A staple at our family get togethers is chile con queso, or as well all call it "chile con". My mom and her sisters have perfected it and now the cousins are now making it for our family and friends. Last week we had our staff over for a end of summer appreciation bbq and I made chile con queso to get the party started. Fernando asked me what was in the queso because he couldn't stop eating it, I told him the secret ingredient is beer. Here is the recipe and a homage to my mom, Aunt Elsa and Aunt Renee who have passed this down to the next generation.
1 brick of Velveeta, cut into small cubes
2 large tomatoes, diced
6 green onions, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
12 Big Jim or Sandia green chiles - roasted, peeled and chopped
1/2 can of Tecate beer
Place the cheese, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, green chiles and beer in a double broiler on medium low. Allow the cheese to melt, mixing every 15 minutes until you get a smooth, melted texture.
ay te nacho!
Every Easter, Stephen and I go to Maryland to visit my cousin Ceci, her husband Matt and their beautiful offsprings - Jacques and Noa. I must note, Ceci is also a connoisseur of the nacho, well anything that has to do with cheese and Noa, her daughter loves the chile con queso. This is a picture of her the same weekend diving into the endless bowl of queso (chile con queso recipe to come later) . We decided to take in a Baltimore Orioles game and I of course ordered "nachos". These "nachos" are pretty much the basic you will ever get - six tostadas and some really bad mustard colored, cold processed cheese that comes out of that ginormous can. I can only imagine what is in the cheese and probably don't want to know. At any rate, we had a great time at the game and needless to say we moved on to hot dogs which were much more tasty!
ay te nacho!
Last night we ventured out with our good friends Nick and Debbie to Carlos and Mickey's to catch up over some nachos and margaritas. My husband Stephen told the waiter I had this "nacho blog" in progress, and asked him to create something off their menu, giving the chef free reign to create his "fantasy nacho". Much to our surprise, the manager, Ivan Gaytan, got wind of the challenge and got in the kitchen and created not one, but two different nachos for us to try. The first nacho plate to come out were the "Carnitas Nachos" with a special pico de gallo sauce that he whipped up just for this dish. The carnitas were so delicious and tender and pretty much melted in your mouth. To cool of the very potent pico de gallo, was creamy avocado that was a perfect compliment to the melted monterrey jack cheese that coated and rounded out the nachos.
Next, we had the pleasure of having what Ivan named "Bandito Nachos". These consisted of chicken breast that were marinated in a special chile del arbol sauce and brisket that topped these nachos beautifully. I always find that certain nachos lack the tostada to cheese to protein ratio and this nacho definitely surpassed that, with every bite you were able to get a bit of chicken, brisket, cheese and jalapenos. Ivan let us know that the chile del arbol salsa he created for this dish was a recipe that has been passed down from his family. He has actually bottled this salsa and has been selling to various businesses. This salsa should be in Walgreens soon and let me tell you, I very infrequently buy bottled salsa due to the lack of flavor and spice but this is one salsa that I would definitely buy, if it was sold in a gallon, I would be on it. This chile del arbol had the perfect blend of red chile and jalapeno and is what really made these nachos stand out. I found myself topping my nachos with this salsa, because I couldn't get enough. Do I dare say it - the "Bandito Nachos" may be the best nachos I have every had.
ay te nacho!
