skillet + cheese + bacon

This post is about all I can manage right now...

Wanted some flour tortillas; they only had 20-pack at the shop so I bought it.

I've been making and eating the perfect quesadillas for the past several days. Not that you should eat that much cheese/bacon, but here's a description if you wish to try it.


Start with a cast iron skillet. I finally ordered one! Very heavy piece of metal. I had it delivered instead of trying to carry it home. Prompted by my doctor, who advised I start cooking with one to increase my iron intake—this actually occurs when you use cast iron by significant amount. Cast iron definitely requires more care and attention than a regular pan, at least while you're still getting acquainted. Start it over a low flame. It needs to be preheated, slowly. Look elsewhere for instructions on how to 'season' your pan before using.

I like to butter it up. I throw some butter in the hot pan, just to get a light coat of grease. Helps in crisping.

Mentioned briefly before, I was pairing bacon jam with cheddar cheese in crisp, piping hot flour tortillas. Using the same combination, I pulled back on the amount of cheese and switched to medium cheddar from sharp. Rather, use more bacon jam! I'm nearing the last third of the jar where all the larger chunks of bacon have settled, and I've been spooning that onto tortillas pretty liberally. Don't be shy there. I know I said to use a light hand in the past, and that's true if you want to make the jar last, but lately I'm pushing people to go for the gusto. Why not.

Here's the new addition to the flavor combination: Cholula. It took me awhile to come around to it being pretty faithful to a more readily available hot sauce. I used to pass it up when I went to pizza joints thinking, what's with the wooden cap and the chick on the label? I've since broadened my spicy palette to include not only Cholula, crushed red pepper, serranos and sriracha, but sriracha's cousin, sambal oelek. Sambal's great on basically any Asian food, even the cheapest, low-brow takeout, but surprisingly nice on even an egg sandwich made with your favorite English muffin. If you have cheese, great, but even an American cheese slice works here.

So I cook up quesadillas with the sauce inside right along with the cheese and bacon jam. They all start to swirl up into this delicious, viscous goo. Most satisfying with an ice cold Diet Coke... My Mexican friends are cringing at the blasphemy of this entire post. Sorry, guys. See you soon in Boyle Heights for Empirical's visit to Guisados(!); I'm very excited.