Chorizo Queso Dip -- Hannah’s Hatch Chile Queso for Football Sundays

Football season started last week but this was the first weekend we really felt it. OU opened with a win. The Cowboys played Thursday night and I watched on my phone while still at the worksite, which is not how you should watch football but is sometimes how it goes. By Sunday the whole house had reorganized itself around the schedule — Hannah makes a concession to the football calendar that most of my friends' wives apparently do not make, which is that she will watch at least the first half of any game involving Oklahoma, and she will cook something good while she does it.

She made queso. Real queso, not from a jar — she roasted fresh Hatch chiles she got from a man at the Tulsa farmers market who drives up from New Mexico every September, and she melted Velveeta with the chiles and a can of diced tomatoes and some cumin. I know what you are thinking about the Velveeta. This is a personal and regional thing I will not apologize for. The queso came out exactly as good as every queso I have ever eaten in this state, which is very good. I made chili on the side. Beef and dried chiles, no beans, no tomatoes. Hannah disagrees with both of those choices and maintains that beans belong in chili and tomatoes belong in everything. We cook separately and coexist at the table.

Kai wore an OU shirt and cheered at random intervals throughout the game, copying my reactions with a six-month delay. When I stood up he stood up. When I yelled at the television he yelled at the television. When I sat down in the resigned posture of a man who has watched the Cowboys for thirty years and knows how this ends, he sat down in the resigned posture of a three-year-old imitating a man watching football. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen and I was too busy being disappointed about a turnover to fully appreciate it until later.

Caleb was there. He brought a twelve-pack and ate two bowls of queso and half the chili and did not comment on the no-beans situation, which means either he agrees with me or he was hungry enough not to care. We watched the second game until Luna started her evening campaign and Hannah took her to the back of the house and Caleb and I sat in the quiet watching football and not talking much, the way brothers watch football together, which is one of the small dignities of having a brother.

The season is back. That is enough for one Sunday.

The queso was the unsung hero of that Sunday—Caleb went back for a second bowl without a word, my son used a chip as a mirror before eating it, and at one point Hannah called from the kitchen to ask if there was more because the smell was traveling. It needed to be that good, because when the Cowboys are making you sit down in resigned postures before halftime, the food has to carry some of the weight. I’ve made this chorizo queso enough times now that it’s become the thing I make when I want the day to feel like something even if the scoreboard doesn’t cooperate. Here’s how it comes together.

Chorizo Queso Dip

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 8–10

Ingredients

• 8 oz fresh chorizo, casing removed
• 1 lb Velveeta, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 Hatch green chiles (or Anaheim), roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
• 1/4 cup whole milk, plus more to thin as needed
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Tortilla chips, for serving

Instructions

1. Roast the chiles. Place fresh Hatch chiles directly over a gas burner or under the broiler, turning occasionally, until charred on all sides, about 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and dice. (Use canned diced green chiles in a pinch.)
2. Brown the chorizo. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chorizo, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 teaspoon in the pan for flavor.
3. Melt the cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add Velveeta cubes to the pan with the chorizo. Stir continuously until completely melted and smooth, about 4–5 minutes.
4. Add the chiles and tomatoes. Stir in the roasted Hatch chiles, drained diced tomatoes, cumin, and garlic powder. Add milk a splash at a time until the dip reaches your preferred consistency—thick enough to coat a chip but loose enough to scoop easily.
5. Keep warm and serve. Transfer to a slow cooker on the “warm” setting or serve directly from the pan. Serve immediately with tortilla chips. Stir occasionally to keep smooth.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 220 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 7g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 680mg