Carmelized Red Onion & Fennel Quesadillas

I'm a big fan of not following the rules of food all the time.  There are reasons why ingredients for recipes typically come from the same style or genre, but that shouldn't prevent you from crossing borders and experimenting...that's how some of the best and most innovative recipes are born. 

If you decide to get brave and turn your kitchen into a laboratory, just be prepared for the reality that not all of your culinary experiments will likely be featured on the Food Network right away.  (Trust me, I have created many disasters as I have attempted to broaden my range.)  In fact, I am feeling quite generous tonight and will pass along 2 VERY valuable things I learned so as to prevent you from making similar mistakes:

1. When cooking for people, you cannot cover up burned food by calling it "Cajun" unless you ACTUALLY know how to cook Cajun.
2. Bananas have no place in Chinese cooking.

All that said, here's an example of something that could easily be considered a non-traditional quesadilla.  Quesadillas being a Mexican creation are well known for their versatility in ingredient options, and here is a recipe that utilizes more of a bistro-style prepared filling.  These taste fantastic, are cool to make, and are elegant enough (in my opinion) to serve before any meal or by themselves. 

Carmelized Red Onion & Fennel Quesadillas:

Ingredients:

• 1 - Medium red onion, sliced thinly
• 1 - Bulb of fennel, sliced thinly (Check out my blog on how to slice fennel if you're not familiar.)
• 1/2 - Bottle of your favorite beer
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp. Butter
• 1 Tsp. Sugar
• 1# (16 oz) of either Montery Jack or Colby Jack shredded cheese (I highly recommend shredding your own - the quesadilla will be much creamier, but you most certainly can use a bagged version.)
• 1 Package Tortillas - Burrito size

How To Make:

• Slice the fennel and onion and set aside.  Heat the butter and oil in a medium saute' pan over medium heat until butter begins to melt.  Add your fennel and red onions and allow them to cook about 8 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add your sugar and stir mixture, continuing to cook 2-3 minutes.  Finally add your beer and cook, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes until it reduces.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside.  (This mix can also be made up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated.).
• If you're shredding your cheese yourself, shred it now and place in a bowl.
• Heat a large pan on your stovetop over medium heat.  Place your tortilla down flat in the pan and spoon some of the cheese over 1/2 of it followed by some of the onion/fennel mix.  (My technique then is to immediately pull the blank half of the tortilla over the un-melted filling and then turn it over in the pan.  This way, the cheese will then melt down into the ingredients on the inside.  Neat huh?)
• Allow this to cook about 3-5 minutes so the tortilla crisps in the pan.  Check occasionally - when you see it beginning to darken/toast just a little, flip back to the first side and repeat until that side is toasted.  Remove to a cutting board, slice, and serve.

Pasta Filletto di Pomodoro

Pasta Filletto di Pomodoro (a.k.a Pasta with filleted tomatoes) is an easy to make, light pasta recipe that's ready in no time.  The cool part about this dish (which is a version of master Italian chef, Nick Stellino's) is that you can prepare the few portions needed for this recipe ahead of time so you're not rushing to do it all last minute.

I believe that the key to this recipe is the preparation of the tomatoes.  You can certainly just dice some romas or any other tomato for this, but you'll definitely notice a difference in texture and flavor by doing this the correct way - which is to eliminate the skin and seeds by boiling your tomatoes for about 30 seconds ahead of time.  (...we'll get to that in the recipe though).

One thing I have learned about cooking Italian pastas like these in recent years is that you really need to understand the importance of the correct cheese to utlilize.  I don't know about anyone else, but it took me a while to really appreciate freshly grated or shredded parmesan reggiano, romano, mozzarella, and other Italian based cheeses.  Some have a very distinct scent to them (which can be unappealing for many), but they really do encompass true Italian flavor/texture and they just require a slight palate adjustment to appreciate them.  I assure you, there's a world of difference when you grate/shred whole cheese as opposed to purchasing the pre-bagged kinds, which tend have a bit more of a rubbery texture.

That being said...let's make some pasta.

Pasta Filleto di Pomodoro:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 # Spaghetti Noodles
• Olive Oil
• 2 Tsp Salt (for the pasta water)
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves, Sliced
• 1/8 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh Basil, Chopped
• 3 Large Tomatoes (or 6 Roma Tomatoes)
• 2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tsp. Sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Freshly Grated Romano Cheese (and a little extra to garnish at the end)

How To Make:

• To begin with, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the salt for the pasta.  Stir noodles over a rolling boil for about 6 minutes until "al dente".  Strain noodles and place in a medium bowl.  Pour about 1 Tbsp. of Olive Oil over the noodles - just enough to coat -  toss together so they won't stick & set aside for later. 
• Bring another medium/large of water to a boil.  While the water is heating up, make a small cross or "X" on the bottom of each tomato; these will give you easy-to-access flaps after they are boiled so you can peel it quicker.  Submerge the tomatoes in the water and boil for approximately 30 seconds; if you go too long, your tomatoes will mush up.  Remove to a bowl and let cool enough that you can handle them.
• Once the tomatoes have cooled, peel the skin off completely, and quarter the tomatoes.  Then you want to "fillet" the tomato to remove the chewy membrane and seeds, just leaving the meaty portion of the tomato.  This should be about 1/4 thick if fully ripe.  Dice the tomato and set aside.
• Alright folks, it's the home stretch:  Pour enough Olive Oil to completely coat the bottom of a medium saute' pan and add the garlic slices, THEN turn the pan to medium heat.  This is done to infuse the oil the with the garlic flavor.  As soon as the garlic begins to crackle (takes a couple minutes), add the pepper flakes and the basil and stir briefly.  The basil will IMMEDIATELY crackle when it hits the oil as it is made up of mostly water.
• Pour in the tomatoes, sprinkle with the salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Add your spaghetti and toss with tongs (or a few flips of the wrist if you have that technique down) until all the ingredients have had the chance to dance with one another.  Yep...I said that.
• Last step: Turn the heat OFF and then sprinkle your cheese over the mixture.  You do this, so the cheese does not burn on the bottom of the pan while you're tossing the pasta.  Toss/stir to combine for about 1 minute and pour into serving bowls.  I prefer a chilled Chardonnay with this one. 

 

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Puerco Pibil - A Slow Roasted Mexican Pork

Puerco Pibil is an insanely exotic dish that's a staple in the Yucatan Peninsula.  It's trademark color comes from the annatto seeds in the aciote paste.  If you've ever seen "Once Upon A Time In Mexico", you'll recognize this as the dish that Johnny Depp's character goes loco over.

I have to give credit to Robert Rodriguez for the recipe - it's one of the cool special features on the DVD for that movie where he does a video tutorial of making this dish.  I've been making this ever since I first saw it back in 2003. 

The annatto seeds I refer to above can be purchased in Mexican markets or purchased online.  They look like little rocks:

One other reason I truly enjoy this dish, is it requires about 20 minutes of preparation and then you throw it in the oven for 4 hours and you're done.  You have time to go about your day and do what you need to do while the meat steams itself to perfection. 

The last thing I'd like to point out is that traditional pibil involves wrapping the meat in banana leaves prior to cooking.   Since I don't have easy access to banana trees, I simply place the pork in a casserole dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil.   If you have a problem with that, take it up with me in the morning...I'm too tired to argue now.

Ooh....one more thing:  It is ideal if you have a coffee grinder that you can use for grinding spices. (Don't use one you use for grinding coffee...it's going to come out all yuck.)  If you don't, just take my measurements below from the bottled version of the spices.  Ok, now I'm done.

Puerco' Pibil

Ingredients:

• 5# Pork Butt (Also known as Pork Shoulder)
• 5 Tbsp. Annato Seeds
• 2 Tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns
• 8 Allspice
• 1/2 Tsp. Cloves
• 2-3 Habanero Peppers, Seeded and chopped
• 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
• 1/2 Cup White Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
• 8 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• Juice of 5 Lemons
• A splash of your favorite Tequilla - Don't skimp, use the good stuff

How To Make:

• Place the annato seeds, cumin, pepper, allspice, and cloves in your grinder and grind until they're small granules.  Set aside.  In a blender, combine habanero, orange juice, & vinegar and blend briefly (5-8 seconds).  Add the ground spices, salt, garlic, lemon juice and tequilla and blend until smooth - about 30 seconds.
• Cut the pork into 2" cubes and place in a large ziploc bag.  Pour the marinade over the meat, seal the bag, and shake/move so the mixture covers the meat thoroughly.  Preheat the oven to 325.
• Line a large casserole dish with a few sheets of aluminum foil and pour the meat into the dish.  Cover entire contents with foil and make sure there are no air holes - the steam is what cooks the meat properly.  Cook 4 hours and serve over rice.