Beer..Cheese..Bread

Each one individually is yummy, but put them all together in one food, and it doesn't get any better. I found a recipe four or fives years ago in Cooking Light magazine for some quick breads using beer. Well, like I said, that seemed a win/win situation.

You just sauté the onions, garlic and pepper in a tbl. of olive oil, til softened. Let it cool. Meanwhile whisk all the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the center, add the onion mixture, beer and cheese, then mix together.

Mix this  together and put into a loaf pan that has been sprayed so it won't stick. It's a rather sticky dough. Melt a tablespoon of butter and pour on top before putting in the oven.

Halfway through the baking time take it out of the oven and pour another tbl. of melted butter over the top and finish baking.

This bread is especially good to eat with soups and stews. Well, really, it's good to eat with anything. What's good about this recipe is you can easily change it up. Use an Italian beer along with an Italian cheese and cut up salami for a different twist, or a Mexican beer with Mexican cheese and jalapenos for a spicy bread. I just used a domestic beer and Monterey Jack cheese.

Here is the complete recipe:

1 tbl of olive oil, for sautéing the onions and garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp. of freshly ground pepper, although I just used regular pepper since that's what I had
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 cups of all purpose flour
3 tbl. of sugar
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 tsp. of salt
1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you want)
1 12oz bottle of beer (not lite beer)
cooking spray for a 9x5 inch loaf pan
2 tbl. of melted butter (or more if you like)
Bake at 375F for 35 minutes, take out of the oven and drizzle some more butter and bake for another 25 minutes until a deep golden brown and a wooden stick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan
Enjoy!!


Kathy