Chili-Lime Chicken Quesadillas

When you walk through Williams-Sonoma, you can always find recipes cards for different types of food.  A couple months ago, I found one for chili-lime chicken quesadillas and salsa.  I picked a copy up and forgot about it for a while until I was cleaning my cookbook shelf last month.  I had some left-over chicken so I thought that I would give the recipe a try for lunch.  I really enjoy this and it is very simple to make.

I don't have a grill for my stove, so I made this in a 10 inch frying pan.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halvess
• 4 Tbs. Chili-Lime Rub *
• 6 flour tortillas,each about 9 inches
• canola oil for brushing
• 14 oz. cheddar cheese, preferably sharp
• Sour cream for serving
• Diced red onion for serving

Directions:

• Rub the chicken breasts on both sides with the chili-lim erub.  Place the chicken on the grill and cook, turning once, until nicely grill-marked and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.  transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes, then cut into slices 1/4 inche thick.
• Reduce the heat on the grill to 400 degrees.  Brush one side of each tortilla with oil.  Place the tortillas, oiled side down, on a work surface.  
• Divide half of the cheese among the tortillas, sprinkling it onto half of each tortilla.  Arrange the chicken on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Fold the tortillas in half and enclose the filling.
• Place quesadillas on the grill.  Cook, turning once, until the tortillas are lightly browned and crisp and the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes per side.  Transfer to a cutting board.  Repeat as needed until all of the quesadillas are cooked.
• Cut quesadillas into wedges and serve immediately with salsa, sour cream and red onion alongside.

* Available at Williams-Sonoma stores.

Pumpkin Pie

I got this recipe from my technique class at Williams-Sonoma last week and have to share it.  I'm not a big fan of pumpkin cheesecake, but this was fantastic! It is so good that my mom asked me to make it for Thanksgiving this year.

They made it using their Pecan Pumpkin Butter.  I've written out the recipe as I received it and included the alternate filling instructions at the end of this recipe.  Enjoy!!

Gingersnap Crust:

• 1/4 lb. gingersnaps (about 20 small cookies)
• 1/3 cup pecan halves
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Topping:

• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 2 Tbs. granulated sugar

Filling (original recipe):

• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree

Here are the instructions for the original recipe that they gave us at class.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan.

To make the crust, in a food processor, combine the gingersnaps and pecans and process until crumbly.  Add the brown sugar and melted butter and pulse for a few seconds to blend.  Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared pan.  Use your fingers to pat the mixture into the bottom and evenly all the way up the sides of the pan.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

To make the filling, in a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and cloves.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy.  Using a rubber spatula, occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Gradually add the brown sugar mixture, beating until smooth.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Using the spatula, scrape the batter into the chilled crust and smooth to top.

Bake the cheesecake until set or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 - 40 minutes.  transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the topping, set aside 10 pecan halves and coarsely chop the rest.  In a small fry pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add all of the pecans, sprinkle with the granulated sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts and the nuts are toasted and caramel coated.  Transfer the nut mixture to a plate and let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.  Just before serving, sprinkle the chopped pecans over the cheesecake and arrange the halves evenly around the perimeter.  Serves 10 to 12.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Thanksgiving Entertaining, by Lou Seibert Pappas (Simon & Schuster, 2005).

**Alternative Filling for Pumpkin Cheesecake

Filling:

• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 jar Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter (only available at Williams-Sonoma)
  

For the alternative filling recipe, in a small bowl, mix the brown sugar with the pecan pumpkin butter.  Follow the rest of the recipe as written above.

Pinwheels

I picked up this easy hors d'oeuvre recipe at this weekend's class.   There are a couple of variations for this.  I'm going to write the directions for the ones that we had in class and then include the variations at the end.

Pinwheels

Ingredients:

• Soft tortillas
• Thin sliced roast beef
• mayonnaise
• Wich'craft Balsamic Onion Marmalade (Williams-Sonoma product)
  

Place the tortillas on a baking sheet.  Place a thin layer of roast beef on the tortilla.  Warm the tortillas.  Once they are warm, add a very thin layer of mayonnaise and a thin layer of the balsamic onion marmalade.  Roll the tortilla and then cut the tortilla into thin slices.  Serve these on a nice serving platter or plate.

Variations:

• Roast Beef and Cheddar cheese
• Turkey and Swiss cheese
• Ham and Swiss
  

Tips:

• If you make pinwheels and are going to serve them warm, make sure that you serve them on a warming plate so that the cheese does not get rubbery.
• Spicy mustard can be substituted for the mayonnaise or the cheese in any of the variations listed here.
  

Fizzy Lemonade

Here's a fun twist on a classic.  Over the summer during one of the technique classes at Williams-Sonoma, they made lemonade for us, but this lemonade had a twist.  They used carbonated water instead of regular tap water. I've been making a lot of lemonade and limeade since I am not drinking caffiene while we are trying to have Baby #2.

If you make the Minute Maid Lemonade that is found in the freezer section of the grocery store, a large bottle of seltzer water and a bottle of water equals the 4 1/3 cups of water needed to make the lemonade.

Baking a flaky pie crust

In an effort to learn more about cooking and to get some ideas for meals, I have been taking the technique classes that Williams-Sonoma offers.  I am going to try to post some of the hints that I pick up at these classes here.

Today's class was on Fall Baking and one of the things that they talked about was how to make the perfect flaky pie crust.  Here are some of the tips that they passed along.

• Make sure that all of your ingredients are ice cold, i.e., the butter, the water (add ice cubes to the waters).
• Cube the butter into small pieces and put them into a stainless steel measuring cup and put it back into the refrigerator to make it ice cold.
• Keep the water in a stainless steel bowl until you add it to the mixture.
• Once the dough is mixed, shape it into a disc, wrap the disc in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• Avoid handling the dough too much.  This will toughen the dough and will not make for a flaky crust.
• If you have one, use a marble cutting board or counter top to roll the dough.  This will help keep the dough cold.
• When you are rolling the dough out, try to keep it in the shape of a circle.  
• Don't be afraid to cut the edge of the dough to help to get a circular shape.