Texas-Style Queso

The past few days, I've been quarrantined at home with the worst cold I've had in years - mainly because I actually haven't even gotten sick in almost 2 years. I knew once it happened it would knock me flat.

So when Josh asked for a "savory snack," my comfort food cravings immediately turned to thoughts of cheese. I whipped it up in minutes, but that's not to say it hadn't taken me several attempts over a few years to get it right the first time. I refused to use Velveeta. Heavy cream just made more of a macaroni and cheese-type sauce. One day I spotted the oft-ignored can of evaporated milk that had been hiding in the pantry since who knows when, and thought I'd give it a shot.

The secret all aloig was the evaporated milk. Who'd have guessed?

You will need:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons flour
1 tablespoon (or more, depending on taste) chopped green chiles
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper (seeded if desired)
2 tablespoons chopped white onions
1 small Roma tomato, seeded and chopped
6 ounces evaporated milk
4 ounces cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon chopped cilantro
Dash ground cumin
Dash cayenne pepper
Hot sauce to taste
Salt to taste

In a small saucepan, heat vegetable oil over medium-low heat. Once oil is shimmering, add chiles, jalapenos, cilantro and onions, and heat until soft but not browned. Whisk in flour to make a light roux, then pour in evaporated milk. Heat until bubbling, then remove from heat and stir in cheese. Add chopped tomatoes, cumin, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and salt. Serve immediately.

Guacamole

I've contemplated posting my guacamole recipe several times, but always dismissed that notion, assuming everybody has a go-to guacamole recipe. Not so, I learned over the weekend. A friend told me she gets that guacamole is inclusive of avocados and tomatoes, but beyond that, she's lost. I thought maybe there are others like her, so far it be it from me to keep my guac a secret.

You will need:

6-8 Hass avocados, halved, pit removed
4 tomatoes (try not to include any seeds)
Half a medium red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, diced
Handful cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice of one lime
Salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. Season with a little bit of salt and set aside for at least 20 minutes. Then, strain the mixture to remove as much excess water as possible.

Spoon each half of avocados into a medium mixing bowl and break up gently with a fork. I like my guac chunky, but if you prefer it smooth, mash it to the desired consistency either with a fork or a potato masher. Add cumin and salt and mix well. If you're going for chunky guac, you want to mix as little as possible to keep the avocados from getting too mashed.

Gently add the tomato mixture (aka pico de gallo) to the avocados and combine. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

Hummus, Revisited

Back in May, I attempted homemade hummus for the first time. As I mentioned, the bones were there, but the recipe was just terrible. The jalapenos were overpowering, the turmeric was unnecessary, and more hummus was thrown away than was consumed.

Never one to walk away from a concept, I tried it again. Thanks to the Foodie Bride's revelation that her hummus turned out "almost mousse-like," I gave it another shot last night. And it was perfect. Perfectly smooth, perfectly seasoned (with a few tweaks from the original recipe), and I didn't feel like somebody had taken a shot to my mouth after I ate a bite. Please try this, if you enjoy hummus even in the slightest. There's nothing like homemade and you'll never buy it again.

You will need:

4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
7 tbsp Tahini
4 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 15-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
Dash of cayenne
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped or torn

Combine the lemon juice and water in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the Tahini and olive oil together.

Add the chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne to the bowl of a food processor and process until almost fully ground, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl. With the food processor running, stream in the lemon and water and process for another couple of minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and again with the food processor running, stream in the Tahini and oil mixture and process until smooth.

After tasting the hummus at this point (having followed the original recipe), I found myself adding more and more tahini, olive oil and lemon juice to get the consistency and taste I wanted. Feel free to play around with it.

Transfer the hummus to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and a drizzle of olive oil. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Adapted slightly from The Foodie Bride.

Jalapeno Hummus and Classic Hummus

Lord. Yeesh. This is some spicy stuff.

You'd think I'd have guessed that, given that Josh found the recipe on jalapenomadness.com, but it seemed like a good recipe for our first attempt at homemade hummus. After all, we both like spicy food.

No. This stuff was off the charts, dangerously close to "not even tasty" territory... after a few dips, I was just not enjoying it anymore.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, because the bones were there - it was creamy and certainly had that distinct hummus taste, so it was more or less a success. If you're into that crazy-spicy hummus sort of thing, then try out the original recipe. If not, I'm listing my omissions and adaptations right off the bat to turn the jalapeno hummus into the more classic hummus, with only a hint of garlic flavor and a lot less like a punch to the mouth.

In order of importance:

• Zero jalapenos. Adding a third of a cup of pickled/jarred jalapenos, as the recipe calls for, is insanity.
• No curry powder. I believe it was the turmeric in the curry I used that transformed my hummus into mustardy, nuclear hummus. Ick.
• Not 3, but 2 cloves of garlic. Next time, I'll roast them first.
• No crushed red pepper.
• Add about 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil to the food processor at the end.
• Maybe a teeny tiny touch of salt at the end as well.

Anyway, here's the original.

You will need:

1 cup garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained and rinsed

1/3 cup canned jalapeno pepper slices
3 tablespoons tahini
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
Crushed red pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, mix the garbanzo beans, jalapeno peppers, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. Season with cumin, curry powder, and crushed red pepper. Blend until smooth.