Nacho Cheese and Pickled Jalapeños

Homemade nacho cheese and pickled jalapeños

Last weekend my Dad gave me a gallon-size freezer bag full of jalapenos harvested from his garden. The wet spring and summer in Northern Indiana did wonders for his plants and the bounty this year was much larger than in years past.

I used 18 right right off the bat by making poppers at the family campground, but I still had half a bag leftover and I ended up bringing them home.

I was cleaning in the kitchen Friday night and that mess of peppers was just sitting on my counter screaming "what are you gonna do with me!" After some thought, I decided to pickle them. They would never go bad if I did that.

I have pickled jalapenos before. This time, I did it a little different. Instead of just pouring the simmering liquid over the jalapenos in a bowl and then letting them cool — I added the peppers to the simmering liquid and let them cook for a few minutes. This changed their appearance to that olive-green color, similar to pickled jalapenos found on grocery store shelves. I let them cool, jarred them and put them away.

With the peppers in the fridge, Saturday night rolled around and I couldn't wait the recommended two weeks to let them fully pickle before trying them. I decided to make the occasion special and create a homemade nacho cheese for some gourmet ball-park-style nachos!

My favorite nachos feature runny cheese sauce. This type of sauce requires a little work. It starts with sweating down aromatics in butter, making a roux, adding milk and thickening it into a gravy and then the crucial part - gradually melting the cheese and making a gooey delicious sauce to scarf on. It takes some patients to make, but totally worth it.

Once I had my sauce, I broke out the peppers and a late night nacho feast ensued. The fresh-pickled jalapenos were rife with flavor — spicy and tangy. The cheese sauce — creamy with lots of depth. Making it extra yummy were the fresh-made tortilla chips from the deli of a local grocery I had purchased earlier in the day.

All together, it made for a legendary plate of nachos.

The best part: I still have enough nacho cheese for another batch or two waiting in the fridge!

Eat well, cook often ...

PICKLED JALAPENOS
Makes 2 cups
30 minutes cooking, 2 weeks pickling
10 to 15 jalapenos, sliced thin
3/4 white vinegar
3/4 cup water
3 TBS sugar
3 Tbs salt
2 Tbs peppercorns
1 Tbs Old Bay seasoning

Mix together vinegar, water, sugar, salt, peppercorns and Old Bay seasoning in a pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. Add sliced jalapenos, return to simmer and let cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer mixture to a resealable jar and refrigerate. Best if left to pickle for two weeks but can be eaten before.

NACHO CHEESE

Homemade nacho cheese and pickled jalapeños

Makes 2 1/2 C, 30 minutes
4 Tbs unsalted butter
4 Tbs flour
1/4 C red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 C milk
2 C pepper jack cheese, shredded
Salt to taste
Tortilla chips for serving

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Saute onion and jalapeno until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Add Chili powder, cumin and garlic cook 1 minute more. Stir in flour, mix well and let cook two minutes. Add milk and whisk until well incorporated, bring to a simmer and let thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add cheese 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking and stirring until completely melt. Repeat until all cheese is mixed in. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips and pickled jalapenos.

Nacho Potato Skins

Printable version

I love potato skins. And, I love nachos. What happens when you combine the two?

Nacho skins!

This recipe took potato skins, which is usually a side or an appetizer, and turned it into an entrée. The addition of the seasoned ground beef gave this a hardiness that allowed them to be the star of the plate. For a side it was way to much – unless your training for an Olympic gold in weightlifting. Two of these was more than enough to be the star of any lunch or dinner.

I have prepared baked potatoes on a rack in the oven with no foil wrapping several times now. Seasoning, venting and just letting them bask in the heat seems to be the way to go. Save the foil for cooking them on the grill or in a camp fire. Try the technique employed here if you like baked potatoes. It works pretty well and I think the results will impress.

Note: The taco seasoning is my own recipe, find it  here.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I made traditional potato skins a few months back and was careful to get the best pictures I could take. I knew that I could re-use photos from a basic potato skin recipe again because there is a number of toppings that can be applied to them. This is the first re-use of many of the potato shots and design techniques.

See the original here. 

I went with a more artsy shot for the main art of the recipe instead of just a bird-eye view, which is something I have been doing a lot lately. The artsy shots at the bottom of the recipes give the overall work more depth. The planning ahead paid off with this one and saved me time, which allowed me to be a little more creative with the presentation. I should do a different potato skin recipe every week now that I have a template that works!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Serves 6; 2 hours
6 large Russet potatoes
1 Tbs Vegetable oil
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 lb Ground beef
2 Tbs Taco seasoning
1 C  Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 C  Sour Cream
1/2 C  Salsa
1/2 C  Green onions, sliced

Bake potatoes
Clean and rinse potatoes. Pat dry. Toss potatoes with salt and vegetable oil. Poke three deep holes in each potato with a knife. Place potatoes on a baking rack over a cookie sheet. Roast in a preheated 350° oven until cooked through, 1 hour and 30 minutes. Remove and let cool, slice in half.

Make seasoned beef
Over medium high heat in a skillet add ground beef, stir in seasoning and cook until just cooked through 6 to 8 minutes.

Make potato skins, garnish and serve
Scope flesh from potatoes with a spoon leaving a thin layer of potato attached to the skin. Reserve flesh for later use. Fill potatoes with seasoned beef and cheese. Return to pan with baking rack and heat in 350° oven until cheese is melted and potatoes are heated through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove and garnish with salsa and sour cream, then serve. 

Refried Beans

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I had eaten some really delicious refried beans at restaurants, but I have never been so thrilled about them as I was after tasting this dish!

I loved these beans.

I think the secret was going the extra mile and starting with dried beans instead of using canned.

The freshness was apparent right away, they were light and seasoned just as I wanted them to be. Preparing the beans for this took almost 4 hours – making them refried took about 15 minutes. The prep was well worth it, and I can’t wait to make them again.

This is just a basic recipe, a few spices, cheese and even a more powerful chili pepper will turn this into an amazing dip worthy of the finest occasions!

BEHIND THIS BITE

One of the first things I set out to cook when I started my food column was a black bean salsa where I started with dried beans. I used an old cast iron dutch oven to cook them. I tossed in chunks of ham in a wanna be Bobby Flay moment and let them simmer for quite a while.

I wasn’t paying attention and the water got really thick, so I turned off the heat. The beans were still tough and the liquid was a slimy mess. I chalked it up as a bust and ended up using canned black beans for a really tasty salsa.

I did this at our family camp ground.

I ended up leaving the pot on the porch and forgetting about it until the next weekend. By then it was a hideous stinking goop so I kept the lid on and set it off to the side of the camper.

The next person to discover it was my Mom a couple weeks later. I’ll never forget the look on her face when she lifted the lid. After being revolted by the contents, she then got really pissed - It was actually her pot. Every time I see dried black beans I think of Mom discovering my month old ham and bean experiment gone awry and I have to giggle because I'm crazy like that.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Makes 8, 1/2 Cup Servings; 4 hours
1 lb Dried pinto beans
8 C water
1 Tbs Salt
1/2 C Onion, diced
1/4 C Jalapeno, seeded, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced

Prepare beans
Place beans in a large sauce pan or soup pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit at least one hour then drain. Return beans to pot with fresh water and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until soft, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the liquid.

Make refried beans
In a cast iron skillet over medium heat saute onion and jalapeno in a little olive oil until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the beans and mash, add some of reserved water to make a paste-like mixture (amount may vary). Adjust seasoning and simmer to a desired thickness then serve.

Pickled Jalapeños

Printable version

I’ll bet that many, if not the majority of Americans get there first taste of spicy heat with pickled jalapeños. I don’t know that for a fact, but it’s a cheap way to make things spicy and most Americans have been tempted at least once in their life to get their ballpark nachos (cheese sauce and tortilla chips) with a handful of pickled jalapeños piled on top.

They were my introduction to spicy heat and I used to put them on about everything until my late twenties. That’s when excessive amounts of hot food started become uncomfortable for me to digest. I’ve found that as long as I don’t go overboard with quantity I can handle about any kind of spicy heat without being miserable a couple hours later.

I had a plate of nachos with a few pickled jalapeños recently when I decided it was time to pickle a batch of my own for a post here.

After making the brine for these I was letting it cool. While it was sitting out I got a good whiff. A few seconds later I had a couple of hard sneezes. That’s when I got exited. I knew they would be good if a breath of the brine alone could make me sneeze. As expected, they’re a great garnish for adding some heat to a dish and they have that homemade freshness to boot.

BEHIND THIS BITE

I was happy to document and make a pickled jalapeño recipe of my own. Near the end of the summer when gardens are being harvested I’ll use this for my print column. Starting in late July, there is an abundance of fresh stuff from home gardens around. Everyone has tomatoes and cucumbers and many also have jalapeños.

This will be perfect for the paper when peppers start to get ripe.

This is the second time I have made pickled hot peppers. Years ago I made a gourmet recipe from Bobby Flay. When I was finished I had what seemed like a 30 gallon drum full of pickled serranos and jalapeños. Had I kept the jar I would still be eating them today.

Here's the irony. I made the entire batch for about two tablespoons worth of a garnish on a pork chop. I had no idea how much I was making until I was to far in to reduce the amount.

When it was all said and done I spent 8 bucks on the pork chops and $25 on the pickled pepper garnish.

You live and you learn.

Eat Well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Makes 1 quart
2 C Cider vinegar
2 C Water
3 Tbs Sugar
3 Tbs Salt
3 Tbs Peppercorns
3 cloves Garlic
1 Bay leaf
1 lb Jalapeños sliced
1/4 C Baby carrots

Make brine; pickled peppers
In a sauce pan bring vinegar, water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, garlic and by leaf to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Place jalapeños and carrots in a bowl, pour in hot brine. Let mixture cool to room temperature, approximately 2 hours, then transfer to a resealable jar and refrigerate for one week before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Printable version

As part of the ultimate buffalo chicken experience I have been posting over the last week, I arrive at one of my favorite all-time snacks.

Nachos.

Buffalo chicken and nachos lend themselves to each other perfectly. Nachos are usually made with seasoned meat and are garnished after being cooked. This same concept is used in buffalo chicken, the garnishes being blue cheese dressing and celery. Plus, nachos and buffalo wings are party classics. I think it's only natural to combine these beer-bash Hall of Famers.

One of the keys to this recipe is tossing the chicken in the hot sauce, rather than dumping the hot sauce on the nachos, it assures the buffalo chicken taste with every bite and, if measured properly, eliminates the buffalo sauce overload - when the acid from the hot sauce accumulates on the taste buds and starts to ruin the experience.

In the end, buffalo chicken nachos worked as well as the pizza, sandwich and tenders from previous posts. They all deliver the buffalo chicken boom without the mess.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I made both the pizza and nachos at the same time when I documented the two recipes. I preferred the pizza. When I shared the leftovers with my parents. Dad liked the nachos. Both are great gourmet twists and party pleasers.

In the last week, I have made a number of buffalo chicken recipes. I have one more to make - the dip. That will be the finishing touch on my buffalo chicken extravaganza here at the Behind the Bites. I’m going to wait before I make the dip though. I’m little burned out on buffalo chicken. If I have to eat it again in the next couple of days I might go into buffalo chicken overload. I'll wait for the upcoming Championship Sunday when we find out who'll be playing in the Super Bowl.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Appetizer for 4; 25 minutes
BUFFALO CHICKEN
2 Tbs Unsalted butter melted
1 Can Chicken white meat (12.5 oz)
1/4 C Hot sauce
DIVIDE FOR TWO BATCHES OF NACHOS
1/2 bag Tortilla chips
2 C Mozzarella cheese
Buffalo chicken
1/2 C Blue cheese dressing1/4 C Celery diced

Make buffalo chicken
Melt butter in a microwave on high in 20 second intervals, stirring in between. Mix together butter, chicken and hot sauce until well incorporated.

Assemble, bake, garnish and serve
On an oven safe pan layer chips, cheese, chicken and another layer of cheese. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with blue cheese dressing and celery, then serve.

Cheesy Chicken Nachos

Sunday is the Super Bowl. A day when all of America will gather for the big game and watch grown men battle on the gridiron as well as the best night of commercials advertisers have to offer.

For a guy like me it is a time to showcase my favorite party foods. Hot wings, chili, dips, dogs and all other kinds of guilty pleasures will be on full display and I couldn’t be happier.

The Super Bowl is my Thanksgiving.

For this recipe, I make a nacho cheese sauce from scratch. It can be served as a dip, slathered on a taco or guzzled from a shot glass if your totally hard-core. I use it here on a plate of nachos - which are the perfect Super Bowl treat and should grace the table of all Super Bowl parties. Nachos can be made to suite every type of eater, from vegetarian to carnivore, there is an endless amount of ways to prepare a mess for the party. I recommend a cheese sauce for nachos rather than baking shredded cheese on a batch because it will remain liquid for the duration of the game and party.

BEHIND THIS BITE
As I mention in the introduction, nachos can be made by just melting shredded cheese in the oven or microwave right on to the chips. This is great when eating them right away. If they sit for any amount of time the cheese then solidifies and your left pulling monster chunks of nachos off the plate. And if your like me, you end up looking like a nacho fiend and stuffing the whole thing in your mouth. The sauce eliminates this problem and it can also be used in other dishes.

Eat well, cook often ...