I *heart* a certain little Mexican restaurant that is native to Utah and rhymes with, oh, let's call it Cafe Meo. Yes, I see nods coming from those who suffer from the same addiction that afflicts me. I could seriously eat there every day and never tire of their sweet and spicy pork, tangy tomatillo dressing, handmade tortillas and let us not forget the A-mazing queso dip. But since our little family has started our "Adventures in Nursing School!", we have had to all but give up our love of all things restaurant. So I have learned to apply my natural sneakiness toward the goal of finding a copy cat recipe for every one of my favorite items on their menu. So far I have made their pork (NOT using cola, thank you very much), fire-grilled chicken, cilantro rice, tomatillo dressing and am currently working on finding a duplicate for their green enchilada sauce. But the elusive queso dip remains out of my grasp. I have searched for hours, people! I cannot find more than a hint of what is in that "secret" recipe and judging from all the threads that are out there on ask.com, it seems I am not the only one who would love to get their greasy little salt-covered fingers on it. So I have decided to take matters into my own hands, so to speak, and I will not rest until I have made a queso dip that is comparable to theirs.
I found a recipe that sounds similar and is from a restaurant that appears to be back east called Cafe del Rio (funny coincidence?). I think with a few tweaks, it might be pretty close. Here's hopin'!
Ingredients: 2 1/2 lb white American cheese (find in the grocery store deli) 1 pint half & half 1 cup whipping cream 1/2 cup jalepeno peppers, chopped (more or less to taste) 1/2 c. frozen spinach, chopped Directions: Melt all ingredients in a crockpot. Ha ha! I love those directions! I think 1/2 cup of jalepenos seems a little hot, so I will be adjusting that. Plus I think at least half the cheese needs to be some sort of melt-able cheddar or regular American. I know it's more expensive to use the real American cheese, but I refuse to use Velveeta. Ew! If you are shocked at the amount of cream in this recipe, we'll just pretend it's not there and go on living in denial. All I'm saying is that there is a reason that restaurant food tastes so good, ok? I might decrease the cream a little though and add some salsa. We'll see. I plan on test driving this little recipe this weekend and will post the taste testing results. Mmmmm, my mouth is watering already. In the meantime, here is my favorite copy cat recipe for "Pork Barbacoa". 1 boneless pork roast (any kind works, but some cuts are more tender than others) Kosher salt 2 cans 8 oz mexican tomato sauce (I use the El Pato brand, in a yellow can. It's usually right next to the regular tomato sauce. Don't be alarmed by the word "hot". It doesn't come in mild and trust me, you don't want it that way.) 2 cans 8 oz regular tomato sauce 2 cups brown sugar Put roast in crockpot, add a small amount of water, maybe 1/2 cup. Sprinkle roast with kosher salt. Cook at least 8 hours on low. When roast is done, remove from crock pot and shred. Place in large saucepan. Add tomato sauces and brown sugar. Over medium heat bring to a low simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring often. You might have to adjust the sauce depending on how big your roast is and how hot you like it. The original recipe called for 3 cans of each, but I thought it was too saucy. This definitely has a kick to it as well. Love it! | |
Can't wait to hear how it turns out! You'll be bringing it to the next family party ;)
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