Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Queso Dip

















I have been participating at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday party for the past ten weeks.  It is a fun forum to submit your posts on the letter of the week.  I try to make recipes that correspond with the letter of the week.  This week, the letter of the week is "Q."  If you didn't already know, there are not many foods that begin with the letter Q.  I have chosen to make a Queso Dip.  Yes, I know that queso is a Spanish word!  You have to cheat a little bit!  I guess I could have made something with quince, but I have never eaten one. Would quince be confused with Quince, the Latin American coming of age celebration of a girl's 15th birthday?  Just a little rambling here!
Jenny Matlock
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This is Emeril LaGasse's Queso Dip; I found it at ABC's Good Morning America's recipes.  Since I have never made this dip before, I didn't make any alterations to his recipe.  It WAS really good and very rich tasting!  A little goes a long way!  It calls for white cheddar, which I used, but I think normal cheddar would be just fine, and a bit cheaper. 

Queso Dip Recipe:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion  -- Make sure you chop these finely.
1 teaspoon Essence, plus more to taste -- See below for the Essence recipe.
1 teaspoon Mexican chili powder  -- I just used regular chili powder.
1 cup finely chopped seeded tomato  -- Just pull out the seeds with your finger.
2 teaspoons minced garlic
8 ounces white Cheddar cheese (1/2 pound), shredded (about 2 cups)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese (1/2 pound), shredded (about 2 cups)
1 cup canned, chopped mild or hot green chiles
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro  -- Don't forget to use cilantro; I am a huge fan!
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Tortilla chips, for serving

Cooking Directions
Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until hot, about 1 minute. Add the onion, Essence, and chili powder 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, cilantro, white pepper, and salt. Add more Essence to taste if desired. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Recipe for Essence
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

In a small bowl combine all the ingredients thoroughly. Store in an airtight container.


I am posting this with the following:
Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday
Beauty and Bedlam's Tasty Tuesday
Blessed With Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
All the Small Stuff's Tuesdays at the Table

37 comments:

Pondside said...

Clever you, to figure out which Q to use! I'm still trying to find one!
That dip looks yummy - just the thing for the hockey play-offs.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

That looks yummy and a clever Q word. I've got mine picked out and will post late Wed!

Jami said...

Looks yummy! I love mexican. and I just love the name of your blog. So cute. Thanks for the recipe.

FrouFrouBritches said...

You could've made quiche, but boy am I glad you didn't! I have been SEARCHING for a good cheese dip recipe. I can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!!! YEA!!!!

AndreaLeigh said...

Oh, I love queso! Thanks for sharing!

Sue said...

I love queso and this recipe is different than mine...looks yummy.

annies home said...

we made something like this last time delicious

Renée said...

Thanks for a queso using real cheese. I so dislike the canned stuff and this one looks delish!

Carrie @ Dittle Dattle said...

I love Essence! Even though I have a hard time finding cayenne powder. Where do you find your?

Anonymous said...

This sounds wonderful. Maybe you could have it with my quinoa salad.

jeff campbell said...

We love Queso around this house...will have to try this recipe...Nice Q choice...Peace and blessings

Kat said...

We love queso around here (natch) and this sounds like a really good recipe. Thanks for sharing! Kathy

Viki said...

I think you picked a great word it doesn't matter what language it's in. I'm not much for Mexican food but looking what its made of I just might have to try it. Great job for Q.

Jo said...

yummy looking Q word ... who ever though Q could sound so delish!

Natasha in Oz said...

Wow, that looks fabulous. I am yet to master the art of this type of cuisine but your dip recipe looks quite fabulous!

Best wishes,
Natasha.

GardenOfDaisies said...

It's ok to "cheat"! i have used Celtic words and today I used a Portuguese word. Jenny never said it had to be in English! :-)

GardenOfDaisies said...

OH and your queso dip looks wonderful!!

Tracy said...

Quite delicous looking I love quality Mexican food

Maggie said...

Great Q word choice, the queso had my mouth watering! Must be time for lunch, surely?
~Maggie~

Unknown said...

Let it be known that it is ok to use the foreign form of words. This means that I could have used one of my first thoughts, the word "qvinna", which is the old spelling of the Swedish word, "kvinna", which means simply "woman".
Your post looks yummy, which helps any English-purists to forgive you.
Happy Qs,
Anna
http://annasadornments.blogspot.com/2010/05/q-as-in-quilts-quartz-abc-wednesday.html

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

It's great on eggs too!!

Steph said...

This looks wonderful. The options for Mexican food here are slim, and we can't get Monterey Jack. But I know how to make sour cream from regular cream, and we can get the rest. This encourages me to try to make a special treat. Thanks so much. Delicious post!

Jenny said...

What a qualifiably delicious Q post!

I love queso...yummy on baked potatoes and broccoli and, yes, of course chips!

Thank you for this delicious post!

It was Quite appetizing!

A+

Unknown said...

That looks so GREAT!
Mine is here
Happy Sensational Thursday!
hugs
shakira

Tina said...

Oh yummy! We love queso and enjoy trying new variations. I'll make this one for the finale of Survivor!

Beth Zimmerman said...

Oh that does look incredibly yummy! I've never made queso at home. May have to try that one of these days.

laterg8r said...

so tasty :D

Jessica said...

Yum! I always look forward to taking a break on the red couch:) This dip looks/sounds really good! We made nachos last night for dinner and I wish I had seen this first! But I did make fresh guac though which was amazing! I took pictures but they just looked like used baby food:)LOL! I will save your recipe for next time we have nachos...Thanks for the foodie post and I look forward to next week!

Amy said...

OH.MY.GOODNESS! This looks FANTABULOUS! I giving the recipe to my hubs and asking him to make it for me!! Thanks for sharing.

My name is Riet said...

That is a yummy Q for Queso. Great find and recipe. have a lovely day

Angie said...

Wow that looks so good! I did quesadilla for my Q word! It is fun cooking with alphabet!

Christy said...

Oh I just love queso dip. I have never attempted to make it from scratch. this sounds worth the effort! Thanks.

Terra said...

Oh YUM!

Unknown said...

this looks so delicious...my husband loves queso dip and i never make it..because i am stubborn :) i will try this recipe this weekend for a special treat

Unknown said...

it looks really good...I love dips and chips......

Nicki Meier said...

It is only 9:24 in the morning! How could this look so great that I think I need to make it right away?! :)

Definately going to be filing this one for a later date...but certainly would enjoy it RIGHT now! :)
thanks for sharing...

mub said...

Great Q! I haven't made queso before, but I -have- eaten a quince. They're alright but I do think they smell better than they taste!

Engageya