Cactus Quesadilla

I love these small 4 ounce pucks of Mexican Queso Fresco. The cheese is crumbly like feta, but with a milder taste, and it's a salty curd. I put it into everything I can think of: simmered in a Calabasitas stew of squash, tomato, chile and zucchini; melted into an avocado omelet; crumbled over salads; and in Cactus Quesadillas.

I have been finding jars of cactus at my local Latin market and 99c only Store lately; and have been trying to come up with uses for these sliced, peeled, unprickly paddles. They have a taste similar to okra, just lighter in flavor. You can sprinkle some over a salad like you would with canned beets, or heat them up as part of a vegetable soup.


Because wheat tortillas are priced at a dollar a package, I've recently started adding cactus to quesadillas. The cactus is pickled, so you need to drain it, and pat it dry with a paper towel, or small puddles of water will form in this cheesy Mexican delicacy. For a quick and unusual dish, try out my Cactus Quesadilla.

 
Ingredients (1 serving)1 flour or wheat tortilla.
2 ounces of Queso Fresco - half of the 4oz. package. Okay to substitute with your favorite cheese.
2 tablespoons of cactus - drained and patted dry with paper towel. 

Directions
Heat pan or grill. Drain and pat dry cactus from jar. Place tortilla on grill or pan and crumble cheese onto half of tortilla. Add drained and dried cactus over cheese. Fold in half and lightly brown tortilla on each side until cheese is melted.

The 99 Cent Chef Meets Pedro Pe - Video

The 99 Cent Chef is pleased as plantains to present a new video featuring the culinary exploits of L.A.'s favorite taco truck impresario Pedro Pe. The 99 Cent Chef tracks down Pedro Pe and goes along for a ride and ends up in the kitchen, where Pedro Pe works his magic.

Pedro has more energy than chile piquin flavored popcorn in a popcorn machine. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Pedro Pe and his delicious lunch truck specialty -- Shrimp Quesadilla.

The 99 Cent Chef Meets Pedro Pe - Video

Play it here. The video runs 5 minutes 12 seconds.

Ingredients (one serving)  

• 1 flour or wheat tortilla
• 1 slice spicy cheese
• 1/2 small avocado sliced
• 2 tblsp. refried beans
• 1/2 4-6oz. package cooked salad shrimp (if raw then saute for a couple of minutes until shrimp is pink)
• 1 chopped green onion
• 2 tblsp. 99 cent salsa
• Dollop of sour cream

 Directions
While pan is heating, assemble quesadilla by smearing tortilla with refried beans -- add cheese, shrimp and chopped green onion. Fold in half and heat in pan until "queso is nice and melted and gooey and tortilla is nice and brown," to quote Pedro Pe. Garnish quesadilla with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream and salsa on the side.

 
Pedro Pe, "Mexico's Rich Little" has been performing onstage since 1995. Actual fans include Milos Forman, Nora Dunn, Will Ferrel and Alex Borstein. Pedro appeared regularly as a company member in L.A.'s Acme Comedy Theatre, at the Austin Comedy Festival and at The Montreal Comedy Festival - where he was featured on a bill with Dave Chapelle and Will Ferrell. To see Pete's other hilarious videos, click here, and The Chef's video teaser with Pedro Pe is here.
 
To view or embed video from youtube visit here.

Deal of the Day - Orange Juice & Pepper Jack

I picked up a few one quart cartons of 100% pure pasteurized orange juice and a couple of 12 slice packages of Pepper Jack cheese yesterday at this 99c only Store. A pretty damn good deal. The orange juice is great in a breakfast smoothie -- just blender a banana, a cup each of orange juice, soy milk, yogurt, a few cubes of ice and a small carton of strawberries ( all the above are 99c only Store items.)
Also, the Chef has been known to knock back a tumbler of 99 cent airline bottled gin and juice (orange) during grueling midnight blog sessions.



As for the Pepper Jack, the Chef likes his quesadillas -- add two slices of pepper jack folded into a flour tortilla (a 99c only Store staple) and sautee until the cheese melts. This Pepper Jack uses jalapeno peppers and gives a hot kick; it also melts divinely. Both Deals of the Day have been available off and on, the last couple of months. Look for them at your local 99 Cent Store.