Grilled Quesadillas

Of late, grilling has become one of my favorite cooking methods. Unfortunately, as the sun is quickly setting on this warm St. Louis weather, so too are my grilling days. So before I have to shut the propane off for good, I decided it was time to grill some quesadillas. These are so fast, so easy to make - and just so good. They're bound to be a hit.

Quesadilla literally means "little cheesy thing," in Spanish. So some form of cheese is required. But after that, the beauty of quesadillas is in their elegant simplicity. They're a blank slate on which to experiment. Throw whatever you want at them -- and just see what sticks.

Speaking of sticking, I've discovered that the soft, sticky quality of goat cheese acts as a perfect seal for the tortilla. So here's my approach.

WHAT TO GRAB:
2 or 3 flour or corn tortillas (again, see what works for you).
Sliced cheddar cheese (preferably from a block)
Goat cheese
Black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh italian-leaf parsley, chopped
Sliced tomatoes
2 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
slices of cooked chicken (optional)


HOW TO DO IT:

1. Working from the bottom half of the tortilla, simply spread a thin layer of the goat cheese around the edge of the tortilla, running your finger from 3:00 to 9:00.

2. Throw all your ingredients in the middle of the tortilla - but try and thin them out to prevent bulging, which could pierce the tortilla.

3. Close the tortilla, pressing the sides together, as you would a Ziploc bag. Here is where the goat cheese does its magic.

4. Fire up the grill. As you wait, brush the side of the tortilla going grill side down with the softened butter. As it's grilling, brush the other side.

5. For those presentation points, angle the tortillas at 45 degree angles to the grills. After about a minute, rotate them 90 degrees, to create a beautiful grill pattern.

6. Slice 'em up in thirds and serve!

WORD TO THE WISE:

*Depending on the heat of the grill, these burn very quickly! When I make them, it's a minute, rotate 45 degrees, another minute, and then flip over for another minute to ninety seconds! You have to watch them!