Proper Texas Nachos

If by now, you haven't caved just a little to Superbowl mania, then you're either the most apathetic non-sports-fan alive, or you've got an iron will when it comes to outside influence. I'm not going to sit here and claim that I'm really into sports or that I completely understand what goes on on that big green football field that is omnipresent on my boyfriend's flatscreen every Sunday, but I do know that the Superbowl is a big deal. And I know that the Patriots (the team Tom Brady/aka Gisele's hubby plays for) are playing the Giants (aka the team I'm supposed to be rooting for). And more importantly, I also know that I like party food. And that football party food, specifically, is a really darn good excuse to make tons of mac and cheese, pimento cheese, nachos, and all sorts of other foods that involve cheese, and not feel guilty about "forgetting" to include any sort of healthy green vegetable at all.

So if you're in my position, and relishing in thoughts of what you'll whip up come game day, here's a stellar option for you: proper Texas nachos. I've never been a fan of nachos, mainly because my only experience with them has been at the movies with all that alarmingly orange, melted, artificial cheese or at the Orange Julius counter at the mall when I was an unknowing pre-teen (same scary orange stuff). No wonder that I shudder at the word "nacho" now that I'm a fully formed adult with a distaste for fake foods that taste suspiciously like plastic. But apparently, I'd never had a real nacho. At least according to Lisa Fain, author of The Homesick Texan. Her description of the recipe was so tantalizing--real Cheddar melted on homemade tortilla chips, all baked with a single, mouth-puckering pickled jalapeno slice on top--that I had to give it a go. And I'm so glad I did. Real nachos aren't the gooey mess of clumped together chips, glued into one terrifying entity by a neon orange, unidentifiable substance. Proper nachos are neat, orderly, elegant even. They're single entities that you can lay out on a tray and watch disappear in a matter of seconds. In other words, they're the perfect football food. So go ahead and add these to your menu--you'll be glad you did. xo

Proper Texas Nachos
Ingredients:
6 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups of grated Longhorn cheddar cheese
24 pickled jalapeno slices
Peanut oil
Salt 

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tortillas into quarters. Pour enough oil in an iron skillet to come up 1/2 inch up the sides and heat to 350 degrees. In batches, fry the quartered tortillas for 1 to 2 minutes on each side (until golden brown) and then remove. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Once chips have been made, sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cheddar cheese and top with 1 pickled jalapeno. Bake in oven for five minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve with guacamole, sour cream and/or salsa. Makes 24 nachos.

Note: If you don't feel like making your own chips (though you should as they taste better) tortilla chips from a bag work, too.