The Chefs Black Book

Mesquite-Grilled BBQ Chicken Quesadilla®

With this secret recipe from the latest TSR low-lat book,
it isn't necessary to cook the chicken over a mesquite
grill as they do in the restaurant chain. Sure, you could
get some mesquite wood chips and throw 'em on your barbecue
or you can use that charcoal that has mesquite in it.
But an easier way to get the flavor of mesquite--especially
if all you've got is a gas grill--is to soak the chicken
in a marinade made with mesquite-flavored liquid smoke.
In the restaurant these puppies are made with red chili
tortillas. Since these type of tortillas can be a drag to
track down, especially in fat-free versions, we'll use plain
fat-free tortillas for our tasty reduced-fat clone.

Mesquite Marinade
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon mesquite-flavored liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash ground black pepper
Spicy BBQ Sauce
1/2 cup Bull's-Eye Original BBQ Sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash chili powder
1 boneless chicken breast
1/3 cup sliced red bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced green bell pepper
1/3 cup sliced Spanish onion
2 large (12-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
1 1/3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Prepare the marinade by combining the ingredients in a medium
bowl. Add chicken breast fillet to the bowl, cover, and chill for
one hour.
2. When the chicken is finished marinating, preheat your grill to
high temperature.
3. As grill is heating, prepare the spicy BBQ sauce by mixing the
ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Throw the chicken on the grill and cook it for 4 to 5 minutes
per side or until it's done. When the chicken is done cooking, chop it into bite-size pieces.
5. Spray a light coating of nonstick cooking spray on a medium
skillet over medium heat. Sauté the sliced peppers and onion in
the pan for 4 to 5 minutes or until the veggies start to brown.
6. Set a large skillet over medium/low heat.
7. Put one flour tortilla in the skillet and sprinkle 1/3 cup
of cheese over half of the tortilla. Spoon half of the vegetables
over the cheese, followed by half of the chicken.
8. Spoon a generous portion of the spicy BBQ sauce over the chicken,
followed by another 1/3 cup of cheese.
9. Fold the other side of the tortilla over the filling, and press
down so that it stays in place.
10. By this time, the cheese on the bottom should be melted. If not,
wait another minute or so, then flip the quesadilla over and heat
for another couple minutes or until all of the cheese has melted.
11. Slide the quesadilla onto a plate and slice it into 4 pieces.
Repeat for the second quesadilla and serve immediately with salsa
on the side.
Serves 4 as an appetizer.

Chevys® Fresh Salsa

Whip out the food processor and fire up the grill
because you’ll need these essential tools to clone
one of the best restaurant salsas in the business.
The key to recreating the flavor of the real deal
is to fire roast the tomatoes and the jalapenos,
and to add a little mesquite-flavored liquid smoke.
The restaurant chain uses a mesquite grill, so these
steps are crucial to getting the same smoky flavor
as the addictive restaurant version. Chevys uses chipotle
peppers, or smoked red jalapeno peppers. But unless you
grow your own jalapenos, it may be difficult to find the
riper red variety in your local supermarket. For this recipe,
the green jalapeno peppers will work fine.

6 medium tomatoes
10 jalapenos (red is best)
1/4 of a medium Spanish onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons mesquite-flavored liquid smoke

1. Preheat your barbecue grill to high temperature.
2. Remove any stems from the tomatoes, then rub some oil over
each tomato. You can leave the stems on the jalapenos.
3. Place the tomatoes on the grill when it’s hot. After about
10 minutes, place all of the jalapenos onto the grill. In about
10 minutes you can turn the tomatoes and the peppers. When almost
the entire surface of the peppers has charred black you can remove
them from the grill. The tomatoes will turn partially black, but
when the skin begins to come off they are done. Put the peppers
and tomatoes on a plate and let them cool.
4. When the tomatoes and peppers have cooled, remove most of the
skin from the tomatoes and place them into a food processor.
Pinch the stem end from each of the peppers and place them into
the food processor as well. Toss out the liquid that remains on
the plate.
5. Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor and puree
on high speed for 5-10 seconds or until the mixture has a smooth
consistency.
6. Place the salsa into a covered container and chill for several
hours or overnight while the flavors develop.
Makes approximately 2 cups.

Chevys® Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This easy-to-clone dish comes with many of the tasty
entrees at the restaurant chain or can be ordered up,
pronto, on the side. It's a nice clone to have around
since it goes well with so many dishes, Mexican or otherwise.
Just give yourself the time to bake and cool the potatoes.
Be here at TSR next week for a big clone request from the
same "always fresh ingredients" Mexican food chain. It's
for that muy delicioso salsa, baby! Si, si, si. See you then.

4 medium/large russet potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3-4 cloves)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Bake the potatoes by first rubbing them lightly with oil
and then baking them in the preheated oven for 1 hour until
they are tender. Cool.
3. Mash potatoes and remove about half of the skin. You want
to leave the rest in.
4. Melt the butter in a large suacepan over medium heat, then
add garlic and saute for 5 minutes.
5. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and cook for 5-10
minutes while stirring often until garlic mashed potatoes are
very hot.
Serves 4.