By July 4th week and I handled it better than last year. Better meaning: I stayed home, I cooked, the fireworks over Roundup were distant, and I went to bed sober. That's the whole of what better means.
I made a full outdoor cook for the fourth — a whole beef brisket on the grill over low heat for eight hours. I started it at seven in the morning on the third and got up twice in the night to manage the fire, and by noon on the fourth it was done. A twelve-pound brisket, smoke-ringed and pulling-tender, the flat sliceable and the point shredding like good brisket should. The whole ranch smelled like slow-cooked beef for two days. Patrick ate more than I've seen him eat in years. Mom made coleslaw. I made baked beans from the dried pintos I'd soaked the night before. We ate on the back porch and listened to the Roundup fireworks from a good distance and it was fine. The Fourth can be fine. That's enough.
I drove to Billings Monday for my VA appointment. Dr. Stein asked how July was feeling. I told him about last year — about the fireworks and the drinking and the trajectory toward the barn — and he listened and then asked how this July felt different. I said, "I have more days." He asked what I meant. I said I mean the sobriety isn't just a number anymore, it's a structure I've built, and tearing it down costs more than it would have a year ago. He said that was exactly the right way to describe it. He wrote it down. I wonder if he uses things I say with other patients. I don't mind if he does.
One hundred and seventy-six days. The Fourth is behind me. July is survivable.
The brisket was the centerpiece, but good cooks know a long smoke needs something to keep people out of the kitchen while you manage the fire. This queso was on the table by late morning on the fourth — Patrick and Mom were pulling chips through it before the flat was even sliced. It’s the kind of thing that asks nothing of you: one pot, real ingredients, twenty minutes. On a day I was working hard to keep simple, that mattered.
The Best Queso
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Ro*Tel), undrained
- 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, drained
- 8 oz white American cheese, cubed or torn
- 8 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 4 oz cream cheese, cubed and softened
- 1/2 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt to taste
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Add the tomatoes and chiles. Pour in the diced tomatoes with green chiles and the drained green chiles. Stir to combine and let simmer for 3–4 minutes, allowing some of the liquid to reduce slightly.
- Melt the cheeses. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cream cheese first and stir until melted and smooth. Then add the white American cheese and pepper jack in two or three additions, stirring constantly between each addition until fully incorporated.
- Add the milk and season. Pour in the milk and stir until the queso reaches your preferred consistency — thick enough to coat a chip but loose enough to dip. Stir in the cumin and smoked paprika. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Keep warm and serve. Transfer to a slow cooker on the warm setting or a heat-safe serving bowl. If the queso thickens as it sits, stir in a splash of warm milk to loosen it. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 5g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 540mg