Get on the Kick: Blackberry Brie Quesadilla

I know I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve been on a quesadilla kick lately, churning out all kinds of flavor combinations from the depths of my fridge. This latest one was scraped together from some stale tortillas, some very ripe brie, and the last of the home-canned blackberry preserves I brought back from a recent trip to the Rockies.

The trick to getting the quesadilla extra crisp is to spread the butter on the tortillas instead of putting it into the pan. Then, some gentle pressure from a spatula ensures an even contact patch with the pan so that every square inch of the tortilla ends up golden brown and flakey.

Between those two buttery disks the brie melts into rich cheesy lava, and the sweet fragrant blackberry preserves serve as an eye-popping accent that's the perfect complement to the savory brie.

The melted brie and jam will have a tendency to squirt out the sides of the crisp tortilla when you cut it, so if you must cut it, be sure to use a sharp long knife. Just put the point of the knife on the cutting board and use a quick paper-cutter style motion with one hand on top of the knife to cut through it without losing all of the molten filling.