Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Queso Fundido - My Favorite Mexican Cheese Dip by Cleo Coyle




To my American ear, fundido sounds a little like an advertising slogan invented by a group of Mad Men trying to sell tortilla snack chips. "Party with our queso fundido. It’s fun, fun, fun!"

The truth is, fundido doesn't translate into fun, not literally anyway. In Spanish it means melted; consequently, queso fundido means melted cheese, and if you’ve sampled it, you may agree with me that it’s about the best cheese dip on the planet. 


Cleo Coyle, who sees
the fun in fundido,
is author of The
Coffeehouse Mysteries
Tex-Mex fans know it’s served in Northern Mexico, the Southwestern US, and Mexican restaurants in other parts of America. Culinary roots take it back to campfire eating. The version in today's post is the one my husband (and partner in crime writing) Marc and I enjoy, and we hope you do, too. 

~ Cleo


















Cleo Coyle's 
Queso Fundido
("Melted Cheese" Dip)

Traditionally, queso fundido is presented while still bubbling hot. Some restaurants serve it flambé, adding a flammable alcohol and lighting it. We prefer the broiler method of finishing this dish, which is much easier than flambé and just as tasty--plus you don’t need to have a fire extinguisher on hand. 


As for the ingredients I use...
















The ingredients and
directions are now featured
in the recipe section of
my 13th Coffeehouse Mystery




Learn more about
Clare Cosi's crime-solving
in Billionaire Blend



To see the Recipe Section
of Billionaire Blend,
click here.








FYI: The cast iron pans in my photos are Lodge brand (6-1/2 inch size). I love these baby skillets. For more info or to purchase, click here and...


Cook with joy!


~ Cleo Coyle 

New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries



Friend me on facebook here
Follow me on twitter here.
Visit my online coffeehouse here.



To view the
Coffeehouse Mystery
book trailer, click here.
 








The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling
works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village 
coffeehouse, and each of the
12 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.  

 


The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure


Book #1 of 

The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries
, which Cleo writes
under the name
Alice Kimberly

To learn more, click here.




10 comments:

  1. It looks so cheesy and colourful. I bet that it might taste great too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the nice note. It does taste good, especially with an ice cold glass of beer.

      ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  2. This looks wonderful! I only wonder how I would keep from eating the entire pan...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's the only hazard, Lucy--now that I've eliminated the flambe fire hazard. :)

      ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  3. Oh, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!

    Need I say more?

    Oh, of course, say cheese. :) Yum!

    Avery / Daryl

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Say Cheese, indeed! One week to your new Cheese Shop mystery's release -- TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE. Looking forward to it!

      ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  4. It sounds like Latin Welsh Rarebit. In other words, delicious.

    How do you get good avocados? Unless they come off our tree (an advantage of south Florida), I have really poor luck. They go from rock to rot. I watched the video you posted about choosing them, but I still end up with next to nothing that I can use. It is very disappointing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like your Welsh Rarebit comparison, Libby. Or maybe Hispanic fondu with cerveza instead of wine, and indeed it is delicious, especially with fresh chips and an ice cold beer.

      On the avocados...I've got some great green grocers in my neighborhood who usually stock avocados at every stage of ripeness. For anyone who does not have that advantage (or a tree like you--lucky!), the best advice I can give is to buy the best ones you can find and follow the tips on either ripening them faster or delaying their turning to rot. Here are some tips from About.com, see them by clicking here. For anyone who wants more tips, read my Chocolate Avocado Frosting post and you'll see more links. See that post by clicking here.

      Eat with joy!
      ~ Cleo
      Coffeehouse Mystery.com
      Cleo Coyle on Twitter

      Delete
  5. I've never heard of this. It sounds delicious! Perfect for a Super Bowl party!

    ~ ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Krista, I think so, too. Served bubbling hot, it's perfect with chips and an ice cold beer.

    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete