Super bowl parties should ALWAYS be marked by a grand platter, piled high, of good, basic nachos, and here are the tried-and-true of laws of making the best ones:
1. Never use pre-grated cheese. Pre-grated cheese has lots of fillers and anti-caking agents included, so I always grate my cheese myself. Make sure it's a fine grate so that you'll get nice, even melting.
2. Don't overcrowd the layering of the nachos. I am typically heating my nachos in the oven, so I always use a baking sheet where I can spread them all out evenly, building my layers.
3. Speaking of layers, I melt my layers one at a time - here's how: Put down your layer of chips, add meat topping, then a fine layer of cheese - into the oven they go, for a few minutes, until cheese is good and melted. Repeat with a couple more layers.
4. Always use nice, THICK, corn tortilla chips! Or, for an extra special treat, cut flour tortillas into triangles and deep fry until golden brown. These make a wonderful chip for nachos.
5. KISS should be applied with creating nacho platters: Keep It Simple, Silly. Good nachos need only include the basics: chips, beef/bean filling, cheese, salsa and (of course!) fresh pico de gallo! Keep the sour cream and guacamole for serving on the side.
Enjoy!!
Now You're Cookin',
Chef Alli