Blue Cheese Bacon & Chive Kettle Nachos

When I lived in Louisville for a bit, there was a restaurant downtown called Red Star Tavern.  I went there for happy hour with a friend from work and she ordered Kettle Chips off the menu.  I thought to myself kettle chips?  Why would you order just kettle chips from a restaurant? WELL, these babies came out and the were mouthwatering amazingness.  What I hadn't realized is they would be drizzled in a blue cheese sauce, blue cheese crumbles, bacon crumbles and chives.  It was perfection.  I went there a few times just for these chips until one day.... they were CLOSED!  For good!  Where on earth was I going to find chips like that to that perfection?!  I was devastated.  I have searched high and low and have attempted to recreate it and failed.  Until now..  I made these last night.  I found a base recipe and worked on it from there.  These were the closest thing I've tasted to Red Star's amazing kettle chips.   If you like blue cheese, these are your chips!

Ingredients

Blue Cheese Sauce:

• 1 Cup milk
• 1 Cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 pound crumbled blue cheese; set a little aside to put on top
• Good-quality store-bought kettle style potato chips
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Chives/Green Onion, chopped
• Bacon

Garnish with crumbled bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and chives.

Directions

Place the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Stir in the flour & garlic powder and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the warm milk, and continue whisking until thickened. Season with salt and cayenne pepper. Add Parmesan and continue cooking for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with a little extra milk. 

I suggest cooking your bacon in the oven 20 min on 400 while you're making the sauce. 

Heat the kettle chips in the oven. Transfer warm chips to a plate. Drizzle with blue cheese sauce. Top with blue cheese crumbles, bacon crumbles, and fresh chopped chives.

This makes alot of sauce, which you can put in the fridge for later use.  Or you can half the recipe.

Since figuring out the recipe, I have made this 4 times!  LOVE IT.  I've been addicted since Red Star.