Lime-Soaked Steak Quesadillas

As some of my friends are finding out, I'm turning into a bit of a foodie. Not the going-out-to-expensive-restaurants sort of foodie, the cheap sort. The buy-something-on-sale-and-do-something-tasty-with-it foodie. In that spirit, my girlfriend (Tay, as she has asked to be referred to in my public-ations) and I made a dinner last night that I have to share, even though I don't *really* have any followers at this point. But who knows?

As most of my creations end up being, this recipe is fairly versatile, and could use many different ingredients. Basically, everything that comes out of my kitchen has a "to-taste" element. I present our lime-soaked steak quesadillas:

• 1 pkg: a good looking but inexpensive cut of steak. We used something I don't remember (eye round maybe?) but it was $4 for a little over a pound of steak.
• 1: lime, quartered. Lime juice would work, but if you can find decent, fresh limes, the flavour is so much better. And they make a satisfying sting in all your job-related papercuts.
• some: Tabasco. I didn't measure it, a few shakes. A few more for good measure. If you don't like spicy, cut back.
• seasonings: I used fresh ground black and crushed (dried) red pepper, garlic powder, crushed chillies, and coarse-ground sea salt (a fine grind would be better). I would have liked to use cayenne pepper because I use it in everything where meat is involved, but alas, Tay didn't have any.
• veggies, diced: Tay chopped up 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, and the most local field tomato we could find (US, not terrible). If you like spicy, add in 2 or more jalapenos, or pickled hot pepper rings if you can stand the salt.
• cheese: I prefer cheddar, the older the better. Monterrey Jack is a good choice, and you can often find it with jalapeno chunks, which is what we used. Grated is best, or thin slices work. Don't use processed cheese slices. Ever.
• soft flour tortillas: We used a package of average-sized whole wheat tortillas and have lots left over.
  

Slice the steak(s) into strips of roughly uniform thickness; the length doesn't matter. Arrange the strips as best you can in a single row on a plate. Squeeze the juice from 3 of the lime quarters over the steak strips, or add lime juice until there is a moderate puddle of lime juice on the plate. Add your Tabasco to taste (me: lots), then sprinkle on your dry spices. Let this sit for as long as you can stand; 30 minutes is ideal, any longer and you should put these in the fridge. Of course, longer is better but not an option when you're hungry. Ours soaked for about 10 minutes.

While these are soaking, clean and prep your veggies. If you're using hot peppers and want an extra-special kick, clean out the jalapeno seeds and sprinkle on your steak strips. Dice the veggies up into smallish bits (what, like a half inch?) and mix up in a bowl for later.

When you're satisfied that your steak strips are ready, heat up a frying pan to fairly high heat - not quite max but close. At the same time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. When that pan's heated up enough, dump in your steak strips, lime juice concoction and all. It's going to sizzle a lot if the pan is hot enough so be careful. Try to arrange the strips in a single layer for best results. You want these to turn out medium-well or better (very little pink) so fry for about 3-4 minutes a side. It might be easiest to flip them with a fork. After flipping, sprinkle the juice from the fourth lime quarter over the steaks. When done cooking, tilt the pan to let the juice and drippings run to one side, and remove the steak to a clean plate from the high (dry) side of the pan. When the steak strips have cooled enough to handle, cut the longer strips into roughly square size pieces using a clean, sharp knife.

Using a large baking tray or stone, place a tortilla shell flat on the surface. Fill the surface with steak, veggies, and cheese on top. Don't use too much or your quesadilla will collapse under its own weight and be hard to eat. Leave about an inch around the outside of your tortilla empty, for cheese melting. Place a second tortilla over the top. If your baking implement is not wide enough, fill only half of the tortilla and fold over on top of itself. **

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the tortilla start to brown and look almost burnt. Remove from the oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Give at least 5 minutes for the cheese to harden a bit, or you'll have difficulty cutting and eating. Cut the quesadilla into slices - a pizza cutter works great for this. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Total prep and cooking time is about an hour, with appropriate time for the steak and quesadilla to cool. If you have a helper (like the lovely Tay) and you're both hungry and impatient, these can be ready in about 30 minutes.

Our results were a flavourful steak with a nice kick, and just a hint of lime flavour. You can make your steak extra-spicy because the cheese will cover it up. We have enough veggies left over that we just might try this one again tonight.

¡Buon apetito!

** If your baking implement is still not wide enough, you need a new baking implement.

Canada Geese ftw

"Birds that caused plane to ditch in Hudson River were Canada geese"
Published in Metro News Toronto edition, 13 Feb 2009

I know it's terrible, and nearly a tragedy if not for the skill of the pilot who landed safely in the river, but it gives me an odd sense of national pride knowing that Canada geese brought down a jet.

Big ones too: apparently the engines can tolerate a smaller bird.