Cinco de Mayo and Banana Quesadillas!

Today is Cinco de Mayo!  Here's a little background on the significance of the day, from mexonline.com. "Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. For the most part, the holiday of Cinco de Mayo is more of a regional holiday in Mexico, celebrated most vigorously in the state of Puebla. There is some limited recognition of the holiday throughout the country with different levels of enthusiasm, but it's nothing like that found in Puebla.Celebrating Cinco de Mayo has become increasingly popular along the U.S.-Mexico border and in parts of the U.S. that have a high population of people with a Mexican heritage. In these areas the holiday is a celebration of Mexican culture, of food, music, beverage and customs unique to Mexico...Commercial interests in the United States and Mexico have also had a hand in promoting the holiday, with products and services focused on Mexican food, beverages and festivities, with music playing a more visible role as well. Several cities throughout the U.S. hold parades and concerts during the week following up to May 5th, so that Cinco de Mayo has become a bigger holiday north of the border than it is to the south, and being adopted into the holiday calendar of more and more people every year."

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, here's a recipe for banana quesadillas.  It comes from the Food Network and Emeril Lagasse, and is a sweet dessert quesadilla with bananas and caramel sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 ripe medium bananas, peeled
• 10 flour tortillas (7 inches in diameter)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 cups caramel sauce, warm, recipe follows
• 4 medium bananas
• Whipped cream
• Fresh mint sprigs

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and bananas, continue to beat until smooth. Spread 1/4 cup of the filling over half of each tortilla. Fold the other half over the filling and press slightly. Place on a large plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the filling sets, about 30 minutes. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Pan-fry the tortillas in batches, 3 at a time, until golden on each side, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat the above process with the remaining butter and filled tortillas. To serve, slice each filled tortilla into thirds. Arrange the slices in the center of each serving plate. Spoon a 1/4 cup of the warm caramel sauce over each plate. Peel the bananas and slice 1/4-inch thick. Garnish each plate with the sliced bananas, a dollop of whipped cream and a sprig of fresh mint.

CARAMEL SAUCE
(Recipe from Everyday Is A Party Cookbook, by Emeril Lagasse, with Marcelle Bienvenu and Felicia Willett, published by William Morrow, 1999)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream

In a small, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring often. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is a deep caramel color and has the consistency of a thick syrup, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cream, return the saucepan to high heat, and boil the sauce until it regains the consistency of a thick syrup, about 2 minutes. Yield: about 3/4 cup

Recipe and photo at Food Network Website:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_10310_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html
More info at http//:mexonline.com

For Dessert or Breakfast: Claufutis!

At lunch today my friend Sue shared some beautiful cherries from her little brown bag, and it reminded me of a dessert I made a long time ago: claufutis.

A claufutis is a French bread-type pudding, baked in the oven and featuring seasonal fruits. It can be served for dessert or for breakfast. I first made claufutis when my children were in high school and we hosted a French foreign-exchange student, Paul, one of a group of twenty or so who visited the Saratoga Springs area for a few weeks that summer. There was a pot-luck dinner reception in the high school cafeteria, and I thought it’d be nice for the students to have a taste of home.

It wasn’t the most French-American of experiences for Paul or for my kids. Paul was really an Irish national whose parents lived primarily in Canada but had been working in Lyon, France for a few years. Nonetheless, in the exchange-student lottery, Paul was assigned to us – an Irish-descended family of a single mother with teenagers. It worked out well and we enjoyed getting to know Paul and all his friends. I must say it was interesting listening to Paul speak French with an Irish brogue!

Paul was an interesting character. Slim with glasses and a Harry Potter-type physicality, he was mesmerized by my American daughters and their friends. He loved Wendy’s for fast food (the Wendy’s in Canada were far superior to the one on Congress St. in Saratoga Springs, we were told). I packed his lunch every day and he was completely repulsed by the tuna salad sandwiches I’d prepared. He had never heard of putting mayonnaise on fish and once he said that, it sounded odd to me, too! From then on, I gave him lunch money.

Our families had a lot of fun with our student guests, taking trips to Boston (all the historical hot spots, Quincy Market, the Boston Aquarium) and also to New York for all the requisite points of interests: museums, a Broadway show, a ferry ride across the Hudson River, and a memorable visit to the United Nations. It was a wonderful summer of cultural exchange for our kids and for the visiting students, and the most memorable times, I think, happened when they were just being kids, hanging out, swimming, and enjoying backyard meals together.

The Food Network’s Emeril Lagasse has a highly-rated recipe for claufutis. You’ll find my adaptation below, and Emeril’s original by following this link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/cherry-clafoutis-recipe/index.html :

CLAUFUTIS

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half (or one teaspoon real vanilla extract – my substitution)
• ½ tsp. almond extract (my addition – goes nicely with cherries)
• 1 tablespoon brandy (if desired – not necessary)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 pound stoned cherries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an oval ovenproof dish about 13 inches long. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Scrape the vanilla bean and add the pulp (or extracts) to the egg mixture. Stir in the brandy (if using) and flour. Whisk in the milk to form a smooth batter. In a mixing bowl, toss the cherries with the remaining sugar. Place the cherries in the ovenproof dish. Pour the batter over the cherries and place in the oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the cake is sponge like. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve the claufutis warm. Garnish with powdered sugar for breakfast. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of whipped cream, for dessert.

A claufutis is a great way to get the most from the abundance of summer fruits showing up at farm stands over the next few weeks. You can switch out fruits/spices/flavorings to take advantage of whatever fruit is available, but cherries are classic.


Photo Image: http://www.food-info.net/images/clafoutis.jpg