Not Your Regular Nachos

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

Named for the Greek heir and playboy, Stavros Niarchos, this week's nacho creation is a delectable mix of Greek ingredients. I topped crispy pita with a spicy ground lamb mixture. Instead of using cheddar or Monterey jack, I used salty feta and creamy goat cheese. A "salsa" of fresh tomatoes and kalamata olives finished off the dish. Hot pepperoncinis replaced pickled jalapeños as a heat-inducing garnish.These nachos were insanely scrumptious. While munching, I couldn't help but wonder why more people don't make Greek nachos? They're to die for. Trust me, run to the grocery store, you must make these nachos! They'd be an excellent starter to a Mediterranean barbecue. For the recipe details, read more

What do you get when you cross potato skins with nachos? Potachos! The best of both worlds, this tasty invention uses the base of nachos (crunchy potato chips) with the topping of potato skins (cheddar cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, and green onions).The recipe is simple and like all nacho recipes, easily adaptable to your personal liking. These fabulously named (seriously say potachos out loud, it's fun!) nachos make a wonderful appetizer for a baseball watching party. For the recipe, read more

Last Friday night I hosted an impromptu dinner party for some close friends. It was an informal introduction of my best friend's new boyfriend, so I went all out with appetizers and a special cocktail. Ever since I made nacho bites, I've wanted to experiment more with Tostitos Scoops, and I decided this was the perfect opportunity to do so.I filled each chip with a corn, cheese, and egg mixture that cooked up like a corn pudding. The final bite was salty, cheesy, and purely delicious. This is an incredibly easy recipe that can be modified to suit your dietary needs. To see how I made this version, read more

When you think about it, a Mexican pizza is really a gigantic, circular nacho. The two main components of nachos — crispy tortillas and melted cheese — are present in Mexican pizzas.This recipe came out of my desire to use Spanish chorizo in one of my nacho experiments. Since the chorizo resembles pepperoni, I invented these pizza-like nachos. The "sauce" is a red-bean puree mixed with sautéed onion, garlic, and green chilies. These were quite tasty, next time I'm serving them with sour cream! To take a look at how I made them, read more

This week I found an interesting recipe on MyRecipes.com and it inspired me to create these bite-sized, creamy nachos. The baked chipotle chips are topped with a creamy goat cheese mixture and a cilantro salsa. Avocados were finally ripe at my grocery store, so I was able to blitz up a quick, easy guacamole. These make for a playful presentation and would look lovely on a graduation party menu. To see how I made these incredibly scrumptious nachos — once you pop, you can't stop — read more

If you're looking for a lighter variation on the classic nacho recipe, I highly recommend these spicy shrimp nachos. They may not be super Fit friendly, but they are less heavy than the meat-laden, overly cheesy nachos I normally make.
The shrimp is tossed with a sweet-hot blend of sugar and spices before being grilled. A fresh, colorful salsa that combines mango, jalapeño, and red pepper tops the shrimp and chips. A generous sprinkling of pepper jack cheese finishes off this scrumptious dish. To take a look at the recipe, read more