Chicken Quesadilla and the Lingo

Rustle up a “Chicken Quesadilla” and learn some new Southwestern vocabulary.

Quesadillas come in any variety and flavor combination imaginable, including meat, poultry, seafood or vegetarian. The list of accompaniments to serve with your quesadilla is endless: sour cream, guacamole, diced tomato, avocado, lettuce, onion, scallion, minced peppers, any type of salsa and any cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 8-inch flour tortilla
• 2 Tablespoons salsa (hot or your choice)
• Chicken, grilled and cut into ½-inch strips
• 3 ½ Tablespoons shredded cheese – Monterey Jack, or any variety- your choice

Directions:

1- Spread salsa on half the tortilla
2- To the salsa evenly with the remaining ingredients
3- Fold the empty tortilla side over the filled side
4- On a griddle, brown each side over medium heat until the tortilla is golden brown and the cheese melts
5- Remove from the heat source, cut into thirds
6- Serve immediately with the accompaniments of your choice
• Avocado, diced or guacamole
• Tomato, diced
• Lettuce, shredded
• Scallion, sliced
• Chili pepper, hot, medium or mild, minced
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Sauce of your choice
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Southwestern Vocabulary:

Atole – cornmeal porridge, a traditional New Mexican dish

Calabacitas – dish featuring sautéed zucchini, usually with corn, flavorings, and/or other ingredients

Chicos – whole dried corn kernels

Chili rellenos – poblano peppers stuffed with cheese or meat, battered, and deep fried

Chorizo – spicy sausage of Spanish origin

Escabeche – preserving technique of pickling cooked foods in an acid mixture flavored with herbs and spices, often used in early days in the Southwest to prevent cooked meat or fish from spoiling

Hominy – dried corn cooked with slaked lime

Hornos – dome-shaped ovens made with stone and adobe

Huevos rancheros – breakfast dish consisting of a tortilla topped with fried eggs covered with salsa and accompanied with beans on the side

Masa – ground hominy, used in preparation of tortillas

Pepitas – pumpkin seeds, used as a snack, garnish, or part of a dish

Picante – “hot” in terms of spice, not temperature

Pine nuts – nuts harvested from cones from pine trees, also called pignoli or piňons

Posole – dried whole corn kernels treated with slaked lime to remove the husks; soup or stews containing hominy (posole), pork, and chili peppers

Pueblos – communities where Native Americans live throughout the Southwest; they often contain adobe houses and/or buildings as well as hornos

Quesadillas – tortillas filled with cheese or other items, folded in half, and then fried

Salsa – uncooked condiment usually containing tomatoes and /or tomatillos, peppers, and herbs

Sopaipillas – dough that puffs into golden brown, air filled pockets when deep-fried

Tex-Mex cookery – a variation of Mexican cooking prepared in Texas; incorporates more meat and cheese into the dishes than Mexican cookery