Q is for Queso @AprilA2Z #AtoZChallenge

As you've seen from H is for Hatch Chiles, they're the bee's knees in New Mexico and they're in everything here. Creme brulee, bagels, wine (no, I'm not kidding), and one friend even ordered a lobster roll with green chiles. Being from New England, she was not thrilled with the result, but that's not the point. The point is, New Mexicans love their chiles, even putting them in things that, well, probably shouldn't be tampered with.

But queso isn't one of them. It's made for Hatch chiles.

In the interest of finding a delicious restaurant-style queso dip you lovely readers can try, I tracked down two recipes on the interwebs (Pinterest, to be specific), and taste-tested them for you.

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Queso Recipe #1: Roasted Hatch Chile Queso Dip from Cook Like A Champion

Q is for Queso experiment 1

A photo posted by Sarah Allan (@sarahallanauthor) on Mar 20, 2016 at 4:50pm PDT

First off, this recipe was very tasty! I got the American cheese from the deli (Boar's Head brand; I'm a bit of a deli snob), and the Monterrey Jack in a block from the regular 'ol cheese section which I took home and grated. I had everything prepped and sliced ahead of time which was good, because once we started, this dip came together quickly. I had a can of Hatch Green Chiles (whole), and there were probably 10 of them in the can, already skinned and seeded. They'd actually be perfect for stuffing, but that's for another time. Anyway, I chopped up two of them, and I think this recipe could actually use a third. These were very mild, but had a nice, sweet flavor to them. I was actually a little disappointed that it didn't have more heat and wasn't quiiiite as flavorful as I'd expected. The dip thickened very quickly once it was off the heat, and we microwaved it the next day (adding about a tablespoon of milk to thin it out and microwaving it in 30 second intervals, stirring after each) and it was just as good.

Queso Recipe #2: Roasted Hatch Chile Queso Dip from The Wicked Noodle

Q is for Queso #2! #newmexico #albuquerque #ABQ #atozchallenge

A photo posted by Sarah Allan (@sarahallanauthor) on Apr 4, 2016 at 5:34pm PDT

Though the other queso dip was good, this one was the clear winner! It had a stronger chile flavor (it uses 3 chiles instead of 2), and we thought it would be even better with another chile added. The Mexican cheese blend was better as well. It was very thick while mixing, but thinned out readily when the half-and-half was added. It also didn't firm up so much as it cooled that you couldn't dip a chip, a complaint we had about the first recipe.

Time for me to go warm some up and enter another cheese coma!

What's your favorite queso?

xoxo Sarah