ångel food

A friend of mine mentioned last night that McDonald’s had a notice up about not serving sliced tomatoes on their sandwiches or cherry tomatoes in their salads. It turns out that the FDA and CDC have issued a nationwide warning to not consume certain kinds of tomatoes raw:

FDA recommends that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes unless the tomatoes are from the sources listed below. If unsure of where tomatoes are grown or harvested, consumers are encouraged to contact the store where the tomato purchase was made. Consumers should continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

The FDA has a list of safe retailers for the above products. Be sure to read and follow the CDC’s advice to consumers.

More information:

• Salmonellosis Outbreak in Certain Types of Tomatoes (FDA)
• FDA Warns Consumers Nationwide Not to Eat Certain Types of Raw Red Tomatoes (FDA)
• Investigation of Outbreak of Infections Caused by Salmonella Saintpaul (CDC)
• Salmonella outbreak linked to raw tomatoes strikes about 150 (USA Today)
• Salmonella Illness Linked to Tomatoes Spreads to 16 States (FOX News)

This is more of a technique post than a single recipe, since you can pretty much put whatever you want in a quesadilla. We’ve used this cooking method with a plain cheese filling, cheese and jalapeños, leftover chicken enchilada filling, and even carnitas and cheese. It’s based on America’s Test Kitchen’s quesadilla recipe with a few modifications.

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Neither of us had ever had anything like enchiladas before we first attempted this recipe, so this was a true culinary adventure! We skimmed the ingredient list and didn’t see anything to turn us off — chicken, cheese, yummy tomato chili sauce, all rolled up in a warm corn tortilla. The cooking method is clear and easy to follow, and the results did not disappoint. Since then, we’ve made it many more times, including a double batch for our Cinco de Mayo party this year. My husband likes to tell people that the best part of this recipe is the sauce and filling left in the dish after serving the enchiladas; be sure to have some tortilla chips on the side to scoop it up.

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