Quesadilla: My Spicy Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe

Quesadilla Recipe

 

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I had been wanting to make this Quesdilla for some time now as it is easy and delicious! I love the Quesadilla  as a main dish or appetizer but no matter how I make it the Quesadilla is one of  my favorite comfort foods. I mean who doesn't love gooey, cheesy, melty comfort foods? Nobody that's who!

Years ago I was a bartender here in Las Vegas and I worked with a cook named Wes on my graveyard shifts. Wes was a pretty creative guy in the kitchen and sometimes he would come up with some really excellent recipes. Some would be a bit on the complex side and we would not get the OK from the owner of the bar to add it to the menu and then sometimes Wes would come up with a simple little something that was a big hit. This was the case with his Spicy Shrimp Quesadilla!

He made a Quesadilla for the boss one day and the boss loved it so much that he let us have the Quesdilla recipe on the menu. I worked graveyard shift four nights a week and we sold the hell out of those Quesadilla's! Now you would think that we just made bar food and the truth be known we did! Chicken wings and fingers, burgers and dogs. We had a small breakfast menu as well. But! When you have two guys who love to cook then watch out!

Anyway this weeks video is for my version of  the Spicy Shrimp Quesadilla recipe that Wes used to make. I am adding Southeast Asian flavors because I just love the flavors of Southeast Asia and most notably the flavors of Thailand and Viet Nam! I am also adding my very own Asian Pesto Sauce that I personally guarantee will go good on anything you put it on be it beef, chicken, fish, noodles, rice! Anything will be greatly enhanced with flavors with this sauce!  So without further adieu let's get into my Spicy Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe!


Ingredients for Spicy Shrimp Quesadilla:
A stove top cast iron griller,  or a really large cast iron pan, or pizza stone.
A package of large flour tortillas. If you are gluten free then you can find gluten free flour tortillas.
One tortilla for the Quesadilla and half of another tortilla for the second layer of this Quesadilla recipe.
As much Sambal Olek (garlic chili sauce) you would like to spread on the tortilla. I used about 5 Tbsp.
A package of any kind of cheese you like. I used Colby Jack but you can use any kind really.
A package of cooked shrimp any size you like will do. You will use 10-20 of these cut in half lengthwise.
1/2 Cup Thai Basil either sweet basil, holy basil, hoary basil any variety will work just fine.
1/4 to 1/2 Finely sliced onion. Sliced as thinly as possible.
1/2 to 1 Tbsp finely chopped lemongrass. Chopped as finely as possible.

Ingredients for Asian Pesto Sauce:
1 Cup of olive oil.
2 to 4 (depends on how hot you like) Thai Bird Chilies finely chopped seeds and all.
4 cloves garlic.
1 Tbsp finely minced ginger.
1/2 Tbsp sugar. (brown or white)
2 to 3 Tbsp of sesame tahini.
1/2 Cup Thai basil. Any kind will do.
1/2 Cup of mint.
1/2 Cup cilantro.(optional)
2 to 3 Tbsp of scallion white bulbs sliced fine.
Zest of one lime.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups of Pesto Sauce. If you want more then multiply this base recipe by any number you want!


Method for making Asian Pesto Sauce:
Make the Asian Pesto Sauce first so that the flavors of the sauce get to marry before being put on the Quesadilla!

1. Pour olive oil into a food processor or blender. I am using a Cuisinart Elite processor and I love it!
2. Now add your chilies, garlic, ginger, sugar, Tahini, sliced scallions, lime zest and blend it up in your processor or blender until it's smooth. This is your emulsion.

3. Now add your basil, mint and optional cilantro and your salt and pepper to taste and blend it together with your emulsion. This is your Asian Pesto Sauce. I make this about an hour or more in advance of making my Quesadilla to allow the flavors to marry and blend together. Put Asian Pesto in a non-metallic bowl and put aside.

Method for Spicy Shrimp Quesadilla Recipe:
1. Lay out your tortilla on a cutting board or pizza peel. I used a pizza peel.
2. Spread your chili sauce over the tortilla.
3. Cover one half of the tortilla with your cheese of choice.
4. Now cover the cheese with your shrimp. I cut the shrimp in half lengthwise to allow it to cook faster.
5. Sprinkle some more cheese over the shrimp on your Quesadilla.
6. Half of a second tortilla placed on top of the shrimp and cheese.
7. Sprinkle cheese on top of the second layer.
8. Place about 1/2 to 1 cup of basil leaves on top of the cheese.
9. Now put your finely sliced onions on top of the basil leaves. You want your onions sliced as thinly as possible.
10. Sprinkle with 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of finely chopped lemongrass.
11. Fold the other half of the Quesadilla over the half with the basil and onions and press it down.


Before you grill this Quesadilla make a salad out of any kind of lettuce or salad mix that you have on hand. Use some of the Asian Pesto Sauce as the salad dressing and mix the greens and the pesto by hand and then plate the salad. Now it is time to grill your Quesadilla.

I am using a Lodge cast iron griller for indoors use. You can use whatever you have. If you have a pizza stone that will work well and if you have an Air bake pizza stone that will work to. Place your Quesadilla down on the flat top that you have either coated with some oil or non-stick spray and let it cook for 1 to 3 minutes depending on your stove and grill medium. Then turn the Quesadilla over to the other side and cook as the first side.

When the Quesadilla is done cooking cut it up and plate 2 or more pieces with your salad and drizzle some of your Asian Pesto Sauce on you Quesadilla slices and you are ready to eat! Enjoy!

Vichyssoise: Potato Soup Served Cold The Summer Soup Of France

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Vichyssoise

 

Hi everyone! This week I am making Vichyssoise: The Potato Soup Of the Summers Of France. I am making this potato soup recipe because it is still summer here in Las Vegas, NV where I live and as such there are times when I don't want to be making something hot in my kitchen because it only adds to the discomfort that the summer heat is causing to begin with. It is for this reason that I am making my version of Julia Child's classic Vichyssoise potato soup recipe.

Many people think that Vichyssoise was created in the kitchens of France in places like Lyons, Paris or even Vichy itself! Alas this is not the case! The classic potato soup recipe was actually created in New York City during the beginning of the 20th century. The man credited for the creation of Vichyssoise was named Chef Louis Diat and he died in 1957. Chef Diat worked for the famous Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Manhattan, New York.

At that time the Ritz-Carlton corporation was going to be opening up a new restaurant of the roof of the hotel as a "roof garden" restaurant. Chef Diat was the executive chef of the time and he was known for making a potato soup recipe of potatoes and leeks that was passed down to him from his mother. This potato soup recipe was going to be the soup starter that was going to be served at the opening of the roof top restaurant.

There has been some conjecture as to the creation of Chef Diat's potato recipe. Stories have surfaced that the potato soup recipe was prepared in advance of the opening of the restaurant but that it wasn't re-heated in time to be served as the first course of the dinner. Some accounts feel that Chef Diat being the Chef de Cuisine was having a moment of culinary creativity and clarity as we all do and he decided to add some cream to the potato soup recipe and serve it cold with chopped chives. Chef Diat called this potato soup Vichyssoise Glacee or Chilled Cream Vichyssoise. Vichy was the city in which Chef Diat was born and hence the name of the potato soup recipe as Vichyssoise! Many people pronounce the dish as "Vee Shee Swah" This is not correct. The correct pronunciation is "Vee Shee Swahzz"  The final "e" after the last "s" in the name creates the "zzz" sound.

So it is with this in mind that I felt to make this Vichyssoise, this classic potato soup recipe for you here this week. There are two versions of Vichyssoise. One version of this potato soup recipe is vegetarian in nature and the other version of this potato soup recipe is made with Chicken stock. I am making my version of Vichyssoise with the Chicken stock. I am adapting my version of Vichyssoise from Julia Child's classic vegetarian version of this potato soup recipe and making a couple of additions and revisions for my version. I hope you enjoy this video and I hope you try this classic French potato soup recipe.


The Ingredients:
4 Cups of sliced leeks the white part and only a little of the light green part.
1/2 Of one white or brown onion finely diced.
4 Cups of diced potatoes. I used red potatoes but you can use Yukon golds or even baking potatoes if you wish.
6 to 7 Cups of chicken stock. The same amount of water if you want to make this in the vegetarian alternative recipe.
1 to 2 Tsp of salt or to taste. In the video I add salt and pepper in stages as I build layers of flavor.
1/2 Cup or more of heavy cream, half and half, sour cream or creme fraiche as option to build creamy texture of soup.
1 or 2 Tablespoons of sour cream for garnish.
1 or more Tablespoons of chopped chives or combination of chive spears and chopped chives for garnish.
1/4 to 1/2 Stick of butter.
1 Large saucepan at least 4 quarts or small to medium stockpot with a heavy bottom.
1 Large saute pan. A 12 inch saute pan will do best.
1 Immersion blender or a regular blender.


The Method:
1. In a large saute pan melt your butter and saute your leeks and onions until soft and translucent. Add a touch of salt and black or white pepper to build flavor layer. Don't burn the butter and don't let the leeks and onion carmelize.

2. Once the leeks and the onions have softened and gotten translucent put them in a large saucepan or medium/large stock/saucepot.

3. Now add your diced potatoes to the leeks and onions in the stockpot. Add just enough Chicken stock to cover the potatoes and leeks. Bring to the boil for one or two minutes and then reduce to a simmer. Add a pinch of salt and black or white pepper for the flavor layer. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

4. Now if you have a immersion blender you can use it to puree the potatoes and leeks into your soup. If not like I did in the video I used a potato masher to "pre-puree" the potatoes and leeks so that I can use a regular blender to do the final puree of the potato soup recipe. I was able to puree all the potato soup in my pot using my blender twice. With each blender full when done pour potato soup into another pot or big bowl to be ready to be chilled before serving.

5. Once you have pureed the potato soup recipe make sure to taste it and make any corrections you want in your salt and pepper that you want to make. Allow the potato soup recipe to cool on your counter for about 30 minutes before putting the mixture in the fridge to chill.

6. Place your serving bowls in the fridge to get really cold.
7. Cut yourself some chive spears and then finely chop the rest of the chives that you wish to use as garnish.
8. Just before serving the Vichyssoise potato soup you can pour in your heavy cream, half and half, creme fraiche or sour cream to give the Vichyssoise that final creamy layer of flavor and texture and mix it in well. The Vichyssoise will take on a nice white creamy color as well.

9. When you finally put the Vichyssoise potato soup into your bowls garnish with a dollop or two of sour cream, creme fraiche, or heavy cream in the center of the bowl and then add some chive spears and chopped chives and serve!

Enjoy the soup!

Pasta Salad Recipe: Thai Inspired Pasta Salad The Flavors Of Southeast Asia

Pasta Salad Recipe

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Hi everyone! I know I have been gone for about two or three weeks now but I have been extremely busy working on my blog here at EZ Cooking. I was having some functionality issues with the site but now everything is back to normal and I am back to making cooking videos for your gastronomic enjoyment.

Here in Las Vegas, Nevada where I live the summer is winding down and the temperatures about finally below 100 degrees. The heat this year has been as high as 115 degrees which in nice and balmy to say the least! We are now in our monsoon season and last night starting at about 3:30AM we had a monster storm pass through. Lots of rain and thunder and lightning. So what this is telling us here in Vegas is that the summer is coming to a close.

So as is my policy this year as in every year I am having an end of summer get together with some friends of mine. Each year for the past few years we do this. We get together and eat and eat and eat and have a good time and then eventually the drinks catch up to us and we get pretty well trashed. Not to worry folks! I am the keeper of the keys and nobody gets out until they have sobered up and that usually means that my buds are sleeping over. They better think twice if they think I am going to cook them breakfast! If anything they are going to have to take me out for breakfast!

So we all planned to have our party yesterday 9/12/2011. Then I get the same thing that I have gotten for the last few years. "Whatcha gonna make Dick! I keep on telling them to call me Richard as Dick is just so old fashioned. I told them I am not going to make anything! I was like: "This year you slobs make something and I will  make a nice side dish to go with whatever you make." They all know I cook like religion and they all bitched and moaned about it but, in the end they agreed. I told them whatever you boneheads make it better not end up looking like something that was cooked by little green men from Mars! Believe me some of these guys don't know how to boil water let alone cook something. If it wasn't for fast food and deli counters and me most of these yobs would be dead!

So the side dish that I decided to make for this shindig is a Thai inspired pasta salad recipe. This cold pasta salad recipe is not your typical pasta salad made with mayo or mustard and relish with celery and onion or the kind of pasta salad recipes from the deli counter at the local market which is just pasta, tomato, mozzarella cheese and salami with spices and an oil and vinegar dressing. YAWN! To pedestrian for me! We here are foodies and that means that we think a little outside the box and in many cases it means we think way out of the box at times as well.

I love the flavors of Thai cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine as well and I thought these both subtle and strong flavors would make a really great pasta salad recipe! This is not Thai noodle salad as that is a totally separate dish on it's own. This is Thai Pasta salad and It is both refreshing and bracing. It encompasses the flavors of Thailand. This pasta salad recipe will be hot, sweet, salty and sour. The ingredients in this pasta salad have been chopped into very small pieces as some of the flavors can be very strong. I like strong flavors so if you make this recipe you might need to adjust the amounts of ingredients slightly to suit your needs. I hope you enjoy this pasta salad recipe.

I generally like to make the Thai Pasta Salad Dressing before I make the pasta salad recipe itself to allow the flavors of the dressing to marry before being poured over the pasta salad prior to serving.

Nuoc Cham base Ingredients:
2-4 Thai bird chilies depending on heat tolerance seeded and sliced as thin as possible.
2 Clove garlic chopped as finely as possible.
1 Inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped as finely as possible.
1-2 Tbsp of either white or brown sugar.
2 Tbsp lime juice.

****This is the Nuoc Cham base. Mix all these ingredients in a bowl and let stand for 1 to 2 hours to allow flavors to marry. Then when the flavors of this base have married it will be time to make the Nuoc Cham.

To the Nouc Cham Base add:
1/3 Cup fish sauce.
1/3 Cup rice vinegar.
2 Tbsp sesame oil.
Stir or whisk this mixture very well in preparation for pouring on the pasta salad.

Ingredients:
1 Lb Penne Rigate pasta. You can also use Rigatoni, Farfalle, Casarecci, Cellentani, or Conchiglie. All will work!
1 Cup Thai basil. 1/2 cup chopped fine the other 1/2 cup whole leaves for texture and eye appeal.
1 Bunch scallions finely sliced. Slice as thin as you can get it. Slice either straight or on the bias.
1/2 to 1 Cup depending on taste of Cilantro finely chopped.
4-6 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced into small pieces.
8-10 Cloves of garlic finely chopped. Figure 2 cloves of garlic person or more depending on tastes.
4-6 Thai bird chilies seeded and finely chopped. More or less depending on your tolerance for hot chilies.
2-3 Inch chunk of fresh ginger peeled and chopped as fine as possible.
1/2 Stalk Lemongrass. Peel the green bark off and either slice as finely as possible or chop as finely as possible.
Zest of 2 limes Kaffir or regular limes will do.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Large mixing bowl.

Method:
1. Cook pasta and then strain and put in cold water to stop the cooking and remove excess starch then strain again and put in bowl to have other ingredients put into the pasta salad.

2. Take your finely sliced scallions and mix into the pasta well.
3. Take your Thai basil and mix the finely chopped basil into the pasta salad.
4. Now take the whole Thai basil leaves and mix into the pasta.
5. Add Cilantro into the bowl with the pasta salad and mix it in well.
6. Add diced Roma tomatoes into the bowl with the pasta salad.
7. Now add in your finely chopped garlic to the pasta salad recipe.
8. Add your finely chopped Thai chilies to the pasta salad mixture.
9. Now add your finely chopped ginger to the pasta salad mixture.
10. Add your finely chopped lemongrass to the pasta salad recipe.
11. Add the zest of 2 limes to the pasta salad.
12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can choose to just all all the ingredients to the pasta salad recipe at one time and mix it all up together by hand and then add your Nuoc Cham dressing. I prefer to mix in one ingredient at a time to the pasta salad and mix in each ingredient separately. Some of the flavors in this recipe can be rather strong so you will need to taste and adjust according to your taste requirements. Enjoy!