Cheese Crisps

When I was a kid, I mean really little, I must have been 6, I visited my cousins in Arizona. They were (and still are) much older. One afternoon they set out to make something they called "cheese crisps." My six-year-old brain saw them take a corn tortilla and melt some cheese on it, then they cut it up and ate it.
That was the first time I had seen this food. Now, all my life I had remembered that vignette and thought it was strange my cousins didn't know the word "nacho" which is a pretty common word in the Southwest. Now flash forward several decades. I live in the Northeast USA, New Jersey to be more precise, and good Tex-Mex or Mexican food is more rare than a piebald deer. We hear about a "good" Mexican place in High Bridge, NJ and we decide to check it out. One of their signature apps is something called a "crispy cheese tortilla" and so I have to order that. I'm thinking, was that some kind of authentic Mexican food all these years ago? What comes to our table, and I must say I was very impressed with the restaurant, was a deep-fried flour tortilla topped with Mexican cheeses, jalapenos, and sesame seeds. Absolutely delicious. Mette was hooked on this from bite one and she has begged me to approximate the recipe at home. After many iterations on this one I am proud to post it here:

2-3 cups (500-750 mL) oil for deep frying, canola or peanut
1 large (burrito-size) flour tortilla
shredded Mexican cheese
fresh or pickled sliced jalapenos
sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a large straight-sided skillet that will accommodate your tortilla. When the oil is hot, fry the tortilla until well browned on one side and flip it over to finish. Drain on a stack of paper towels.
Sprinkle the tortilla like a pizza all over with the shredded cheese. Place jalapeno slices all around the tortilla on top of the cheese and finish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Broil briefly under a high broiler or Salamander, just to melt the cheese. I have a commercial Salamander and I find that these tend to burn after about 30-45 seconds, so watch it very carefully. Remove from the heat and cut into eighths with a pizza cutter. Serve at once.
I am not ashamed to say that we have occasionally eaten nothing but these for dinner. They are that good. And I think my cousins in and around Arizona would approve, though I very much doubt they rememember my visit in the early 70's.