Taco Seasoning

You know what grinds my gears? Buying pre-made seasoning. Sure, it's usually decent, but I'd rather know which spices create known flavors (General Tso's, taco seasoning, cajun seasoning, etc). Here's a taco / Mexican seasoning mix that I like better than the packets at the store (and is made from spices I keep on hand). Also, no es caliente (it's not spicy).

Mix the following:
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t black pepper
1/2 t salt (sea salt preferred)
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4 t oregano

We use this in the following:
Taco meat (beef or turkey or tvp)
Chicken or Chick'n

Quesadilla

Quesadillas are quick and easy to make, but I've seen many people mess up the process. Too much cheese, folding too early, using a tortilla for both top and bottom... these are just some of the more common mistakes. Quesadillas were the most popular appetizer at the restaurant I worked at, so making the perfect one had to be a seamless series of steps, executed at just the right times. The following steps are quite verbose, but for no extra charge you get my memory's step-by-step process of making a great quesadilla.

With that said, the process of making a quesadilla fantástica is as follows:

Ingredients
1 flour tortilla
Soft or melted butter, enough to lightly coat one side of the tortilla
Colby-Jack cheese, shredded
Seasoned chicken (optional)

Method

• Preheat a skillet on the range at medium setting.
  
• Lightly butter one side of a tortilla.
• Place tortilla, butter-side down on skillet.
  
• Sprinkle shredded Colby-Jack cheese on half the tortilla, but make sure you can still see some white tortilla through the cheese. If you cannot see any tortilla, you've over-cheesed.
• Optional -- add seasoned chicken on top of the cheese. Make sure you use much less chicken than cheese.
• Cook for about 1 minute, then lift the tortilla slightly to check if it is at a nice toasty, light, golden-brown color.
• When tortilla reaches a light-golden color, fold empty half over cheesy half, press down lightly so it stays put.
  
• Allow quesadilla to cook for another 30-45 seconds, the cheese should be melted by now.
• If the cheese is not completely melted, flip tortilla and allow it to cook for another 30-45 seconds. Flipping will assure even toastyness of the outer shell.
• Remove cooked quesadilla and place on a cutting board.

Cutting technique
Quesadillas could be cut any way using any knife, but here's my preferred way with my preferred knife.

Place the tip of your favorite sharp Chef's Knife on the cutting board at the center of the flat side of the quesadilla, so the blade and handle are above the rest of the quesadilla at a 45 degree angle. One hand is holding the handle, and the other is resting on the top, dull side of the blade. In a rocking motion (keeping the front of the blade touching the cutting board), smoothly cut through the center, creating two equal triangles. Reverse the motion you just made until the blade is back at the 45 degree angle position. Push your handle hand forward to cut the far triangle in half, cut, then pull back to cut the final triangle, resulting in 4 total triangles. Four is the ideal count for a 10-inch tortilla, 6- to 8-inch tortillas may only require 3 triangles.

Serving Suggestions
Serve with a side of one or more of the following:

• Sour cream
• Guacamole
• Salsa (keep in mind that it is difficult to scoop chunky salsa with a quesadilla triangle)
• Pico de Gallo (may be difficult to scoop)
  
• A zesty ranch-based sauce

If you're looking to make a full circle tortilla, it is highly recommended that you make two half-circles, independently. Flipping a quesadilla that uses two tortillas at once (so no folding would be required) can result in cheese falling out the sides and is generally difficult to manage.

Authentic Guacamole

I ran across this diamond in the rough on a Spanish newsgroup a while back. People were raving, so I translated it, prepped it and ay dios mio!!

FYI -- This treat rarely makes its way to the refrigerator, but keep in mind that avocado doesn't last much longer than a couple days after it has been prepared. Another note -- if you're sensitive to heat, the jalapeño pepper(s) doesn't add heat as much as it adds flavor, so I'd suggest at least adding 1/2 to 1 pepper.

Ingredients

1 large avocado (or 2 medium)
1 large tomato, chopped (or 2 Roma)
Cilantro, finely chopped, to taste
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1-2 jalepeño peppers, minced (optional)
juice from a small lemon (or 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Peel the avocado and remove the core
2. Crush it with a fork until desired consistency
3. Add the chopped ingredients
4. Add the lemon juice
5. Lastly, add the salt and pepper to taste