Recipe - Cheese And Poblano Quesadillas

1 One half cup Grated manchego cheese
1 cup Grated panela cheese
One half cup Grated cotija cheese
6 Flour tortillas
One half cup Chipotle salsa (optional)
4 Poblano chiles, roasted,
peeled, seeded & julienned
2 tablespoon Unsalted butter, melted

In a bowl, mix together the cheeses.

Lay the tortillas on a counter. Divide the cheese mix into 6 portions and
spread over half of each tortilla. If desired, sprinkle about a tablespoon
of salsa over each. Arrange the chile strips evenly over the cheese. Fold
the tortillas over to enclose the filling and brush the tops with butter.

Preheat the oven to 350øF.

Place a dry griddle or castiron skillet over mediumhigh heat. Place the
tortillas buttered side down in the pan. Cook until very light golden,a
bout 1 minute. Then brush the uncoated sides with butter and flip over.
Cook until golden, and transfer to a baking sheet. When all the quesa
dillas are cooked, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake 10 min
utes, until the cheese begins to ooze.

Serve hot, whole or cut into wedges.

NOTE: Manchego Cheese: There are two kinds of manchego used in mexican
cooking and neither is the highpriced Spanish variety sold in upscale
cheese shops. There is a hard variety (called viejo) and a soft, semifirm,
golden one that is an excellent melter. The soft one is used most often for
cooking. Monterey Jack or muenster can be substituted.

Anejo Cheese: Also known as Cotija, is a salty, crumbly white cheese,
similar to feta in appearance. Romano or washed and dried feta are good
substitutes.

Panela Cheese: is a mild, milkytasting, fresh white cheese often sold in
rounds. A ricotta, farmer's or dry cottage cheese can be substituted.

The reason Mary Sue and Susan like to use one part manchego, one part
panella and onehalf part anejo is because they give a greater texture and
flavor than just one cheese, but is not a hardandfast rule. They both say
to go right ahead and use whatever you happen to have in the kitchen, or
experiment and come up with you own cheese mix.

SOURCE: Mesa Mexican by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger with Helena
Siegel.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini