Today is National Cheese Fondue Day and I would be remiss if I let it slip right by without celebrating is some way! The Mr is a little “over” European-style fondue recipes at the moment, so I had to be creative. The more I pondered it, the clearer it became. (Chile con) Queso is the quintessential Tex-Mex/Southwestern version of fondue.

One of the most fun gifts I received for my birthday was the Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s cookbook Come and Get It! The Mr doesn’t particularly like her show as much as I do, but he knew I was excited to get the book (and maybe one day visit the Merc & Lodge and stay at The Boarding House). She has the whole Southwestern Tex-Mex thing down and that comes with a great queso recipe.

This recipe calls for the classic Velveeta, but drives it up several notches with roasted Anaheim chiles, bacon and fresh chorizo, and garlic. We don’t have gas burners on our stove (maybe one day for that too…), so the Mr threw them on the grill when he got home from work! They were super easy to clean and dice once sweated. I did wear disposable gloves however as I have learned the hard way… I once had to throw out a pair of perfectly good contact lenses after working with Anaheims making Chile Rellenos Casserole.

The exact recipe isn’t online, but a very close one can be found here. The verdict? This queso was reminiscent of the age-old Velveeta favorite, but carried with it a different intensity in flavor than any queso you’ve ever had in your life! The deep and sincere spices from the chorizo, the fattiness from the bacon, and the freshness from the chiles & onions make this one serious queso. One of my favorite things she does (that another favorite – Rachael Ray – also does) is she lists alterations/substitutions after the recipes to give her reader infinite possibilities for later makings.

What are some of your favorite queso mix-ins?