Saturday, October 18, 2008

Sharp Cheddar Nachos



One of my guiltiest pleasures is nachos dripping in cheese sauce. I can enjoy nachos with melted cheese, and drowning in additional toppings - but my favorite is an ooey, gooey, spicy, sharp cheddar cheese nacho sauce. I'll even go for that awful stuff in the jar sometimes, I can't help it - I'm addicted!

So, when I saw this recipe a while back I knew I had to try it out. Of course, I'm one of those people who are completely unable to follow a recipe. Most of the time I start out with the intention of following it pretty closely, but as the recipe progresses I decide it can use a little pinch of this, or a dash of that. Sometimes to alter a recipe I know is going to come out faulty, or most often because I'm a pain in the ass and don't like to follow directions.

Drew's recipe was outstanding, but I couldn't help changing it up to suit my tastes. The result? Amazing. If you like nachos with cheese sauce I cannot recommend this recipe more. He really came up with a winner this time. Normally I wouldn't post someone else's recipe on my page, but because I altered it so much I'm going to switch it up and post my version. Hopefully Drew doesn't mind!

Nacho Cheese Sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 cup evaporated milk
2 oz cream cheese
8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, in small cubes or shredded
1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 jalapeno, minced

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over med heat. Whisk in corn starch. Slowly stir in evaporated milk. When milk is fully incorporated with no lumps add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Add cheese an oz. at a time, waiting until it is completely assimilated before adding more. When all cheese is added stir in the hot sauce and minced jalapeño. Taste and add more heat if you like. Serve over tortilla chips with whatever toppings you like.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the addition of jalapeno-perfect for nachos!

cookiecrumb said...

Oh, ho! I would never have guessed how to fake this fabulous fake cheese dunk. I tried once, a year ago, and it was a dud.
So, thanks, I guess.
Ew, but thanks, too.

Sweet Bird said...

Cookie - Ha! I know, it's so dirty. So dirty and so good.

Drew @ Cook Like Your Grandmother said...

Cookie, this isn't fake. Out of seven ingredients, it's got two cheeses, two more dairy, and two for heat. That's about as real as cheese sauce can get. The stuff in the can, now that's fake.

Sweet bird, I'd probably like your version even better than the one I posted. I had to keep it pretty mild so the wife and kids would like it.

Drew