Feeling insecure about not using my cookbooks (a frequent occurrence as regular blog readers well know), I turned to my shelves several weeks ago for inspiration (and to assuage my guilt). While I could have easily selected the cookbooks I have never used, or those that have been gathering dust for years, instead I chose the easiest way out – the Lisa Fain (Homesick Texan) Queso book.
Unlike the queso dips that I have been making from this wonderful book, the recipe that caught my eye was the El Paso Chile Con Queso. This queso recipe produced more of a queso fundido, or a thicker queso for spooning into tortillas rather than one for scooping up with tortilla chips.
This queso recipe as a cinch to make, basically sautéing the vegetables, adding a bit of heavy cream, and then throwing in shredded Muenster (my choice) or Monterey Jack cheese until it melts.
I modified this recipe by halving the ingredients and substituting approx. 2 frozen, roasted Hatch chiles for the 3 poblanos, assuming that the Hatch chile would be much spicier than the poblanos.
I probably could have increased the chile though because while the final queso was well-spiced, tangy, and salted from the tomatoes, garlic, onion, and chile, it could have been a bit spicier for our tastes. I served this queso with tortillas, stewed black-eyed peas, and fresh chopped jalapeno for additional heat. I would definitely make this queso ago for a fundido-style queso, albeit with more chile for our spicy tastes.
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