Melt it

GRILLED CHEESE/QUESADILLA  (kay–sah–dee–ya)   

The word ‘queso’ is Spanish for cheese.  What a food, what an ingredient!  It’s so easy to make the quesadilla, so why am I making a recipe out of it?  Like having a recipe for grilled cheese sandwich?  Yeah, you got it.

The basic route of creating the quesadilla is to take a bread, in this case, the humble tortilla, and grill-melt a choice of cheese(s) between two layers of that bread.  There, and thank you.  Perfection.  But, if you want to try some wonderful options, then stay tuned.

We have formerly mentioned that there are breads -- and there are breads.  Not only tortillas, but also textural varieties like naan, an Indian un-leavened fried type bread; crêpes (which sort of invented this whole folded/filler thing in the first place); chewy and piquant San Francisco sourdough; the similar yet so different pita; and even that wonderful ‘leaf’ – the phyllo -- layers and layers of wonderful airy crispness.  There are legions of breads out there to try.

That’s just the bread, and only a fraction of the offerings out there to marry with cheese. But cheese -- hundreds of varieties of cheese, most of them easily meltable, ah, meltable, which is the foundation for this recipe.  I could spend hours listing all the cheeses that would love to spend a starring heading with any of the leading breads.  Cheddar, gruyere or Swiss, edam, jack, goat cheese, mozzarella, fontina, provolone, or cream cheese are easy guesses (don’t even get me started if you think processed ‘cheeses’ are cheese); but venture out a little from your safety net and try brie, emmental, muenster, Bonbel, Laughing Cow (I knew it as Vache qui Rit), Roquefort, camembert or slightly aged cheeses.  Now I’m drooling, where IS that skillet?

It can be noted that you won’t even want to try non-fat cheeses; but there are some wonderful selections in cheddars, mozzarella and Swiss in the low-fat offering that still melt nicely and don’t taste all that bad. And when aligned with the co-starring options below, look out!

We have untold zillions of ingredients that would fare beautifully alongside that mass of melted wonderfulness.  This is the difference between ‘normal’ and ‘fun’.  Shredded meats – my ‘pulled pork’ from this book, chicken, leftover roast, duck, fish, sausage, bacon!; a sliced hard-boiled egg, or just a different kind of cheese (like a non-melting dry aged type) to pair up – oh so many.  Vegetables:   roasted, BBQ’ed, raw, caramelized, pickled and brined (eggplant, leeks, grilled onions, squash, raw onions, pickles, sliced tomatoes, olives, pickled okra, asparagus).  Plus we have all these amazing salsas!  My mouth is watering.

And then fruits.  Cheese and fruit were meant to spend their lives together.  Apples and cheese, my dad loved cheddar on his apple pie.  Ask any wine lover, the fruit and cheese plate with a lovely Beaujolais, heaven!  Just think of a tart apple, crunchy pear, plums, star fruit, tomatillos, peach or apricot.  Diced dried fruits, yes.  Ah, the flavors and textures!

Prepare your bread with a minimal amount of butter.   No, don’t slather a big gob (nothing is worse than an oily sandwich) but evenly and lightly apply.  Try adding dry/aged, shredded cheese (like parmesan or pecorino) to the butter for an enhanced crispiness!  Over medium/medium-low heat, apply the dry side of both slices of bread (or tortilla) to the dry medium-hot pan.  Grill just enough length of time to warm the slices, and set the texture.  Just barely golden crisp the one side and flip it over to the buttered side.  Now you place the cheese, oh the cheese, applied in a sliced layer upon the waiting bread.

Layer a lovely, full-bodied cheese or cheeses on the slices that you’ve warmed and crisped, or simply fold the original bread in half (as with a tortilla or pita or other big, thin choice).  With breads, assemble and grill to a rich golden crisp the one side and flip and grill on the other after adding the cheese.  This should be enough time to melt the interior cheese. 

Now, in most books, this is where the two have fallen in love and ride off into the sunset, as the simplicity of cheese and bread together is a classic.                                      or

One could insert a companion into the layer of cheese at the start, or one could add the companion after all is melted.  Earlier it would be something that would need to be heated as well such as meats or vegetables.  Later, it would be something delicate that can’t be heated for very long, like prepared guacamole or sliced avocado, lettuce/ arugula/ watercress (!), or crisp cool sliced onion or fruit.  But, for that latter insert option, carefully remove the hot bit of heaven from the grill and immediately open the toasted treasure (while the interior is still meltingly liquid soft) to reveal that lovely cheese and insert your choice of companions to the waiting deliciousness. 

I have a tear in my eye.

My recommendation, a good dollop of perfection -- guacamole, that’s my ticket!  For a Monday, anyway.  The other days, give me a minute, I’ll have to think.  Bacon and tomato?  Star fruit and hazelnuts?

Just a thought - potato is one of my favorite pizzas (yes!  Thin sliced cooked potato) and the same goes for grilled cheese or quesadilla - just thin slice and grill till golden several slices of potato (pre-cooked or not, till done) and slip into the melted cheese, oh baby!

WRAPPED ASPARAGUS MELT

A sandwich need not be plain and dull to be delicious and healthy.  I think by now everyone knows nothing eaten need be placed under that heading.

Asparagus is such an inviting food, not too expensive and readily available year round.  In fact, I’ve found it more reasonably priced off-season as a frozen food, the spears being individually frozen.  Whether fresh or frozen, the best options are finding young, tender shoots for this sandwich.  Using frozen?  Allow to thaw in the refrigerator, and use as is.  Frozen are parboiled prior to freezing, so the ‘doneness’ is just right as they are.  Fresh?  Braise in covered sauté or frying pan with very little salted water for only a few minutes, till just tender and chill immediately.

The sandwich basics are fairly easy.  Nothing is cooked to any degree, only heated.  Most of the work is pretty much in assembly. 

Ingredients:  per sandwich     

            5 or 6     asparagus spears, thawed or quick-braised
                                   and flash-chilled

            5 or 6     slices turkey (or ham or roast beef, if desired)

            2            slices hearty bread:  sourdough, rye, whole
                                   wheat, 7 grain etc.

            2            tsp mayonnaise, thousand island dressing
                                   or ranch dressing

            2-3         slices Swiss cheese, Monterey jack, Pepper jack,
                                   fontina, white cheddar, or any easy
                                   melting cheese

            sliced tomatoes, thin-sliced fresh red onion, lettuce
            salt and pepper

Preparation:  Spread each slice of bread with your choice of dressing.  Wrap each asparagus spear in a slice of meat, which are then laid side by side on dressed slice of bread.  Cover with cheese and place in oven or broiler until bread is lightly crisped and the cheese has melted.  Then place tomato, onion and/or lettuce if desired.  The other dressed bread slice may be set in oven toward the end of the melting to match the light crispness of the other if desired.

My personal favorite is turkey, Thousand Island dressing, pepper jack cheese on sourdough with tomato and thin-sliced red onion.  But hey, that’s me.

Make it more of an adult treat?  Consider using focaccia bread, or a prepared semi-baked pizza round, or flat bread or a halved ciabatta or challah sliced thin.  A nice full grain flavor refreshes the soul.  Making it into a French toast version as stated in the above recipe is a great enhancement.

Spread -- instead of mayonnaise alone – perhaps use mayonnaise as a mix with a light addition of bleu cheese dressing, or an aioli, or a chipotle mayonnaise.  Give the mild green pepper cream or avocado cream in this book a shot, wonderful!  Try this paired with sliced roasted red peppers – exercise your imagination, think what would ‘sound’ great together.  Layer the sliced meat-wrapped asparagus spears (perhaps sliced leftover rib eye, pork roast or turkey breast? Or mix them in one sandwich) over this and top with a choice of several offerings of cheese – Brie, Gruyére and/or Edam perhaps.    Heat in oven or broiler gently, remove when heated and top with a light dusting of fresh chopped soft flavored herbs such as basil, dill, parsley, tarragon and/or marjoram – and perhaps some toasted sunflower nuts?  Great with a white wine or a cold lager or beer!  Or a big, ice-cold glass of milk.

Don’t like asparagus?  Hey, strip-sliced, lightly braised leeks, peppers or Napa cabbage; sugar/snow peas, pear or apple wedges, bacon, french fries (!) – or whatever you might find in the fridge.   Play with this, you will be surprised at how terrific this sandwich can go.