It's Mexican Night Again!

One of the biggest complaints I hear from Adam is that there aren't any truly good authentic Mexican restaurants in Pittsburgh. Or at least out towards where he lives. On occasion, I love Mexican. Back in college, me and TBell were best friends (although many will argue that TBell isn't real Mexican food).

Of course, when I asked him what he wanted to eat this week, he says Mexican. Now, for as much as I do enjoy some queso and chips... I am no guru when it comes to cooking authentic, much less good, Mexican.





I kind of put it out of my mind when I was searching through some recipes, until I randomly decided I wanted to try prosciutto. Why I thought of that I'll never know. But I am so glad I did, because I came across this amazing quesadilla recipe. I will admit, smoked Gouda and caramelized onions don't exactly scream "Mexican Dish!" to me, but you know, I figured the whole "quesadilla" part would carry it through.

Despite whatever ethnic-type dish I was trying to make -- it was freakin' amazing. I'm not exactly a lover of onions, but I believe the words "I really like these onions" actually came out of my mouth tonight.

The sweetness from the caramelization really offsets the salty prosciutto and gouda. Mmm so tasty! Once again, I made an appetizer/first dish into a main course by adding my mom's bean dip to the menu, but it definitely filled us up. And Adam voted that this recipe goes "for sure" into the keeper pile.

Smoked Gouda and Caramelized Onion Quesadillas

From: Bon Appetit, September 1995

2 tbsp. butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp. golden brown sugar

1/4 tsp. white wine vinegar

1 1/2 c. grated smoked Gouda cheese

4 10-inch-diameter flour tortillas (I only used 3)

2 ounces sliced prosciutto, chopped

2 tbsp. butter, melted

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion, brown sugar and vinegar; saute until onion is golden brown, stirring frequently, about 25 minutes (definitely did not take 25 min over medium heat). Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle cheese over half of each tortilla, dividing equally. Sprinkle prosciutto and sauteed onion over cheese. Season with pepper. Fold other half of each tortilla over cheese mixture. Brush tortilla with some of melted butter.

Brush heavy large skillet with some of melted butter. Place over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook quesadillas just until brown spots appear, brushing skillet with butter between batches, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer quesadillas to heavy large baking sheet.

Bake until tortillas are golden and cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Transfer quesadillas to work surface. Cut each into 6 triangles (I did three). Arrange on platter and serve hot.

Makes: 6 appetizer servings

I really don't care if these were true "Mexican quesadillas" or not. They were good enough to be whatever they wanted. :)

And if anyone knows where a good Mexican restaurant is in Pittsburgh... let me know.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 299	Calories from fat 156
% Daily Value
Total Fat 17.4g	27%
Saturated Fat 10.2g	51%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 58mg	19%
Sodium 423mg	18%
Total Carbs 25.1g	8%
Dietary Fiber 3.3g	13%
Sugars 3.3g
Protein 12.0g
Vitamin A 8%	Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 25%	Iron 5%