Young man resurrects traditional ethnic dish with Midwestern twist

Around this time of year, most people celebrate the holiday season by cooking their favorite festive dishes, like gingerbread cookies and baked ham. Breaking tradition, one local-area man had something else in mind.

Davis Remmel, a bright college-aged Wisconsin native, is dipping his toes into cuisine. His Midwestern interpretation of the quesadilla (la quesadilla) offers a fresh spin on this traditional ethnic dish.

“At first, I didn’t know how to approach it,” explains Remmel, “because the dish is so deeply rooted into Mexican culture. American fast food corporations have completely bastardized it into something unrecognizable; I would be surprised if an average American even knows what a real quesadilla looks like.”

But how does Remmel prepare the customary quesadilla with such flare? He further explains, “I start out with Chi-Chi’s flour tortillas, and fry them in vegetable oil in a frying pan. Sandwiched between the tortillas, I carefully layer Kraft shredded mozzarella cheese, diced tomatoes, lettuce, and black olives. After both sides of the quesadilla have been browned, it comes off the heat to get a liberal amount of Sriracha sauce.”

Alongside his quesadilla, Remmel serves a platter of tater tots and garlic bread, and a full glass of Wisconsin milk. “Honestly, I can’t taste the difference between an expensive aged milk and the cheap stuff.” Last week, a nation-wide taste test concluded that Americans between the ages of 19 and 35 could not distinguish a milk bottled in 2002 from one bottled in 2010 with any statistical significance.

With a full belly, Remmel feels his seasonal gift will broaden the cultural scope of local community members.