pecan quesadillas

Crazy weeks call for short posts.  I’m sorry.  Or actually maybe I’m not because we’re all just here for the pictures and the recipes, right?  Wait no, please don’t say that because I have spent and embarrassingly long amount of time writing some of these posts.   But this will not be one of them.  Because I have no time.  In the past week we have closed on our house, done some major cleaning, painted three rooms, moved our stuff in, and are currently continuing to work on unpacking.

Actually, I made these quesadillas over a week ago, right before we went to go close on our house as a snack, and so much has happened between then and now that it seems like about a month ago.

Here in the south, pecans of course hold a certain significance.  I have so many memories of pecan trees and how my parents could never pass up an opportunity to gather the fallen pecans from the ground if we came across one.  I’ve never been a huge fan.  They are my mom’s favorite nut, but she finally gave up trying to convince my brother and me to let her put them in brownies.  (Once again…why ruin the chocolate taste?)

But there is something I am discovering about nuts as I cook more and more.  Once they are toasted, they are almost a completely different food.  Instead of being chewy and sometimes having that bitter aftertaste, they become crunchy and sometimes sweet and have that true nutty taste we expect.  And so I decided I liked these quesadillas with their toasted nuts and Havarti cheese (a new favorite of mine thanks to Tupelo Honey Cafe, which yes, I will at some point get back to that cookbook).  These are perfect for an appetizer or a quick snack, or even I think a light lunch.

And now that I’ve written a post that is longer that I had planned, I have a closet to unpack.

Pecan Quesadillas
adapted from Southern Living Magazine October 2011

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Makes 1 quesadilla

1 tablespoon butter
2 flour tortillas
2-3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1/4 cup shredded havarti cheese

1. In a small saute pan over medium heat, toast pecans for 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until they are lightly browned.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a medium sized skilled over medium-high heat.  When butter is melted (and not burnt) place one tortilla in the skillet.  Top tortilla with cheese and pecans.  Then lay the second tortilla on top of the cheese and pecans.  Cook until bottom tortilla is slightly browned, 3-4 minutes.  Turn quesadilla over so that the top tortilla is now on the bottom, cooking until it is also slightly brown.
3. Remove quesadilla from pan and cut into wedges to serve.