Everyone gets excited about grilled cheese but somehow, the quesadilla (which is, if you think about it, basically the same thing) doesn’t get nearly as much love. Well, my new mission is to make quesadillas as hip—if not hipper—than grilled cheese. They will be the new “it” snack. I will nestle interesting fruits, meats and veggies with fun cheeses between tortillas and grill away. Maybe I’ll even open up one of those guerilla gourmet twitter food carts

At least, until I can get through the seemingly endless package of corn tortillas in my fridge.

Admittedly, the title of this recipe sounds like something you might order at Chili’s, but fear not. I will not lead you astray.

I actually decided to throw this one together after last night’s repeat visit to Chilango, where our hungry group consumed, in addition to duck flautas and filet mignon tacos, the simplest yet most delicious quesadillas. Just fresh, simple cheeses, vegetables and meats nestled into little corn tortillas and lightly grilled until the cheese was melted and the tortillas crisp. They came with little pots of guacamole, sour cream and spicy salsa. Moreover, it served as a great reminder that food need not be complicated or expensive to satisfy the taste buds and soul—just well-prepared with fresh ingredients.

Even with jobless rates as high as they’ve been in years, some Americans still have money, and some wines still move from the shelf at $700 a bottle, like the Cabernets of Screaming Eagle in the Napa Valley. Some young wineries are even entering the struggling market at price points above $100, like the brave Yarden Rom, an Israeli winery now introducing to the United States a 2006 red blend at the suggested retail price of $160. Madness? Absolutely.

Because wines as complex and food-friendly as the high-priced giants are available – and perfectly adequate for all but those most particular of dinner party guests. In fact, by my eyes, affordable good wines have become even more readily available now that the economy is in a trough and wineries wising up to reality. This is all good news for the Brokeass among us.

Concannon Vineyard, based in the Livermore Valley clearly knows how to do business; the winery was founded in 1883, long before rock star winemakers sold their bottles of juice for the price of a Vegas vacation. Recent releases from Concannon include a 2007 Central Coast Shiraz and a 2009 Central Coast Riesling. Fourth-generation winemaker John Concannon swears they bear “the structure, balance and intensity of wines twice their price point.” They could probably compete with many wines of 10 times their price, the wine business often being a game of name recognition and slick marketing. The Shiraz is smoky and leathery in smell, and it tastes of thick berry jam, dried prunes and juicy ripe fruits, balanced by earthy forest floor. The Riesling, like the best examples of the variety (“varietal,” in case you’re about to correct me, is an adjective), smells and tastes bright and beautiful, of pears, peaches, mango nectar and miscellaneous tropical fruits. A crisp acidity fortifies the wine’s delicate fruit backbone. I tend not to well-versed in white wines, and so I tend not to review them, but I do appreciate a nice Riesling.

Also high in quality and low in price are recent releases from Blackstone Winery in Sonoma. The 2008 Winemaker’s Select Merlot runs $11 and tastes as fruity as it does green – an interesting sort of herbal vegetal character. Some might suggest allowing it to age a year. I personally liked it. The Winemaker’s Select Zinfandel ($12) carries plenty of that sharp pepper and raspberry bite we all love while also bearing softer edged flavors of chocolate, vanilla and tree bark – the latter, I concede, an acquired taste of the trained wine drinker. Indeed, growing to appreciate notes of tree bark can take years. Keep sipping.

After nearly three weeks out of town, I met up with Brett on Saturday night at Chilango, a new Mexican haunt equidistant from our respective apartments. We shared delicious sweet sangria and succulent filet mignon tacos, but the stand-out dish was a platter of crispy duck flautas, drizzled with Mexican crema and topped with a pile of fresh green cabbage.

I wanted to recreate it, but duck can be a little pricey, so I substituted pan-cooked chicken thighs (the opposite of pricey), and summer-ified them a bit with fresh mango and jalapeño. Serve these with a bowl of fresh guacamole.

It always seems funny to me when people tell me my guacamole is amazing. I mean, it does taste amazing, but there’s no secret to it. It’s essentially just a bowl of fresh, yummy ingredients, smashed together to create a delicious orchestra of flavor. For just five bucks and fifteen minutes, you too can be the most popular kid at the potluck.