brie, apple, and arugula quesadillas

When I work the weekend shifts I usually return home on Sunday night too exhausted to do anything, let alone think about making dinner. This weekend was no different, especially after the time change seemed to make the day feel infinitely longer than usual. I decided to throw these quesadillas together nonetheless, since I already had all of the ingredients on hand in the kitchen. The recipe was found in the October issue of Cooking Light magazine, which I subscriped to for a steal on amazon.com in an effort to help me come up with some healthier meal options.

I found it easier to assemble these as shown, versus do them in halves as the recipe describes since my tortillas were small and it was a little tricky to get everything to melt together. To help with the process, I placed a heavy pot on top as they cooked panini style so I didn't have to stand next to the stove pressing on them with a spatula the entire time.

I loved the combination of one of my favorites- brie cheese, with the tart but sweet fuji apples, and peppery arugula. I was tempted to pop open a bottle of gurwurtztraminer since I think it would have been the perfect complement as the cooking light feature suggests, but stuck to finishing off the bottle of prosecco I had in the fridge first. I'm sure there will be a next time...

Brie, Apple, and Arugula Quesadillas

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine, October 2010

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  Dijon mustard
• 2  teaspoons  apple cider
• 3-4  (10-inch) wheat tortillas
• 6  ounces  Brie cheese, rind removed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, divided
• 1  Fuji apple, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1/2 pound), divided
• 3  cups  arugula, divided
• 3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided

Preparation

1. Combine mustard and cider in a small bowl; stir well.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread each tortilla with about 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard mixture. Place 1 tortilla, mustard side up, in pan. Arrange one-third of cheese slices over half of tortilla; cook 1 minute or until cheese begins to melt.
Arrange one-third of apple slices over cheese; top with 1 cup arugula. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Fold tortilla in half; press gently with a spatula. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove from pan.
3. Repeat procedure twice with remaining 2 tortillas, cheese, apple slices, 2 cups arugula, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.