Pretzel Bites with Beer Cheese

It's late.  As usual.  I might as well just start posting late at night instead of trying to get a post done during the day. 

Anyway, excuses aside - I think I've finally done it.  I've successfully made a beer cheese that resembles a local favorite.

Andy and I grew up in southern Indiana (of course in different eras - we do have a 7 year gap between us!), but we both loved Sportstime Pizza - now under the name The New Albanian Brewery.  They, of course, have beer - great microbrews (one should definitely check them out during 'Gravity Head' where they feature high-alcohol content and special season beers).  But the main reason we frequented the place was for their beer cheese.  It's one of a kind - spicy, cheesy, and absolutely perfect with some breadsticks.

So when I told Andy last week that I was making some pretzel bites to snack on while watching a pre-season football game, he eagerly suggested I make a beer cheese to go with them.  Always up for a challenge, I accepted, and boy am I glad I did.  I think I came pretty close (dare I say, maybe even better??) to our old time favorite from The New Albanian.

So if you're looking for a great Sunday snack - football lovers and non-football lovers alike - this is it!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Sunny Side Up in San Diego's Recipe

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 & 1/4 cups warm water
5 cups flour
1/4 cup white sugar, plus 1 teaspoon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
1/2 cup baking soda
2 egg whites
Kosher salt, for topping
cooking spray


Beer Cheese:


1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup Indian Pale Ale (or whatever favorite beer you might have)
1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup Velveeta, cut into small cubes (I swear I wanted to use some Chipotle Cheddar Cheese, but I'd run out, and this was all I had - but it worked out so well!)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper

In a measuring cup dissolve the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes. If the mixture is foamy, you're good to go - if not, start over with new yeast.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, white and brown sugars, and salt.  Pour the water/yeast mixture and 2 tablespoons melted butter into the bowl. Knead for 6-8 minutes until the dough is smooth. Add extra water if dough is too dry, until you get your desired texture.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Shape dough into a ball. Place the dough ball in the bowl, cover with a clean towel, and allow to rise for one hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine 4 cups of hot water and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg whites and remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

After the dough has risen, punch down the dough and then knead with hands for one minute. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and break off small chunks of dough - Roll the chunks into 1 inch diameter balls (I got about 20-25).

Dip the pieces in the baking soda water and place on the baking sheet.  Gently drying with a paper towel if they become too wet. Brush each pretzel ball with egg whites/melted butter then sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 7-8 minutes, until browned.

To make beer cheese, place cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 30 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Stir in beer, horseradish sauce, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.  Heat for another 30 seconds in the microwave.  Stir until smooth.  Add in Velveeta.  Heat another 30 seconds, and stir until cheese is melted and smooth. 

Pretzels and beer cheese.  Success at last!  And this beer cheese was so easy to whip up, that I will definitely be finding myself making it many many times over!  Even with Velveeta - I'm not ashamed!


Have a great weekend guys!  I just have to get through one more late shift at work and I've got 2 days of relaxation ahead of me!

Ham & Cheese Stuffed Pretzel Rolls

It seems that whenever I decide to stuff something, I use ham and cheese. I don't know what it is, but I think it's just a neutral flavor that almost everyone can tolerate I guess. Now, these pretzel rolls didn't photograph very well, and trust me, I tried to make them into pretzel shapes, but with the stuffing inside them, they were kinda fragile, so I just stuck with the log shape. But the taste was there. Tasted like a pretzel/ham and cheese sandwich. So, I think all in all it was a success. Recipe was inspired by these little mini guys over at Ezra Pound Cake's blog.

Ingredients:

1 packet active dry yeast

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 cup warm milk

2 & 1/2 cups flour

1 pack of ham (use as much as you like in each roll, but I found about 2-3 slices in each worked well)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 cups water

4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

kosher salt to top

In a fairly large bowl, combine yeast, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and warm water. Stir together and let sit until started to become foamy, about 5 to 8 minutes. If you don't see any foam by 10 minutes, then start over. It means your yeast is bunk, and nobody likes bunk yeast.

Then in a small bowl, stir together remaining brown sugar and milk. Mix until sugar is dissolved.

Add flour and milk mixture to yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form.

Gently knead dough into a smooth ball on a floured surface, Then place in clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours. I actually let this sit for about 6 to 8 hours, and it kinda resembled the starter of a sourdough or something (although I'm not for certain because I've never made sourdough, but I've seen pictures, so close enough), but either way, I think it should be fine. Mine turned out fine, so it's fine, right? Right.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the dough into 4 separate pieces, then divide those pieces in half. Roll out each piece to desired length and flatten with rolling pin. Place desired amount of ham and cheese on each rolled out piece of dough. Then, using warm water to seal the edges, press each roll closed. When done with each roll, let sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature. And don't worry, the dough will rise ever so slightly during this process, but it's okay.

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add baking soda and stir. This was kind of a cool effect because it sizzled as I put it in. I know, kinda dorky that I'm fascinated with that, but it's science in action. I could get into the reaction of it all, but I'm sure I would just bore you all, so you can just Google it if you're interested.

Add each pretzel roll in, 1 at a time, and soak until slightly puffed up, about 20 seconds. Make sure you turn them at least once during that time. Then place on baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them, everybody's oven is a little different.

When done, brush on melted butter and sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve with beer cheese (Andy's concoction wasn't too bad, but it's nothing like beer cheese from Sportstime) or your favorite pretzel dipping sauces.

These were pretty scrumptious. Definitely authentically tasted like pretzels. I'm not much of a baker, so I didn't expect much out of these, but it was different, genuine, and pretty tasty. Job well done, I'd say. Enjoy!