Cyndi Greening

Another December birthday for another important person in my life. Today is Cyndi Greening’s birthday. Cyndi is a filmmaker, teacher, writer, webmaster, and my dear friend!  I first met her when we worked on a fundraiser for Phoenix Children’s Hospital called the Beach Ball, some Without Cydni, there would be no Les Petites Gourmettes blog! I’d had my website for about 10 years and was itching to turn it into a blog. Thanks to Cydni, that became a reality and 125 posts, and nearly 4 months later, here we are. Cyndi, thank you, and Happy Birthday! xoxo

Love this picture of Cyndi as a kid – she’s in the kitchen! So cute!

Way back on September 16, Cyndi made a comment about a mango and chicken recipe she had gotten from me years ago. I’m not quite sure if this is the recipe she was talking about, but it’s a great appetizer and can be either passed or be used as part of a buffet at a Christmas or New Year’s Party. It is also perfect alongside a salad for a light lunch or dinner. So in honor of Cydni, I shall share it here today.

For the chicken meat, I purchase a rotisserie chicken and use the breast meat for this and the dark meat for something else, maybe chicken salad sandwiches or stir-fry.

Chicken, Mango, and Brie Quesadillas

Eight 8-inch flour tortillas
2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast meat
1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
8 ounces brie, rind removed, then thinly sliced
1 red or orange bell pepper, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Purchased tropical fruit salsa

Lay out all eight of the tortillas on a work surface. Place 1/8 of the shredded chicken and sliced mango along one-half of each of the tortillas. Divide the brie among the tortillas still leaving one half of each tortilla without any toppings and placing the cheese towards the center, so it will not run out the sides as it melts. Top with 1/8 of the bell pepper strips on each tortilla. Sprinkle each with about 1/2 tablespoon cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold the plain half of the tortilla over the filled side and press together slightly. (At this point, each quesadilla may be individually wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 1 day.)

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, and place two quesadillas at bottom of the dry skillet. Let the bottom of each tortilla brown, then turn over the quesadillas and brown the other side. Repeat with the remaining 6 quesadillas.

Spoon the salsa into a bowl and place it in the center of a large serving platter. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges and place them on the platter, so guests may serve themselves.

Makes 36 wedges