Queso! Umm yum!

It was taco night at the Sully residence tonight. Only this time, I was going to make not only tacos but to try my hand at making some fresh, and hopefully close to authentic queso. A quick search on the internet yielded so many variations I didn't know which direction to take. I've never actually *had* queso. I've only read about it, and seen lovely pictures of it.

I decided that I would use Emeril's recipe. It had good reviews, and I could get everything I needed for it from a quick trip to the grocery store. No wine, or strange peppers they don't typically carry on cape cod. The one special thing I did need to do though was to put together a spice combination that Emeril likes to call "Baby Bam". Why...I don't know, but I will give him this, it is a good combo and I was glad to bottle it up so that I can use it for other things. The recipe for "Baby Bam" (everytime I type that I cringe) is as follows:

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 tablespoons paprika

Mix it all together and store in an old spice container.

This Queso is AMAZING. As I said before this was my first time having queso so maybe i'm not the best judge but it was so good I only had ONE taco. That's saying a lot, typically I eat 2 or 3 tacos. I'm excited to get into this stuff tomorrow, and i'm excited to bring it to the next potluck I attend.

Ingredients

• Tortilla chips, for serving
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 cup canned, chopped mild green chiles
• 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese (1/2 pound), shredded (about 2 cups)
• 8 ounces white Cheddar cheese (1/2 pound), shredded (about 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup chopped seeded tomato
• 1 teaspoon Baby Bam
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot, about 1 minute.

Add the onion and Baby Bam and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato and garlic and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cheeses and chiles. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the sour cream, white pepper, and salt and serve immediately with tortilla chips.

YIELD: 3 cups, serving 6 to 8

Fried Green Tomato BLT's

My garden is full of green tomatoes so last night I decided to put them to good use. I probably shortened my life span a bit my eating this sandwich, but it was totally worth it. Oooooh Yum!!

Ingredients (for 2 sandwiches)

2 Kaiser Rolls
10 strips of bacon
2 big green tomatoes
2 eggs
1 cup of cornmeal
Salt & pepper
Vegetable Oil
Lettuce
Mayo


Fry bacon in a deep frying pan. Remove and put on a plate with paper towels to soak up the grease.

I just left the bacon fat in the pan and added some vegetable oil to it. I don't know how much oil was in there just eye ball it.

Next slice your green tomatoes into 1/4 of an inch thick slices. Dip in egg, then in cornmeal/salt/pepper mixture. Fry them until they are crunchy and a nice golden brown.

Toast your kaiser rolls and spread mayo on the top if you like (which I do)

Assemble sandwiches like this: FGT, Bacon, Lettuce

It's a good thing i'm out of bacon because I would totally be making this for lunch today.
Enjoy!

Chard & Caramelized Onion Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust, Fresh Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese

Finally the chard in my garden is big enough to eat. I decided I wanted to try making a pizza with it. This won't be the most detailed recipe because, well I didn't really measure anything at all. It's a pizza though, you can eyeball it. I know you can.

I used:

1 ball of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Olive Oil
4 Cloves Garlic
1/2 onion
1 Bunch of Chard Chopped
Handful of shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Mozzarella
Ricotta Cheese
Fresh Ground Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 450
First I made some Garlic infused Olive oil by heating some olive oil & the four cloves of garlic in a pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the garlic was soft.
Then I removed the garlic and mushed it up with a fork.
I brushed the oil on the pizza crust and then spread the mushed up garlic on top of that.
Then I caramelized the onions and spread them on.
Next I took a handful of shredded Mozz cheese and sprinkled that on top of the onions.
Saute the chard until it's just wilted and spread it evenly on top of the shredded mozzarella
Finally I just put dots of Ricotta and Fresh Mozzarella all over and cooked it for 15 minutes
Top with freshly ground salt & pepper and serve with a salad