[1] Homemade nachos (photo © Chee Hong | Wikimedia).

[2] You can make them as simple or as layered as you like. This verson has both salsa and crema (sour cream—photo © Natasha Bhogal | Unsplash).

November 6th is National Nachos Day. Who doesn’t enjoy a hearty plate of nachos for a snack, or even for the main course? They’re the easiest Mexican dish to make at home.

At the most minimal, you can simply cover tortilla chips with shredded Cheddar or other semi-hard cheese, with or without salsa; then use the microwave or broiler to melt the cheese.

Serve the nachos with a beer or a Margarita, of course.
 
 
NACHOS FULLY LOADED

You can get creative with your nachos, adding anything you have on hand. You can add a couple of extra ingredients, or go fully loaded.

Our favorite add-ons to nachos:

 
For visual and flavor interest, use a mix of yellow and blue corn tortillas (for Independence Day, use red, white and blue).

And for a more legitimate main course, here’s a recipe for Nacho Stuffed Shells, “nacho pasta.”
 
 
FOOD TRIVIA

In Mexico, nachos are called totopos, the word for tortilla chips (totopos).

French fries, potato chips and even popcorn are sometimes substituted for the tortilla chips.

Nachos are an example of necessity being the mother of invention.

As the story goes, in 1943 a group of Army wives from Fort Duncan, in Eagle Pass, Texas, had gone over the border to Piedras Negras, Mexico, on a shopping trip. By the time they arrived at the Victory Club (Club Victoria) restaurant, the kitchen was closed.

But the accommodating maître d’hôtel, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya (Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio), threw together a snack for the ladies from what was available in the kitchen: tortillas and cheese.

He cut the tortillas into triangles, added shredded Cheddar cheese, quickly heated them and garnished the dish with sliced jalapeño chiles.

When asked what the tasty dish was called, he answered, “Nacho’s especiales,” Nacho’s Special. It was an instant hit.
 
 

Should it be chocolate, vanilla, mocha or another flavor?

Should it be cream-cheese based or buttercream?

Should it be penuche frosting, made with brown sugar?

Why decide on one, when you can have two?

Thanks to Yummy Cupcakes in Los Angeles—one of our favorite cupcake bakeries anywhere—for the suggestion that you can use two types of frosting on one cake or cupcake.

The red velvet cupcake in the photo is crowned with both cocoa and vanilla cream cheese frostings. The duo adds even more excitement to an already exciting treat.

So don’t be single-minded: Enjoy two frostings.

Another benefit of two frostings: You get to lick two bowls!
Find more of our favorite cake and cupcake recipes.

Ceviche, raw fish or shellfish cured by acidic citrus juice, has been popular in Latin America for many centuries. In the early 1500s, the Spanish conquistadors wrote of an Inca dish of raw fish marinated in chicha, a fermented maize beer that dates back some 2,000 years.

The concept evolved into ceviche (pronounced say-VEE-chay) (here’s the history of ceviche). There is something about fresh, homemade ceviche that is refreshing and satisfying, as well as low in calories and healthful (here’s why ceviche is so good for you).

We love the tangy twist of lime, the briny hit of fish or seafood, the sprightly cilantro and creamy avocado.

Throughout South America, the mix of fish or seafood changes depending on the local catch and regional preferences.

This recipe can be used with any fish or seafood. It is courtesy of chef Giovanna Garcia and I Love Blue Sea, an e-tailer of premier seafood, where the team enjoys their ceviche with raw tuna or trout.

The recipe is so easy to make, you’ve just got to try it. Warning: You may become a ceviche addict.

Ingredients

MacFarland Springs Trout. Photo courtesy I Love Blue Sea.

Preparation

1. CUT trout into pieces and place in a glass dish or bowl. Cover trout with lime juice and let sit in refrigerator for at least an hour. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.

2. DRAIN the lime juice from the fish and add to the bowl. Toss to combine.

3. TASTE and season with sea salt and pepper.

4. SERVE with crackers or tortilla chips, in a lettuce cup or with mixed greens.
Here’s THE NIBBLE’s ceviche recipe for mixing and matching your favorite ingredients into your dream ceviche.

Find more of our favorite fish recipes.

No one is hungry at the end of Thanksgiving dinner, but everyone wants that piece of pumpkin pie or pecan pie—or both.

Here’s a solution: Instead of a pie, serve mini tartlets. One mini tartlet can satisfy, for a fraction of the tummy space and calories of a piece of pie or full-size tart.

While many sources do not make this distinction, a tart is different from a tartlet, which is different from a mini tartlet. The difference is the size; to call everything a tart or every individual size a tarlet is ambiguous.

 
The same pans can be used to make quiche.

Our favorite holiday time-saver is to use two NIBBLE Top Picks Of The Week: the delicious mini tartlet shells from Clearbrook Farms filled with the wonderful pecan-pie-in-a-jar from San Saba River Pecan Company. (This is also one of our favorite party favors and small gifts—we order it by the case.)

You can also fill the mini-tartlets with pumpkin, apple or other favorite.

If you want to make your mini tarts from scratch, here are two recipes:

Certified Angus Beef and the CAB Logo. Photo courtesy Certfied Angus Beef, LLC.

Chef Johnny Gnall went “back to the farm” recently, to observe the production of Certified Angus Beef. His report follows. If you have questions or ideas for other articles, email Chef Johnny.

I was recently invited with other journalists to spend a few days in Wooster, Ohio, home to the headquarters of Certified Angus Beef, LLC (CAB), to get an in-depth look at Angus production.

From birth to butcher block, CAB takes great care to ensure that their Certified Angus cattle, and the beef they produce, meet rigorous standards and are handled properly, humanely and safely.

Angus is a breed of cattle;* there is much Angus meat to be had in grocery stores and restaurants. But 51% of Angus genes is all that’s required to call beef Angus or Black Angus There are no other standards that ensure flavorful meat, humanely produced.

Hence the formation of the nonprofit CAB, which aims to educate consumers and chefs about the Certified Angus Beef™ trademarked brand and how its ranchers strive to keep the bar high on the Angus production.

While there is plenty of less responsible beef production in America and elsewhere, there are also plenty of dedicated people, ranches and organizations with a mission to provide the alternative: cattle that are humanely raised, healthful and ultimately sustainable for man and beast.
 
WHAT IS CERTIFIED ANGUS BEEF?

Only 12% of all Angus cattle make the cut to become Certified Angus Beef, after passing through a set of stringent criteria. From feed, to age, to marbling, the beef that gets the CAB stamp gives consumers the assurance that what they are eating is of high quality in both tenderness and flavor.

Visiting one of the CAB ranches outside Wooster, we observed firsthand the time, cost, and human care that goes into the ranching of Certified Angus Beef cattle. The feed, health and overall comfort of the animals are carefully monitored.

After all, happy cattle make tasty steaks. If you’d like to see the operations for yourself, there are CAB ranches in all 50 states. Head to the organization’s website to find a ranch in your area.

Once we butchered some specific cuts, we traded butcher coats for chef coats and took the beef to the kitchen. In particular, we were working with the subscapularis muscle, commonly called Vegas steak, and teres major, commonly called bistro filet or hanger steak.

HOW TO COOK VEGAS STEAK

The Vegas steak is similar in shape to a Flatiron steak, but smaller; very thin and lean, it can easily get tough if not cooked properly. This is why there were a number of high-profile chefs in our group: It was their job to experiment with the cuts and find out which cooking methods worked best to bring out optimal flavor and tenderness.

Angus cattle. Photo by Scott Bauer | US Agricultural Research Service.

With the Vegas Steak, the chefs tried oil and butter basting, stir frying, even wrapping the beef in caul fat.

But in the end, the only successful foil to the toughness was marinating the steak and cooking it sous vide (pronounced soo VEED).

While most home cooks won’t have access to a sous vide water bath (THE NIBBLE has two of them!), marinating the steak overnight with some acid and fat (try olive oil, red wine, garlic and rosemary), then giving it a two-to-three-minute sear on each side, should do the trick.
HOW TO COOK BISTRO STEAK/HANGER STEAK

As for the teres major (which is cheaper than genuine tenderloin and still quite tender), try rubbing it with a paste made of chopped herbs, room temperature butter, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, then searing and roasting it. You’ll get a lovely, aromatic crust.

Both of these cuts are currently under-marketed, which means if you can get them, they will be cheaper than other, more popular steaks. Keep an eye out for them, and if you visit a real butcher shop (independent butchers are a disappearing lot of craftsmen), ask about them.

See all the cuts of beef in our Beef Glossary.

ASK & YOU SHALL RECEIVE

Ask your butcher about the recommended methods of cooking for any cut you buy, as well as where your steak came from.

 
Educate yourself; the information is out there. It’s something of importance that we can all sink our teeth into.
 
*Angus cattle are a breed native to the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland. They are known as Aberdeen Angus in most parts of the world. In the U.S., they are frequently crossbred with Hereford cattle, retaining the black color. They can legally be called Angus if 51% or more of the genes are Angus.