A Volcano of Fun

One of my good friends passed his final thesis this week!! You know what that means, it is time for a party. But what do I bring, they were getting  a keg, so beer was out. I love making cakes but that won't really go with beer...what do I do?

Any party can be kicked up a notch with a little ingenuity or a theme. Just think back to how much fun you have at Halloween every year. The foods are fun and delicious, you get to dress up and decorate. So if your in a rut with your everyday routine make something new and spectacular to serve or give your whole night a theme, you won't regret it.

For my friends party a co worked suggested I make a Salsa Volcano. They are fairly easy to make and they sure do impress the guests.


For this treat you will need a very large platter, some tinfoil, a lot of that ingenuity that I mentioned earlier and a small bowl or ramekin.

With a large 16 inch pizza pan for the base, I started to build the volcano -  I used large pieces of the tinfoil to create the mountain landscape on which the chips would lay. (You will want to crinkle the tinfoil to create ridges and pockets for the chips to lay on.) I tucked the ends of the tinfoil into a beer cup to create the height. I then placed a ramekin inside the cup so that it just sits at the top of the mountain to hold the salsa/lava.  

Once at the party, I started to assemble the rest of my mountain of mindless eating. I stared at the bottom with nacho chips and worked my way up gently stacking the chips - if you put to many on at once they will just slide down. I used about 2 bags of chips for this.

Next I added the salsa to the top bowl and made lava streams down the sides. Do this part slowly as the weight of the salsa may cause some of the chips to slide down. Next, add any other toppings that you want. I added a cheese sauce, hot peppers,tomatoes, and green peppers. We also had guacamole and sour cream on the side. 

Here is the finished product.

As I carried this monstrosity out of the kitchen some of the guys took their seats on the couch in anticipation! NEVER underestimate the power of nachos!!  Don't worry I took my seat right next to them...

With just little effort you can impress even the most discerning guest with your talents of Salsa Volcano building. And it won't break the bank either - as with any food, its all in the presentation.