How To Store And Reheat Queso Dip
Im currently living alone, so theres no reason I should eat a whole recipe of queso dip by myself in one sitting. Lucky for me, this recipe will last for a few days just fine stored in the refrigerator after it has cooled down. To reheat queso dip, put it in a microwave safe container and microwave for 30-second increments, stirring after each, until smooth and heated through.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Cabot Cheese.
How To Make Spicy Pepper Jack Mac And Cheese
- Cook the Pasta: Boil the Cavatappi until al-dente, rinse with cold water in a colander and set aside.
- Make the Cheese Sauce: Start by preparing your roux. First, melt the butter in a small saucepan, then whisk in flour. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes, until toasted. Add the milk, and whisk constantly to combine while simmering for 3-4 minutes, or until thick. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese until melted and smooth.
- Add Mix-Ins: Stir in tomatoes, jalapeno, Tabasco, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper.
- Assemble and Serve: Pour cheese sauce over the cooked noodles and toss to combine. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley for garnish.
What Should I Drink Pepper Jack Cheese With
Pepper Jack Cheese goes best with slightly sweet white wines like Chardonnay, Riesling, or dessert wines. These complement the spicy and creamy natures of the cheeses. Its also great with a light beer. Youre looking for a beer that isnt too hoppy or powerful in flavor, as this can bring out the bitterness of the spice. Instead, go for a light lager.
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Pepper Jack Mac And Cheese Ingredients
-Elbow Macaroni: Were going to need 16oz of cooked noodles, but you can use any fun shape you want. Elbows are just a suggestion.
-Half and Half: A lighter and less fatty liquid option than heavy cream which is good because well need 2 cups worth!
-Whole Milk: We only need a cup of milk but feel free to use 2% or a non-cow/s milk alternative if you have it on hand.
-Butter: 4 tablespoons of butter will be the start of our roux and allow us to get a flavorful start. You can use salted or unsalted butter, or even margarine if you prefer!
-Flour: Adding 2 tablespoons of flour to the sauce is great because its the thickener that gives us a nice thick and creamy cheese sauce that we love to eat. Yum!
-Cheeses: I wasnt kidding when I said this dish was packed with cheese. We need 3 triangles of Laughing cow pepper jack cheese, 1 1/2 cups of grated pepper jack cheese and another 1 1/2 cups of grated cheddar cheese!
-Seasonings: Keeping the seasonings simple and common, we only need 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and paprika and another teaspoon of black pepper to really flavor this dish.
How Should I Eat Pepper Jack Cheese
Pepper Jack Cheese melts very well. This makes it great for quesadillas, hot sandwiches, and nachos. Try adding it to Mexican food as these flavors pair well together.
The moist texture also makes it suitable for grating over dishes. It goes especially well with barbecued meats such as beef, and it can be used on burgers, steaks, and various broiled dishes. You could also serve cubes or slices as part of a cheese platter. Try it with melons, grapes, pickled vegetables, and olives for contrast and great texture. Slice it into sandwiches with bologna for a picnic.
Try it in mac and cheese with fresh slices of jalapeño to create a spicy side dish or comforting meal. Stuff it into a chicken breast and wrap it with bacon for a flavor explosion. You can even put a cube into the middle of a homemade burger so that you get oozing melted cheese when you bite into it.
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Storage And Reheating Instructions
Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze this Spicy Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container or plastic bag, or you can freeze it as a casserole for easy reheating later.
Reheat in the microwave until warmed through and bubbling, or pop the casserole in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes until warmed through and bubbling around the edges.
Cut The Curd And Stir It
Once the curd is good enough, start separating the solids and the liquids. Cut it vertically in a checkerboard pattern for the cheese then allow it to rest for three to five minutes until the whey starts rising and floods the surface. This ensures the fresh cut surfaces become firm enough making them more resistant to breakage when you start making the horizontal cuts into the curd.
Using either a spoon or ladle start making the horizontal cuts. Make sure the final curds are about a half an inch in the end. Allow them to settle for about three to five inches so that theyre firm enough then start stirring gently from bottom to the top so that the curds remain moving and stay separated.
Keep in mind that at this moment they are fragile. As they keep moving in the warm whey, set the temperature back to 88F in case theres a temperature drop and keep stirring for another ten minutes.
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Pepper Jack Cheese Recipe
It goes without saying that in the process of preparing Pepper Jack cheese, you might end up overdoing the spicy factor depending on the peppers that you have. To avoid this, its advisable to start low. This is because it would be terrible to prepare cheese, wait for a couple of months for it to age only to realize that it turned out too spicy for eating.
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What Is Pepper Jack Cheese
Pepper Jack Cheese is a cows milk cheese which blends the creamy, buttery flavor of Monterey Jack cheese with the intensity of spicy peppers. Jalapeños, serrano peppers and habañero peppers are all used to create the heat. As the cheese ages, the peppery flavor intensifies. Some older pepper jacks can taste quite zesty, but generally, the cheese is only aged for a few months. It will take on a creamy color and semi-firm textures.
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How To Make Queso From Scratch
It all starts by cooking the onions and garlic with the spices. Then we add in our evaporated milk, which is used to yield a creamier, more luscious dip.
One key thing to remember is that its preferable to shred the cheese yourself, as pre-shredded cheese often has another ingredient added that can impact the consistency of the final product. So after shredding our cheese, we toss it with cornstarch, which both makes it easier to add into the saucepan in increments and helps keep the sauce from separating. Once all the cheese has melted and its simmered for a few minutes to activate the cornstarch, youre ready to go!
This Pepper Jack Cheese Ball Is Stuffed With Charred Scallions Pepper Jack Cheese Cheddar Cheese Cream Cheese Jalapenos And Coated In Crunchy Pepper Jack Moon Cheese
This Pepper Jack Cheese Ball recipe is sponsored by our friends at Moon Cheese, thank you for supporting the brands that make CIK recipes EPIC.
We are loving this easy cheese ball! Have you ever had a pepper jack cheese ball? We hadnt until we came up with this one and wow, its so good! We love the spice from the peppers in the pepper jack cheese as well as the added jalapeño in the mixture. Weve also added in some charred scallion that adds a nice smokiness to the cheese ball.
The best part though? The best part is the crunchy Get Pepper Jacked Moon Cheese that we rolled the cheese ball in! BEST IDEA EVER. Also, how fun is that name? GENIUS.
We obviously are huge fans of Moon Cheese for an easy snack but weve been enjoying coming up with recipes incorporating this tasty snack too. See the bottom of this post for some more Moon Cheese recipe goodness!
This is definitely a cheese lovers cheese ball since it has 3 different kinds of cheese! Want to make this strict pepper jack and leave out the cheddar? Thats super delicious so feel free to do that. We kind of like the extra sharp cheddar here though.
Wondering what to serve with a cheese ball that would be Keto-friendly? We love seed crackers as well as sliced cucumbers! You could also serve it with pork rinds.
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What Are The Best Noodles To Make Mac And Cheese With
I always prefer using Elbow Macaroni noodles for mac and cheese. They are the closest noodle to the classic mac and cheese you are probably familiar with. However, you can always switch it up and try something different if youd like. Other good alternatives would be bow-tie, rotini, campanelle or shells.
Form The Curd Salt And Add The Pepper
Transfer the dry curd to the colander so that it drains for a few minutes as you stir. After draining, add salt while the curds are in the colander in two to three doses and then stir properly until its well absorbed by the curd. Add the pepper directly if youre making one single cheese, stir and transfer to the molds that are cloth lined. If youre making two cheeses, separate into the molds first then add the pepper into the cheese.
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Spicy Pepper Jack Mac And Cheese
This Spicy Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese recipe is a fun twist on the original, but still made in less than 15 minutes! With standard macaroni and cheese ingredients and the addition of tomatoes, jalapeno and pepper jack cheese for a kick! This is sure to be a crowd favorite!
Love cheesy pasta? Then youve got to try my Lasagna Roll-Ups and my Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells!
What Is Pepper Jack Mac And Cheese
Its a fun and creative twist to the classic mac and cheese dish. Packed with cheesy flavor and a subtle spice it makes a perfect main dish or a side dish to serve with some sweet and tangy barbecue. Dont worry, it isnt too spicy but it does have just the right amount of flavor. With only a handful of common ingredients, you will be able to whip this up quickly and it is sure to become a family favorite.
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Heat Milk & Add Cultures
We began with 5 gallons of local milk . We then heated the milk to 88¡F and added 3/8 tsp of culture MA011 but one of the culture packs C101 will work just as well. It was then allowed to ripen for 60 minutes.
To heat our milk, we made a water bath in the sink by filling our sink with hot water and submerging the pot with milk. This heating method helps maintain a steady temperature without having to adjust the heat on a stove top.
What Kind Of Cheese Do You Use For Mac And Cheese
Your classic macaroni and cheese recipe typically uses a mixture of medium cheddar or colby jack. Homemade mac and cheese can be very versatile. For this Pepper Jack Mac and Cheese recipe you will want to use a mix of Pepper Jack Cheese and Cheddar Cheese. You can either grate it yourself from a block of cheese or buy it pre-grated.
You will also use Laughing Cow Pepper Jack Cheese which is like a soft cream cheese. You can find it in the cheese section at any grocery store. If you dont have any and cant make it to the store you can always leave it out or substitute for 1\4 cups of regular cream cheese and just add a little extra milk and Pepper Jack Cheese.
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How To Make Pepper Jack Mac And Cheese
Preheat your oven or grill to 350F degrees.
Boil your noodles in a pot of water, cooking them for the lowest indicated time on the package. Set aside.
Melt your butter in a pan on medium heat. Add in the flour and then stir until the mixture bubbles.
Let the butter/flour mixture simmer for 5 minutes, stirring continually.
After 5 minutes, gradually add in your milk and half and half. Stir slowly until your mixture is combined.
Add in your salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix together.
Add all of the pepper jack and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese to the mixture and then stir until the cheeses are melted.
Combine the noodles with the sauce in a large mixing bowl. Stir until combined. Note- If you dont use all the melted cheese- save it top your mac and cheese with once its finished.
Pour your cheese and noodle mixture into a 9×13 pan and then top with the remaining 1\2 cup of cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melty. Place the pan under the broiler until the cheese browns. Serve immediately.
Start By Heating And Acidifying The Milk
Heat your milk to 88F which is about 31.5 Celsius by placing it in a pot or in a sink containing very warm water. If youre using a pot ensure you heat the milk very slowly and as it heats, stir it well.
Once the milk gets to 88F you can add the culture in. Start by sprinkling the powder over the milk surface then give it some time, about two minutes so that the powder gets rehydrated in order to prevent it from caking and so that it does not sink in clumps.
Maintain the warm temperature until youre instructed in the guidelines to increase it. The more you do this, the more consistent your cheese will be.
After youve stirred the culture properly, for an hour, hold the milk with the culture still until the culture starts to work. This rest is referred to as the milk ripening stage. It will initially be a slow process but the speed will increase as you go on when the lactose starts getting converted into lactic acid.
During this milk ripening phase, you have the chance to ensure the draining materials and molds are properly sanitized.
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Pepper Jack Queso Ingredients
While there are numerous iterations of ways to flavor queso dip, I chose to keep this one fairly simple in terms of the ingredient list. The pepper jack cheese has chiles in it, which makes it a sort of two-for-one ingredient. The other ingredients that you need to make this queso dip recipe are butter, diced onions, minced garlic, canned evaporated milk, cornstarch, and spices.
Pepper Jack Cheese Recipe Ingredients
2 gallons of milk
1 packet of mesophilic cheese culture I get mine here
1/2 tsp regular strength liquid rennet, dissolved in 1/2 cup of cool filtered water
1 Tbsp sea salt
1 3/4 tsp 2 3/4 tsp total of dried coarsely ground peppers of your choice. I picked the peppers I wanted to use, then put them into a coffee grinder to grind them up.
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How To Make Pepper Jack Cheese Sticks
- 1In a bowl, combine flour and cayenne pepper whisk to blend and set aside.
- 2Prep two shallow bowls one with beaten eggs and the other one with bread crumbs. Add Italian seasoning to the bread crumbs and stir.
- 3Working in batches of 6, place cheese sticks in the flour mixture, close bag and shake to coat. Taking one at a time, dip a cheese stick in eggs and then bread crumb mixture repeat once again. Place breaded stick on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or wax paper. When sticks are all coated, transfer them to the freezer for 30 minutes.
- 4In a frying pan, heat oil to 350-365ºF. Take sticks directly out of the freezer and fry them in batches making sure to not overcrowd the pan. Using a stainless steel strainer, gently move them around to fry evenly. When golden brown, transfer cheese sticks to a wire rack sitting over a baking sheet lined with paper towels let them sit for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 18 sticks
- 5To view this recipe on YouTube, click on this link > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_44zC89fxxQ
- Last Step: Don’t forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don’t forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
