By Week 428. Year 9. Tommy is 42. The Fourth of July cookout on Claycut Drive — the annual institution, the neighborhood gathering, the brisket or the hog or the ribs on the pit and the thirty or forty people in the driveway and Carl at the door and the sparklers at dusk. Colette (15) in high school, painting. The summer is loud and hot and full.
Made smoked chicken this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. Encore là — still here.
The smoked chicken was the centerpiece, but cookouts like the one on Claycut Drive run on everything around it — the things people grab while they’re waiting, while they’re standing in the driveway, while Carl’s still at the door. This queso has been part of that spread for years now, the kind of dip that fills a bowl once and gets refilled twice before anyone notices. When the welcome is unconditional, the food has to be too — and queso never turns anybody away.
Famous Queso Dip
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 1 lb Velveeta, cubed
- 1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes & green chiles, undrained
- 1/2 lb ground chorizo or spicy sausage
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt to taste
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Brown the sausage. In a medium saucepan or cast iron skillet over medium heat, cook the chorizo or spicy sausage, breaking it up as it cooks, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat and set aside.
- Start the cheese base. In the same pan over low heat, add the cubed Velveeta and milk. Stir constantly until the Velveeta is fully melted and smooth, about 5–7 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Add the flavor. Stir in the Rotel (with liquid), shredded Monterey Jack, jalapeño, cumin, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Continue stirring over low heat until the Monterey Jack is fully melted and incorporated, about 3–4 minutes.
- Fold in the sausage. Add the browned sausage back into the cheese mixture and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Serve warm. Transfer to a slow cooker on the “warm” setting to keep it ready for the crowd, or serve directly from the skillet. Serve alongside tortilla chips.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 280 | Protein: 13g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 740mg