Okay, so I am going to admit something a little embarrassing today. I have a serious woman crush on Jennifer Aniston (I mean, it. I'm kind of obsessed). I know she is not the hottest person in Hollywood, but for some reason I just love her. She seems incredibly approachable to me and she seems to have a little bit of a hippie side, which appeals to my hippie side. Plus, I am a yoga freak and they say that is the secret to her fantastic arms and legs. So there it is! I am crushing on a 40 year old actress who does yoga.
But that is not exactly why I am writing this blog; it is only partly relevant to Jennifer. It just so happened that some time ago Oprah did an article on Jennifer Aniston having a dinner party in her home and she ran it in her O Magazine. The article described Jen's home and the little dinner party she was having and it also interviewed her personal chef's and listed the menu they prepared for the party. In the menu, under the appetizers, her chefs prepared (among other things) mushroom quesadillas. Not that I had never heard of a mushroom quesadilla before, but they did something different I had never heard of. In order to cut out any unnecessary fat, the chefs cooked the little Mexican treats on top of course sea salt! Apparently the salt acts as a barrier to keep it off the pan and from burning instead of the usual pat of butter or margarine that creates a nonstick surface. I read this little tip while I was reading the article (and relishing the pictures of Jennifer's beautiful kitchen and patio) and I was instantly intrigued.
So today while I was at the store I bought some whole wheat tortillas and a few quesadilla goodies and decided to try it for dinner. I prepped my mushrooms (always wipe with a damp cloth, never ever run under water! They absorb the water and shrink a lot when you cook them) and got everything ready and sprinkled the salt in the pan anticipating a magical little barrier and a perfect quesadilla. Well unfortunately that is not what I got... the salt sort of adhered to the tortilla and made a little bit of a salty mess. I kept scraping it off so it wouldn't be too icky tasting to eat. They were right though, they don't burn! But who would want to eat so much salt?
Fortunately I am a good scraper and I was able to save our dinner. And with the difficult cooking process aside, they were delicious! I was very impressed with the combination and I must admit I actually liked the way it tasted with no fat on the tortilla. Sometimes a little butter can make it taste more fried and kind of heavy. These were light and healthy but still really filling! So if you want to try these cooked with a little Pam, a little spot of butter, or if you don't mind scraping off salt, it doesn't matter, but I do suggest you try them!
Mushroom And Spinach Quesadillas
4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp course sea salt (if you plan on cooking it this way)
In a small saute pan, heat your olive oil. Add the garlic and mushrooms and oregano and saute until lightly golden and delicious. set aside. In your other pan add the salt (or butter or whatever) and heat the pan. Lay down a tortilla and on one side layer mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Fold over and cook until golden and crispy and them flip it and cook until golden and crispy. Do this for every tortilla. Makes 4.
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