Free Queso, a Must-See Movie and Salsa Verde

First off, Moe’s Southwest Grill is celebrating their 10 year anniversary in the restaurant biz and has free queso all day today, July 21 (2010). Go for me! Please. Run there for this delectable cheese dip and think of me. Minnesota doesn’t have a single Moes (why?!?!)…if it did, I would drive there, even if it took hours. I know I’ve said it before but Moes catered our reception, after we fell in love with the place in college, and my mouth is salivating just thinking about this FREE queso. (Grab some salsa verde at the salsa bar too-it’s the green one, hence verde. Yum!)

When I go home to visit my nephew, (who is still not here…sis, you need to jump up and down or do whatever it takes to go into labor) I’m eating there. (Disregard that I just had the word labor and eat in the same vicinity sentence-wise.) It’s only 10 minutes from my parent’s house and my lucky sis, Al, works by it. Jealous much? Yes.

To commemorate this wondrous occasion, I’m posting a “throwback recipe” from almost a year ago-salsa verde, inspired by Moes. I told myself I wouldn’t do that but it’s that good. But first, a little song, a little dance (no seltzer in your pants) about a magnificent movie.

These days, I rarely anticipate the arrival of a movie, one that I actually want to pay to see in a theater. Very few movies catch my attention and even if it does, I reconsider paying the outrageous price to see said movie and it doesn’t happen. Instead, we rent it “or something” and watch it in the privacy of our own home where we can be naked if we really want or cozy on the couch with some beer or wine and a snack. Stop imagining what I look like without clothes on. Focus, there’s a recipe coming and that would gross you out to the point of never trying this delicious concoction. What a loss!

But have you seen the trailer for Inception? I couldn’t pass this one by. Just in case it wasn’t worthy of the full price, we saw it as a matinee (saving $6). Had I known how amazingly awesome this movie is, I would’ve saved up and paid beaucoup bucks, whatever it took (well even then to a point because I’m a rational person) for the most enjoyable 2 ½ hours in a theater in my life. Loved it! That’s a bit dramatic; I’m just saying it’s great. To see the trailer, check out this link to youtube. I’m not sure that I can use this trailer otherwise, it would be right here-> in the post.

Greg has a fascination with the trilogy the Matrix and was intrigued by those components of the film and I was captivated by the dream portion (along with the cinematography and the fact that when the commercial came on, my eyes/mind couldn’t be torn from the screen). This movie cannot be contained in one category-drama/action/romance/etc. We both recommend it and from the response of my pals on my social accounts, they loved it too.

This movie is as awesome as this recipe tastes. If you want to blow your mind, wait for the movie to come out on dvd (covering your ears to any idiot that tries to tell you about it) and make this on the same day. Mind blown. You’re welcome.

Now for salsa verde. (Yes, I posted this before…did you not read what I said above? Kidding, you’re good.) I’m going to be crazy enough and state that I love this tomatillo salsa more than its red tomato salsa friend, which I also happen to love. For no fee whatsoever, I’ll throw in my recipe for tortilla chips (at that link back there).

Salsa Verde
Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:
32 oz. canned tomatillos or 2 lbs. fresh tomatillos (see below for cooking directions)
½ small white onion
¾ cup cilantro (or to your taste)
1 tbsp lime juice
¼ tsp sugar
1 ½ peppers- fresh jalapeno or serrano (or a mix of the two-keep some of the seeds if you wish it to be hotter)
½ tsp -1 tsp salt (to your taste)

*If using fresh tomatillos: roast on 350 until spotty and blend them with the other ingredients (from reader John R)

Chop onion and pepper into chunks that the food processor can better handle. Place all ingredients in the food processor or blender and pulse to your desired consistency. If you have a smaller food processor like me, you might want to do this in a few batches. This next step is the hardest part as it involves waiting: place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap, then place in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend for at least half an hour. Just add your favorite tortilla chips-see above for my recipe link.