Tortillas

SLAP SOME BEANS into them, and dinner is served -- right?You must be thinking of the tortillas of yesteryear.Never mind that you'll choose between white, whole wheat or corn, burrito-size, sandwich-size and mini-tillas. Today, those thin discs of dough indigenous to Southwestern cooking fold around fillings from fajitas to fish sticks. They can loosely wrap a handful of something portable, and they can be downright stuffed -- and variously dipped, deep-fried or toasted, even laden with sweets and served as a trendy mealtime finale.

When we're all done stuffing ourselves today, many of us will be looking to get back on the healthy track. We can do it while making use of our tasty Thanksgiving leftovers. Here are some recipes from Sparkpeople.com, Shape Magazine and Cooking Light Magazine. Look for more on the blog tomorrow. Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Salsa This recipe comes from Shape Magazine. The mgazine says it provides nearly 50 percent of daily protein needs. SERVES: 4 PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES (PLUS 30 MINUTES RESTING)

Don't be fooled by the long name. It's the most difficult part of this recipe. Quesadillas, pronounced kay-sa-DEE-yahs, are a kind of Tex-Mex grilled sandwich made with flour tortillas and usually filled with slightly spicy things. Since some kids don't like spicy food, we make ours with pizza fixings so everyone is sure to like them. Because the ingredients are inside instead of on top, we call them inside-out pizzas.Making these pizzas requires no fancy kitchen tricks. Even the youngest school-age child can make them with little or no assistance.

Sedona, Ariz., is one of Chandler Tschand's favorite places in the world. He's been there dozens of times, so it's no coincidence that he and his wife,  Asha (the official owner), named their year-old Woodstock restaurant Sedona Grill. Nor is it a coincidence that Southwestern fare is the culinary theme here. This cuisine favors a kinder, gentler approach than the spicier Tex-Mex (and Mexican) styles of Arizona's neighbors. It is generally less heated with well-balanced background flavors.

What do a Russian blintz, a Scotch egg, a Jewish knish and a Mexican burrito have in common? Would the answer come any easier if I added an American peach pie?You go to the head of the cooking class if you identified them all as foods that are wrapped. If you flunked the quiz, perhaps you need to get yourself a copy of "Cooking Under Wraps: The Art of Wrapping Hors d'Oeuvres, Main Courses, and Desserts" by Nicole Routhier (Morrow, $27).In 1989, Ms. Routhier's first cookbook, "The Foods of Vietnam" (Stewart, Tabori & Chang)

My children turn up their noses if hamburger appears in too many guises in any given week. Chicken elicits a chorus of "Again?" The bloom is even off pizza, probably because we eat it so often that the pizzeria owner knows my order by heart.But tortillas -- corn or wheat, stuffed or rolled, fried or baked with a filling -- are the key to a peaceful dinner. No complaints, no mutiny -- and seconds for all. For me, tortillas possess qualities that make a working mother's life a bit easier at mealtime -- they're cheap, nutritious and ready to eat in less time than it takes a pizza to arrive at the doorstep.

MEXICO CITY -- In Mexico, you can raise the price of gas, increase taxes on telephone calls or charge more for driving on toll roads. But don't mess with the price of tortillas.In an attempt to blunt the impact of dwindling oil revenues and a devalued peso on the Mexican economy, President Ernesto Zedillo's administration is dropping the subsidies that historically have kept the price of the country's staple food low. The move has produced a backlash from citizens and opposition politicians -- and even economists.

Here's an idea for a casual meal for the grill that's a little different -- Greek wraps. The heated tortilla wraps a juicy filling of grilled mushrooms, chickpeas, tomatoes, feta cheese and a cooling yogurt sauce called a raita. A few pluses are that the meal is oh-so-quick, transportable in its separate components, can be easily doubled and is self-serve!Fresh fruit seared on the grill is a great finish, especially topped with a kicky bourbon caramel sauce. Peel and core a fresh pineapple and then slice into 3/4 -inch thick rings.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The food they sell may be flat, yet Herman Jacobs and his son Brian say that sales are anything but. The two own Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas, which sells flavored varieties of the ancient staple to retailers and restaurants in the United States and around the world. In 11 years of business, the Jacobses watched as diners went through the low-carb craze, the wrap craze and the grains craze, each driving tortilla sales higher and higher. "People are using tortillas for more and more applications," said Brian Jacobs, 41. "We're really gaining momentum."

Flat breads come from every corner of the world, with variations as diverse as the cultures from which they originate. Their increased availability and our exposure to them has transformed the American sandwich.Stuffed flat breads are actually better when made a couple hours ahead and wrapped tightly. As the zesty flavors of the fillings are absorbed, the breads soften but still hold their shapes.Tortillas: These thin, round flat breads from Mexico are made with unleavened wheat flour or cornmeal dough.

Tortilleria Sinaloa is a tiny storefront in Fells Point with no tables but eight stools at two counters. That doesn't deter tourists, natives and neighbors from testing their Spanish on the barely bi-lingual but friendly staff while trying to order from the compact menu. And nothing makes me feel more comfortable in a first time visit to a little street joint than having a neat young woman in constant motion wiping counters, stools, equipment and anything else that might need wiping.

Jareene Barkdoll of Baltimore was hoping we would be able to find the recipe for the Southwestern-style quiche served at the Severn Inn in Annapolis. A friend treated her to Sunday brunch at the inn for her birthday, and she so enjoyed the quiche that she wanted to re-create it at home. She said it was served with an avocado salsa and topped with black beans. Philip Sokolowski, executive chef at the Severn Inn, was kind enough to share his recipe for the quiche. What makes this quiche unusual, aside from the Southwestern seasoning, is that the typical pastry crust is replaced with tortillas.

Rosa's Grill In the west Lexington Market arcade, 400 W. Lexington St., 443-939-9143. Open 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. I was in the mood for pupusas; I just didn't know it. But after devouring a couple of these $2 morsels from Rosa's Grill in the Lexington Market, all was right with the world. These tortillas, made with masa, shaped into pancakes and stuffed with cheese and pork, were flavorful and satisfying. I went to Rosa's to try the tamales. It is an El Salvadoran stand in what we call the "new" wing, opened in 1982 of the 227-year-old Lexington Market.

El Trovador Address --318 S. Broadway Phone --410-276-6200 Hours --11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Sunday Arcos Mexican Restaurant Address --129 S. Broadway Phone --410-522-4777 Hours --Noon-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday Three warm corn tortillas dotted with green sauce and sour cream are the centerpiece of a substantial, if mild, enchilada meal. The $8.75 serving includes bountiful portions of beans and flavored rice.

Maybe it is because the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball championship will be held this week in San Antonio, Texas, where the burrito rules. Or perhaps it is because I have been reading stories about how nowadays the cool, sexy people are vegetarians. Whatever the reason, I recently had a craving to eat black-bean burritos for lunch. I ate three big burritos, warm tortillas loaded with vegetables and other fillings. I ended up loaded with protein and fiber. One World Cafe Address --100 W. University Parkway Phone --410-235-5777 Hours --Burrito is available 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Sundays This is a black-bean burrito for vegetable-loving bodybuilders.

The wonder, believers said, appeared in a chunk of chocolate. A worker arriving at a Fountain Valley, Calif., candy factory saw it in a sugary glob at the mixing vat's spout: an amazing likeness of the Virgin Mary standing in prayer. "It's absolutely a miracle," said Jacinto Santacruz, a 26-year-old Roman Catholic who in August discovered the 2 1/2 -inch-tall apparition at Bodega Chocolates. All over the world, people like Santacruz have been finding religion in odd places. Holy figures have been perceived in bricks, logs, the gritty underpass of a Chicago expressway, a Tennessee coffee shop called Bongo Java and, last month, a tiny gold nugget found in the Arizona desert.

Jareene Barkdoll of Baltimore was hoping we would be able to find the recipe for the Southwestern-style quiche served at the Severn Inn in Annapolis. A friend treated her to Sunday brunch at the inn for her birthday, and she so enjoyed the quiche that she wanted to re-create it at home. She said it was served with an avocado salsa and topped with black beans. Philip Sokolowski, executive chef at the Severn Inn, was kind enough to share his recipe for the quiche. What makes this quiche unusual, aside from the Southwestern seasoning, is that the typical pastry crust is replaced with tortillas.

A traditional Mexican meal without something made from masa (corn dough) is unimaginable. But there's more to masa than tortillas -- used for tacos, burritos and many other dishes. Sopes (pronounced SO-pas) are made from the same masa dough as tortillas but are thicker and softer, with a rim for corralling layers of frijoles (beans), shredded meats or chunks of fish, and pickled onions, salsa and other additions.In some areas of the United States, ready-made sope shells are as common as tortillas.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- The food they sell may be flat, yet Herman Jacobs and his son Brian say that sales are anything but. The two own Tumaro's Gourmet Tortillas, which sells flavored varieties of the ancient staple to retailers and restaurants in the United States and around the world. In 11 years of business, the Jacobses watched as diners went through the low-carb craze, the wrap craze and the grains craze, each driving tortilla sales higher and higher. "People are using tortillas for more and more applications," said Brian Jacobs, 41. "We're really gaining momentum."

What happens when Italian flavors get caught up in an easy-to-make quesadilla? Let's call it a pizzadilla. There are so many bold flavors in this dish, you can skip the pepperoni to make it meatless - or use a vegetarian pepperoni instead. Serve the wedges with an antipasto platter that accommodates diners' appetites. Go heavy on the cured meats - mortadella, capicolla and salami, for instance - or opt for a lighter touch with an emphasis on vegetables - celery, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini.