Everyone who is a regular at Free State Brewing Company has his or her go-to item from the menu. The item that is the stand-by, the fall-back plan, the favorite thing that never gets old. For Mr. Meat and Potatoes, that is the Smoked Turkey Sandwich. For me, it is the Black Bean Quesadilla.

When I was just out of college, I decided I needed to expand my cooking repertoire beyond mac and cheese and frozen burritos. I was already hooked on the quesadillas at Free State, so I decided that would be a good place to start. And while I never did precisely replicate the flavors in that culinary masterpiece, I have, over the years, come up with some pretty tasty ‘dilla creations. You could say I was a quesadilla master. The ‘dilla diva.

Over time, though, I stopped making them, sort of forgot about them. I still order them with regularity at The Brewery, but I never do it at home. Until last week, when I had to pull a dinner out of my proverbial ear, with just ingredients I had on hand at home. Now, they’re back in the rotation, and with a vengeance. They are fast to make, can be done with just whatever you have laying around (my favorite kind of recipe), and got such an enthusiastic reception from Mr. Meat and Potatoes, I’m thinking of making them again tonight.

Everyone knows how to make a quesadilla, right? I mean, you don’t need a tutorial.

WELL, SORRY, BECAUSE YOU ARE GETTING ONE ANYWAY.

There are a few tricks, I think, to making that quesadilla go from “good” to “I want to have your babies.”

I mean, they’re always “good.” It’s cheese in a tortilla, fried. What is not to like? But to get to that higher plane, that nirvana that invokes wedding proposals, you only need a few small techniques in your knapsack.

First, you need a cast iron skillet. I cannot stress to you enough that, for a million reasons, you need a cast iron skillet. This is number 256.

Next, you need a decent tortilla. This is the trickiest part of the show. My sister brought me some “butter tortillas” from Central Market in Texas. Two packages. I am meting them out very carefully from my freezer. I have tried the fresh tortillas at Checkers, and while I think they’re okay, Mr. Meat and Potatoes disagrees. He thinks they are “weird” and “doughy.” I’m not sure where else in town to get a good tortilla, except, and you have no idea how much it hurts me to say this, On The Border, where I was forced into servitude one summer after college graduation. The only saving graces were the restaurant’s Plaza location, and those tortillas. They make their tortillas fresh there, and they’re really good, and you can go in and buy you some — $.99 for three, which is pricey, but worth it.

So once you have gotten your hands on some good tortillas and a cast iron skillet, the rest is, as they say, “buttah.”

I asked Mr. Meat and Potatoes what he would like in his quesadilla. Barbeque sauce and chicken? Shrimp? Mango salsa? Black beans? Feta? Of course not. “Cheese,” he said, “and chicken — seasoned, and maybe some jalapenos.” Because he wants to hurt me. Because he wants to kill my inner food artist.

I usually have a bag of frozen chicken thighs in my freezer, because neither of us like white meat. They are perfect for this application, because you can pull out just as many as you need, and they thaw pretty quickly. Other than that, just dig through your produce drawer for whatever odds and ends are in there, and toss em in your ‘dilla.

Last night, because I am married to The Man Who Hates Change, we had a pretty basic version. I have to say, though, he might be right about this one. I really enjoyed the flavors and spices in there, and didn’t need all sorts of weird stuff mucking it up.

Basic Quesadillas for Two

2 large boneless chicken thighs, thawed
4 good tortillas, small in size
1/3 C olive oil or canola*
2 C shredded cheddar cheese (or jack, or queso fresco, or whatever you have on hand)
1/3 red onion, sliced into thin rounds
1 tsp sriracha
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 T lime juice
1 T cumin
kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

Step 1) Heat your cast iron skillet with a couple of T of oil if it’s not already sort of naturally greasy. While it warms, cut your chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2) Toss the chicken into the skillet, along with the lime juice and spices. Cook through. This doesn’t take long.

Step 3) Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. Wipe out any residual “chicken liquids”, and add a tiny bit more oil if necessary. Toss the onions in the skillet. This is an important step. Those caramelized onions will add a lot to your quesadilla, even if you aren’t adding any other “fancy” ingredients.

Step 4) Cook the onions until they are translucent. Mine collected some cooked bits from the pan that made them extra flavorful. This is the beauty of cast iron.

Step 5) Remove the onions and set them aside with the chicken. Again, add a little more oil to the pan if necessary and let it get hot.

Step 6) Lay a tortilla in the pan and let it cook for a second over medium heat. It will get some air bubbles in it. On one half, sprinkle a little cheese, a scant handful of chicken pieces, and a few of the cooked onions. DON’T OVERFILL.

Step 7) Using a spatula, fold the empty side over the filled side and press it down. Cook for another minute or two (careful not to burn) to make sure the cheese is melted. If necessary, flip. This really shouldn’t be necessary, though, if you have put your cheese on the bottom. It should melt on its own. Just do what you need to do to make sure both sides of the tortilla are nice and brown. Because, as always, brown = FLAVOR.

Step 8 ) Garnish. Mr. Meat and Potatoes had jalapenos inside of his, so I just topped him with some salsa and sour cream. But I sprinkled a little feta on mine, which, to me, makes all the difference. Whatever you have is great here: cilantro, green onions, a lime wedge…but none of that is really necessary. These cheesy little suckers are perfection just as they are.

*Note: My sister says she prefers her ‘dillas fried in butter, and I would have to say that does sound better. I have not tried it, as I was afraid of burning. That said, next time, I will. Because really, it’s butter. Of course it’s obviously the better choice.