If I am going to pick up groceries after work (say, in anticipation of nacho night), I have two options. One is to get off at Packard's Corner, go into Shaw's, wait forever in one of the 3 lines that they decide to have open, desperately run for the T and endanger my life crossing the Comm Ave/Brighton Ave split, and ride the T two more stops (a little too long to walk with heavy groceries, a little too short to feel 100% comfortable riding the T) and walk up the hill home. The other option is to take the T past Long Ave and go up to Washington St to the Whole Foods. I like this option because a) it's Whole Foods, so I can get delicious fun salsa and perhaps ripe avocados and b) the hill I have to walk up is relatively short. Plus I can get non-nacho prepared dinner food for Terrill, who doesn't believe in only eating nachos for dinner.
However, the chips and cheese from Whole Foods taste like they are from Whole Foods, meaning that the chips taste baked, are not very salty, and the cheese melts like it is low-fat. The failure of the Breakfast Nachos was at first chalked up to using a cookie sheet instead of the regular glass baking dish, but after last week's dry, flavorless Nachos Classic, we suspect it is the chips and cheese.
Tonight is a return to form with Carne Nachos, as well as the 2 hour premiere of So You Think You Can dance sprinkled with a little bit of Celtics game.
Also, I will be assembling a vodka watermelon. I have never done this before, but it seems like the perfect thing for an 80-degree Memorial Day bbq. I am also going to be soaking pineapples in vodka and injecting vodka into grapefruits and oranges with a medical syringe (not a real syringe, as we debated yesterday). The recipe will follow if all is successful.
In the meantime, my favorite drink ever, perhaps even eclipsing the marg:
Dark & Stormy
Sailor Jerry rum (it doesn't have to be SJ, but...)
Very ginger-y ginger beer (like Bartlett's, or the ones we get from Brookline Liquor Mart)
Limes
Pour two shots of SJ over ice. Top with ginger beer. Squeeze a lime in. Try not to drink 5.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
joshua tree nachos are bad
harsh. but when nachos show up late and cold to the bar and you're already seething, it's not good. in this case, kat and i went to jtree pretty early in the night, severely hungover (maybe just me) and slightly angry and emotional (again, maybe just me), ready for lots of cheese and meat.. what came to us was not quality. the nach were covered with an adequate amount of cheese i guess, but it was COLD. cold melted cheese doesn't cut it because 1) it looks gross 2) it tastes gross and 3) makes everything stick together so when you try to take one chip you end up taking half of the top layer, and nobody wants to be the one who takes half of the best part (usually) off of the nachos you're supposed to be splitting with your buddy.
underneath was a sodden mass of some chili that was too ground up and therefore not good and a pile of chopped up green and red peppers. i am not a fan of peppers in nachos. i think it changes the way they taste. i'm not sure if the peppers were part of the chili or their own entity, but i'm judging them either way. not to imply that we didn't eat all of them, because we did. i mean, they are nachos and we were hungry. but honestly, i was left with an empty, unsatisfied feeling. we ended up rifling beers (kat has decided that jtree has this effect on people some reason - perhaps the $2 drafts), leaving early, and getting wings.
4 out of 10. i'm being generous because they were not completely inedible and i might have been swayed by my severe hangover
underneath was a sodden mass of some chili that was too ground up and therefore not good and a pile of chopped up green and red peppers. i am not a fan of peppers in nachos. i think it changes the way they taste. i'm not sure if the peppers were part of the chili or their own entity, but i'm judging them either way. not to imply that we didn't eat all of them, because we did. i mean, they are nachos and we were hungry. but honestly, i was left with an empty, unsatisfied feeling. we ended up rifling beers (kat has decided that jtree has this effect on people some reason - perhaps the $2 drafts), leaving early, and getting wings.
4 out of 10. i'm being generous because they were not completely inedible and i might have been swayed by my severe hangover
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Flowers are overrated
While every person at work was getting flowers on v-day this year, Kat went ahead and sent nachos to my office. Seriously. It was probably the best thing ever. ULTIMATE nachos. Not only did they have beans, chili, veggies and the melted cheddar on them, but they also had that con-queso-like cheese on them. That part was interesting - Weird, maybe. Good? Yes.
Eating them was an incredibly messy process, due to my sketchy attempts to be secretive and not attract everybody in the office to my desk. However, I really have to give this restaurant credit for every chip being covered with some type of cheese. For anybody who knows nachos, this is the most important part. They didn't have the quality of the homeade nachos - no place ever will - but they were definitely very good.
I forgot where Kat said she got them… So this 'review' is not a review, I guess, but more of a tribute.
Eating them was an incredibly messy process, due to my sketchy attempts to be secretive and not attract everybody in the office to my desk. However, I really have to give this restaurant credit for every chip being covered with some type of cheese. For anybody who knows nachos, this is the most important part. They didn't have the quality of the homeade nachos - no place ever will - but they were definitely very good.
I forgot where Kat said she got them… So this 'review' is not a review, I guess, but more of a tribute.
Monday, February 11, 2008
A few words about nachos
Homemade nachos are pretty foolproof. It's simple. Tons of cheese, some veggies and a protein layer and you're on your way. If these ingredients are balanced with the chips, everything will be perfect. And we can't stress this enough - the protein layer is KEY. If you have a bad protein base, you have bad nachos. If you have a nice chili or bean layer, it can change the way you see nachos. From a snack to a meal. But putting something like seafood on your nachos? I don't think so.
The refried beans that we used in this batch were Goya full-fat beans. I like this kind a lot. Maybe it's just my head telling me that because it's all fat, it's all good. But I truly think it makes a difference. The beans have a way of melting down with the cheese, creating a kind of dip at the bottom of the pan. This, along with the slightly burnt caramelized cheese and chips near the edges and the abundant amounts of sour cream (no little dixie cups), makes homemade nachos a 10 out of 10. Even when burnt.
We'll see how other places stand up.
The refried beans that we used in this batch were Goya full-fat beans. I like this kind a lot. Maybe it's just my head telling me that because it's all fat, it's all good. But I truly think it makes a difference. The beans have a way of melting down with the cheese, creating a kind of dip at the bottom of the pan. This, along with the slightly burnt caramelized cheese and chips near the edges and the abundant amounts of sour cream (no little dixie cups), makes homemade nachos a 10 out of 10. Even when burnt.
We'll see how other places stand up.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Homemade Nachos Part One
Nachos that you make at home are far better than bar/restaurant nachos for several reasons:
1) Quality control. You can make nachos with excellent cheese, a great quality protein, and you won't get nachos that have olives (gross) on them because the kitchen screwed up. You can also accomplish the number one secret to delicious nachos (THOROUGH CHEESE DISTRIBUTION) yourself, and with your eagle eye at the helm, your cheese will be melted all the way through (also key).
2) You will never run out of the key nacho accoutrement: salsa and a giant vat of sour cream. Perhaps you might even choose to put out homemade guacamole (recipe forthcoming). Restaurants sometimes don't give you sour cream unless you ask for it (terrible) and usually their guacamole comes from a bag.
3) The bar doesn't have the My So-Called Life boxed set or several episodes of Gossip Girl on DVR, does it? Our motto: nachos are always better with Chuck Bass.
4) It might just be you and a friend on nacho night. If you were at a bar, there might be all that nonsense about not ordering another round, not eating the melted cheese straight from the bottom of the pile, or looking "proper" or "ladylike" by not finishing the entire order. At home, you can cook up a mean batch of nachos, eat the entire thing, and both put down a six pack of beer while thanking jesus that you went with the sweatpants.
Full disclosure: These rules do not apply when you are watching football/Red Sox. Someday we will tell you about the Night of the 10 Beer Miracle.
Homemade Nachos
Go to the store and buy:
1 bag of tortilla chips (we like Restaurant Style, personally). You might need more if you are feeding more than 4-5 people. It also depends on if they've had dinner. You'll need to feel this one out yourself.
2 bags of shredded cheese (about 4 cups). This is tricky, because we find that extra sharp cheddar works best--it has the best flavor, it melts well, and it caramelizes nicely into little cheese chips around the edges. However, real sharp cheddar doesn't come in a pre-shredded bag, so we usually buy a 24 ounce block and grate it using the Cuisinart. But that can be a lot of work (especially if you are Cuisinart-less) so really any kind of shredded cheddar/nacho cheese blend will do.
Protein. If you want to go the vegetarian route, a can of refried beans or seasoned beans work great, and they are also delicious and cheap. However, we've found a pound of ground beef cooked, drained and mixed with a packet of taco seasoning is fantastic (although v. salty, which worked well for the people who come to nacho night already drunk). Also: leftover chili. We are steadfastly anti-chicken nachos so you won't see any mention of chicken as a protein from here on out. Chicken is too dry, it doesn't stick to the chips, and it doesn't have any flavor that can soak into the bottom of the pile.
One tomato.
One bunch of scallions.
One jalapeño.
One jar of salsa.
One container of sour cream.
Putting your nachos together:
1) Preheat the oven to 425.
2) Take out a glass baking dish and put a good layer of tortilla chips on the bottom. Cover that layer with most of one of the bags of cheese (or more! Good for you!) . If you're using refried beans, heat them up until they are more liquidy and spoon them on. If you're using seasoned beef, just dump it on in a layer. If you're using chili, beware: if you put on too much chili, the bottom layer is going to turn into chili cheese dip. We're not advocating against chili cheese dip, but these are nachos. Watch out, especially if you're hungry--it's very easy to make nachos that are bigger than your stomachs can handle. Then dump the rest of the bag of cheese onto the protein (this is the sealant).
3) Cover the protein layer with another layer of tortilla chips and the second bag of cheese. It might look like it's going to overflow now, but never fear: the heat of the oven shrinks everything down.
4) Chop the tomato, one or two of the scallions (mostly the green part, a little bit of the white part) and the jalapeño. If you have rubber gloves on hand, use them when you're cutting the jalapeño, because no amount of washing is going to get the hot stuff off, and then when you go to itch your eye (or your butt! eep!) you are in BIG trouble. Let's just say we know from experience.
5) Scatter the veggies over the chips. At this point, if we're not using good cheddar, we grate some good cheddar onto the top of the veggies.
6) Tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the baking dish. Make sure it's not touching the cheese. The cheese is precious, and when it melts and you take the aluminum foil off, you don't want most of the precious cheese to come with it.
7) Pop that bad boy in the oven and get out of the kitchen. The temptation right now, especially if you're hungry, is going to be to stand in the kitchen, eating leftover tortilla chips. Bad idea. They won't ruin your appetite for the nachos, because nachos win over a full stomach every time, but you will be even more miserable when you're done. Go drink and talk about how Jordan Catalano really is a douchebag... something you oddly never realized when you were so in love with him back in 1994. But so fucking hot, omg.
8) 20 minutes later, take the aluminum foil off so that the cheese can get just a little brown on top. Offer to refill drinks, but stay away from the chips. Also, refrigerate any of the leftover vegetables that you might use later, because once the nachos and beer are gone you will be so full you cannot even think about the kitchen.
9) 10 minutes later, pull the nachos from the oven. See? They did shrink. Be careful, because they do look delicious, but they are deceptively hot.
10) Enjoy your nacho night!
1) Quality control. You can make nachos with excellent cheese, a great quality protein, and you won't get nachos that have olives (gross) on them because the kitchen screwed up. You can also accomplish the number one secret to delicious nachos (THOROUGH CHEESE DISTRIBUTION) yourself, and with your eagle eye at the helm, your cheese will be melted all the way through (also key).
2) You will never run out of the key nacho accoutrement: salsa and a giant vat of sour cream. Perhaps you might even choose to put out homemade guacamole (recipe forthcoming). Restaurants sometimes don't give you sour cream unless you ask for it (terrible) and usually their guacamole comes from a bag.
3) The bar doesn't have the My So-Called Life boxed set or several episodes of Gossip Girl on DVR, does it? Our motto: nachos are always better with Chuck Bass.
4) It might just be you and a friend on nacho night. If you were at a bar, there might be all that nonsense about not ordering another round, not eating the melted cheese straight from the bottom of the pile, or looking "proper" or "ladylike" by not finishing the entire order. At home, you can cook up a mean batch of nachos, eat the entire thing, and both put down a six pack of beer while thanking jesus that you went with the sweatpants.
Full disclosure: These rules do not apply when you are watching football/Red Sox. Someday we will tell you about the Night of the 10 Beer Miracle.
Homemade Nachos
Go to the store and buy:
1 bag of tortilla chips (we like Restaurant Style, personally). You might need more if you are feeding more than 4-5 people. It also depends on if they've had dinner. You'll need to feel this one out yourself.
2 bags of shredded cheese (about 4 cups). This is tricky, because we find that extra sharp cheddar works best--it has the best flavor, it melts well, and it caramelizes nicely into little cheese chips around the edges. However, real sharp cheddar doesn't come in a pre-shredded bag, so we usually buy a 24 ounce block and grate it using the Cuisinart. But that can be a lot of work (especially if you are Cuisinart-less) so really any kind of shredded cheddar/nacho cheese blend will do.
Protein. If you want to go the vegetarian route, a can of refried beans or seasoned beans work great, and they are also delicious and cheap. However, we've found a pound of ground beef cooked, drained and mixed with a packet of taco seasoning is fantastic (although v. salty, which worked well for the people who come to nacho night already drunk). Also: leftover chili. We are steadfastly anti-chicken nachos so you won't see any mention of chicken as a protein from here on out. Chicken is too dry, it doesn't stick to the chips, and it doesn't have any flavor that can soak into the bottom of the pile.
One tomato.
One bunch of scallions.
One jalapeño.
One jar of salsa.
One container of sour cream.
Putting your nachos together:
1) Preheat the oven to 425.
2) Take out a glass baking dish and put a good layer of tortilla chips on the bottom. Cover that layer with most of one of the bags of cheese (or more! Good for you!) . If you're using refried beans, heat them up until they are more liquidy and spoon them on. If you're using seasoned beef, just dump it on in a layer. If you're using chili, beware: if you put on too much chili, the bottom layer is going to turn into chili cheese dip. We're not advocating against chili cheese dip, but these are nachos. Watch out, especially if you're hungry--it's very easy to make nachos that are bigger than your stomachs can handle. Then dump the rest of the bag of cheese onto the protein (this is the sealant).
3) Cover the protein layer with another layer of tortilla chips and the second bag of cheese. It might look like it's going to overflow now, but never fear: the heat of the oven shrinks everything down.
4) Chop the tomato, one or two of the scallions (mostly the green part, a little bit of the white part) and the jalapeño. If you have rubber gloves on hand, use them when you're cutting the jalapeño, because no amount of washing is going to get the hot stuff off, and then when you go to itch your eye (or your butt! eep!) you are in BIG trouble. Let's just say we know from experience.
5) Scatter the veggies over the chips. At this point, if we're not using good cheddar, we grate some good cheddar onto the top of the veggies.
6) Tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the baking dish. Make sure it's not touching the cheese. The cheese is precious, and when it melts and you take the aluminum foil off, you don't want most of the precious cheese to come with it.
7) Pop that bad boy in the oven and get out of the kitchen. The temptation right now, especially if you're hungry, is going to be to stand in the kitchen, eating leftover tortilla chips. Bad idea. They won't ruin your appetite for the nachos, because nachos win over a full stomach every time, but you will be even more miserable when you're done. Go drink and talk about how Jordan Catalano really is a douchebag... something you oddly never realized when you were so in love with him back in 1994. But so fucking hot, omg.
8) 20 minutes later, take the aluminum foil off so that the cheese can get just a little brown on top. Offer to refill drinks, but stay away from the chips. Also, refrigerate any of the leftover vegetables that you might use later, because once the nachos and beer are gone you will be so full you cannot even think about the kitchen.
9) 10 minutes later, pull the nachos from the oven. See? They did shrink. Be careful, because they do look delicious, but they are deceptively hot.
10) Enjoy your nacho night!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)