Delicious Reading: Comfort Food Franken-dishes

Wolfgang Puck, creator of the buffalo chicken spring roll, is often credited with the “fusion food movement.” According to Smithsonian magazine, however, the blending of culinary worlds to create new, hybrid dishes, has been around since people began cooking. The most famous example, the Smithsonian authors point out, is so ubiquitous it’s difficult to connect origin to culture: the noodle.

Spaghetti wouldn’t exist if the Chinese hadn’t perfected the method first. Most of the dishes we associate with a particular country are actually representative of the diverse history of a region.

It was still very novel to my family, however, when I recently put together some of our traditional favorites in new ways. Inspired by some menu items I had seen while dining out, as well as a little research on Pinterest, I have served “pizza-dillas” and “totchos” to rave reviews. It seems appropriate to share these as we enter the month of Halloween, although I assure you the results won’t be scary; unlike Frankenstein’s monster who was made up of whatever parts were available, these dishes are a mix of the best parts of comfort food favorites.

Pizza-dillas (Combines pizza and quesadillas)

Sheet Pan Version adapted from Yahoo! Lifestyle:

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided

12 rectangular tortillas or wraps (or cut round ones into rectangles)

½ cup tomato sauce

12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of butter.

Arrange half of the tortillas in the prepared pan, overlapping them as needed to fully cover the base.

Spread sauce in even layer on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle cheese and Italian seasoning evenly over sauce.

Arrange remaining tortillas on top of cheese, overlapping as needed to fully cover the pan.

Spread remaining 2 tablespoons of butter evenly over tortillas.

Bake until tortillas are golden and cheese is fully melted, 9 to 12 minutes.

Stove Version from Budget Bytes, adapted to be a “white pizza-dilla:”

Ingredients:

6, 10-inch flour tortillas

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 cup shredded Parmesan

30 baby spinach leaves (about ½ a package)

1/2 jar Alfredo sauce

Directions:

For each pizza-dilla: Measure 1/3 cup of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle half of the cheese over one half of the tortilla, add 5 spinach leaves and 2 tablespoons of Alfredo sauce. Then sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese and a pinch of parmesan cheese on top. Fold the empty side of the tortilla over the toppings.

Place the pizza-dilla in a pre-warmed skillet (medium heat) and cook until brown and crispy on the bottom. Carefully flip the pizza-dilla over and cook until brown and crispy on the second side. Once both sides are crisp and the cheese is melted inside, slice into thirds with a pizza cutter.

Totchos (Combines tater tots and nachos)

From Six Sisters’ Stuff

Ingredients:

1, 32-ounce bag tater tots

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup queso blanco sauce

1/2 cup pico de gallo

6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread tater tots on an even layer, then bake according to package directions.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and drizzle queso blanco over top.

Sprinkle pico de gallo, bacon and green onions on top.

Return to oven for 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is melted and warm.

I plan to further franken-fy this dish in the near future by topping the tots with pulled pork and beer cheese instead of queso and pico!