I work in advertising and I love football. You'd think these were enough to send me to heaven one of the greatest days of the year, Super Bowl Sunday. I have to add that what really sets the day off is the food -- my nachos. Processed food just doesn't get any better than this. I make these for the big game every year.Start with a can of RO*TEL tomatoes and green chiles. Add a small block of Velveeta cheese. How I love Velveeta. Break the cheese up before you add it to the pot. Season well -- chilli powder, cumin and adobo seasoning. Heat this on low. The adobo seasining as well as a few other secret additions make my dip a little different from the versions my friends and family make.
This was another favorite of me and my best friends (in adddition to the hash browns and fish fries.) If you are a Little Rock native, you're wondering when I'll add the seasoned ground meat to the cheese dip. I like it better without the meat because I'm making all-out nachos and not just dipping this out of a bowl with chips.
One of my best friends has the best cheese dip story. Her mother tried to make this a few years back and added way too much meat. It was still tasty. However, there was so much meat versus cheese that her husband apparently had no clue it was supposed to be cheese dip. Weeks later he asked Taki, "Why don't you go in the kitchen and make me some of that meat dip your mama made?"
While you're waiting on the cheese to melt, move on to your guacamole. Yes, I add tomatoes to mine. The must-haves are fresh lime juice, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion, garlic and hot sauce. I prefer red onion, but all I had in the house were yellow onions.
Let's start building. Warm some tortilla chips and spoon on some chili. Most of the time, I add ground turkey seasoned with taco seasoning and a layer of black beans to the chips before the chilli. These were express and not deluxe nachos. (I was preparing for a Mardi Gras dinner.)
Add the liquid gold ...
Your next layers are lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato, sour cream, guacamole, and olives. Sprinkle with cilantro. Damn. I forgot the salsa.
These were still good!Tools of the trade:
The cornbread batter should sizzle when it hits the skillet.
Dessert was unbelievably crème brulée. It's actually easier than making cookies from scratch and it's one of my friend's favorite desserts. It's funny because I'd invited the three football-loving women I know, but no one made it out. I understand because if I had to go somewhere, I wouldn't have made it either. Anyway, ... crème brulée and chili. Who knew?
