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“I've got a leftover cooked pork chop from dinner last night, an acorn squash, pistachio nuts, and honey vinegar."
"Okay," I say, practically watching the wheels turning in his little head. "Time starts... now!"
Ian gets down to business, steeling his little chef's knife.
"Talk me through it as you go," I say.
"I'm going to do a pork chop and roasted squash quesadilla with pistachio chimichurri and honey vinegar crema."
"That seems smart. Tell me why as you prep."
Ian begins slicing the acorn squash into rings, laying them on a baking sheet and drizzling with olive oil. "Well, the pork chop is already cooked, and quesadillas are a smart use for leftovers because they cook fast so things don't have time to dry out or get tough. The squash has good sweetness, which will go well with the pork, and will also be friends with the honey vinegar."
"Good. Why not just toss the pistachios into the quesadilla?"
He seasons the acorn squash rings expertly with kosher salt, taking a pinch from the bowl and holding his hand at eye level, raining the salt crystals down evenly over the squash, and then pops the tray in the oven. "Because the heat of cooking would make them lose their snap and you need that textural element for contrast with the soft quesadilla."
"Excellent. Tell me about the chimichurri."
He throws the pistachios into a small nonstick sauté pan and starts to toast them. "Well, I'm toasting the nuts to bring out the flavor and intensify the crunch, and I'm going to chop them roughly and mix them with minced green olives, mint, parsley, shallots, olive oil, a touch of the honey vinegar, maybe some red pepper flakes for heat.”
― Stacey Ballis, How to Change a Life

“I watched as Ian pulls the cooked squash out of the oven and drops it on the part of the cooktop that is currently not in use to let it cool for a moment while he mixes honey vinegar and a touch of brown sugar into thick crème fraîche, tasting along the way with the spoons I keep in a little cup on the stovetop. Satisfied with the crema, he turns back to the food processor, where he has chopped the pistachios, shallots, olives, and herbs, and empties out the contents into a bowl, adding a splash of the honey vinegar, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and a healthy glug of olive oil. He tastes, adds salt and a good grinding of black pepper, tastes again, and nods, pleased with himself.
"Ten minutes to go," I say, checking my phone. "Keep talking me through things."
Ian reaches for a large flour tortilla and places it in a dry nonstick skillet. "I'm going to assemble the quesadilla now," he says, sprinkling shredded fontina cheese over the whole surface of the tortilla. He dots the shredded cheese with small bits of fresh goat cheese. "I'm using fontina because it melts well and is mild, and some chèvre for a bit of punch and creaminess. Now the pork." He has sliced the pork thin, and layers it over the cheeses, following with cubes of the roasted squash.”
― Stacey Ballis, How to Change a Life

“Today I have prepared for you a pork and roasted squash quesadilla with fontina and chèvre, served with a pistachio chimichurri and a honey vinegar crema. Please enjoy."
I take my fork and knife and cut off a tip of the quesadilla, dragging it through the crema, and using my knife to make sure I get some chimichurri on the bite as well. I close my eyes and taste. The tortilla is crisp; the pork surprisingly juicy, despite being a lean cut that was reheated; the acorn squash sweet. The fontina was a good choice. It's super gooey but has a mild flavor that lets the pork and squash shine. The slightly sweet-and-sour crema works well, as does the bright herbal crunch of the chimichurri. Frankly, if I'd been served this dish in a restaurant, I'd have been pleased.”
― Stacey Ballis, How to Change a Life

“Tortilla, crispy. Pork, savory. Squash, sweet. Fontina, gooey and salty. Chimichurri, peppery and green and bright, with some acid. Crema, tart and creamy and cool. And goat cheese..." He trails off.
"What does the goat cheese bring to the party?"
"Well, it's creamy, but the crema gives enough creaminess. So the goat cheese fights with it a little bit, overwhelms it, sort of makes the flavor... blurry?"
He's such a badass. "That's a good word for it, Ian. Anything else?"
He takes another bite. "I'd probably do the crema like the chimichurri, just a last-minute drizzle on top instead of underneath with the schmear... it's making the underside of the tortilla lose its crisp."
"That's a good catch. What is our rule about presentation?"
He grins and recites it like a catechism. "Presentation is important, but our mouth better be the happy one in the end. It needs to taste even better than it looks.”
― Stacey Ballis, How to Change a Life