My husband has been helping a friend of his build a house, which means most of his nights and weekends are spent there, away from home. After three or four days of only seeing him for maybe an hour before he goes to bed, I tend to get a little cranky. I then insist he’s mine for a night, or a Saturday, whichever comes first. When he’s gone, however, I make myself food—comfort food—that I enjoy, but I probably wouldn’t get him to touch. For example, I love goat cheese, but the mere mention of it makes my husband crinkle his nose. Same with blue cheese and feta and scallops and crab. Love, love, love them all, and he hates, hates, hates them all. To be fair, we have the opposite relationship with beef… In any event, I came up with these quesadillas because a. I wanted something with goat cheese. b. I wanted something quick and easy. c. I wanted something autumn-y.

In a surprising turn of events, I made myself one of these little quesadillas for lunch while hubby was home for a day last weekend, and I got him to try a slice. He said they were damn good quesadillas. Hmmm. That doesn’t mean I have to start eating beef, does it?

Ingredients:

a combination of red and yellow sweet bell peppers (1 per quesadilla is a safe bet)
goat cheese (chévre)
fresh thyme
balsamic vinegar
fresh ground black pepper
part flour/part cornmeal tortillas (if you can find them; they’re new from Mission)
butter

Guidelines:

Roast your peppers. How? Place them under a broiler until the skin is blackened all over, rotating frequently. Remove from broiler, and place in a paper bag, or in a bowl with a towel draped over it, and let them sweat for 25-30 minutes. Once they are cool enough, peel the blackened skin off, remove the stem and seeds, and cut the peppers into strips.

In a sauté pan, toss the peppers with fresh thyme, fresh ground pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Heat until most of the balsamic vinegar has evaporated.

Butter one side of two tortillas.

Spread goat cheese on the unbuttered side of one tortilla.

In a medium pan, place the buttered side of one tortilla on the pan’s surface. Top with the roasted pepper mixture. Place the other tortilla over the top, butter side up, and cook on medium heat, flipping as necessary, until the top of each tortilla is golden brown and the goat cheese is warm.

Let cool briefly and cut into wedges.

I discovered Melissa and Bitchin Camero, her food blog, when I started my Project Food Blog Cook-Off. In my search for recipes, I found Melissa’s Basil Lime Shrimp with Plantains. Her recipe won the second round of the Cook-Off, and it has become one of my favorite all-time recipes. Bitchin Camero has also become one of my favorite food sites. I visit it regularly, and have pulled numerous recipes from it. I thank Melissa for agreeing to an interview, and now I’ll turn it over to her and let her tell you about herself before we get into the Q&A.

*****

Melissa says:

I was born and raised in Miami, FL, the daughter of Cuban parents.

I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s house after school watching her make traditional Cuban meals like Palomilla steak and onions, chicken stuffed with prunes, and her most famous black beans. My mom cooked every night when she got home from work. Frozen meals, packaged cookies, and sugary cereal were wholly absent from our house. And unlike other Cuban moms, she made all kinds of food — American, Italian, Greek, Spanish. Everything was made from scratch, and I always wanted to help.

I remember asking permission to make Chicken Marsala when I was about 11 or 12 and was home from school early. My mom obliged, but then I got sucked into an episode of Saved by the Bell (Zack Morris is just so dreamy!) and the chicken burned. That was my first time making dinner for the family and we ended up ordering pizza. I was so sad.

By high school, I was hosting weekly Fajita nights for my friends. In college, I gave up my dining hall plan as soon as I moved into an apartment with a stove. I cooked almost every night and people thought I was insane. I just couldn’t deal with the over-processed, over-cooked and bland food at the dining hall. Except for the sour watermelons. I definitely dealt with those. Often.

After grad school in NYC, I built websites for SparkNotes.com and lived in a tiny studio in the East Village. I had about 1 square foot of counter space and the tiniest of ovens. The lack of space drove me out of the city and into Brooklyn. I still couldn’t deal. I finally left NYC after 4 years and moved with my then-fiancé back to Miami.

We bought a condo, remodeled the kitchen, and I began cooking like a fiend. That brings me up to the present day. I cook lunch and dinner almost every day of the week. My co-workers at the digital agency I work for think I’m insane. I’m beginning to notice a pattern…

How did you get into blogging about food?

I started bitchincamero.com about 4 years ago. It used to be a quirky Flash site with a picture gallery and links to my online portfolio. That was a nightmare to update. About 3 years ago, I migrated over to a blog that was supposed to be about my life. I quickly realized I didn’t have much to say to the world, but I did find myself posting recipes for friends and family. Once I moved to Miami and had a real kitchen, I started posting recipes almost exclusively. When my kitchen was finished in December, I redesigned the site and focused it completely on food.

You’ve only been a food blog for about nine months then. How has your blog evolved during that time? Have your goals changed?

At first, I thought I was just chronicling my dinner and posting recipes as a way to remind myself and to share with friends. I wanted to create enough recipes to make a cookbook to give to family and friends for Christmas 08. I really thought no one would read it. I gradually got more interested in photography and food styling. My husband gave me a great food-close-up lens for Valentine’s Day and I’ve been working on my photos ever since. Once those started improving, a lot more people started stopping by my site. That made me want to post even more and to post really GOOD recipes instead of just dinner. I think having the blog has pushed me to think more creatively about food, about what I want to write, about what my “culinary perspective” is all about. I guess you can say my blog has made me a better, more inspired cook.

My goal now is to make delicious food and take mouth-watering pictures. My hope is that people see how easy it is to make a quick, delicious dinner and get back in the kitchen. Sure, it’d be nice to make a living from blogging, but I’m not holding my breath.

How is that family and friends cookbook coming along? Do you have any interest in writing and publishing a cookbook for the industry?

Ha! I haven’t even started! The cookbook is going to be a collection of my favorite recipes from the blog. I think I have 75 strong contenders right now. Each recipe will have a paragraph about how the recipe came about, or why it’s special to me. I want it to be really visual, with big, beautiful photos and little text. I suppose I should really get to work if I’m going to have this ready for the Holidays.

I would love to write and publish a cookbook for the industry. It’s my ultimate dream. Know anyone who’s interested ?

I’m one of those people who have noticed your photographs. Have your photography skills always been this advanced? What is your number one tip for taking mouth-watering photographs?

I’ve always loved taking photos! I took a few photography classes in college, but the whole film developing thing was a bit much for me. Once I bought my digital SLR, I really got into it. Then my best-husband-in-the-world bought me a 50mm lens for Valentine’s Day that’s great for close-up, low light shots. My food photography has improved so much since then and I’ve even been experimenting with more food styling.

My number one tip for taking mouth-watering photographs? Take your picture in a bright, sunny room and avoid using your camera’s flash at all costs. The flash makes everything an unnatural color and not so appetizing. Your best spot for a photo might not be the most logical. For instance, I find that I get the best lighting on the floor of my apartment. It’s not at all strange to find me lying on my stomach, snapping away at a plate of food on the floor. I’m sure I’m a sight to behold. The goal is to actually want to eat the photograph. Take close-ups, use interesting angles and never take just one!

What is “food styling”?

I suppose “food styling” means plating the food in a way that makes it look as pretty and as appetizing as possible. Instead of putting a pork chop next to a side of mashed potatoes, I might place the pork chop on top of the potatoes, and then sprinkle it with fresh herbs. It’s all about presentation. If the food looks good on the plate, you’ll be all the more excited to eat it. It’s something I’d love to get into more, but I just cannot wait any longer to dig in! Even the time it takes to photograph the food is torture.

How do you feel about the “food styling” and “designer” food trends? Do you think it enhances the eating experience? Whatever happened to good old-fashioned meat and potatoes?

I think “food styling” is good to some extent. You want your plate to look neat and appetizing. A sprinkle of cheese. Some fresh herbs. All of that is a nice touch, but you don’t need to take it too far. Styling food so much that it doesn’t even look like food, or looks too precious to eat — it’s just not my thing, though I’m happy to gawk at it if given the chance. And I’m definitely a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Just make sure the sauce isn’t slopped all over the plate
What is your “culinary perspective”?

I guess you can say my Culinary Perspective is Adventurous and All-Natural. I like using whole grains and flours, fresh vegetables, natural sweeteners, lots of color, lots of flavor and spice, and I pull inspiration from a lot of different cuisines, Spanish and Latin, Vietnamese and Japanese, Indian and Mediterranean. I love putting new spins on traditional dishes, or creating something from “nothing” when the fridge is empty. Mostly, I like to try my hand at new things, be adventurous and discover new flavor combinations — like the Latin/Thai Lime Basil Shrimp with Plantains.

Currently, you work for an ad agency doing internet work. Have you ever worked in the food industry? Do you have any interest in doing so?

I’ve never actually worked in the food industry, and have absolutely no interest in the restaurant business. Way too cutthroat for me. Weekends are for the beach, not for slaving in a hot kitchen (unless it’s my own hot kitchen). Mostly, I love to cook for people I know. I can put special touches on dishes that I know they’d like and they’re all too polite to tell me if my food is terrible. It’s much more rewarding this way.

I do love recipe creation though. I could spend hours in the kitchen tweaking things until they’re just right. My dream job would be to create recipes, write cookbooks, and work on the blog.

Is there anything you won’t eat, or cook with?

I don’t think there’s anything I would refuse to eat. Maybe cow testicles. I don’t think I could stomach those. Yeah, let’s change the subject…

I don’t deep-fry. Nothing against deep-frying, I love onion rings and fries and chicken wings. Deep-frying is just far too messy and I’m a slightly psychotic about the cleanliness of my kitchen (as in, I scrub it down twice a day). I haven’t tried cooking offal or organ meats yet, but I think I’m getting really interested… Other than that, I’ll cook pretty much anything. If it doesn’t work out, there’s usually a frozen pizza in the fridge!

What would you make with the following ingredients: wild rice, pork (in any form), oranges, cabbage, and peanut butter?

Kelly! What are you doing to me?!?!? Ok, let’s see… It’s like I’m on Top Chef and drew the last knife. I guess I’d make Honey/Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin with an Asian-inspired Spicy Peanut Wild Rice & Cabbage Salad (with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, cilantro and toasted sesame oil). Hmmm. Maybe I’ll actually make this and post it when your article goes up
*

Thanks, Melissa. It’s been a pleasure finding out more about you. Blog on!

Do you ever get tired of writing about your food? I mean, really, do we have to? Do people actually read those essays on our lives and why we cooked a meal? I doubt it. I don’t always. Isn’t it enough to post a recipe, and say here: try this, it’s good, I think you’ll like it? Well, I’m going to do that today. Because I want to, and I think people appreciate brevity. So here. This is a recipe for a Sicilian Salad I made a few weeks ago. I liked it. It’s fresh and zingy. I hope you’ll like it to.

Ingredients:

Note: I don’t think it’s necessary to measure for a salad. If the ingredients look proportionate, they probably taste balanced, too.

romaine
red cabbage
oranges
Kalmata olives
feta cheese
fresh ground pepper (optional)

Dressing Ingredients:

lemon juice (fresh)
fresh mint, chopped finely
olive oil

Guidelines:

Make your dressing first. If you’re making a small salad, you’ll only need a few tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice, and a leaf or two of fresh mint. If you’re making a large salad, adjust accordingly. So, let’s assume you’re making a small salad. Place a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl. Add one or two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, according to taste. Whisk in one or two fresh, chopped mint leaves, and let the mixture sit for about twenty minutes. Whisk again before dressing your salad.

Wash and chop enough romaine for your salad. Spin dry and place in a salad bowl. Add enough red cabbage to give it some color and taste.

Once your dressing is ready, pour it over your romaine and cabbage and mix to combine.

Place your dressed salad on a serving plate. Top with peeled orange slices, halved Kalamata olives, a sprinkling of feta cheese, and fresh ground pepper to taste.