Cheese Product

I wanted to make my mother's Chile con Queso dip for my Super Bowl party. Last year I tried to make a highbrow version involving roasted poblano peppers that didn't cut it. The dip sat in a bowl and got cold. It reminded me of a tuna caserole my aunt made that the dog wouldn't even go near. Having failed last year, I decided to go back to tried and true recipe, a block of Velveeta and a jar of salsa.

I went to Ralph's to pick up the ingredients. To my surprise Velveeta is not housed in the cheese case at the grocery store. I went up and down the case several times thinking I might have overlooked it.

Here's the conversation that played in my head:

"OK, slow down, it has to be here."
"Tillamook cheddar, Munster, Kraft singles, ah ha Velveeta singles."
"Come on it has to be here. Where the heck is it?"
"Are they out of it?"
"Am I gonna have to go to another store?"
"How can they be out of Velveeta? Well, it is the Super Bowl."

Another pass confirmed that the store was either out of Velveeta or I was looking in the wrong place.

Cheese in a Can flashed into my head.

"Maybe they keep it next to the Cheese in a Can. I know where they keep that."

I kept my fingers crossed as I approached the aisle and sure enough next to the Cheese in a Can and Mac & Cheese kits, there sat the Velveeta. Relief. There will be Queso.

The dip was a big hit.

Here's the recipe:

1 Block of Velveeta
1 Cup of Salsa

Cube the Velveeta
Melt in a pot over low heat
Add salsa and incorporate

Velveeta facts via Wikipedia

. . . first made in 1918 by Swiss immigrant Emil Frey of the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. In 1923, The Velveeta Cheese Company was incorporated as a separate company, and was sold to Kraft Foods in 1927.

Velveeta is now sold as a "cheese product," using a term for items that contain less than 51% cheese.[2]

Velveeta does need to be refrigerated after opening.

Trout fishermen have reported success using Velveeta as bait.