Chupaqueso.com

I got the following email this morning:

Hi Howard,

I just wanted to write to you to say thank you for the chupaqueso recipe and tell you that it worked amazingly well!!

It’s my sister’s birthday today, so I decided to treat her and cook her a chupaqueso for lunch (that and I was desperate to try it out). I used cheddar cheese for the shell and mozzerella with bacon and tomato sauce for the inside. Before I started, I honestly didn’t think it would work! I was really surprised that the cheese DID turn into a crunchy shell. Not that I doubted you and your recipe, but still, I had reservations. Especially as I’m not a great lover of melted cheese myself.

Anyway, as I said, it went spot on, and was cooked to perfection. Not a burnt strand of cheese in sight! My sister enjoyed it so much, I used the leftover cheese to make her another of the same.

Of course, this might just lead into a curious obsession, as I experiment and try to make different varieties. Naturally, my family will be the guinea pigs (but I don’t think they’ll be too unhappy about that).

So, thanks again, Howard, my sister loved her birthday present. If you want to have a look, I have attached a small picture of the first one. It’s not amazingly good, as I only had the camera on my phone available at the time.

Looking forward to the next Schlock book!

Best wishes,
J.

I’m always pleased when chupaquesos make people happy. I’m doubly-pleased in this case, because the happiness was shared.

Here’s an older piece of chupaqueso fan-mail. I really need to clean my Inbox more often…

I’ve just tried my first chupaqueso, and I must say, my arteries curse you Howard! I think I’m going to develop an addiction, I want another!

My first attempt was a basic cheddar shell with a mozzarella and crispy bacon filling (a con tocino?). Unfortunately my pan is not ideal and I ended up with a burnt beef taste on the underside, so I’m going to have to buy a new pan just for making these.

Now I’ve read the site and noticed you’ve added chocolate as a filling - I’m gonna have to try that at some point too. Have you considered adding spices to the mix, either as the filling or possibly as part of the shell?

I think I’m gonna go make another.

Paul

I hope the new pan works out for you, Paul. Thanks for the note!

–Howard

I just got this email from a reader:

Hello Mr. Tayler,
I just wanted to share with you the results of a recent culinary experiment.
Starting out like a chupaqueso, but with a 12 inch cast iron skillet with mozzarella out to the edge. Toast it and flip it over as usual then after re-flipping, transfer to a round foil pie pan. Add tomato sauce and your favorite pizza toppings (including cheeeeeeese of course) then pop into the toaster oven for 10 minutes or so. Presto! Low-carb pizza! It came out quite well and of course was quesoliscious, or is that chupaliscious? Hope you find this usefull. Keep on Schlockin’.
Sincerely,
Jay Scott Raymond, Schlock fan

Thanks for the tip, Jay! This sounds tasty, if a bit tricky. Still, if anybody out there has the chops to flip a conventional chupaqueso, making a pizza on top of the flat “cheese-crisp” part should be no trouble at all.