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One way that people across America amused themselves during an extremely boring Super Bowl was by making fun of Fox News anchor Dana Perino’s game day “queso” on Twitter. The brown goo that the former White House press secretary posted to Twitter with the words “I made queso” looks absolutely nothing like the delicious mixture of cheese and chiles that has become known as the unofficial dish of Texas. Although queso — short for “chile con queso” — can take on many forms, most varieties are yellow, white, or orange-hued. The dip typically has a smooth consistency. And, generally speaking, this dish does not look like the evil sludge drained from a cursed mummy’s crypt [Warning: ugly food photos ahead...]
I made queso pic.twitter.com/WXLFNcZlfU
— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) February 3, 2019
This bizarre photo inspired some Twitter sleuths to hunt for The Daily Briefing host’s recipe, and lo and behold, it was actually buried deep within her timeline all along:
Queso recipe: velveeta, rotel, cream of mushroom soup, cream cheese, sausage, bacon, heavy cream, diced jalapeños, fresh tomato & cilantro
— Dana Perino (@DanaPerino) January 10, 2016
In her defense, Perino acknowledged the jokes about her queso and initially tried to have a good sense of humor about getting dragged by thousands of internet quipsters, tweeting, ”At least tweets about my terrible queso are more entertaining than this game.” But this tweet couldn’t stop the peanut gallery for piling on. And later in the evening, it seemed that the jokes were starting to get on the news anchor’s nerves. Around 8 p.m. Perino tweeted, “I had no idea there was elitist foodie twitter. Good to know! Anyway, the queso is gone and the salad is still sitting there. So...whatever dudes!”
The original tweet and the recipe from a few years ago inspired a number of responses that break down into three general categories: 1) visceral reactions to Perino’s queso/jokes about what it looks like; 2) meme versions of the tweet with other unappetizing photos; 3) comedic riffs on the list of ingredients in that recipe.
Here are the best reactions to Dana Perino’s atrocious game day dip:
as someone from texas, allow me to confirm that this is some fucked up shit https://t.co/DjTK1Ik0tB
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) February 4, 2019
I want a Crying Jordan face on that dish.
— Bärí A. Williams (@BariAWilliams) February 4, 2019
Do you live in a tannery?
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) February 4, 2019
I feel like the state of Texas should sue her? https://t.co/AyJsZ6x5IC
— Wendi Aarons (@WendiAarons) February 4, 2019
Ay Dana. Eso no es queso, parece ser caca
— Brooke Binkowski (@brooklynmarie) February 4, 2019
I made queso. pic.twitter.com/6Tuz03vnoL
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) February 4, 2019
— Eddie ⅯcClintock (@EddieMcClintock) February 4, 2019
Um did you confuse the Necronomicon with a cookbook? https://t.co/HgNGYGJgA5
— Lincoln Michel (@TheLincoln) February 4, 2019
I made queso pic.twitter.com/2dsQWdVmVa
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) February 4, 2019
I made queso pic.twitter.com/PvfYkilU6h
— Ariel Dumas (@ArielDumas) February 4, 2019
I made ice cream pic.twitter.com/hqUu6uhWRj
— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) February 4, 2019
this queso recipe asked me “no, like where are you *from*” on Grindr https://t.co/0qfA53cpJ0
— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) February 4, 2019
.@realDonaldTrump please include the phrase “I made queso” in your congratulatory tweet to the Patriots, someone will explain later why this is funny
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 4, 2019
my understanding is that “i made queso” is some kind of lovecraftian incantation, forbidden knowledge stripped from the damned pages of the necronomicon itself
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) February 4, 2019
Queso looking like flushed radiator fluid my god
— Dad (@fivefifths) February 4, 2019
I made queso pic.twitter.com/UtW5VK75AX
— Tamara Yajia (Babe Vigoda) (@DancesWithTamis) February 4, 2019
Queso recipe: silica gel, 14 slices of American cheese (wrapper on), clotted cream, porridge, Bosch Season 2 DVD, aquarium water, gum https://t.co/lOUgaLyHfW
— Sean O'Neal (@seanoneal) February 4, 2019
Queso recipe: velveeta, rotel, 2 cups pate, red velvet cake, gatorade, the little stringy parts of shrimp that are actually just shit & cilantro
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) February 4, 2019
Queso twitter might be my favorite twitter.
— Natasha Rothwell (@natasharothwell) February 4, 2019
If all of these jokes made you curious about what queso is actually supposed to look and taste like, please check out Amy McCarthy’s comprehensive history of the dish.
• @danaperino [Twitter]
• Queso Is the World’s Most Perfect Food
• All Super Bowl Coverage [E]