Conference turris::cooks

Which recipe were you looking for?
I thought tostadas were piled high with whatever you had on hand at the time.
IE lettuce,sour cream,salsa,cheese,beef, etc,etc

Which part did you need help with?

Are you looking for a seasoning for the beef, or maybe for the sauce...

I LOVE mexican food.

LJ

I'll try to describe it -- a tortilla "sandwich."  Inside, was chicken, and
cheese and probably some spices.  The best part was the topping.  The upper
tortilla was covered with melted cheese, lettuce, chopped tomatoes/salsa, 
chilies, olives.

It seemed to have been baked, so the toppings were melted into one another.
Sound familiar?  The only recipe I could find put all the ingredients in
between the 2 tortillas and it was actually kind of uninteresting.

I can figure out what to put where (inside and on top of the tortillas);
I need help with knowing how to finish it (bake, fry, etc.).

Thanks.


 

    I'm a native of California, where I may add has the best (next to
    Texas) Mexican food!  New Englanders just don't come close to what's
    out west!  What you had sounds like a cross between a tostada and a
    quesadilla (ka-sa-dee-ya).  Were the tortillas deep-fried or soft? 
    A tostada is usally a flast deep fried tortillas with refried beans,
    salsa, onions, olives, lettuce, and cheese... like an unfolded taco.  A
    quesadilla is a floured tortilla with melted cheese and you may add
    chiles and/or salsa if desired.  What nantucket served sounds like
    something someone may have invented... sounds great though.

I have a recipe for Mexican pizza which sounds similar.  It uses ground beef
but you could easily substitute boneless chicken.  It calls for everything
on top of the two tortillas but I don't see any reason why you can't change
the layering a bit!  

Mexican Pizza
-------------

Tortilla crust : Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly brush tortillas with
oil and prick in several places with a fork. Bake directly on oven rack for
about 5 minutes. Allow 2 tortillas per pizza.

Meat topping : Brown 1/4 lb hamburger (per pizza), 2 T chopped onion (per 
pizza), 3/4 tsp chili powder, salt and pepper to taste. Can also throw in 
green chile peppers.

Spread taco sauce or spaghetti sauce thinly between tortillas and place
one on top of the other. More sauce on top. Spread with meat topping. Top with
chopped tomatoes, scallions, hot red peppers, hot green peppers, sweet
greep peppers.  Top with combination of Monterey Jack cheese and Cheddar 
cheese. Heat through. Slice and top each slice with guacamole and sour cream.

    None of the answers come even close to the "tostadas" I had a few weeks
    ago in Mexico.
    The tostada (base) is deep fried and crispy. On top, you add a thin
    layer of refried beans, then, a layer of shreded lettuce, then a layer
    of grilled chicken cut up in shreds, then sour crean, guacamole, and
    toped all with tons of chreded cheese, just melted.
    
    Believe me... I NEVER had anything better! Just 2 tostadas was all I
    could eat after being touring all day long.
    
    Do this sound like what you are looking for?
    Ana

I also had quesadillas (kaysadias) at a local resteraunt, Chilies, 
that sound similar to what your are describing. 
they put chicken, cheese,and onion between two flour tortillas 
(nuked?) it, and served it up in wedges, sort of like a pizza so 
you could eat it with your fingers, sandwich style.....?
But they were soft flour tortillas.

LJ

Quesadillas in what passes for Mexican restaurants around here (Baltimore)
tend to be flour tortillas with a filling in between them.  However,
Diana Kennedy describes Mexican tortillas as a sort of dumpling made from
a *corn* tortilla.  You form the quesadilla from the uncooked tortilla
dough (which means you have to make your own tortillas).  I've made them
this way and they're very good.  I've filled them with cheese and chiles
and also with a potato and chorizo filling.

-Hal

    Well, when I was in Mexico and ordered a quesadilla, it was a flour
    tortilla with cheese in the middle.  It was heated to melt the cheese
    (I don't think it was microwaved).  When I was in Old Town in San
    Diego, I ordered a quesadilla, expecting the same thing - I knew my
    3-year-old nephew would like it.  He referred to quesadillas as
    "Mexican grilled cheese."  He's right!
    
    I''ve only seen tostadas as an open faced corn tortilla sandwich - no
    top tortilla.  My nephew calls them "flat tacos."
    
    I, too, think that the item you had was made up by the restaurant - but
    it sure sounds good!
    
    
    Susan

Thanks, everyone for these tips!

Looks like I will take some time and experiment with these ideas
and techniques.