Just messing around: Chicken risotto quesadillas

At first glance it may not look like much. Or at the second or third glance even, I don't know. It really depends on how much you like quesadillas. Anyways, I assure you that this 1:00 am Saturday morning creation in my humble Poughkeepsie kitchen was worth its own weight in gold. A few days ago I went on a trip to my local Latin grocery store, Casa Latina. I picked up some cotija cheese, fresh corn tortillas  and some Mexican candies that all ended up tasting like chili powder and lime. I threw the ingredients in my fridge and waited for the moment when I would think of something fun to do with them. The next night, my friends made some chicken risotto, leaving behind plenty of leftovers. Finally, on the following night, the idea came to me. Chicken Risotto Quesadillas with hot sauce, cotija cheese, fresh corn tortillas, all cooked up in some lard. I chose lard because I'm watching my figure. I got the lard really hot in the pan and then added the quesadillas. This gave them that crispy browned texture on the outside. For some reason, I find the transformation of a raw corn tortilla to fried to be incredible. Limp and mealy one minute, golden and crunchy the next. The pictures under the quesadilla are the cotija cheese, the leftover risotto and some interesting hot sauce that I found in my fridge. It was really vinegary and perfect for the quesadilla. I've had a lot of quesadillas in my twenty years. From your American style flour tortilla with yellow cheese and maybe a microwave, to your northern Mexican pressed masa dough, stuffed with fresh white cheese and deep fried like an empanada. I had never before had one with risotto in it until now. It was, hands down, the best one I have ever had. Cotija cheese is like Mexican feta cheese. it melts really well and is tangy, but at the same time has a very fresh milk flavor. I like using corn tortillas because they are a little closer to authentic Mexican and they have a nice bite to them. The risotto was great for a quesadilla because it was spreadable, already had chicken and vegetables in it and it sort of melded together with the gooey cheese. I added the hot sauce into the mix because this dish was just screaming for some acid to balance some of the more bland flavor components. When all was cooked and done, everyone in the room was eating very happily and quietly, always a good sign.
SOY EL FOODERINO, OLE!