Waffled quesadillas with roasted tomato salsa

If waffling doughnuts stirred in me a certain ambivalence — just because you can, does that mean you should? — quesadillas are on firmer footing. 

And we'll get to them in a minute.

As great a success as these quesadillas are, they're tinged by ... well, not failure. Let's call it unsuccess.

I tried to get Rick Bayless to appear on the blog.

Only I didn't talk to him, because I'm not just going to walk up to him and ask. And I didn't even talk to someone on his staff. A friend talked to someone on his staff. And for a while I was sort of optimistic, which I'll grant you might say more about my grasp on reality than my actual chances of success.

At any rate, you know how when you play telephone and the message is relayed from person to person? And when it comes out at the end, you're left with a bassackwards version of what was said at the start? 

I can only imagine what this blog sounds like after it's passed along three or four times.

And then at some point during all of this, Rick Bayless was summoned to the White House to cook for a state dinner. I think that helped me come to terms with my unsuccess. 

So, yeah. I'm sorry. That's rather a long story about something that didn't happen. You can ask my friends; I have a lot of those.

For what it's worth, Rick Bayless is still totally welcome to do the blog. In fact, I would even extend the blog to 31 recipes if Rick Bayless wanted to do the blog. I don't make that statement lightly.

Hmm... Maybe I should write about the quesadillas. 

Quesadillas seemed not only like a beautiful use for the waffle iron, but also a great excuse to make one of my favorite salsas: roasted tomato.

The perfect vessel for leftovers, quesadillas embrace customization, and accommodate whatever you have in your fridge.

I made my quesadillas with queso chihuahua — an excellent Mexican melting cheese — sauteed onions, and refried beans. 

(Although, to be honest, I didn't have one of those things in my fridge. If I had made these with what I had on hand, you'd be reading about vodka and mango quesadillas. Don't ask.)

Assembling the quesadillas is a snap. Between two flour tortillas, spread your ingredients evenly around, leaving an inch or so of border. It's probably easier to place the bottom tortilla on the waffle iron first and assemble the quesadilla in the waffle iron, but take care because, of course, the waffle iron is hot.

Grease the waffle iron well. 

Keep an eye on the quesadillas while they waffle. As the cheese melts, some will inevitably escape. I chose to make the most of this, using a heat-proof spatula to scrape off the crispy cheese from the grid, chopping it up, and sprinkling it onto the sour cream.

The recipe for the salsa is after the jump.

 

Roasted tomato salsa

Makes about 1 cup [235 ml]

Ingredients:

• 2 tomatoes
• 6 cloves of garlic, with skins
• 1 small onion, cut into three pieces
• Canned chipotles en adobo, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Lime, for garnish

Directions:

1. Broil the tomatoes, onion and garlic cloves, turning as necessary to blacken evenly. It should take only a few minutes.

2. When these have blackened, peel the skin from the tomatoes and remove the papery skin from the garlic. 

3. Add the vegetables to the work bowl of a food processor, along with salt, black pepper and the chipotle en adobo. One chipotle pepper makes a mild to medium salsa. Two make a fairly intense medium salsa. The remaining chipotles and sauce can be frozen in a well-labeled bag. ("Caution: This is not pasta sauce" makes a good label.)

4. Pulse in the food processor until liquified. Pour the salsa into a shallow pan and cook on medium heat about five minutes, until most of the water has cooked out.

5. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Serve with lime wedges.

Comments

[Wei-Wei]

That is genius. Seriously. Just... genius.

I have no words.

[lauren]

I'd have to say, this is probably the first recipe that really makes me want to buy a waffle iron. I love quesadillas, but they're such a pain to make (I'm not so good at flipping/folding things. And thumbs up to utilizing the crispy cheese. . . mmmm. . . crispy cheese. . .

[Leeannaray]

Is it crazy that I think a vodka and mango quesadilla sounds like a delicious dessert. Maybe drizzle some caramel sauce on top.

[The Wind Attack]

The waffle marks on the tortillas are just so damn artsy! I love it!

[Melissa]

It's weird to me that people haven't thought of that before. My college already makes these in their sandwich shop. They don't have a griddle, so they use the waffle makers to cook the quesadillas.
Truthfully, they're a lot better with corn tortillas instead of flour.

[m]

currently target is selling a waffle iron for $7.
this could only last a week and it could also have massive implications for anyone who wants to impulsively try everything you've tried!

[julie]

Okay I did it! I literally dusted my waffle iron off in preparation for tomorrows breakfast....waffles. Hey everyone has to start somewhere! I'll make quesadillas next, that salsa looks so simple, yet so delicioso! gracias! (And I thoroughly enjoyed the Bayless story.)

[Daniel]

It's true. Everyone has to start somewhere. You could do worse than starting with waffles.

[Sophia]

I could totally eat cheese and bread in any form, especially quesadillad. They're so easy to make and they really fill me up. Your recipe looks delicious. I usually make these Quick Chicken Quesadillas - http://www.recipe4living.com/recipes/quick_chicken_quesadillas.htm - I love them!