Dance After Dark Photography

I’m not a big fan of turkey with anything other than mashed potatoes and stuffing. Chicken is a very versatile meat, whereas turkey has a distinctive flavor that I associate with Thanksgiving. It’s just not something I cook often. However, the 6 pounds of frozen turkey in my freezer are beckoning and calling my name. “You have to use us. Uuuuuse usss!”

I’m glad I did. Hot damn if I didn’t hit a perfect recipe. Most things I make come together slowly. I’ve got a few standard recipes that always get little modifications with each new incarnation, but this one will be documented, chiseled in stone, and preserved for posterity. It was good.

1/4 lb cooked turkey, diced
1/2 onion, diced - preferably sweet onions
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 cups shredded cheese (asadero, cheddar, and monterey jack)
8-10 soft flour tortillas, preferably 8″
fresh parsley to taste

Sautee the onions in vegetable oil until slightly translucent. You want to keep them firm. Next add the diced turkey and kosher salt to taste. (Most of it will be in the sauce mixture. This is personal preference.) While the onions are cooking, mix the salsa, sour cream, and spices together in a small bowl. On a clean surface, lay out the tortillas. By hand, rub 2-3 drops of vegetable oil into one side of each tortilla. Flip the tortillas over, and they’re ready to be filled. After the onions and turkey have cooked together for 2-3 minutes, transfer this filling into the same bowl with the sour cream mixture. Blend well.

Spread 1-2 spoonfuls of the filling mixture over (dry) half of a tortilla. Top with shredded cheese. Place tortilla in pan oil-side down and crisp over medium heat for 5-10 seconds. “Close” the tortilla by flipping the unfilled half over. Let it sit for approximately 1 minute, then flip and cook for an additional minute. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat this process with each tortilla. It’s very important to have the pan preheated. If the pan isn’t hot enough, you won’t get the right crisp, browned texture into the tortilla. Let the pan heat up again between quesadillas, or use cast iron.

This recipe makes 8-10 quesadillas. It’s important to limit the amount of filling in each one. It shouldn’t ooze when you cut or bite into it. Oozing means it’s overstuffed. They can be served whole for dinner or as party snacks, quartered and arranged on a tray around sour cream and guacamole.

I saw Brokeback Mountain at the Enzian tonight. There’s a long story about how this came to pass. Suffice to say that a pretty girl bought my ticket. Who’s going to argue with that? She put up with me making references to “rough riding in the back country,” so the least I could do was actually sit through the film.

I liked it, and I heartily recommend seeing it. It was slow-moving, but the acting and the story were great. The film had a lot of texture. Small details told you the story more than big, dramatic moments. There are, of course, quite a few big, dramatic moments, but there are also several very memorable lines. “Is he someone you used to cowboy with?” It’s entirely innocent in the film, but now the phrase “cowboy up” has a whole new meaning for me. A few scenes were awkward and a little strained, but they had to be for the sake of the story. In other words, it was actually a good, well made movie. For once I agree with the film critics. Go see it.

Besides, it has gay cowboys. In terms of sheer amusement factor that’s almost up there with ninjas.

I didn’t eat breakfast this morning, and I was starving by the time mom & I finished our grocery marathon. I wanted something fast and easy, and I’ve been on a tortilla kick lately. I like the small 8″ tortillas (for soft tacos) because they’re more manageable, but the big ones are pretty when cut into triangles and arranged around a pile of sour cream & green onions.

First I preheated the pan to medium. While it was heating, I chopped up some green onions. In a bowl, I combined 1/4 cup salsa with 1/3 cup sour cream. I stirred the green onions into that mixture, although for dinner or presentation I’d set some aside as garnish. This was fast & easy, so it all went in together. I also stirred in some shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

I lightly coated one side of each tortilla with vegetable oil. A few drops is all it takes, and then I rub it in. That way the quesadillas brown nicely without being greasy. I placed each tortilla oil-side-down on the cutting board and spooned dollops of my sour cream & salsa mixture over half of the tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top (asadero and monterey jack this time), and then transfer the tortilla to the pan. (I like to spread it out beforehand because it’s easier than trying to fill the tortilla in the pan. I’ve burned my fingers on the edges of the pan too many times.) I let the tortilla toast for 5-10 seconds before folding it over. Cook for about a minute on each side, and it’s done. Each quesadilla can be cut into wedges or served whole.

Total prep time was less than five minutes. Cook time was maybe ten minutes, but that included fixing a plate for my mother after the first one was done. This could easily have been a dinner recipe. It made four quesadillas with enough of the mixture left for three more. I put that into the fridge for tonight’s dinner, but first I stirred in a little ground cumin and some ground thyme so the flavor will have a lot of time to develop.

For dinner, I plan to sautee some chopped onions with a little garlic. I’ll add some of the turkey we froze after Sunday’s dinner, and then I’ll mix that with the leftover sour cream & salsa mixture. We’ve got fresh parsley, too, which should lighten it up a bit. I just wish we had still spinach. That was very good in the quesadillas I made last week. I’d never made them before, but they’re so easy I think this is a new addiction.

It’s been a strange day. I made a point of getting up and ready early this morning, hoping to line up an interview or two. No luck. Left lots of messages around town and got a few “The boss is out. Call back tomorrow.”

I cooked dinner so I’d feel productive. I’m glad I did, too. It was pretty good. Here’s the breakdown:

Sauteed onions and some grape tomatoes in a little butter, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. I didn’t let the onions caramelize because I wanted them to retain a little firmness. Add to that about four cloves of roasted garlic, a lot of broccoli, and some baked chicken that I had in the fridge. Covered that to simmer/steam, and I started the sauce. Butter & flour cooked together, added milk to make a bechamel. Melted in some garlic cheddar cheese. (It’s Kraft, but only Albertson’s carries it.) I went easy on the sauce because I wanted to just barely coat the pasta. (Oh yeah! Pasta! I should mention that when I started cooking I put water on to boil. It was boiling when I began the sauce, so that’s when I added the shells to the water.)

Total cooking time was about 20 minutes with maybe 5 minutes of prep time chopping onions and cutting tomatoes in half. I chopped the broccoli while the tomatoes & onions were cooking. In hindsight, I’d cook the tomatoes separately in order to sear them better. This time, they were very flavorful but not quite what I wanted. Next time I’ll sear them first in an empty pan, and then I’ll set them aside until the end.

I’m getting much faster in the kitchen, and things come together at the same time without conscious effort on my part. I guess practice really does make perfect.

More in my Sunsets photo gallery.

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, I highly recommend it. Shocking action in a gritty and gruesome tale of a dismal future where people have lost the ability to procreate. The movie has some extremely brutal scenes, and they’re almost always unexpected. Touching moments, too, showing how important one small life is when it gives hope to the entire human race.

The only thing that bothered me was the occasional descent into bumpy-vision a la Blair Witch Project. It wasn’t really that shaky, but we were sitting close enough to the screen that I had occasional feelings of minor motion sickness. Sit further back, and I’m sure you’ll be fine.

Also, Clive Owen rocks. I’m definitely buying this when it’s available on DVD.

Lagaan
It was good, but I don’t think I’d recommend it for anyone. The movie was in Hindi with English subtitles. That’s not a big deal, but at 3 hours and 45 minutes this film requires quite a bit of commitment. In short, a village cannot the tax (lagaan) imposed by the British, and the arrogant overseer offers the villagers a waiver. If they win a cricket match against his team, they won’t have to pay. If they lose, they pay triple. The movie was very engaging, although the match itself doesn’t start until halfway through the film. The characters are engaging, and I think that’s the film’s saving grace. I wouldn’t have kept watching through the 10-20 minute song and dance routines if I hadn’t been captivated by some of the villagers. (In my defense, I didn’t know the length of the movie when I chose it. I felt that I had to watch it as a matter of principle.)

The Harmonists
Also called The Comedian Harmonists, this film is about a vocal sextet that comes under fire in the first stages of WWII because some of the group members are Jewish. The film follows the group’s formation, rise, and fall. It’s as much about love as it is about Nazis. I think the characters were well developed, and the movie seemed to pass quickly. English subtitles with audio in German or French.

I hate to admit it, but I can’t remember the other movies I’ve watched recently. Senile at 29. *sigh*

I made quesadillas for the first time tonight. You could barely call them Mexican. I think the only traditional ingredients I used were the tortillas. (heh) They were good, though. Chicken, onions, a little garlic powder, light Italian seasoning, salt, and fresh chopped spinach and parsley. Sauteed all of that together in a little vegetable oil, and then I put one in the pan with a little oil on one side. Topped it with cheddar cheese, a little salsa, a little sour cream, and some of the chicken mixture. Fold the tortilla over, flip it after a few seconds to crisp the other side, and voila! They were surprisingly good for a recipe that I guessed entirely.