FoCo Joe: Peanut Butter Banana Quesadillas
It’s been a while, but I’m back! Editing other sections of The D has been a terrific experience this summer, but I am happy to return to my roots on Dartbeat and deliver what I do best – clever dessert creations.
Much of my time the past few days has been spent gazing over #foodporn on Instagram and Buzzfeed, where I noticed one of Buzzfeed’s more questionable food articles claiming that a frittata is one of the top “26 foods you should learn to cook in your twenties.” I was close to closing my window entirely when the next article offered a more promising dessert that looked perfect for FoCo:
I cannot emphasize just how easy this dessert was to recreate in FoCo. I love quesadillas, a fact undoubtedly shaped by California upbringing, but I have never had a dessert quesadilla! This week was the perfect chance to make what turned out to be a crowd-pleaser. The constant presence of the panini presses in FoCo makes this breakfast quesadilla the perfect summer showstopper.
Here’s what I did to my breakfast quesadilla:
Step 1: Grab a whole-wheat tortilla from the breads area to the right of the sandwich meats. Make sure your plate is clean!
Step 2: Head over to the spreads bar by the toaster, and spread smooth peanut butter over half of the tortilla. Balance is key here. Too much peanut butter will make the quesadilla too heavy to finish without feeling like a bloated puffer fish afterwards, but too little and the panini press will grill the bananas unevenly and break the tortilla. I was happy with the proportions I chose, but I think a little less peanut butter might be a better choice next time. Almond butter is a good substitution, as are most of the other spreads.
Step 3: Grab a banana, ideally the ripest you can find. Cut it into small pieces, each no thicker than a half-inch.
Step 4: Head over to the soft serve where the chocolate chips should be waiting for you. Sprinkle a good amount over the bananas, making sure to spread them equally across the dessert surface. Nutella is a good substitution for those who love the taste of hazelnut, but I would spread Nutella across the other half of the quesadilla to make things less messy. Again, it’s important to think about uniformity across each bite.
Step 5: This next move is optional, but after having bananas and dulce de leche almost every night for dessert in the spring, adding caramel over the chocolate chips was an instinct fueled by nostalgia. Caramel isn't the same as dulce de leche, as my Spanish LSA peers and I will quickly correct anyone who says otherwise, but it comes close. I just miss Argentina, I suppose.
Step 6: The crucial moment has arrived – the journey to the panini press. Scrape away the sandwich residue on the press, and carefully place the dessert quesadilla. Press down gently, waiting about 90 seconds. Remove the quesadilla when it seems ready. Cut into slices and drool a little over the oozing peanut butter and chocolate. The final product should be sturdy enough to cut and be eaten by hand. A fork and knife are fine if your classier friends are concerned, but might be a little tougher to use if the quesadilla is undercooked.
This dessert is honestly too easy to not try one afternoon or evening w hen you and your friends aren’t quite ready to make moves. Make sure you have friends to help you with this treat, too; this quesadilla is too delicious and too filling to eat alone.