Healthy Recipes - Grilled quesadillas with bacon, blue cheese and caramelized leeks

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Grilled quesadillas with bacon, blue cheese and caramelized leeks

Zola Gorgon

Surprise! . . . Almost It was supposed to be Rachel's surprise party, but she was too clever for us. I knew as soon as she walked out of the elevator dressed in jeans. She was not dressed for an executive dinner as she was supposed to be if she were attending the dinner I had "invited" her to. As the party disguise, I asked her if she wanted to come up to dinner to meet an advertising guru. Normally she'd dress for something like that in a beautiful suit or a skirt and blouse that would knock your socks off. Granted, the jeans were fabulous and she had stunning stiletto heels on and a beautiful top, but immediately I knew the secret had been blown. She was touched and smiled and laughed. But she knew. Then she told us how she knew. It was her neighbors, the girls. They started the decorating around 2PM. They live on the 2nd floor and we live on the 4th floor. Instead of taking the elevator, they took the stairs up and down. The elevator would have dinged and they didn't want to give away the surprise by Rachel hearing the elevator. Instead they took the stairs. Rachel, who must have the ears of a bat, kept hearing the doors open and shut. Rachel is one smart cookie. She knew something was up. These women who live next door are her friends. When she went to visit them on a Sunday afternoon next door, she wondered why they weren't lounging around after a long weekend. Why were they dressing to go out? (Little did she know that, before they let her in, they were stashing food and presents in every spot they could find!) She brushed it off and faked it well, but . . . she knew. Oh, well, we had fun anyway. It was Rachel's 25th birthday. At the quarter-century mark, you have some themes. Rachel loves tacos so we had a fiesta of tacos. Rachel babysits our kitties while we are out of town, so the party was hosted by Los Gatos Locos. And for a gift theme, we did 2-5-25. Whatever the gift, it had to be a 2, a 5 or 25. One woman gave her two orchids. Get it? I gave her the top to some lingerie. That's two. Get it? And then I gave her a $25 gift certificate to buy the bottom. Her friends Max and Etienne from next door gave her 25 chocolates from London. You get the idea. A good time was had by all. Here's a link to the menu http://www.dinnerwithzola.com/recipe.php?recipeId=00000232 and here's the recipe for the quesadillas. It was fun to fire up the grill once again. Although it was a bit chilly on the roof, no one seemed to notice--not with a mango-lime margarita or a Corona in hand and the roof fireplace lit and the sweater or sweatshirt on. I, on the other hand, got to stand by the 450-degree grill. Toasty. Cheers! And Happy Birthday Rachel! Zola Grilled quesadillas with bacon, blue cheese and caramelized leeks Serves at least 12. Makes 3 large quesadillas 12 to 16 pieces. 6 large lowfat flour tortillas (approx. 12 inches round)
6 pieces of bacon
4 small or 2 large leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly, light green parts included
2 tsp olive oil
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1 cup Chihuahua cheese (grated) or mozzarella Fry the bacon until crisp in a frying pan. Remove and drain on paper towel. Chop finely. (This can be done early in the day and stored in the refrigerator.) In a sauté pan, add your oil and then put in the leeks. Separate the leeks into their rings. You can use your fingers to do this as you put them in the pan. Sauté until very loose on Medium. This will take 5 to 7 minutes. When the leeks are fully cooked, drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar. Turn off the heat. Let sit until cool if you are going to store them. (The leeks can also be done ahead and stored in the refrigerator for later assembly.) When you want to make your quesadillas . . . . Lay out three of the tortillas on a cutting board or cookie sheet. Sprinkle on the crumbled blue cheese divided evenly amongst the three tortillas. Do the same with the bacon and the leek mixture. Then top off with the Chihuahua cheese or mozzarella divided. Place the other three tortillas on top and lightly press down to adhere the cheese lightly. You're just trying to coax it a bit. Set your grill on Medium High. Place all three tortillas on the grill (if you have room) or grill them one at a time if necessary. You're going to grill them until medium brown stripes form on the bottom of the lower tortilla. The cheese in the middle will be melting. Use your metal spatula to press down on the top tortilla so it sticks to the cheese. When the grill marks have formed, you get to the tricky part. You need to flip your quesadilla over. Don't hesitate. Put your spatula under the center of the quesadilla and quickly and smoothly flip it over just like it's a big pancake. If you go too fast or too slowly, you risk the insides flying or flopping out of your quesadilla. You can use an oven mitt as a guide to hold the quesadilla together your first few times until you are a confident flipper. Grill the second side until it's the same golden brown as the first side. (If you don't have a grill, cook these on Medium High, until golden brown, in a large sauté pan on your stovetop.) When I go to serve these I've decided the rustic route is best. I just put them on a cutting board and cut with a pizza cutter and let people help themselves. Alternatively you can cut them and serve on a platter of your choice. Enjoy! Bueno! Zola

This news arrived on: 10/24/2005

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