Skipped political sites Friday evening in favor of NACHO NIGHT!

[El Mimbreno]

Leftover steak, pinto beans, roasted red jalapenos, colby-jack & cheddar cheese. Garnished with onion, pickled jalapenos, tomato, cilantro. With Mexican beer, of course!

[Galileo126]

1. ¡Eso parece celestial!

I think you had the right idea El Mimbreno!

That just looks heavenly. Nice job!

[irisblue]

2. you were smart.

[Retrograde]

3. I'm a sorta purist when it comes to nachos

I stick to the classic c. 1940s style: individual tortilla chips topped with a small slice of meltable cheese and a pickled jalapeno, popped under the broiler, to be eaten individually. (OK, occasionally I'll just grate a bunch of Monterey Jack over a pile of tortilla chips and sprinkle jalapenos over that)

IMHO, the current trend for putting everything in the kitchen on top of tortilla chips and calling it nachos is overkill., and more I think is less. It's getting close to chilaquiles - and ancient dish - or migas, but Ignacio Anaya would be turning over in his grave to see what passes for nachos these days.

[El Mimbreno]

6. Have made individual also

and still do occasionally as a snack or appetizer, but this is dinner. Maybe it does need a name of its own, but damn, it's good.

[Retrograde]

8. "Deconstructed Frito Pie"

That makes it sound more gourmet-y

[irisblue]

11. & it sounds very hipster-ish

[Hortensis]

4. That looks like mental health food to me. I love "appetizer" dinners.

Gotta do that again.

[El Mimbreno]

5. Appetizers can be great dinners.

We sometimes order 2 or 3 appetizers and call it dinner, especially if we're on the road and want something lighter. In fact, at a local place, the Buckhorn Saloon, we've found the bar menu appetizers to be better than what's available in the dining room.

We also do snack suppers; crackers, cheese, salami, pickled vegs, or maybe veg sticks with blue cheese ranch dip.

[Hortensis]

7. You're making me hungry all over again. Ruth's Tuna Dip will be an item among

two or three for dinner for us, but we'll been known to dine on just it with corn chips and veggie sticks.

Ruth was a long-ago coworker who'd bring a big bowl and chips to work a couple times a year. Everyone who had to head out into the field snatched time to "hide" portions in the fridge because it'd be gone long before they got back. So simple and fast -- good canned tuna, finely chopped onion and jalapenos, salt, a little lemon juice and just enough mayo to moisten but still "see through" the tuna.

[Major Nikon]

9. No Mexican crema?

[El Mimbreno]

10. Darn!

Forgot that cuz my wife doesn't care for it on nachos.

[Major Nikon]

12. Hard to get the good stuff around here, even in Texas

All the commercial products around here have stabilizers and thickening agents added instead of cultures.

I prefer to make my own, using culture packets:
https://www.cheesemaking.com/shop/creme-fraiche-ds-culture-5-pack.html