on hand.

Then I picked a couple recipes that sounded really good to me, and went shopping for needed ingredients.

Then threw caution to the wind and handed the cookbook to my husband so he could pick out a few recipes.

After he made his choices, he told me that it was tough and he would have liked any of them. I think I need to hand him cookbooks more often. I liked everything he picked.

The first husband-chosen recipe I decided to make was Chorizo and Potato Quesadillas with a Cilantro Chile Crema. Long title, but the recipe was fairly easy. The crema just needed to be blitzed in the blender.

The quesadilla filling also came together easily, and the great thing is that it can be made ahead of time and assembled and cooked quickly later. So you can have the filling and crema in the fridge, and make the quesadillas for lunch, dinner, or a quick snack whenever you want them.

The quesadilla filling includes chorizo and potatoes, like the title says, and of course, cheese. That's pretty common.

The pretty green crema puts it over the top, though. Not only does it add a splash of color, but it also adds richness from the sour cream, freshness from the cilantro, and heat from the peppers.

Sliced avocados make a nice accent for the dish, as well.  Of course, quesadillas can support a whole lot of garnishes. Tomatoes, salsa, cilantro, sour cream, onions ... the sky is the limit.

As much as I'd love to hand over the recipes for every one of the recipes I make from the book, we're only allowed to publish a limited number of them. It makes sense. There are 20 bloggers participating, so if we all made different choices, we could publish the whole book. But don't worry, there will be a chance to win a book here soon, so check back for that. Or, if you're not feeling lucky, you can order one here.

For my part in this party, I've been given a copy of the cookbook, a jar of Emeril's Essence and serving bowls made by Zak! 

Bloggers who participate in this party and complete the 3-week assignment will receive some additional books by Emeril as well as a small cash reimbursement. One blogger will be chosen to receive a 6-quart Emeril-branded crockpot made by T-Fal.

For more information on Morrow's cooking blog, see The Secret Ingredient. Want to pre-order the book? Clicky-clicky right here.

They're nice for serving toppings, small side dishes, little nibbles, or whatever you want.

They nest together for storage, and you can arrange them in a flower-like shape, which is kind of cool.

They're dishwasher-safe, but not microwave safe. They look pretty sturdy, too. Some kind of hard plastic material. When I first saw them, I was a bit skeptical that I'd like them, but they're actually kind of neat-looking, and they look nice in photos, which is always a plus.

And heck, on taco night, I can put all the darned components in matching bowls, instead of grabbing my usual mix-and-match mess.

Apples got the blues, honey

I love a challenge, particularly when it comes to cooking. Sometimes the best challenges come in the form of contests that I enter.

In this case, it was a Kitchen Play contest sponsored by The US Apple Association. The deal with these contests is that you have to recreate/revise/riff on a recipe that another blogger created for the month's menu, using the sponsor's product.

In this case, the recipe was for the appetizer course and it was an apple and blue cheese tart.

Radical that I am, I eliminated the tart and kept the apples, blue cheese, and honey. It's an interesting combination. I almost added a few other things, then came to my senses. This made a perfect little one-bite appetizers for dinner.

The honey I used was a local raw honey, and it's very thick. Good stuff.

No amounts on this recipe - make as much or as little as you like, and adjust the flavor the way you like. The amount of honey you're going to want depends in part on how tart the apples are. You want a balance, so it's not too sweet, but not overly tart.

Apples Got the Blues, Honey

Apples
Lemon or Fruit Fresh
Blue cheese
Honey

Peel the apples and slice - you can make thin wedges, or whatever shape amuses you. Drop the sliced apples into cold water with lemon juice or a bit of Fruit Fresh to keep it from browning.

When you're ready to assemble, remove the apples from the water, and top with a bit if blue cheese and a small drizzle of honey.

Serve.

Yogurt and Honey Bread

I use yogurt in bread quite often, but usually it's a small addition. This time, the liquid in the recipe is entirely yogurt. Then, to counteract the tartness of the yogurt, I added a generous amount of honey.

The resulting bread has a dark brown crust, a soft, moist interior, and a small crumb. There's still a hint of the tartness, followed by a mild sweetness from the honey.

It's not a super-sweet bread, so you could use it for just about anything, but I like think it's particularly appealing toasted, and it makes a killer peanut butter sandwich.

I make my own yogurt, so that's what I used, but any commercial Greek-style plain yogurt would be fine. If you can't find Greek-style yogurt, regular yogurt would be fine, or strain out some of the whey with a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

Yogurt and Honey Bread

1 cup Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup honey
2 1/4 cups (10 1/8 ounces) bread flour (divided)
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Combine the yogurt and honey in a microwave container or small pan and heat gently to warm it to room temperature and melt the honey. Stir to incorporate the honey into the yogurt. If it gets too warm, allow it to cool to room temperature.

Put half of the bread flour into the bowl of your stand mixer and add the yogurt mixture and the yeast. Stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes.

Add the rest of the flour and knead with the dough hook and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add the salt and butter and continue kneading until it is completely incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and sprinkle some cornmeal on a baking sheet.

When the dough had doubled, remove it from the bowl and form it into your preferred shape. Place it on the baking sheet seam-side down. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap, slash the loaf as desired, and bake at 325 degrees until the loaf is browned and the internal temperature of the loaf is about 200 degrees - about 40 minutes.

Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool completely on a rack before cutting.

This has been submitted to Yeastspotting.