Score With Nachos On Super Sunday
Nachos can be a lot better than the chips with gooey cheese often found at ballparks and second-rate restaurants.
Cookbook author Kate Heyhoe says that "real nachos are macho" because they can be hearty and satisfying. More importantly, real nachos are delicious and easy to make.
Heyhoe's latest book, "Macho Nachos," features 50 recipes for every occasion.
The Saturday Early Show gave Heyhoe our entertaining budget of $60, challenging her to create a great Super Bowl party menu for six with recipes from her new book.
Heyhoe is the cofounder and executive editor of GlobalGourmet.com. Founded in 1994, Global Gourmet is the oldest and one of the most successful food sites on the web. Heyhoe has also authored several cookbooks: "Cooking With Kids For Dummies," "A Chicken In Every Pot: Globe Recipes For the World's Most Popular Bird," and "Harvesting the Dream: The Rags-To-Riches Tale of the Sutter Home Winery." She lives in Southern California.
For Heyhoe's Super Bowl recipes, you first have to tackle the nachos: Heyhoe says that not all chips are created equal. Some recipes in her book require a sturdy chip, to support a tower of ingredients without breaking, while some of the more refined recipes require a thinner, subtler chip.
Heyhoe's Super Bowl party menu as our Chef on a Shoestring: Frico Nachitos; Philly Cheese Steak Nachos; Barbecue Chicken and Smoked Cheese Soft Tacos with Lemon-Pepper Cole Slaw; Charred Corn; and for dessert, S'Mores.
Read an excerpt from "Macho Nacho":
Intro
Don't confuse nachos with the gooey, gloppy orange stuff served in ballparks and cheap restaurants. Real nachos are macho: They're topped with fresh, natural ingredients, tangy cheeses, heady spices, and hearty beans, meats, or seafood. Real men may eat quiche, but real people-from truck drivers to movie stars-eat real nachos.
The original melted cheese-and-jalapeño nacho originated in Piedras Negras, along the Rio Grande border, during World War II. The concoction, named after its inventor Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, quickly jumped the border, blazing through Texas and across the rest of the nation like wildfire. Oil billionaires, Texas governors, and U.S. presidents have all feasted on this authentic Tex-Mex snack, and to this day it never goes out of style. I've slurped up bean 'n' cheese nachos in dark Mexican bars, but I've also been served crab and spinach nachos on silver platters by white-gloved butlers at the mansions of our nation's richest oilmen. Nachos cut across class, sex, and income. They're simply irresistible.
This book contains more than fifty classic and novel recipes for creating crispy, crunchy tortilla chips with tasty toppings. The recipes include simple and quick snacks, fancier appetizers, full-plate nachos that can be served as meals (including breakfast), party platters, and even a few dessert nachos. We cover the bottoms, middles, and tops-from frying chips at home to whipping up fresh salsas, grilled meats, and spicy toppers to cap off the well-dressed nacho. And because nachos don't require the skill level of a master chef, even people who consider microwave popcorn "cooking" will find these nacho recipes easily do-able.
Compared with other snacks, nachos endure. They're honest, unassuming finger food. Every year a new snack trend blasts across the media. We've seen the wraps craze, the sticks-and-skewers movement, the chips-and-dips approach, fondue flashes, and Martha Stewart manuals. But none of these possesses the same quick-and-easy, perennial, and down-to-earth appeal as nachos.
Nachos have been called "Mexican pizzas," and indeed they have much in common with the world's favorite food. As with pizzas, nachos can be adorned as plainly or as ambitiously as you like. But unlike pizzas, nachos are marvelously easy to make and lightning-quick to cook, qualities that only add to their charm. Their basic ingredients are everyone's favorites: corn chips, melted cheese, and spice, all without being too complicated or too stuffy to enjoy at a moment's notice.
As a kid in Texas, I grew up on Tex-Mex nachos, the kind topped solely with beans, cheese, and jalapeños. Gradually, my repertoire of nachos grew to include toppers like barbecue pork, fajitas, smoked chicken, grilled shrimp, and crisp vegetables. I expanded my nacho ingredients but retained an emphasis on Southwestern flavorings.
Then, in 1994, I launched the Web's first food and cooking e-zine, known as GlobalGourmet.com. My mission became (and still is) to bring my readers "the world on a plate." So naturally, I started fiddling around with exotic nachos, giving the Tex-Mex dish a passport to worldly flavors and ethnic ingredients. I'm confident that no matter how wacky Chinese Firecracker Nachos (page 55) or Bombay Nachos with Curried Chickpeas and Tomato-Garlic Chutney (page 66) may sound, you'll devour them just as eagerly as you would a plate of traditional melted cheese and bean nachos, bubbling hot from the oven. Forget plates, I've happily discovered. Now we can have the world on a chip.
What Makes Nachos So Macho?
The nacho has universal appeal: It's a finger food, it crunches, it's cheesy, it's easy, it's tasty, quick, and satisfying. Anyone can make them. The nacho is as far from complicated and as close to irresistible as any snack can be.
In short, nachos are the ideal fast food - cooked at home - but they're decidedly not junk food, not if they're made with wholesome, quality ingredients. You can whip up a robust tray of nachos in less time than it takes to blend a batch of margaritas, using simple ingredients that most families (and even kitchen-clueless bachelors) have on hand. Not many other finger foods can make the same claim-and still taste as satisfying and gratifying as homemade nachos do. And that's what makes nachos so macho.
Recipes
Frico Nachitos
Makes 4 (8-inch) nachitos, or 16 nachito quarters
Inspired by the crispy, lacey rounds of fried cheese known in Italian as "Frico," or Friulian cheese crisps. I call my version of the fried-cheese concept "nachitos"- a tasty way to use up those tiny shards of crumbled chips in the bottom of the bag.
Ingredients:
4 ounces (2 cups) coarsely shredded Parmesan
2 finely diced fresh jalapeños or serrano chiles
1/2 cup crushed corn chips
- Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat,. For each nachito, sprinkle in layers: grated cheese (1/4 cup), diced chiles, 2 tablespoons broken chips, more cheese (1/4 cup).
- Use a spatula to press the chips down into the bottom layer of cheese.
- Cook over medium-high heat until cheese melts and starts to brown and crisp up on the bottom and edges. (2 to 4 minutes). Slide a spatula under the edges and center of the nachito. Set the nachito on a plate or cutting board. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make a second Nachito.
- Serve whole, letting people break off pieces to nibble on, or cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, garnish with such goodies as sour cream and smoked salmon, salsa, or dips. Variations: truffle oil, walnut oil, paprika, garlic, chives, or herbs as the cheese melts; Asiago, Gruyere, and Cheddar
Philadelphia Cheese Steak Nachos
NOTE: Make 1 tray for nibblers and 2 trays for hearty eaters
A classic American sandwich meets the ultimate American snack. For best results, finely dice the onions, peppers, and beef, so they brown faster and develop those crispy, dark edges that taste so good. If you don't have leftover grilled steak on hand, deli roast beef works well too.
For 1 tray of nachos:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 cup each:
-chopped onion
-chopped red and green bell peppers
-chopped cooked steak or deli roast beef (about 4 ounces)
salt and freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup blue corn chips
3 cups shredded cheddar or provolone cheese
OR: For 2 trays of nachos:
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 cups each:
-chopped onion
-chopped red and green bell peppers
2 cups (approximately 4 oz.) chopped cooked steak or deli roast beef, chop into 1/2"-dice
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 cup blue corn chips
6 cups shredded Cheddar or provolone cheese (about 1 pound)
- Prepare the vegetables and steak: Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Dump in the onion and stir to coat. Cook the onion without stirring until the bottom edges start to turn color. Stir and continue cooking, about 3 minutes total, until onion pieces are lightly browned. Stir in the peppers and cook them, stirring only occasionally, until the whole vegetable mixture is browned but not charred, another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Push the vegetables aside and fry the steak in the same pan until browned (about 2 minutes), sprinkling generously with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the streak and vegetables together into one mixture. This mixture may be cooked a day in advance and refrigerated; bring to room temperature or heat slightly before using.
- When ready to cook the nachos, heat the oven to 475˚F, or preheat the broiler, with the rack 7-inches from the top of the oven or the heat source.
- Arrange the chips on a 12x18-inch baking sheet or ovenproof platter (if making two trays, use two baking sheers). Top the corn chips with cheese. Sprinkle on the steak and vegetables. Bake each tray 4 to 6 minutes, or broil, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot.
Barbecue Chicken and Smoked Cheese "MACHO TACOS"
Served with Lemon-Pepper Cole Slaw and Charred Corn
Serves 6
This recipe makes enough taco filling for 6 hearty eaters. Brining keeps the meat moist, plump and immensely flavorful, and you can brine and cook the chicken a day in advance. But if you're in a hurry, brining is not necessary. Or, you can buy a cooked rotisserie chicken from the deli counter
Brined Chicken
Ingredients:
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 4 1/2 to 5 pounds total)
In a large bowl, stir together the salt and sugar in the water until both are dissolved. Submerge the chicken in the brine for 45 to 60 minutes, refrigerated. Drain and rinse under cool water. Pat dry with paper towels. Chicken may be brined, rinsed and dried a day ahead, and refrigerated until ready to use. Grill or broil as directed below.
Barbecue Chicken Taco Filling
Ingredients:
4 to 6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (brined or unbrined)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup barbecue sauce; plus 1/3 cup before serving
- Coat the chicken breasts with olive oil. Heat a barbecue grill or broiler until hot. Grill or broil the chicken until almost cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Baste the chicken with 1/2 cup barbecue sauce and continue to grill on both sides until the chicken is cooked through (not pink). (Chicken may be cooked a day in advance and refrigerated).
- To serve as a taco filling, shred the chicken meat into bite-size pieces. Heat in a skillet or a warm oven. Toss with another 1/3 cup barbecue sauce prior to serving.
Serve the Barbecue Chicken warm as part of a taco buffet with:
Ingredients:
3 cups shredded smoked mozzarella (about 9 ounces)
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack (about 9 ounces)
1 recipe lemon-pepper cole slaw
1-1/2 cups diced red onion
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 dozen each: warm soft flour and corn tortillas
Serve the cole slaw on top of the chicken in the tacos, and the charred corn on the side.
Lemon-Pepper Cole slaw
Makes about 3 cups
This recipe produces a light and tangy cole slaw, full of fresh, crisp flavors.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons good-quality mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 green onions, finely chopped (white and green parts)
1-1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground pepper
3 cups loosely packed, finely shredded green cabbage
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, green onion, and pepper. (This may be done a day in advance; refrigerate until ready to use.) Toss the cabbage with the dressing just before serving.
Charred Corn
Makes about 5 cups
Charred corn has a wonderfully smoky flavor and a visually rustic appeal. You can embellish the corn by adding other ingredients, such as diced bell pepper, ground cumin, chile powder, or garlic. I frequently use canned corn (such as Del Monte Summer Crisp), because it keeps well on the shelf and is always handy, and thawed frozen corn works great too.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon corn or vegetable oil
3 (11-ounce) cans corn, rinsed and well drained (or about 5 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels)
1 large onion, diced
OPTIONAL: 1/2 teaspoon ground red chiles or smoked paprika
2 limes in wedges
- Heat the oil in a large skillet (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. When hot, dump in the onion and corn.
- Stir to mix the ingredients and let cook in a single layer undisturbed for about 5 minutes, or until lightly charred on the bottom. Stir the mixture around.
- Cook in a single layer for another 4 minutes or so, until kernels range from golden to charred. Serve hot, with lime wedges, or refrigerate up to and reheat before using.
S'more Macho Nachos
Makes 2 (8-inch) flour tortillas: Slice each into 12 wedges total; serves 6 to 12
Even The French Laundry (which some consider America's finest restaurant) serves S'mores (albeit with premium Valrhona chocolate, made-from-scratch marshmallows and homemade whole-wheat honey graham crackers). Not to be outdone by S'more mania, the Macho Nachos version of the original recipe adopts the motto "the S'more the merrier." Nutty peanut butter, thinned with a touch of maple syrup, "glues" tiny marshmallows and chocolate to a flour tortilla wedge, edged with a border of crunchy, buttery graham cracker crumbs. Just three minutes in a hot oven for golden, pillowy, marshmallow treats. One bite and off you go down Memory Lane--widened and repaved, but none-the-less a merry pathway back to younger days.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup nutty peanut butter
4 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 (8-inch) flour tortillas
nonstick spray
1/4 cup chocolate sprinkles or semi-sweet chocolate chips
mini-marshmallows (40 or so)
- Heat the oven to 475 degrees F with an oven rack in the second position.
- In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter and maple syrup.
- In a separate small microwave-safe bowl, toss together the graham cracker crumbs and the butter. Microwave the butter and crumbs on high, 10 to 15 seconds or until the butter is melted enough to mash into the crumbs with a fork. Mixture should resemble coarse sand. (Or, melt the butter and mix it into the crumbs.)
- Slice each flour tortilla into 6 wedges. Arrange the wedges on a baking sheet. Lightly spritz the wedges with nonstick spray. Flip the wedges over. Lightly spritz the side now facing up.
- Smear a layer of the peanut butter mixture over the top of the wedges. Arrange a few marshmallows on top, gently pressing them into the peanut butter. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs around the edges of the wedges, as a border. Toss the chocolate sprinkles in between and around the marshmallows.
- Bake about 3 minutes, just until the marshmallows are toasty and golden on top. Nachos will be very hot. Cool them on the tray 1 or 2 minutes before serving.
The foregoing excerpt and recipes are from "Macho Nachos," by Kate Heyhoe. Published By Clarkson Potters publishers member of the Crown Publishing Group, New York
Copyright 2003