As part of the Community Circle effort at Redgate, we’ve released a cookbook: A Byte of Redgate. You can read about the story in this blog, and it was a fun project. Andy Warren had the idea and I suggested it for us since Redgate has a baking club, a cake club, a cooking club, and probably more. We even have a real cookbook author, Dave Rook.
You can download the free book (pdf/epub), and it includes a guacamole recipe from me. However, I had a bonus recipe that I sometimes make with the guac. I don’t do this too often, as it’s not the healthiest dish, but my family loves when I do.
If you want to enjoy a Mexican-American themed Memorial Day, you might enjoy this with the guac, some chips, and a refreshing drink. That might be all you need for dinner today.
Ranch Queso
The ingredients needed are these
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12oz sharp cheddar
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4 oz cream cheese, softened (room-ish temperature)
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1 Tbsp cornstarch
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1 Tbsp butter
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1-2 jalapenos, diced
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2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
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½ small yellow onion, finely diced
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2 cloves garlic, minced
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1 ½ cups half and half. I often use half milk and half whipping cream
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optional – chorizo
Instructions are fairly quick, but require you to pay attention for a few minutes.
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Optional – cook the chorizo and set aside
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Grate the cheddar cheese first, set aside. I usually hand grate from a block, but you can use shredded is you wish.
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Chop up the onion and jalapenos
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Open the chipotle peppers and have ready.
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Set aside a tablespoon of corn starch
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Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium heat
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Add the butter, as this starts to melt, drop in the onion, jalapenos, and garlic, stirring for 3-4 minutes
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While this heats, I usually chop the chipotle peppers
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Once the vegetables are softened, but not browned, add the half and half and chipotle peppers
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Stir to combine everything. As this gets heated, add the cornstarch and mix in thoroughly.
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Lower the temperature to low. For my gas stove, not quite the lowest setting, but pretty close
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Next add the cream cheese in small chunks and stir to combine.
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Once this is combined, start to add the cheddar, stirring to combine. The mixture should then thicken.
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Pour into a bowl and serve. Optional, drop a spoonful or two of chorizo on top
This usually makes about twice when my family of five will eat with chips before dinner, so I drop rest in plastic and reheat a day or two later.