Chile con Queso

This must be the only possible use* for Velveeta cheese (sorry, cheese "product"). You will notice that the recipe calls for just half of the contents of the smallest available box. DO NOT worry about your leftover Velveeta. It is indestructible and will easily last until next year when you want to make Queso (as it is commonly called) again. Just wrap up that cheese product well and shove it back into the nether regions of your refrigerator.

I might go on a bit about this strange fake foodstuff, but it really does make a delicious Queso.

*Later note, October, 2010: It turns out that there is something you can do with the rest of that leftover Velveeta--you can try making White Trash Fudge! But let's get back to the Queso:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Velveeta "cheese," cut into cubes

Enough milk to make a smooth dip

6 chopped green chiles (your choice of heat); roasted, peeled, and seeded before chopping

1 medium-sized fresh tomato, chopped

1 tsp. minced onion (you can use just a few shakes of minced dry onion, if you wish)

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Optional: A couple of tbls. of salsa or El Rancho de los Garcia's Green Chile Sauce (if you can find it. You might have to move to New Mexico for this sauce, which is made in Portales).

Directions:

Melt the Velveeta in a 1 quart bowl in the microwave for about a minute. Stir well, add a little milk, and microwave for 30 seconds to one minute more, until smooth.

Add the chiles, tomato, onion, and garlic powder. Stir well. Stir in the salsa or chile sauce, if you are using it.

Microwave again, just until warmed through.

Serve as a dip with tortilla chips, or pieces of tortillas, or chunks of warm fresh bread. Focaccia (Italian flat bread) is delicious here, and adds even more of an international flavor.

Herb Cheese Spread (Pickity Place)

Pickity Place was always a favorite stop when our family was touring the area near Mason, New Hampshire. It features wonderful herb and flower gardens, a greenhouse shop, a gift shop, and a restaurant. My favorite part was the Grandmother's Cottage, a little red cape-style house that served as the model for the cottage in the 1948 Golden Book edition of Elizabeth Orton Jones' Little Red Riding Hood.

I was lucky enough to come across their cookbook, Country Herb Cooking; Four Seasons of Recipes from Pickity Place, in the Swap Shop at our old New Hampshire town recycling center. This is one of the appetizers that they serve at their luncheons.

1 tsp. fresh thyme

1 tsp. fresh chives

1 tsp. fresh sage

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

Blend all ingredients well and serve with crackers.

Rhamkuchen (Cheese Cake)

Ben is a great fan of cheesecake, so I am always on the lookout for recipes for making this dessert from scratch. This one is from my old 1951 cookbook, A World of Good Eating; a collection of old and new recipes from many lands; tested in the kitchen of a New England housewife.

1 - 1/2 cups rolled Zwieback crumbs

3 tbl. butter

2 tbl. sugar

1 lb. cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Rind of 1 lemon

1 tbl. lemon juice

2 eggs, separated

1 cup thick sour cream

1 tbl. sugar

Vanilla

Blend the rolled crumbs with melted butter and 2 tbl. sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9" spring-form pan. Place in warm oven (350°) for 5 minutes to set crust. Cool.

Warm the cream cheese to room temperature and break up with a fork. Blend in the sugar and lemon juice, rind and vanilla. Drop in the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat well after each one. Beat the egg whites stiff and fold into the mixture with a spatula.

Pour over the crumb base and bake for 45 minutes at 300°.

Mix 1 tbl. sugar and the vanilla into the sour cream. Spread lightly over the top of the cake and return it to the oven to bake 10 minutes more.

Let the cake cool and remove the rim of the spring-form pan to serve.

Farmer's Omelette

We actually lived on the Tiny Farm when we ate this kind of stuff for breakfast. It was okay to eat like this back then, because we spent our days digging and hauling and delivering lambs and feeding chickens and chasing down goats and milking and hoeing, etc. etc.

1/2 lb. bulk sausage (we used our own delicious and delicately flavored lamb sausage, but I doubt that you'll ever find anything like that in your grocery store so just go ahead and use pork sausage)

1/2 sweet onion, chopped
Some chopped red pepper, if you wish

3 potatoes, peeled, diced, cooked until tender, and drained

Salt and pepper

6 eggs, beaten

Grated cheese

Stir fry the onions and peppers in a large frying pan until just a bit transparent. Add the sausage and cook until almost done. Add the potatoes and continue stirring and cooking until they begin to brown. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over and continue cooking until they have set. Sprinkle with grated cheese, run the whole thing under the broiler to melt it, and serve.

Serves 4.

Cheese Fondue

We couldn't have made cheese fondue too many times, but it is so much fun that I guess kids tend to remember it. Ben has asked for it, and I've found a recipe just like the one we used on 101 Cookbooks. You can check out their page for a nice discussion of fondue pots, techniques for dipping, and a list of foods to dip.

We never got too fancy--we just used cut up French bread for dunking.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. Gruyere cheese, shredded (or 1/2 lb Gruyere + 1/2 lb Emmental cheese)
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
A splash or two of kirsch (optional--I don't believe that we bothered)

Toss the cheese with the flour. Rub the interior of a medium saucepan with the peeled garlic. Place over medium heat and add the wine. Bring to a simmer and add the cheese mixture, one handful at a time. Stir in the nutmeg.

Stir over low heat until smooth and cheese is melted and bubbling. Add a splash or two of kirsch (opt.). Continue stirring until it starts to bubble just a bit. Transfer the cheese mixture to a fondue pot and you are ready for dipping. Continue to stir frequently.

Sunday Grits

This recipe comes from The Green Chile Bible; Award-Winning New Mexico Recipes. It's part of a pig-out weekend New Mexican breakfast.


4 cups boiling water
1 cup grits
1 tsp. salt


1/4 lb. butter, cut into chunks
1 - 4 oz. roll of garlic cheese, cut into chunks (we never have this on hand, so we use Monterey jack cheese instead, and add a shake of garlic powder)


1/2 cup of roasted, peeled, and seeded green chiles, diced
4 eggs, beaten


Add the grits and salt to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick, stirring occasionally.


Remove pan from heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Return to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese and butter are melted. Stir in the green chiles; fold in the eggs.


Pour the mixture into a buttered casserole dish. Bake at 400˚ for 20 - 30 minutes, until solid. Serves 8 to 10.

Sauce Mornay

This is a variation on Bechamel Sauce, turning the white sauce into a cheese sauce. It's based off of the Bechamel Sauce recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child and Simone Beck.

--A NOTE ON EQUIPMENT: The recipe actually calls for a heavy-bottomed, 6-cup enameled, stainless steel, lined copper, porcelain, or pyrex saucepan and the use of a wire whisk for mixing. If you use anything with a non-stick coating, use a nylon whisk instead. A thin-bottomed pan is a poor heat conductor and may cause the sauce to scorch. Aluminum can discolor a white sauce.

--2 tbsp Butter
--2 tbsp Flour
--2 cups Whole Milk, brought to a boil with 1/4 tsp Salt
--Salt
--White Pepper
--Pinch of Nutmeg
--1/2 cup of Grated Cheese (any cheese can work, but the classic is Swiss Gruyere or a Swiss Gruyere/Parmesan Blend)

In saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Blend in the flour, and cook slowly, stirring, until the butter and flour froth together for 2 minutes without coloring. This is now a white roux. Remove the roux from the heat. As soon as the roux has stopped bubbling, pour in all of the nearly-boiling milk at once. Immediately beat vigorously with a whisk to blend liquid and roux, gathering in all bits of roux from the inside edges of the pan. Set saucepan over moderately high heat and whisk until the sauce comes to the boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat, and beat in salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Let sauce cool for several minutes, then stir in cheese. If the sauce gets stringy or clumpy, whisk in several drops of lemon juice or dry white wine while heating sauce over medium heat.

Welsh Rabbit

Here is another recipe with a wonderful name. There are those who will tell you that it is really called "Welsh Rarebit" and that might be so. In our family, however, we will always call it Welsh Rabbit, because we like to. 

2 tbsp. butter

1 lb. sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. powdered mustard
Dash of cayenne
1/2 tsp. salt, optional
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1/2 c. beer, ale or milk

Buttered toast

Melt butter in top part of double boiler or chafing dish over direct heat. Add cheese, and heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Put over boiling water, add seasonings, and pour in the liquid. Cook until thick, stirring frequently. Serve on toast.  Makes 4 servings.

Mexican Fudge, from Sandra

My friend Sandra has a sense of humor that makes me laugh and laugh. Although she hasn't always had an easy life, she just keeps moving ahead with her practical and witty approach to things. She can't abide whiners and says, just put on your big girl pants and get on with it.

Sandra is a great cook and is the source of many recipes that will be appearing here. She always tells me about the newest recipe sites she finds online, many of which appear in the sidebar below. This appetizer recipe is one she discovered on Cooks.com.

8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese

8 oz. Cheddar cheese

3 eggs

1/2 cup green taco sauce

2 jalapeño peppers

Shred the cheeses and mix. Layer half in a 9: x 13" pan. Beat the eggs and add to the 1/2 cup of taco sauce. Pour this mixture over the cheeses and the chopped jalapeño peppers. Top with the other half of the cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until the center is slightly firm. 

To serve, cut into small squares and place on tortilla or nacho chips. 

Note: You may substitute any soft white cheese for the Monterey Jack; and may substitute enchilada sauce for the taco sauce.  

Bacon and Smoked Gouda Scramble

Jessi and I make a lot of brunches. One of the only reasonably priced foods at her local fancy grocery store is cheese. Despite the vast selection that it carries, we keep gravitating to the Smoked Gouda (because it's delicious, that's why). Then we scramble it up with some eggs for a quick and easy meal. We don't always use bacon in our scrambles, but I included it here anyhow.

--6 rashers of Thick-Cut Applewood Smoked Bacon, chopped into small cubes (Jessi sez: Turkey Bacon)
--8 Eggs, beaten and mixed with a splash Milk
--1/2 cup Smoked Gouda Cheese, grated or cut into tiny cubes
--Fresh-ground Black Pepper

Turn a skillet onto medium to low heat and add the bacon. Slowly cook until the fat is rendered but the bacon is not crispy. Drain off most of the fat, but leave the bacon in the pan. Add the eggs. Cook slowly, stirring constantly. When the eggs are about half done, add the cheese and some black pepper to taste. Continue to stir until it's cooked to the desired consistency. Serve on slices of toasted fresh bread.

Rice with Cheese and Onions

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

3 tbl. olive oil

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

2 tbl. butter

3 cups chicken stock, canned chicken broth, or water with chicken bouillon

1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

1/2 cup grated Swiss or Monterey Jack cheese

1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Black pepper to taste

Saute the rice in the olive oil in a frying pan, stirring and watching carefully until it just starts to brown. Remove from pan to a 2 quart covered saucepan. 

Add the butter to the heated frying pan and saute the onions until they are light brown. Place the onions, broth, and salt in the pan with the rice and bring to a boil. After the pot boils for 3 minutes, turn the heat to low and cover. After 15 minutes turn off the heat, but do not remove the lid for 5 more minutes. Stir in the cheeses and pepper.

Original recipe came from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American.

Grandma Elva's Cheese and Olive Hors d'Oeuvres

2 cups finely grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup sifted flour

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. salt (optional)

1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce

36 stuffed green olives

Blend cheese and butter well; stir in flour, paprika, salt, and Tabasco. Drain olives and cover each with dough, forming round balls. Freeze until firm.

Place balls on baking sheet, well separated. Bake without defrosting in a hot oven (400) for 15 minutes. 

This recipe originally came from the San Francisco Symphony.

Quiche Lorraine

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell, chilled

2 tbl. butter

1 large onion, sliced

12 slices of bacon

4 eggs

2 cups of light cream

Salt to taste

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cayenne

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 cup grated natural Swiss cheese (1/4 lb.)

Saute the onions in the butter until soft, but not brown. Fry bacon until crisp, drain and crumble. Combine eggs, cream, salt, nutmeg, cayenne, and pepper, beat until well mixed. 

Sprinkle the pie shell with the bacon, and spread onions over the bacon. Cover this mixture with grated Swiss cheese. Pour the egg mixture over all. 

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 300 and bake an additional 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve at once, cut into wedges. Makes 6 servings. 

Cheddar Cheese Pie

3/4 lb. natural sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp. minced dried onion

1/2 tsp. each dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce

3 eggs

9-inch pie shell, baked

3 medium sliced tomatoes

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 - 2 tsp. finely chopped bell pepper

Put first 4 ingredients into a double boiler, heat and stir until the cheese melts. (Note: This is an old recipe--I'm sure you could do this step using your microwave). Beat eggs until frothy, gradually add cheese mixture, beat just until smooth. 

Pour into pie shell, bake 25 minutes at 325 F. Top with a wreath of tomato slices and garnish with green pepper. Return to the oven for an additional 15 minutes. 

Grandma Elva's Cheese Ball

4 oz. bleu cheese

6 oz. cheddar cheese

12 oz. cream cheese

1 tbl. grated onion

1 tsp. chopped parsley

1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup sherry

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts

Soften cheeses to room temperature. Combine with onion, parsley, worcestershire sauce, half of the nuts, and the sherry. If too soft to handle, chill for a while and then shape into two balls. Roll in the remaining nuts. Chill. 

Remove from refrigerator about 1/2 hours before serving. Serve with crackers. 

May be frozen. 

Chiles Rellenos (a low fat version)

Two layers in the casserole; two more to go

Roast 6-8 or more large green chiles (Anaheim type) under the broiler or over an open flame until charred all over. Place in a closed plastic bag or covered Tupperware container for ten minutes or so. You should then be able to peel them easily.

Take off the stem ends and take out seeds and membranes (leave some in if you want—they’re the hot part).

Beat three egg whites until stiff, adding ½ tsp. salt. You can leave out the yolks for a very low fat version, but I stir them up and fold them into the beaten egg whites.

In a greased oblong casserole, place half the egg white mixture, all the chiles, sprinkle with as much cheese as you want, then cover over with the remaining egg whites, spreading them all the way to the edges to seal. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or so until brown.

Cheese Biscuits

First, open a nice dark beer for yourself. You'll need a bit of it for the recipe, and you might as well be sipping until that point.

Cheese Biscuits
½ cup butter
½ cup sharp cheese, grated
1 cup flour
Pinch of powdered mustard
A tiny bit of beer to moisten the dough, if needed

Blend, form into a 12 inch roll, chill, slice; or roll into small walnut-sized balls and flatten on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

These make a nice appetizer to have along with drinks. Makes about 36 little biscuits.