Today's Fromage Savage: Queso de Wilson

Purchased from: Consumed in the kitchen of my dear pals in Austin, the Wilsons

Type: Melted

Teat: This would imply it's made of actual cheese

Trappings: Salsa, chips, carne asada, tequila

Taste: Like if you don't stay outta my way when I wanna eat it, you're gonna be sorry



I fell in love with Austin on my first visit some 6 or so years ago. Any city that plies me with that much good tequila and great BBQ was gonna end up on the short list of my favorite spots. I've had the good fortune to make it back there more and more often over the past few years, and the even better fortune to make some great friends who get to live there and eat that food all the time. How they all remain so remarkably fit is beyond me...unless it's the magic that is undeniably in the queso. And I've yet to have queso more magical than that my friend Mike concocted in his own kitchen.

Since unless you've spent time in the South it's entirely possible you don't actually know what this stuff is, a few details: it's a Tex-Mex phenomenon, it's served all the heck over Texas, and it's generally a combination of chili peppers of some sort, cream of some sort, and cheese of some sort, although what I actually mean by cheese is Velveeta. Before you make the barfy face, you need to know that if this is the reason Velveeta was created, then god bless Mr. and Mrs. Velveeta, because queso is fricking delicious. And this particular queso was so delicious that what I didn't actually get a photo of was a group of seven of us huddled over the counter on which this bowl was resting, elbowing one another out of the way to scoop the melty/salty/spicy yum into our faces. At one point we'd all dripped some down the front of our shirts...and actually licked off our own shirt fronts, partly because we didn't want to waste any and partly because no one wanted to lose their spot around the bowl.

In the case of queso, using a "regular" cheese doesn't really work. Actually, what it gets you instead is sort of a queso fundido, which is much thicker and more pizza-cheese-like in consistency. Not like I'd ever turn down a bowl of that either, but smooth chili con queso is so easy to eat and so tasty, it's actually my preferred method of arterial clogging.

I haven't tried to make my own queso here in San Francisco. I'm worried it just won't be the same. I think it's possible you need to have that x-factor Austin sparkly happy air crackle goin' on to really make it taste right. Which might be better in the long run, if I'm ever going to fit into my jeans again.

That's Hot

Like Lady Gaga emerging from her Grammys Crazy Egg, I am poised to make my reappearance here. I know that once you've let your blog devolve into Internet detritus, it's tough to make a return. I also know that I'm not eating nearly enough good cheese, and this is as good a reason as any to start snarfing up the good stuff again.

It's not that I haven't eaten ANY cheese, though. I've had probably more than my fair share of some good stuff. So, in lieu of having an actual Fromage Savage post, here's some cheese porn to tide you over. Totally SFW, unless you're stranger than I think you are.


The cheese tasting at Kendall Jackson winery in Sonoma. Oenophiles, stop holding your noses: paired with these delish cheeses, KJ fronted some pretty great vino. Also, my sister is a chef there, so be nice.



Andante Dairy cheeses, the only place I've ever seen them available in a retail setting: at The Cheese Store in Silver Lake. Cheesemaker Soyoung Scanlan is basically my hero; her cheeses are among my all-time faves. If you ever see them available and you don't eat them immediately, you are a crazy person.



Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk: storage in the fridge all but requires putting it into a sealed Tupperware that goes inside a sealed Ziplock that should probably then be placed inside a lead-lined safe of some sort, unless you want everything else in the box to smell like this cheese, but oh my word, is it tasty.



Cheese and pate plate shared at Hotel Biron in San Francisco. Its deliciousness helped me ignore the person in the background who was wearing white shoes after Labor Day, and that is no mean feat. The bottle of Serra Barbera D'Alba helped, too.



My idea of a little afternoon snack: at the bottom is a grass-fed blue--essentially a roquefort. I am a big fan of stinky and salty blue cheeses, and this fit the bill. In the middle is a Sevre et Belle goat cheese, and up top is the super-crazy-delicious Ticklemore goat, aka best name ever. I am coming to realize that in general, goat cheeses are my favorite--I like the fresh ones that you've had if you've ever had a beet salad in a restaurant, but I am growing quite partial to those that are a little more aged, so they've got that slight funk/twang to them, but are still creamy without being sticky like a triple cream.



Toward the end of last year, I had a grin-inducing experience: a friend called to ask me for suggestions on cheeses to bring to a family dinner. I figured that means I've now firmly established myself as...well, as a person who eats a lot of cheese, I guess. The mantle has been bestowed, and dammit, who am I to demur?