Nachos

To make up for the absence of a nacho recipe today (surely you noticed it was missing!), I've decided to round up some of my favorite far-from-ordinary nacho ideas for your mouth-watering enjoyment. In case you missed it, here are six of my greatest nacho dishes. Have you made any of these yet? If so, tell me what you thought.

Fish Taco Bite Nachos	Buffalo and Blue Nachos	Greek "Stavros" Nachos
Corn Pudding Nacho Bites	Steak Peach Nachos	Adobo Chip Nacho Bites

The other day I saw a bag of Yukon gold potatoes sitting on the counter at my parents house. Since potatoes weren't on that night's dinner menu, I knew I could use them to make a delicious and easy appetizer. Inspired by a crisp potato recipe from the latest Everyday Food magazine, I decided to make these nachos with blue cheese, green onions, and grape tomatoes. The final, bite-sized result was the perfect amuse bouche — warm, crunchy, salty — pure scrumptiousness. Some of my guests dislike blue cheese, so I made a fresh mozzarella version to suit their picky tastebuds. The recipe is highly adaptable, you can top the potato chip with any cheese and vegetable combination, so get it now and read more

Judge Judy's guests are usually at a loss for words when she mercilessly grills them. Not this defendant. When she asks him what possessed him to steal avocados from the irate plantiff's tree, his answer had me sold. I mean, unadorned nachos are kinda boring sometimes! What am I talking about? Just watch. . .

This week I decided to give myself a nacho challenge. Instead of going to the grocery store to purchase a bunch of ingredients, I would make nachos with items currently in my pantry or refrigerator. Luckily I had leftover chicken, barbecue sauce, and plenty of cheese. The final result was this plate of cheesy, barbecue nachos. I heated the chicken with barbecue sauce and made a simple cheese sauce with low-fat milk, Monterey jack, cheddar cheese, and pickled jalapeños. Sliced black olives and mashed avocado seasoned with lemon juice finished off the dish. A dollop of sour cream was a cooling garnish. While I encourage you to experiment with your own leftover pantry nachos, you can learn how I made mine. To do so, read more

Last weekend I was at my parents house in Sonoma County and the weather was wonderfully warm. After consuming a large lunch, I decided to enjoy a light, Spanish-style dinner. The Spanish often eat a dinner of cold cuts, olives, and cheese. Bread or breadsticks normally accompany these simple meals. I took this concept and translated it into a nacho variation. I baked small thin breadsticks topped with Manchego cheese until crisp and melty. Next I topped them with a homemade romesco sauce. Romesco is a typical Spanish sauce made with roasted red peppers and almonds. When served with garlic stuffed olives and fresh jamon, these nachos were salty and delicious! To learn how I made them, read more

This week's nachos were inspired by a recipe I found in the current issue of Everyday With Rachael Ray. In the magazine, she uses peaches as a savory ingredient in a spicy-sweet salsa that tops a steak quesadilla. Instead of making the quesadilla, I made nachos. The final result was crunchy, hot, and pure deliciousness. My peaches were really juicy, so I ended up straining the salsa before topping the nachos, to ensure that the chips didn't get soggy. I fried tortilla rounds, but this would be equally delicious on store-bought tortilla chips. To look at the recipe, read more

Over the weekend, my dad made a big batch of coleslaw. Since he's going on vacation, he loaded me up with the leftovers. I've always loved the crunch of coleslaw on fish tacos, so I translated the concept of fish tacos into nachos. The final result was a delicious, bite-sized fish taco. I topped baked wheat tortillas with gruyere cheese, a creamy guacamole, and fresh fish. The coleslaw and jewel-like, chopped tomatoes finished off the nachos. A squeeze of lime juice is the must-have garnish. To look at the recipes, read more

At the Food and Wine Classic, I watched Jose Andres make bread chips. He froze a baguette, sliced it superthin with a mandoline, and panfried it until crisp. While Andres topped his with anchovies and other Spanish ingredients, I haven't stopped thinking about this bread chip and wondered how it would translate into a nacho. I don't have a mandoline, so I used regular white bread. However, I wish I would have found a way to use paper-thin bread. The final result was more like a cheesy bruschetta than a nacho. When I realized this, I was disappointed, but the classic Italian flavors — mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil — were so delicious that I soon forgot my sadness. I highly recommend you make this scrumptious appetizer, only instead of calling it nachos, simply call it bruschetta! To see what I did, read more

Yesterday before heading to the Nordstrom Fall Preview Fashion Show, I whipped up a quick batch of my signature nachos for FabSugar and I to enjoy. With no time to run to the store, I used ingredients leftover from last week's Greek nachos to make a vegetarian, Mediterranean-inspired appetizer. The pita chips were crisped in the oven before being topped with a Spanish sheep's milk cheese. Once the cheese melted, I garnished them with an easy salsa of grilled cherry tomatoes, green pepper, and kalamata olives. The final result was an incredibly satisfying snack. To learn how I made these, read more