The heightened flavor of refried beans (over regular beans) comes from two components: the extra fat, and the Maillard (browning) reactions caused by the cooked beans shallow-frying in hot fat. Effectively, a crust forms where the mashed beans contact the fat. This crust breaks up later when the dish is stirred together.
If you can get them, try pinto beans rather than black.
Standard Refried Beans (from a can)
- Drain and rinse the canned beans.
- Heat your fat of choice (olive oil, lard, shortening) in a heavy pan.
- Mash 1/3 of the beans coarsely in a bowl, using the back of a fork and a little water, if necessary. You want the consistency of the mash to be somewhere between pancake batter and cookie dough.
- Add this mash to the fat in blobs of 1-2 tablespoons. The idea is to get as much surface area exposed to the fat as possible, because this is where the yumminess comes from, so, not a big blob in the middle of the pan. Preferably, many smaller ones.
- After a time, start stirring the bean mash and fat together, then mix in the reserved whole beans. Thin with water or broth.
Bonus:Roasted Garlic Refried Beans (from a can)
- Peel a couple of whole garlic cloves. Leave them whole.
- Put these in the fat as it heats. If the fat doesn't cover the cloves completely, you can either stir from time to time, or, better, tilt the pan so that the fat and garlic pool on one side.
- When the garlic cloves are the color of milk chocolate, remove them and add the mashed beans as above.
- Mash the cloves with the back of a fork and add them with the whole beans at the end.
Penzeys (a spice co.) makes theirs from:
salt, black pepper, paprika, Turkish oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic, celery, Mexican oregano, basil, nutmeg, cumin, marjoram, thyme and rosemary.
No numbers are given, and you probably don't need two kinds of oregano, but I've made it before with a similar list, and it is generally insensitive to precise ratios. I'd start with
2x black pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne, garlic,
1x basil, cumin, marjoram
1/2x nutmeg, thyme, rosemary
bulk up with salt (store-bought stuff is mostly salt), and experiment from there. You can probably find more on google. Add hotter things or anything you find interesting :)
Best Answer
Yes, that sounds like a great way to do it!
Prepare all of the components ahead of time, assemble the quesadillas, and stash them in the refrigerator.
When you return home with your guests, all you need to do it warm and serve.
The only real consideration is the moisture content of your veggies. You may not want to include them inside the tortilla during the fridge testing period of they are in danger of making the tortilla soggy. It probably won't be an issue, but it's something to consider. You can always cook up the veg and keep them in the fridge separately from the quesadillas until you are ready to heat.