In a previous article about historic Pittsburgh cookbooks, I mention The Super Steeler Cookbook, a book from 1982 commemorating 50 years of Steelers history. It’s chock full of recipes from Steelers players, their wives and mothers, and people closely associated with the team.
In honor of the impending football season, I chose to recreate a simple appetizer you can share with friends during the season opener: Nachos à la former Steelers QB, Mark Malone.
The only thing I remember about Malone was that I could never tell him apart from Magnum, P.I. when I was a kid. He was drafted by the Steelers in 1980; the 28th pick overall. He played quarterback for the team (beginning as a backup behind Terry Bradshaw, and having some rough years throughout) until 1987.
Mark Malone wasn’t one of Pittsburgh’s most loved quarterbacks, and he never studied as a professional chef, but let’s see if his nachos bring home a win.
As noted in the cookbook, this recipe is simple to make and takes about 20 to 25 minutes from start to finish. You’ll need a large sheet pan and a cheese grater (if you can’t find pre-grated Monterey Jack like me) or a food processor.
And you’ll need the following ingredients:
● 1 lb. mild cheddar cheese
● 1 lb. Monterey jack cheese
● 9 oz. tortilla chips
● 1 4 oz. can green chiles
The original recipe reads as follows:
At first glance, the ingredients look pretty plain, and together, may provide a good option for picky eaters, vegetarians, or kids. As with all the Yinzer Yums of Yesteryear dishes, I followed the recipe as closely as possible, but sometimes opted to work smarter not harder (as in not grating an entire pound of cheese by hand).
First, I laid out all my ingredients and preheated my oven to 350°F. While my oven was preheating, I “grated” the Monterey Jack cheese in my food processor and opened the can of green chiles. After all my ingredients were prepared, I poured most of my bag of tortilla chips onto a sheet pan covered in aluminum foil. I then topped it with Monterey Jack, cheddar cheese, and green chiles.
I surmised it would take about nine to 10 minutes for the cheese to melt fully but this may vary depending on your oven. Nine minutes is a good start, though, and you can always add a few more minutes of baking time if necessary.
Not bad, but as I had guessed before tasting them, they’re pretty plain. As the original recipe states, they cannot be made ahead because they turn to junk in about 20 minutes.
There are a few things I would change about this recipe. First, I would add at least one more can of chiles to these bad boys. I would also layer the cheese, chiles, and nachos instead of dumping everything on top. And this recipe needs something …more. Here are some add-ons I would suggest to zhuzh it up:
● Sour cream to cut down some of the saltiness
● Salsa to add more flavor and veggies
● Guacamole, because who doesn’t love guacamole?
● BBQ chicken would be great with both cheeses and the chiles
● BBQ jackfruit would also add some meatiness while keeping this dish vegetarian
● BBQ pulled pork is always a great add-on
