"The Best..." Really?

One of my favorite parts of the movie Elf is when Buddy goes into the cafe and congratulates them on, "having done it!" They claim to have "The World's Best Cup of Coffee." How often do you see eateries advertising, "world famous/award winning/best" fill in the blank? After driving across half of the country one winter recruiting for a camp in New Mexico my friend and I noticed that every town has a "Best" whatever that they try to use to lure you in. How do you really know that this place has the best pancakes, chicken, or quesadillas? Chances are you don't and you can make a better version of whatever they are claiming to have perfected.

The quesadilla is one of those go to staples that you can easily whip up in a pinch and satisfy the masses. Most people seem to have a few tortillas hanging around the fridge or pantry and everyone has cheese in the fridge. With a few fridge additions you have yourself a nice little meal that is going to be better than "the best" quesadillas you are going to find out on the town. Yesterday for lunch I opted to make some three cheese quesadillas with some turkey and hard salami. Who says that you have to always use steak or chicken? I think that when you look at the leftover fajita meat in the fridge you don't have to settle for a repeat of Tuesday night.

I think the quesadilla key is spreading a thin layer of butter on your pan before adding the tortillas so that you get that little brown crispy goodness on the outside of your flour (or corn) packaging. Think about sprinkling a little paprika or cumin on top or your cheese with a squeeze of lime. If you add some yellow rice, maybe some black beans and chips you have yourself a meal. Don't waste your time or money ordering quesadillas out on the town when you can make better ones in your house. Play around, have fun, and spice up your night!!

Taco Tuesday

First off I must apologize for taking a week off from posts. I am going to make it up by posting a little extra on particular days. I was preparing for a long trip to Little Rock Arkansas to run a marathon and the blog had to be placed on hold. Last Tuesday I make tequila lime steak fajitas. Fajitas are something that most people love to order when they are out to eat, but rarely make at home. One thing that I love about making something that you have to marinade is that your food is working for you as you are working for yourself, and your family!! In a large freezer bag I dumped half of a lime (juiced), 2 oz of tequila, paprika, cumin, 4 cloves of garlic (crushed), 1/4 of a red onion, salt, pepper, chili powder, half a jalapeno, 1 ancho chili (diced), 1/2 a poblano, some cilantro, and some cayenne. I tossed in a 20 oz top sirloin and allowed it to marinate all day while I was at work.



Once I got home from work I placed the steak and the marinade in the freezer while I prepared the veggies. Fajita veggies can really be anything you want them to be, but traditionally it is just the mixed peppers and onions. Simple, simple, simple!! These veggies were sauteed in some EVOO before being finished off with a little of the marinade. Of course I cooked the marinade and the veggies so that it would kill off any of the meat juices that you would not want to consume raw.



I took the meat out of the freezer and sliced it nice and thin. The freezer helps to firm up the meat so that you can slice it thinner without adding any of your own meat to the mix. When you have sharp knives, which you always should, any good chef can slip and slice their digits!! The meat was sauteed in a hot pan with some EVOO. I made sure not to over cook the meat because I HATE tough fajita meat. Medium-rare is my desired doneness, but for you it might need to be a bit darker.



One key to great fajitas is to heat your tortillas. Toss them in a hot pan with a little butter and heat for about 20 seconds on each side...MONEY!! Also, what are fajitas without some great guac?!!? In my world, every Tuesday should be taco Tuesday!! Fajitas do not have to just be something that you get when you go out to eat on a steaming platter. You can make better fajitas at home. Trust me.