Queso

The next time you get a craving for gooey chorizo-filled queso dip, there's only one thing to do: make this amazing cheese dip! Sure, it has nothing to do with seasonal eating, but that's OK. Sometimes it's nice to break the rules and just enjoy a dip because it tastes really good.

A combination of queso fresco, white cheddar, mozzarella, and goat cheese, this queso is addictive and delicious. To make it vegetarian, simply omit the chorizo. To check out this recipe — I'm definitely making it again! — keep reading.

If someone were to ask me, "What's your guilty pleasure food?" there's only one thing I can honestly answer: Velveeta. It's so bad . . . yet it's so good! Technically Velveeta isn't a cheese, but a "processed pasteurized cheese product" that has a creamy texture, mild cheddar flavor, and characteristic artificial-orange color.

Velveeta's most endearing quality, however, is its wonderful ability to melt; once heated, it becomes as smooth as velvet. Since 1928, when Kraft first introduced it to America kitchens, Velveeta has been used to make macaroni and cheese and my personal favorite, nacho cheese dip.

While I enjoy the traditional queso dip (a mixture of Velveeta and Ro-tel, a line of canned tomatoes and green chiles popular in Texas), I prefer this jazzed-up rendition. The refried beans provide a nice meatiness and the cumin gives it an element of smoke.

See how to make this gooey, insanely delicious dip.

Love Mexican food, but wish you knew more about the culture's cheese legacy? So did I. At a California Milk Advisory Board cheese class, I finally had my opportunity to better understand the Hispanic cheese market when I got a crash course on it from cheese expert Juliana Uruburu.

Although semisoft, European-influenced cheeses like Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog and Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk get the most press, five percent of the cheese made in California is actually Hispanic-style cheese. As for getting to know them all, Juliana maintains it's not complicated: "There are about 30 different names, but only four different types of cheese. They vary in salt and texture." For the basic breakdown, keep reading.

Nachos are one of my favorite foods, so when I realized the Super Bowl was around the corner, I had to whip up a batch. The thing that makes these nachos — which are not baked, but assembled — absolutely to die for is the spicy queso sauce.

I used Cabot's hot habanero cheddar, and I highly recommend seeking out this cheese to make these nachos. Combined with a quick béchamel, it results in a super creamy, sharp, spicy, and flavorful queso sauce. The chorizo pinto bean mixture is also wildly delicious and could easily be used in huevos rancheros or as the filling for quesadillas.

If you're a fan of classic fiery Tex-Mex, you must make this recipe. It sounds crazy, but I think these were the best nachos I've ever eaten — and I've tried a lot of nachos! Check out the method now.

When it comes to Bobby Flay and the Burger Bash (an event hosted by Rachael Ray that takes place each February and October), he hasn't had the best of luck. Flay has competed in the bash at least eight times, and he always comes in second or third place — making him the Susan Lucci of the competition.

Last Friday, however, things changed: his Santa Fe Burger finally took home the top prize, the people's choice award! I tasted the scrumptious and messy burger that consisted of a beef patty topped with a queso sauce, roasted poblano peppers, and blue corn tortilla chips. It was so good that I found the recipe and tried it out. I wanted to see if the homemade version stood up to the burger made by Flay himself. Luckily it did!

The flavors in this burger are sublime: the smooth, creamy cheese sauce is rich, but light, and the crunch of the chips gives the burger a wonderful texture. If you are afraid of heat, don't worry: Flay calls the mild poblano "a gateway chile," and the burger isn't spicy at all. Get his winning recipe after the jump.

It's time for my absolute favorite party of the year: my birthday party! It's coming up on Thursday, Sept. 16, and although 29 is not a milestone, that doesn't mean I'm not doing something special. Yes, it will be more low-key than the elaborate five-course dinner I hosted last year. In fact, it will be an intimate affair in Spain! I'm treating myself to some rest and relaxation at a friend's house on the coast of Cadiz. While there, we'll invite people over for an informal Sunday dinner. Since the guests will be Spanish, I want to serve all-American cuisine with a Tex-Mex twist.

We'll start with homemade queso and fish tacos. The queso pairs well with tortilla chips and icy cold beer. Thanks to Giada De Laurentiis's creativity, the fish tacos are miniature! For the main course, I'll grill turkey burgers with chipotle salsa. Yum! Mixed greens tossed with pico de gallo are on the side. Interested in the recipes I'll be using? Read them after the break.

One of our favorite guilty pleasures here in Yum land is Velveeta — after all, I named my new car after it! — and we really, really love it in queso. But in this day and age, when food revolutions, Alice Waters, and CSAs reign supreme, I decided it was high time to try a queso made from real cheese.

This Tex-Mex staple is beloved for a consistently smooth texture that I imagined would be impossible to re-create using unprocessed cheese. That is, until I discovered a version from Lone Star darling Homesick Texan that's just as addictive. The key to the recipe is patience; add more cheese only once the previous batch has fully integrated. Serve the all natural recipe on Cinco de Mayo when you keep on reading.