Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas

November 12, 2014 4 comments Article

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas I am super excited guys! You want to know why? Well, I’ll tell you anyways.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (8) I am so excited because Cheddar cheese has come to Chile!

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (2) As most of you know, there are certain things that just aren’t available where I live and cheddar cheese has been on the top of my “miss list” since my family and I moved here. It’s not that you can’t find any in the entire country. We have seen it at the larger grocery stores here but it’s outrageously priced. Because they have to import it, usually from Wisconsin, it’s always expensive and the brands are the ones that we wouldn’t even have bought if we still lived in The States and they were on sale.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (9) We’ve also seen cheeses advertised as being cheddar but have always been disappointed when it turned out to be like heavily processed American cheese instead. Now one of the local dairy companies are producing it here and it’s really cheddar. It’s more of a yellow color than the orange that is typical in Cheddar but did you know that Cheddar isn’t really orange? It’s been dyed for generations using a seed called annatto.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (5) It started when people realized that the richer the color the better the flavor and cheddar was becoming popular. Cheese makers raised the price of their cheddar and started adding color to it in order to sell more and it has evolved into a bright orange cheese.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (4) Sorry for the history lesson, I just find food history very interesting. So this recipe is the first thing I have made here with cheddar and it made me so happy to put it in and watch it melt into my sauce. Oh, and the flavor, the flavor, oh my goodness! How have we survived without cheddar?

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (6) I’ve made gnocchi from scratch before but this time I used store-bought that my mom found at our local market. I usually like to do things all the way but I was kind of secretly happy that this was such an easy meal to make with the pre-made.

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (3) Does that make me a cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater? I know, could I be any more corny? Well, actually, I probably could but I won’t put you through that. Besides, you don’t have time to sit there and read my attemps to be funny. You’ve got some cheddar cheese to grate because this is definitely a recipe worth trying!

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 8

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas

Ingredients

2 (1 lb.) packages potato gnocchi
1 cup canned or frozen sweet peas

Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce:

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup (1/2 of 1 (8 oz) can of beer)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Instructions

Cook gnocchi according to package instructions.
While water is heating for gnocchi make the sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in flour until there are no lumps. Return to heat and slowly pour in milk and beer and stir until smooth.
Turn heat to medium and continue stirring until sauce begins to thicken; then add pumpkin and seasoning.
Reduce heat to low again and stir in cheese until melted.
Add cooked gnocchi and peas to sauce and stir to coat.
Serve hot.

Notes

I like to add meat sometimes. Chicken is great and so is bacon. Try it with any meat you want.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://gringalicious.com/gnocchi-with-beer-pumpkin-cheddar-sauce-and-peas/

Gnocchi with Beer Pumpkin Cheddar Sauce and Peas (10)

Categories: Autumn/Fall, Holidays & Seasonal, Main Course, Sugar-Free, Vegetarian

Beer Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs with Bacon + Cheddar

August 1, 2014 No comments Article

Cheddar is something that is way under appreciated in the United States. It is so widely available. Americans eat a lot of it without giving a thought to the fact that somewhere out there on the planet there are many people who have never even heard of it, much less tasted it.

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs.

It’s hard to imagine, I know. My family has somehow survived for almost a year without cheddar. There were some close calls though. Unchecked grilled cheese cravings have been known to be lethal and life without real macaroni and cheese is almost unlivable.

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs[

I think cheddar deserves more respect. I may even write a song about it. An ode to its spectacular sharpness and melty goodness. I should probably add in a line or two about beer and how good it is in bread and then a few things about bacon. Pork fat rules!

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs--

These pretzel dogs are the perfect way to showcase the amazing flavors of cheddar, beer bread, and of course bacon.

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs==

Okay, so these probably won’t win any awards for health but they are major crowd-pleasers. No worries about too many leftovers.

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs7

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs

Prep Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Yield: 18

Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Wrapped Hot Dogs

Ingredients

12 ounces (1 bottle) beer
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
5 - 5 1/2 cups flour
water for boiling
1/4 cup teaspoon baking soda
1 egg plus 2 tablespoons water
9 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
18 hot dogs

Instructions

In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110°-115° F; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In large bowl combine butter, sugar, salt, and 4 cups flour. Add remaning flour as needed until dough forms a ball (the dough will be a little sticky from the beer). Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Add cheese and bacon to dough and knead until well mixed into dough. Grease a medium bowl and place dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Fill wide pot about 1/3 of the way with water and add baking soda; bring to a boil. Line 2 half sheet baking pans with parchment and grease; line a third with paper towels. Divide dough into 18 balls. Stretch pretzels into ropes and twist around each dog. Dip pretzels a few at a time into boiling water and boil for 30 seconds on each side. Remove to paper towel lined pan. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled. Place pretzels on parchment lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Mix egg with 2 tablespoons of water; brush over tops of pretzels and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown; remove and cool.

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://gringalicious.com/beer-pretzel-wrapped-hot-dogs-with-bacon-cheddar/

Categories: Appetizers, Breads, Main Course, Snacks

Wasabi & Beer Pretzels Two Ways

May 19, 2014 No comments Article

My mom and I differentiate spice by tongue-burn and nose-burn. Wasabi goes in the nose-burn category which makes it one of her favorite condiments. She loves nose-burn spice.

I felt inspired today to add it to something. I went looking through our cupboards and found some cans of beer that have been in there for months, and boom, my pretzel idea was born.

I thought about calling these “Super Happy Samurai Ninja Pretzels”, or maybe “Beer-Belly Sumo Wrestler Pretzels”, but decided that these names were both too long and not descriptive enough.

This recipe is for either hard or soft pretzels, depending on what you like. My family likes both so I did half and half.

I think these were too much of a hit in my house because they were nearly gone in about 10 minutes, no joke. They don’t have a ton of heat so if you like the burn, add more wasabi. You can also dip in wasabi paste or horseradish mustard for some serious sinus clearing.

Wasabi & Beer Pretzels Two Ways

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 3 hours

Yield: 36 Hard Pretzels, 16 Small Soft Pretzels, or 8 Large Soft Pretzels

Wasabi & Beer Pretzels Two Ways

Ingredients

12 ounces (1 can) beer
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder (or more to taste)
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour
water for boiling
1 teaspoon baking soda (for soft pretzels)
1 egg yolk plus 2 tablespoons water
pretzel salt

Instructions

In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110°-115° F; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In large bowl combine butter, sugar, salt, wasabi, and 3 cups flour. Add remaning flour as needed until dough forms a ball (the dough will be a little sticky from the beer). Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Grease a medium bowl and place dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

For Soft Pretzels:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Fill wide pot about 1/3 of the way with water and add baking soda; bring to a boil. Line 2 half sheet baking pans with parchment and grease; line a third with paper towels. Divide dough into balls: 8 for large pretzels and 16 for small pretzels. Stretch pretzels into ropes and twist into pretzels. Dip pretzels 1 or 2 at a time into boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Remove to paper towel lined pan. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled. Place pretzels on parchment lined baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Mix egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water; brush over tops of pretzels and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown; remove and cool.

For Hard Pretzels:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Fill wide pot about 1/3 of the way with water; bring to a boil. Line 3 half sheet baking pans with parchment and grease; line a fourth with paper towels. Divide dough into about 36 balls. Stretch balls into ropes about 5 inches long. Dip pretzels 1 or 2 at a time into boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Remove to paper towel lined pan. Repeat until all pretzels are boiled. Place pretzels on parchment lined pans about 1/4 inch apart. Mix egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water; brush over tops of pretzels and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown; remove and cool.

Notes

Be sure to grease parchment well or they will stick (I learned the hard way).

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

http://gringalicious.com/wasabi-beer-pretzels-two-ways/