Queso for Everyone! (or Just You; Your Call)

Hello friends, I'm back!! The evil scourge of my wife's finals are over and I'm able to use the computer again! Today's recipe is for chili con queso.

• 1 pound of Velveeta cheese 
• 1 can of diced tomatoes 
• 1/2 can of chipotle peppers 
• 1/2 pound of mexican chroizo sausage 
• 3 Anaheim or Poblano peppers. 
• 1 yellow onion. 
• queso fresco 
• salt
• chili powder 
• paprika 
• 2 tablespoons of oil

1. Put on skillet to to medium high heat and begin dicing onion and peppers 
2. Add oil and begin sauteing onion and pepper 
3. Add peppers and onions to a pot when the onions begin to brown and the peppers soften up. 
4. Turn heat on skillet to medium and add chorizo. 
5. When the chorizo is a darker red add to pot. 
6. Add entire can of tomatoes to pot (water and all) 
7. Turn pot to medium heat 
8. Cut cheese into small cubes and add to pot 
9. If diced tomatoes did not have chipotle peppers, add half can of chipotle peppers 
10. When cheese begin to mel,t stir occasionally until all of the cheese has melted. 
11. When the cheese is fully melted turn down heat until the cheese is at a soft simmer. 
12. Using the seasonings to taste. 
13. Shovel into face all day, and later that night, tell people at the party that you don't remember saying you'd bring a dip.

WINE PAIRING: Sauvignon Blanc (dry) or Amarone. Both wines will help accentuate the complexities of the tomatoes and the cheese combined together. The author will also admit that a margarita made with 100% agave tequila margarita will be great with this dish, and will help bring out any inner demons you might have.

For today's recipe, we take a trip across the border and into a smoke house. The chili in this queso is not ground beef but rather a type of Latin sausage, chorizo. There are different types of chorizo based on what country it comes from. The original chorizo hails from the Iberian peninsula and the country of Spain in the Rioja region (favorite wine region!). Here chorizo comes in solid sausage form and is primarily made from pork. Spanish chorizo is often eaten at room temp as tapas. Mexican chorizo has the same ingredients; however, it is ground up and has chili powder instead of paprika.  The Mexican version tends to be the spicier of the two.  

'Till next time, eat, drink, and be merry!

Cody