Saturday Night Eats

HB and I had a great night of eating last night.

For dinner we had the Stacked Vegetarian Quesadilla from this month's Bon Appetit. Here is our adapted version of the recipie:

Ingredients  

4 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas 
1 8 ounces butternut squash, chopped into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes 
1/2 cup thickly chopped yellow onion 
1 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained 
1/2 cup salsa, divided 
1 teaspoon cumin
2 garlic cloves, chopped 
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, divided 
1 cup coarsely grated  Monterey Jack cheese 
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
Sour cream 
Additional salsa 
Fresh cilantro sprigs (for garnish)
Avacado

Directions

Preheat broiler. Put tortillas in single layer on baking sheet.  Broil 2 minutes on each side.
Place squash in a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat.  Add 1/2 cup water, onions, and cumin. Cook until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
Place squash in a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle water over, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave until just tender, about 3 minutes; drain. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spread out squash in even layer over 1 tortilla. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Add beans, 1/4 cup salsa, garlic, 1/3 cup water, and 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder. Using potato masher, crush until beans are mashed; season with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup salsa. Spread over second tortilla. Sprinkle cheese and 1 tablespoon of ancho chili over third tortilla. Leave fourth tortilla plain.
Broil tortillas until cheese melts and vegetables are browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer black bean tortilla to plate; sprinkle 1/4 cup chopped cilantro over. Top with cheese tortilla, squash tortilla, then plain tortilla. Cut into 4 wedges. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, avocado, and cilantro sprigs.

We found while that the tortillas burned in the three minutes recommended, so we changed it to broiling for two minutes and that seemed to work fine. Bon Appetit also recommends that you brush oil on both sides, but we found that made it too crispy. You eventually have to cut through the layers and so less crispy is better than more crispy.

We also cooked the butternut squash in a pan on the stove. Bon Appetit recommended that you heat it in a bowl covered in plastic wrap, but I try not to use plastic in the microwave. We also added cumin to deepen the flavor. 

This recipe turned out really good! It took about an hour, including the time to chop the butternut squash and cook it on the stove, but it was well worth it. The meal was great and extremely filling. It was the perfect Saturday night meal, and we ate it with our hands in front of the TV watching American Dad. 


After a few episodes of American Dad, we decided to treat ourselves with Extraordinary Desserts. It is about a 30 minute drive from our apartment, but well worth it. The desserts there are AMAZING. At about $12 per slice of cake, the prices are comparable for what you would pay in a restaurant, but the quality is much better. 


After the drive, we arrived to a line out the door. This is common at Extraordinary Desserts. But the line moves quickly and we don't mind waiting. After about 20 minutes, we got to the front and ordered our desserts. I got a slice of Caribe. It is a cake made of layers of chocolate banana mango mousse and layers of chocolate cake infused with passion fruit. HB got a slice of Gianduia, which had rum-soaked layers of cake in between hazelnut mousse. The top of his cake had a crunchy sugared hazelnut topping. I'm a pretty good baker, but I can't make things this complicated. All of there desserts are then topped with fresh fruit and edible gold. 

We've tried several other cakes too, including Truffe Framboise, Dulce de Leche, Moroccan, Torta Misu (one of my favorites!), and the Blood Orange Ricotta Torte.  They also have amazing pastries and cookies. We usually grab two raspberry danishes for breakfast. 


There are two locations in San Diego, and I prefer the one near Balboa Park. The one in Little Italy is nice, and much larger than the other, but has a more modern feel. The one near Balboa Park is romantic and relaxed. There is a lot of outdoor seating for the daytime and romantic candles and lighting at night. The outdoor area is also heated, so if you go at night you can still sit outside. The perfect end to any date night in San Diego.