I just saw a commercial for a Super Bowl commercial. We already know the Super Bowl is really about the commercials. Why would you pay more money to advertise your already over-priced advertisement? Regardless, we will gather this Sunday to watch commercials. And of course, eat good food.

What you see up there is finger food at its finest. Layers of blue corn tortilla chips are seasoned and topped with monterey jack and goat cheeses. Goat cheese nachos. Yup. Super food for a Super Bowl.

My inspiration for these nachos came from a little place in Charlottesville, Va, Continental Divide. Jon and I used to eat there often. We’d have a couple of margaritas and always share a plate of their nachos, “Red Hot Blues” served with a few sauces. My favorite is called Wait-A-Minute sauce. Initially you taste sweet mango but, wait a minute, and you’re hit with just a little heat. I’ve attempted to recreate that in a roasted pablano mango salsa. Pablanos are a mild pepper so I kept all the seeds in. The heat is subtle, but it’s there.

The second salsa you see is adapted from a recipe Jon tore out of his “Men’s Journal” magazine, so I knew he meant business. It’s made with chipotles in adobo sauce and it’s HOT. We enjoyed these nachos with both salsas on the side. I kept alternating my dipping and couldn’t pick a favorite. The mango seemed to cool my mouth after the heat of the chipotle. But I kept going back for more heat. Decide for yourself this weekend. Grab some friends. Have some beer. Make these nachos…and enjoy those commercials.

Notcho Normal Nachos (Inspired by Continental Divide)

1 bag blue corn tortilla chips
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5-8oz goat cheese
5-8 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
2 scallions, chopped
Olive oil for spraying

Directions:

1. Combine all spices in a small bowl.
2. Lay a first layer of chips down on an oven safe platter. Using a misto sprayer, spritz the chips with olive oil and season with the spice mixture.
3. Using your hands crumble the goat cheese over top and top with the monterey jack cheese. I used 5 ounces of each cheese, but feel free to adjust the cheese amount to your liking
4. Repeat 2-3 until you have the amount of nachos you want
5. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted. Top with chopped scallions.

Roasted Pablano and Mango Salsa

2.5 cups chopped mango (If using frozen, defrost)
1 pablano pepper
1 garlic clove

Directions:

1. On a grill or gas burner, place the pablano pepper. Using tongs rotate frequently to roast. The outer skin will char. This is good. When the pepper softens a little and the skin is black. Remove and let cool.
2. Roughly chop the pepper and add with the rest of the ingredients to a food processor.
3. Puree. Enjoy.

Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa (adapted from Men’s Journal)

2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 tablespooon olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from can of chipotles in adobo sauce)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Toss the tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapeno in the olive oil in a roasting pan. Cover with foil and roast for about 30 minutes.
2. In a food processor puree the roasted vegetables, cilantro and adobo sauce until smooth. Enjoy.

Notes:

1. I was going to attempt to make my own tortilla chips but a friend told me no one  normal does that. I’m still tempted but in order to make this a quick and easy recipe just get your favorite chips.
2. I wanted to throw some onion powder in the mix to season the chips but I didn’t have any. If you have some, go for it.
3. Not all chipotles in adobo sauce are gluten free. Be sure to check the ingredients if you’re concerned with this.
4. I did not salt my chips because they were already salted. If you get no-salt tortilla chips you may want to add a pinch of kosher salt.
5. I just got my misto sprayer from Costco in a two pack. LOVE it. I have extra virgin olive oil in one and coconut vinegar in the other. Great for topping salads, coating pans, or making nachos.

Here are few more great Super Bowl foods for feasting (click picture for recipe):

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