Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

I haven’t eaten out much lately, but the Wife and I have been revisiting some of our old recipes using new tools, spices, or techniques to try and change things up a bit.  Recently we made grilled quesadillas.  I worked at a Mexican restaurant for many years as a cook and learned the basic technique of building a good quesadilla.  In my mind the perfect quesadilla has tender juicy meat, fresh slightly crunchy vegetables, a crisp tortilla, and tons of flavor.  Here’s what we did this time. 

I started out with three trimmed skinless boneless chicken breasts.  I seasoned them with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, ancho chili powder, and a dash of habanero flakes.  A store bought mixture will work just as well, but go for something smoky and slightly spicy.  Those were grilled on our outdoor grill (Yes, I grill in the winter).  

Using my new found favorite grill toy…I mean tool, I cut up a red and green bell pepper and a sweet yellow onion.  They were lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper.  I like to keep my veggies simple.  Those too were grilled, but not too much.  I like my veggies to still have a crunch to them when they are cooked and not turn into vegetable mush.

After the food on the grill was cooked, it was time to assemble and finish the meal.  After letting the chicken rest for a few minutes, I cut it up into manageable sized pieces.  I then take an 8” flour tortilla and add chicken, vegetables, and some shredded cheese.  I like to use pepper jack, but you can use anything you want.  I would suggest staying away from cheddar as it tends to be oily when it melts.  I then fold the quesadilla in half and finish it on my Panini grill (not pictured).  I could finish it on my outdoor grill, but then I’d have to go outside again, and it’s cold in Connecticut in the winter.  

After the cheese melts and the tortilla has a nice crisp to it, I remove it from the Panini grill, cut it into 4 pieces, and plate with a dollop of sour cream and some salsa.  In the past I have made a side dish of rice to accompany the main course, but this time I was out of rice.  

There are several variations to this meal that you can adjust to your own tastes.  Use beef instead of chicken, or a flavored tortilla.  Even use more vegetables such as yellow squash or mushrooms.  The possibilities are endless.  

Wooster Street, New Haven, CT

The wife’s aunt came up to visit from Florida this past week.  She grew up here until she was a teenager and moved south.  Every time she comes up here she has one thing on her mind: New Haven Pizza.  The amount of pizza I ate this past week is some kind of record I’m sure.  Anyone that knows me knows I can’t refuse pizza.  Especially good pizza.

Her last night here we were sitting around the house completely stuffed from the crepes she had made for breakfast when she had an epiphany.  “I’m leaving tomorrow!  Let’s go to Wooster Street!”  So I loosened up my belt and hopped in the car.  A short time later we were staring at the neon white, green, and red sign that marks the beginning of Little Italy in New Haven, CT.  

Our first stop was not the normal Pepe’s or Sally’s.  We were pizza’d out.  We had graduated to calzones, stuffed breads, and pastries.  First stop – Abate’s.  We strutted into the obscure side door of the building and ordered up a spinach and meatball calzone.  It of course came with mozzarella and ricotta.  And 2 sides of sauce.  After ordering the calzone (and being told it would take 20 minutes) we headed next door to Anastasio’s. There we ordered stuffed bread with broccoli and sausage.  We were also offered a bite sized sample of their broccoli pastry rollups, an appetizer on their dining room menu.  It only took a couple of minutes to make and was delicious.  Our last food stop was Libby’s, well known for their Italian ice and pastries.  I was outside moving the car so the wife and aunt went in.  They emerged with two café mochas and a box full of assorted cannolis.  Once all the food and people were packed into the car we raced back home to eat.

This calzone was amazing.  It was, for the most part, a very large pizza sans sauce folded in half like a giant overstuffed baked Italian style empanada.  When we cut into it the spinach was very nicely layered with sliced meatballs, salty cheeses, and a touch of garlic and herbs.  Doused with some marinara sauce it was a complete meal in one dish.  Meat, vegetable, dairy, and breads.  I ate way too much of it (of course) and even helped myself to seconds.  

Anastasio’s makes their stuffed breads to order and you don’t have to order it a day ahead.  When we received it the loaf was hot a fresh right out of the oven.  Upon slicing the bread the innards of broccoli, sausage and cheese were revealed.  I’m not a huge fan of sweet sausage (usually too much fennel for me), but this sausage was not overpowering like most you get in the area.  It was very lean as apparent by the lack of grease dripping out of the bread.  Slight hints of garlic, salt, pepper and a mixture of other seasonings released from the bread filling as I bit into it.  The filling was moist and the bread was crispy on the outside and still doughy on the inside.  

Having gorged myself on the savory, I rested for a few minutes before attacking the sweets.  We had cannolis of every kind.  Regular ricotta filled, coconut, peanut butter, chocolate, and I think one was chocolate mousse.  I knew I would not be able to eat them all, so I sampled a few.  They were all out of this world.  The coconut was the first I tasted with its chocolate dipped shell and shredded coconut mixed into the creamy filling adding texture to the normally smooth inside.  Then I tried the chocolate mousse, and it was just as it sounds.  A cannoli shell filled with decadent chocolate mousse rather than the traditional filling.  Finally, I had to have a bite of the peanut butter.  The filling was smooth and creamy and slightly denser than the plain filling.  You could see that peanut butter had been marbled in but not completely mixed with the ricotta.  The chocolate topped shell with peanut chips put this one over the top.  Although I was completely stuffed, I felt as if I could have devoured the entire box of cannolis.  I would have been sick afterwards, but I’m pretty sure I could have done it.

So, next time your in New Haven be sure to visit Wooster Street.  If you’ve already had the pizza, go for something a little different.  But always finish off with pastries from Libby’s.