January 4, 2016

Roasted Peppers and Boursin Steak Quesadillas

I made a lovely bone-in prime rib roast for Christmas dinner and still had copious amounts of slabbed meat hanging around in the fridge...more than a week later. EEK! Usually, our leftovers get eaten quicker than this (within a week), but it was a huge roast for us and we just couldn't get through it quickly. A week was cutting it close, and more than a week had become longer than what I was comfortable with keeping it. I knew the clock was ticking for the spoilage factor, and I certainly didn't want our yummy prime rib to go to waste.

The issue was that after an additional meal or two, the decadent prime rib became almost too much of a good thing. I needed to change things up, since the kiddos and I were starting to experience steak fatigue (I don't know if that is really an actual thing or not). Poor us, I know. It was a nice problem to have, but I had to figure out something else to do with the leftover meat. I remembered that I wanted to explore my new America's Test Kitchen The Best Simple Recipes cookbook a little more, so I turned there to look for some beef-repurposing ideas. Lo and behold, I found this quesadilla recipe that I could adapt for my leftover situation. It ended up being exactly what I needed. As every recipe in the ATK cookbook is designed for cooking in 30 minutes or less, the already-cooked steak made it even faster/easier to make. Did I mention it was fantastically delicious, too??? Ya, it was. I got rave reviews all around from the adaptation and was able to successfully use the rest of the prime rib without the issue of the aforementioned meat fatigue.

As for the recipe, I made some minor substitutions each time I made it. I will copy the recipe below as it's printed in the cookbook and then write my adaptation below in the notes. Seriously, I have probably have had more of these quick quesadillas than I'd had of the roast in it's original form. With that said, I wouldn't hesitate to buy some steaks and make this again from scratch. It is definitley worthy of a go, even if meat leftovers aren't available.


Roasted Peppers and Boursin Steak Quesadillas
From: America's Test Kitchen The Best Simple Recipes cookbook

Ingredients:
2 Strip Steaks ( 10-12 Ounces Each) About 1 Inch Thick (or substitute leftover steak)
Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 ( 5.2 Ounce) Package Boursin Cheese (or substitute goat cheese)
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
4(12-Inch) Flour Tortillas
1/2 Cup Jarred Roasted Red peppers, Drained and Sliced Thin
4 Scallions, Sliced Thin (or substitute sliced shallots or a small sliced red onion)

Directions:
Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks until well browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and let rest 5 minutes, then slice thin against grain. Wipe out skillet.

While steaks rest, combine Boursin, cheddar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Spread one-quarter of cheese mixture evenly over half of one tortilla, leaving 1/2 inch border around edge. Top with peppers, scallions and sliced steak. Fold tortilla over filling and press down firmly. Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.

Add 2 quesadillas to empty skillet and cook over medium high heat until golden and crisp, 1-2 minutes. Flip quesadillas and cook until golden brown and cheese if melted. 1-2 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and repeat with remaining quesadillas. Cut into wedges and serve.


Notes:

For the adaptation of leftovers:

Cut the cooked steak into small, bite-sized cubes and set aside. (I had to cut mine off the bone-in cooked roast and then cube the meat). With a skillet on high, cook red onions or shallots (or both) and the roasted red peppers until they begin to become caramelized. Add the already-cooked leftover steak in the pan to reheat it. When the mixture is nicely browned, remove to a plate lined with paper towels. Return the skillet to the stovetop, and spray with cooking spray. On the tortillas, spread the Boursin or goat cheese (or a mixture of both), sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese, and then add the meat/onion/pepper mixture on top. Fold tortillas in half as directed above and toast in the skillet until cheese is melted and tortilla is slightly crispy and browned. Remove from skillet to cutting board, cut into wedges, and serve.

Don't forget to marvel at how easy these were to make and how delicious they turned out to be.

One more thing...for the Christmas dinner prime rib roast, I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe found in her holiday cookbook and on the Food Network website. It was also amazing!

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