Queso is the Spanish word for cheese, but in Mexico, it also refers to a warm cheese dip, a truly great comfort food. We’ve got a queso fundido recipe below.

Queso fundido is a rich Mexican comfort food dish that’s typically served as an appetizer. It consists of pieces of chorizo, tomatoes, onions, poblano peppers, and gooey melted cheese.

The standard queso dip found in the U.S. is a simpler, Tex-Mex variation of queso fundido (molten cheese), a thick sauce of melted cheese seasoned with chorizo and spices. The goal is a bubbling dish of stringy melted cheese (photo #7).

 
A variation, chile con queso (chile with cheese), sometimes simply called queso, adds chile peppers to the melted cheese.

If you order simply “queso,” you may get a bowl of queso fresco, just plain melted cheese (photo #2). Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

> The recipe is below.

> So is the history of queso dip.

> The history of cheese.

> The different types of cheese: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 30 cheese holidays. (March 23 is National Chip & Dip Day.)

> There are links to 85 additional Hispanic recipes below, for Cinco de Mayo or any occasion.
 
 
HOW TO SERVE QUESO DIP

Whichever version of queso you choose, it’s typically served hot with tortilla chips or warm corn tortillas. You can also:

 
> Recipe: Short Rib Chilaquiles With Queso Fundido & Pickled Red Onion

> Recipe: Green Chile Queso Fundido
 
 
THE HISTORY OF QUESO DIP

The dish is said to have originated sometime in the 19th century (if not before), around the borders of northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S., as a campfire dish [source]. The first known recipe dates to 1896 [source].

The recipe was published in a California-based magazine, The Land of Sunshine. At the time, European-style fondue was rising in popularity in the U.S., which possibly could account for the idea behind the Mexican cheese dip.

Menus from the decades that followed the publication show that chile con queso was served at restaurants in San Antonio, and then expanded beyond. Recipes for queso dips in cookbooks and community publications became more commonplace.

Texas had been a part of Mexico from 1821 to 1836, and became America’s 28th state in 1845. Mexican heritage and cuisine were an important part of Texas culture.

As a result, there is speculation that the queso we know today was developed to make Mexican food more Anglo-American dishes, and thus acceptable to consumers who didn’t want “foreign food” [source].

In modern times, you can find queso dips ready-made in a jar for heating and dipping (or pouring). Cacique, Old El Paso, Pace, Tostitos, and Whole Foods 365 are some brands to look for (photo #8).
 
 
WHAT CHEESES TO USE IN A QUESO DIP

Chef Alberto Gonzalez of Grizzelda’s in Austin, Texas, makes his queso fundido combines stretchy Oaxaca cheese, Manchego and Chihuahua cheeses. Melting the ingredients in a skillet on the stove, he adds grilled poblano and red bell peppers, combined with milk and heavy cream to achieve a melty cheesiness. Here’s his recipe.

But as with cheese fondue, you can customize your recipe as you wish. Mexican Oaxaca cheese and Chihuahua cheese are popular.

Check out these Hispanic melting cheeses, but melt your favorites. You can end up with a multinational combination:

 
Many queso recipes in the U.S. use American cheese (the Kraft type), even Velveeta. It’s edible, but not our kind of edible.

Melt on the stovetop or in the oven. While melting cheese in the microwave may seem to be the easiest option, you won’t be happy with it. The cheese comes out of the microwave hot and melty, but in two minutes the texture becomes rubbery (not enjoyable!).
 
 
RECIPE: QUESO FUNDIDO

Prep time is 20 minutes. Thanks to Roth Cheese for the recipe. They used their delicious Roth Original Havarti cheese, but you can use any of the cheeses mentioned above.
 
Ingredients For 2-1/2 Cups

 
Preparation

1. MELT the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour until light brown. Gradually whisk in the milk, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin.

2. BRING to a boil. Cook and whisk for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce the heat to low. Gradually whisk in havarti until melted.

3. REMOVE from the heat. Stir in the pico de gallo. Serve with tortilla chips.
 
 
85 MORE CINCO DE MAYO RECIPES
 
 
DRINKS

 
 
LUNCH

 
 
APPETIZERS – FIRST COURSES

 
 
MAINS & SIDES

 
 
DESSERT

 
 
ALSO CHECK OUT:

[1] Queso dip with salsa (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

[2] A classic queso dip kept warm with a tea candle (photo © Valeria Boltneva | Pexels).

[3] Hatch chile queso fundido. Here’s the recipe (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

[4] Queso dip with red and green salsas, guacamole, and refried beans (photo © Frankie Lopez | Unsplash).

[5] Queso dip garnished with salsa, served with pickled carrots, cauliflower, and (photo © El Original | New York City [permanently closed]).

[6] Queso flameado, flaming queso dip (photos #6 and #7 © Grizzelda’s | Austin).

[7] A simple queso garnished with cilantro and jalapeño.

[8] Whole Foods private label queso is organic (photo © Whole Foods Market).

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[1] Churros can be eaten plain, like that popular American fried food, a cinnamon-sugar donut. For a sit-down, a chocolate sauce is nice (here, it’s actually chocolate-peanut butter sauce (photo © Furkan F. Demir | Pexels).

[2] Churros can be baked rather than fried. Here’s a recipe (photo © The Baker Chick).

[3] We like our churros with both chocolate and caramel sauces (photo © Gustavo Peres | Pexels).

[4] Make a banana split with churros substituting for the bananas. Or, use both (photo © Sabel Blanco | Pexels).

A churro is a crunchy, fried-dough pastry snack, typically made from choux pastry (pâte à choux) and dusted with cinnamon and sugar. It’s one of Mexico’s most popular desserts, which also include:

 
But today it’s about churros. Churros evolved from a Chinese cruller! Here’s the history of churros.

In the U.S., churros are most often found on the dessert menus at Mexican restaurants, served with chocolate dipping sauce.

Even if you’re not celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a Mexican dinner, consider a plate of delightful churros for dessert.

The traditional cinnamon flavor has been ported to other sweets, such as churro cake, churro crêpes, churro cheesecake, and churro ice cream—the latter with bits of fried churro.

We like them as chocolate fondue dippers. Pastry chefs have fun turning the simple dessert into complex ones.

And other products are getting into the act, for example, Krusteaz Cinnamon Waffle Churros Mix.
 
 
CHURROS RECIPES

Some pastry chefs and home cooks pipe the churros into flat cookie shapes for ice cream sandwiches. Some pipe them into heart or pretzel shapes. You can have fun with piping, or take a gander at these churro recipes from THE NIBBLE:

 
 
CUSTOM CHURROS VARIATIONS
You can also create a custom churro recipe with:

 
A peek from Flavor & The Menu shows:

 
And, you can dip the ends in royal icing and then roll them in chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc. (see photo #5, below).
 
 
MORE CINCO DE MAYO RECIPES

Drinks, breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and dessert.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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May 2nd is National Egg Day, and May is National Egg Month. America loves its eggs baked, boiled, deviled, fried, scrambled, and numerous other preparations from frittatas and omelets to custard and quiche. How about Chinese tea leaf eggs, also known as marbled eggs?

Chinese Tea Leaf Eggs are a popular Chinese street food which is also known as marbled eggs. Eggs are braised with Chinese teas and spices that have a unique and strong tea flavor. The black tea and soy sauce create a marble pattern when the shells are cracked.

The marbled patterns are alluring, as is the aroma from the tea and spices.
 
 
HOW TO SERVE TEA LEAF EGGS

Enjoy them chilled, room temperature, or warm. Serve them whole, like a hard-boiled egg snack; sliced in quarters to garnish a salad; as an appetizer with chilled seafood; and wherever your culinary creativity leads you.

Tea leaf eggs are a traditional lucky food to make for the Lunar New Year, but add pizzazz to meals or snacks the whole year through.

You can use different teas—plain black, Earl Grey, jasmine, pu-erh, etc.—and different spices.

By the way, these are not Thousand-Year-Old Eggs, cured eggs that are also called Century Eggs, Hundred Year Eggs, Preserved Eggs, and other names. Here’s the scoop about those.

> The different types of eggs.
 
 
RECIPE: CHINESE TEA LEAF EGGS

When the eggs sit in the broth, the tea and spices are infused into the egg white and yolk. Yummy!

Medium eggs are recommended. “If the eggs are too small, they’ll get too rubbery after cooking for a long time,” says Gan Chee How, a supervisor at Tea Chapter, a tea store in Singapore famous for its tea eggs. “Eggs that are too big won’t be able to properly absorb the flavour, so medium-sized eggs are just right” [source].

As a condiment, dip the eggs in soy sauce, which is traditional in China. Or create a fusion dish with Western condiments: hot sauce, mayonnaise, or Chinese or Dijon mustard.

We’ve enjoyed them with Thousand Island dressing and other creamy salad dressings.

As for beverages: beer, red wine, sparkling wine, and of course, tea or iced tea.

Thanks to Kikkoman for the recipe.

Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. HARD BOIL the eggs as desired. Submerge the cooked eggs in cold water so that they become cool enough to handle. While eggs cool…

2. WHISK together in a saucepan just large enough to fit the eggs the soy sauce, star anise (or anise seed), black tea leaves, sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, optional Chinese five-spice powder and/or orange zest, and cold water.

3. REMOVE the eggs from the water and pat dry with paper towels. Using the back of a spoon, lightly tap the eggs so that the shell cracks, but not so hard that the shell loosens from the egg. It’s okay if a few tiny pieces of shell break away—the marble tea stain will just be darker in that area. Once the eggshells are covered in cracks…

[1] Tea leaf eggs sport a beautiful marble pattern (photos #1 and #4 © Kikkoman).

[2] Here’s another tea eggs recipe from Rasa Malaysia (photo © Rasa Malaysia).

[3] Soaking in the flavored broth (photo by Dromafoobeno | Wikipedia).

[4] You can use regular or low-sodium soy sauce.

5. BRING the saucepan to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and let the eggs simmer for 2 hours (or longer, for a more potent taste), adding more water to the pot as needed to keep the eggs submerged.

6. SERVE: Remove the eggshells. Roll the egg between your palms to loosen the shell, then slip it off. Serve with additional soy sauce for dipping, or use as described above.

 
 
THE HISTORY OF THE CHINESE TEA EGG

The tea egg is a savory Chinese preparation commonly sold as a snack by street vendors, convenience stores, or in night markets in most Chinese communities throughout the world, as well as in Asian restaurants.

In Southeast Asia, they’re scooped up straight from vats of simmering broth.

Tea eggs originated in Zhejiang province* as a way to preserve foods. The earliest written record of tea eggs dates back to 1792, in The Way of Eating by Qing dynasty scholar Yuan Mei [source].

They are now found in all provinces of China. Similar recipes and variations have been developed throughout Asia.

________________
 
*Zhejiang, pronounced ZHUU zhaang, is an eastern, coastal province of the People’s Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Here’s more about it.

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[1] Waffles are given the churros treatment, redolent of cinnamon (photos © Krusteaz).

[2] For dessert add chocolate sauce with whipped cream or ice cream.td>

What’s for breakfast on Cinco de Mayo? Or for that matter, what’s for dessert? Cinnamon Churro Waffles!

Just add water, oil, and an egg to this tasty mix to take waffles beyond every day to a celebration day.

Krusteaz Cinnamon Churro Belgian Waffle Mix makes light, fluffy, crispy waffles with a cinnamon flavor and aroma—just like fried churros.

For dessert, add chocolate sauce and ice cream or whipped cream.

Find your nearest store.

You can buy an eight-pack on Amazon (fun gifts?).
 
 
CHURRO RECIPES

Some pastry chefs pipe the churros into flat cookie shapes for ice cream sandwiches. You can try that, or take a gander at these churro recipes:

 
 
 
 
MORE

> The different types of waffles.

> The history of waffles.

> February is National Pancake Month. There are National Pancake Days on February 28th and September 26th.

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Every season we look forward to the fleeting magic that Lady M imparts to their limited-edition Mille Crêpes Cakes. From today through the end of June, the special flavor is lavender.

Organic lavender flowers are infused in the milk used to make the pastry cream for the Lavender Mille Crêpes Cake, made from 20 alternating layers of paper-thin, handmade French crêpes and lavender pastry cream that surround a center filling of blackberry jelly.

The organic lavender flowers and delicate piping of lavender-blackberry cream are a delicate balance of floral and fruity, a true feast for both the eyes and the palate.

With its beautiful lavender color and delicious flavor profile, the Lavender Mille Crêpes Cake is perfect for Mother’s Day and other springtime celebrations, up through Father’s Day and graduation parties.

Serve it with sparkling wine or iced tea. Here’s a recipe for lavender iced tea.
 
 
GET YOUR LAVENDER MILLE CRÊPES CAKE

If you order the cake online, it is shipped frozen and can remain frozen for up to two months (once a cake is defrosted, it should not be re-frozen).

Fresh cakes from Lady M boutiques can last for two days.
 
If you can’t use a whole cake, look for a Lady M boutique near you and treat yourself to a slice or two.

Through May 14th only, in select boutiques and online, there’s Rose Mille Crêpes Cake, with delicate, rose-kissed pastry cream and topped with a glossy sweet rose jelly and edible rose petals (photo #4).
 
 
LADY M MILLE CRÊPES CAKE YEAR-ROUND FLAVORS

While there are seasonal flavors, the current roster of 9-inch Mille Crêpes Cakes includes:

 
There are seasonal flavors: Chestnut for the holidays, Champagne for the new year, Passion Fruit for the summer, and so on. Keep checking and you may find Purple Yam, Red Bean, and Salted Caramel.

You can even order a three-tier wedding cake, each layer made of “mille” crêpes.
 
 
> The history of cake and the different types of cakes.
 
 
ABOUT LADY M

Lady M is a New York City luxury confections brand with boutique locations worldwide. Created in 2001 and led by CEO Ken Romaniszyn, Lady M is the creator of the world famous Mille Crêpes.

Lady M marries French pastry techniques with Japanese sensibilities, resulting in delicate cakes that are a touch sweet and perfect for every occasion.

All cakes are handmade and prepared fresh without food additives or preservatives. Lady M’s recipes have been refined over the years to provide the finest quality in taste and appearance. Indulge in a world of cakes and confections at LadyM.com.

Lavender Mille Crepes Cake[/caption]
[1] Lady M’s Lavender Mille Crêpes Cake, a limited edition for May and June (photos © Lady M).

[2] The cake has a layer of blackberry jelly in the center.

[3] The view from above.

[4] A close-up of the Rose Mille Crêpes Cake.

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