Hot Cheese

This is a simple recipe that I cooked up a long time ago. It makes a quick meal or snack. We have always called it “hot cheese,” but the chiles are mild.  (You can make it “Very Hot Cheese” if you add more salsa, or “Extremely Hot Cheese” if you add a few canned jalapeño slices.)

Cover a large flour tortilla with thin slices of cheddar cheese. (A layer of shedded cheese works, too.) Open a can of mild whole green chiles, drain the liquid out of the can, and slice up a few of the chiles lengthwise. Arrange the chiles on the cheese. (I like the wagonwheel pattern in the diagram.) Chop up a couple of garlic cloves and sprinkle them on top of the chiles. You can also sprinkle on a couple of tablespoons of chunky salsa or jalapeño relish. Put the tortilla on a cookie sheet and broil it in the over for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts. (Watch it so it doesn’t burn.) You can use this as a main dish (one or two per person) or as a snack.

Recipe by Randa Dubnick

The image is “Hot Cheese Diagram,”  a mixed media drawing  by Randa Dubnick.  All rights reserved.