Cheese Stuffed Everything Pretzels

It only takes one word to describe these pretzels... awesome! 

Of course, I will continue to type because I can't actually just stop at the one word.  Soft pretzels are delicious on their own, this recipe adds cheese to the middle and then adds poppy seeds, garlic, and minced onion to the normal sea salt topping.  Takes them to a whole new level.  Just look at the oozy cheese, the crunchy toppings... yummm...

This is also a super easy recipe for those of you who are afraid of yeast... there is no rising, punching, etc.  This recipe also skips the normal soft pretzel step of boiling the dough in a baking soda bath before cooking as well.  This makes for an incredibly quick pretzel recipe.  I think I had these mixed, rolled, shaped, and baked in under an hour. 

Cheese Stuffed Everything Pretzels
Adapted from Guy Fieri, via the Food Network

Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water (approx. 110 degrees)
2 packets active dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
3 cups shredded colby jack cheese

Toppings:
1 egg
2 T milk
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp sea salt

In a large measuring cup, heat water and sprinkle yeast over the water.  Stir to combine and let sit for about 10 minutes until frothy.  Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, combine all dry ingredients and pulse to combine.  Add egg and yeast mixture and pulse in short bursts until the dough comes together.  Do not over mix, you just want the dough to come together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times with your hands.  If dough feels sticky, add a little more flour.  Form the dough into a ball and cut in half.

Roll out 1/2 of the dough into a large rectangle, approximately 12"x17", sprinkle about 3/4 cup of the colby jack cheese down the center 1/3 of the dough.  Fold one edge over the cheese, sprinkle with another 3/4 cup cheese, and fold over the remaining 1/3.  Pinch the edges of the dough to seal the cheese inside.  Roll out the dough again into a rectangle about 11"x15".  Cut the dough into six strips approximately 1 1/2" wide.  Roll each strip into a tube and form into a pretzel shape by looping and crossing the ends over each other, then tuck back onto the loop and pinch to seal.  Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Repeat with remaining half of dough. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine remaining egg and milk.  Whisk to combine and set aside.  In another small bowl, combine poppy seeds, garlic, onion, and salt.  Brush the pretzels liberally with the egg wash, then sprinkle with spice mixture.  Bake 18-20 minutes until light golden brown.  Transfer pretzels to a wire rack to cool.

Pizza Bread

The next time you need a simple appetizer for an event, let me recommend this one.  There are endless variations and it takes next to no time at all to throw together.  It works for football games, it works for kids, it works for girls' nights... why?  Because it's easy, delicious, and adaptable.

I originally spotted this idea on Pinterest... it's my latest internet obsession and I've pinned about 4,000 things and made about five of them.  In honor of the "Pinterest Challenge" (see the details here, here, here, or here and check out all the other Pinterest projects), I had to get this posted today so I could play along. 

There are several variations of this appetizer floating around, anything from a warm and gooey cinnamon roll version that I figure would be great for a brunch, to the "bloomin' onion" spin-off, to the bacon-loaded "crack bread" version.  I opted to go with a pizza version this time around.  Of course, I modified it a bit, I don't like pepperoni so I used Italian sausage.  It takes about five minutes of hands-on prep time and a little patience while it's in the oven.  You may need to adjust the quantities slightly depending on the size of the bread boule you buy.  (Did you know boule is a fancy way of saying round when referring to bread?)  You can also try several different types of bread but I used an Italian bread for this one.  Depending on the flavors you add to it, you may want to consider sourdough or other types.

Pizza Bread
Adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 unsliced Italian bread boule (or whatever type you prefer)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage
3 T butter, melted
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 T Parmesan cheese
Pizza sauce for serving

In a medium skillet, brown sausage and crumble as it cooks.  Drain well and set aside.  Prepare a baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Carefully slice the bread in long slices, taking care not go all the way through.  Turn the bread 90 degrees and cut slices the opposite direction, again leaving the bottom connected.  The second set of cuts will be a little more difficult to make.  If your bread is very soft, you may want to put it in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes before you try to cut it so it is a little easier.  The cuts don't have to be perfect though so don't worry if your lines aren't straight and such.

Next start tucking the crumbled sausage and the shredded cheese into the cuts in the bread, pack it in as much as possible.  In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.  Pour butter mixture over the top of the bread.  Cover the bread with another piece of foil, molding it down around the bread, and bake about fifteen minutes, uncover and continue baking about ten more minutes until the top is golden and the cheese is all melted.  Serve warm with pizza sauce.

Beer Cheese Macaroni

As I've mentioned a time or two in the past, macaroni and cheese is definitely up there on my list of favorite foods.  In my mind, it's pretty much the perfect comfort food.  While I definitely have a favorite traditional mac and cheese recipe, I also like to experiment with variations.  Check out these other macaroni recipes I've posted previously - Spicy Crab Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Mac and Cheese, Stovetop Mac and Cheese, and this chicken version - White Cheddar Chicken Pasta.

Well when I saw this beer cheese soup turned mac and cheese recipe on Pinterest, I couldn't pass it up.  I figured it would be perfect for our tailgating party for the upcoming game.  Let me tell you, don't wait to make this one.  This is some fantastic pasta.  The beer combines perfectly with the smoked and sharp cheddar cheeses and whole wheat pasta.  I used a Sam Adams Oktoberfest beer but any decent beer should work, I think I would avoid the light beers for this recipe, as you want something with a bit more flavor.

Feel free to adjust the cheeses but I think the blend of 1/3 smoked cheddar, 1/3 sharp white cheddar, and 1/3 mild cheddar, along with a little American cheese gives great flavor.  I added the American cheese slices because I like the creaminess that it adds.  I just used slices from the deli but you could shred it as well.  The recipe that I used baked the mac and cheese but I opted not too for this one since it was so creamy straight from the stovetop.  If you want to bake it, I recommend adding a bread crumb topping.

Beer Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from HowSweetEats

12 oz uncooked whole wheat elbow or shell pasta
2 T unsalted butter
2 T flour
1 cup milk
1 cup beer
4 oz smoked cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
4 oz mild cheddar cheese, grated
6 slices American cheese
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
10 basil leaves

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, add a liberal amount of salt when boiling and add pasta.  Cook to just al dente, according to package directions.  Drain and return to pan or crock pot if you want to keep it hot for a while (you don't want to cook it in the crock pot but it can stay on low for a short while, if you plan to leave it in the crock pot for an extended time, you'll want to cook your pasta just shy of al dente so it doesn't turn mushy.)

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to make a roux.  Continue whisking until the roux start to turn golden and bubbles, about two minutes.  Add milk and beer, stirring constantly.  Cook for about five minutes until the mixture begins to thicken slightly.  Reduce heat to low and add cheeses by the handful, stirring to melt and incorporate.  The sauce will thicken slightly but will not be as thick as regular mac and cheese at this point.  Add paprika, mustard, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauce over pasta and stir to distribute.  Chiffonade basil leaves by stacking and rolling tightly, then use a sharp knife to cut thin slices to form ribbons.  Stir basil into pasta and serve. 

Soft Pretzels with Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

Well the Superbowl didn't have the outcome that I was hoping for, my team had too many turnovers, I wasn't a fan of the halftime show and the commercials weren't anything exciting, but the food was good at least.  For me these soft pretzels were the highlight of the night.

I debated between a couple different recipes - one from Baking Illustrated and one from Alton Brown.  Although similar the main differences were in the type of flour and the type of sweetener.  The Baking Illustrated recipe used bread flour which has a higher gluten content and therefore creates a chewier dough.  Pretzels are supposed to be chewy so I decided to stick with the bread flour.  The Baking Illustrated recipe also used honey and after reading their explanation, I decided to go with that - it also meant I didn't have to open a package of brown sugar for a couple tablespoons - so it made it a fairly easy decision.  The other key to the recipe which both versions did is to boil the pretzels in a baking soda solution, so make sure you don't skip this step.

The pretzels are best eaten the day they are made or you can freeze them right away and then warm in the oven when you want them.  Don't store them in a covered container on your counter top though or they will end up a little soggy.

I made a simple spicy, garlicky cheese sauce to dip these in because it sounded good and I was already chopping jalapenos and garlic for guacamole and sliders that I was making.  It turned out to be a great dipping sauce for the pretzels adding a spicy kick to the slightly sweet and salty pretzel dough.  They would also be good with mustard or a cheddar cheese sauce.  Of course you can also sub cinnamon and sugar for the salt sprinkled on before baking and make more dessert-like pretzels if you prefer.

Soft Pretzels
Recipe slightly adapted from Baking Illustrated

Dough:
1 package rapid-rise yeast
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour (16 1/2 ounces)
1 cup water, at approximately 110 degrees
Approximately 1 T olive oil

Baking Soda Solution:
Approximately 6 cups water
3 T baking soda
Salt for sprinkling on pretzels

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all ingredients for the dough.  Make sure you are using rapid rise yeast, or you will need to proof your yeast before mixing.  Mix on low speed until combined and then knead about 5-7 minutes on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Prepare a separate bowl by coating with olive oil, transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat evenly.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about one hour or until doubled in size.  Punch dough down, recover and let rise approximately 30 minutes more.

In a large low pan (a 12" skillet with deep sides or a small dutch oven will work perfectly) bring water and baking soda to a boil over medium high heat.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Separate dough into 12 approximately 2 ounce pieces.  Roll each piece into a long string, about 20 inches in length.  Fold pretzels into shape, twisting the ends over each other and pressing lightly to seal dough into shape.  Transfer pretzels, a few at a time to boiling water, cook 30 seconds on each side, turning with a slotted spoon, drain and transfer to prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle with coarse salt and repeat until all the pretzels have been boiled.  They don't need much room on the baking sheet as they won't spread much in the oven.  Bake approximately 12-14 minutes until dark golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool and serve.

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

1 T unsalted butter
1 T flour
3/4 cup milk
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced
1 cup Colby Jack cheese
1/2 -1 tsp cayenne pepper

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to combine, cooking about one minute until smooth.  Add milk, whisking to incorporate.  Add garlic and jalapeno.  Switch to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until thickened, about 15 minutes.  The sauce should begin to coat the back of the spoon.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Add cayenne pepper to taste. 

Steelers are going to the Superbowl!

Here we go, Steelers, here we go!

Obviously this is old news but I'm a little behind on starting this Superbowl recipe post.  Since half the fun of the Superbowl is making a bunch of appetizers and snacking all day (at least that's half the fun for me) I've got some great recipes to share with you. 

To start off - here are six recipes from the archives in honor of each of the Steelers past Superbowl victories!

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

Beer Cheese Fondue

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Since the Steelers are attempting to win their 7th championship game, here's a 7th recipe for spicy sausage pizza roulade. 

This recipe is really easy and essentially a rolled up pizza, so you can change up the filling to whatever your favorite pizza toppings are.  I would recommend staying away from things with a high water content though, like pineapple if it's on the top of your list, so that you don't end up with soggy bread.  You can use any bread dough you want for this - a standard pizza crust from scratch or even roll out a dough like Pillsbury's French bread dough, they even have one that doesn't contain any high fructose corn syrup or trans fats.  That's what I used for this one since I didn't have any pizza dough ready to go and I had a coupon to try their Simply Rustic French bread dough. 

Spicy Sausage Pizza Roulade

12 oz hot ground Italian sausage
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pizza or french bread dough
1 tsp pizza seasoning
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded pizza or mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T butter, softened
1 tsp garlic powder
Pizza sauce for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with baking spray or line with parchment paper.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage and crumble as it browns.  After about 2 minutes, add onions, peppers and garlic.  Cook until sausage is just cooked through and vegetables are softened.  Remove from heat and drain any grease off the sausage.  Lightly flour a smooth counter surface and roll out dough into a large rectangle, about 12x18 inches.  Evenly sprinkle pizza seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes over dough.  Spoon sausage mixture onto bottom third to half of the long edge of the dough, leaving an edge of about one inch open at the outside.  Next add cheeses directly next to the sausage mixture on the 2nd third of the dough, a little overlap is fine.  The final third should be open. 

Begin rolling from sausage side, rolling the dough gently into a long tube.  Pinch the seams to seal the dough and place the dough seam side down on prepared pan.  Fold the ends under slightly, pinching to seal the ends.  Bake about 25 minutes and remove from oven.  Add garlic powder to melted butter and brush over the top of the bread dough and return to the oven for about five more minutes until golden brown.  Cool at least 5-10 minutes before slicing into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Serve with warmed pizza sauce.

Crab Queso Dip

This is a great appetizer for a game day tailgate or any fall party.  You can make it on the stovetop and serve or transfer to a crockpot to keep warm.  It's great with tortilla chips or pita bread. 

This is one of those places that you can save a few calories and fat grams and use the reduced fat cream cheese and sour cream as well.  I don't think you'll notice the difference.  Add in plenty of jalapeno peppers to give this a good kick.  Using canned crab meat will also save you a few dollars or comes in handy if you can't get fresh.  Getting fresh quality seafood for an affordable price in Kentucky isn't always easy so I went with canned here.

Crab Queso Dip
Recipe inspired by Paula Deen

1 T olive oil
1/2 large or 1 whole small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4-6 jalapeno peppers, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 8 oz packages cream cheese, cut into 1 oz pieces (I used 1/3 less fat Neufchatel)
1 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated/shredded
12 oz lump crab meat (I used well-drained canned crab meat)
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

In a dutch oven or deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add onion, bell pepper, jalapenos and garlic.  Cook 3-4 minutes until slightly softened.  Reduce heat to medium and add cream cheese.  Stir to distribute and melt.  When melted, add sour cream and milk and stir to incorporate.  Mixture should be relatively smooth aside from the vegetables.  Add shredded cheese and stir to melt.  Add crab meat and spices.  Stir until well mixed and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with chips or transfer to a crockpot and set on "warm" setting to keep hot.

Apple and Brie Melts

Last week I received this All-Clad griddle that I won over A Cozy Kitchen so naturally I had to try it out.  I knew I wanted to make a grilled cheese sandwich but I didnt want to just make a regular grilled cheese.  Then I saw a caramelized apple grilled cheese on Beantown Baker which looked awesome and I knew what I would do.  Unfortunately I had just used up the rest of the apples we had on hand to make a batch of crockpot apple butter, so I had to wait until I went to the grocery store to try these out.  So my pretty new pan stayed in the box all weekend long. 

But I picked up some crisp Fuji apples on Monday along with some brie that I found at the store to use for the cheese. 

I decided to use my homemade apple butter as a sauce for the sandwich - the recipe can be found here.  While it takes a little while to cook, it requires almost no effort for all of that time since its done in the crockpot.  The most time consuming part of the recipe is simply peeling, coring, and slicing the apples (which you can avoid if you have a food mill).

These sandwiches aren't a typical savory grilled cheese sandwich - you may want to switch out the brie for some sharp cheddar if that's more your style and even throw on some bacon per Jen's suggestion.  Use whatever type of bread you want, I used Italian bread because I had it on hand but I think this would be great with a crusty multigrain or wheat bread too.  Make it even sweeter by using a cinnamon-raisin bread.  These would be great appetizers made on a thin baguette of French bread for bite-sized sandwiches.

Apple and Brie Melts

4 slices of Italian bread, about 1/2" thick

1 large apple, thinly sliced

4 oz brie, thinly sliced

2 T apple butter

1 T butter

Spread apple butter on one side of bread slices.  Layer brie and apple slices on one side and top with remaining slice of bread.  Heat griddle over medium heat and melt half of the butter on the pan.  Add sandwiches and spread remaining butter on tops of bread.  Let cook about three minutes and then flip.  Cook an additional two to three minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted as desired.  Cut and serve.

Stove-Top Mac and Cheese

Normally I'm a baked macaroni and cheese fan - the crunchy breadcrumb topping with gooey, cheesy insides almost always wins.  However, Alton Brown just gave me another option.  Stove-top mac and cheese is quick and easy but the boxed stuff isn't good (unless you're my husband who loves the blue box stuff for some unknown reason) and its full of chemicals.  You can make this recipe just as fast but you'll be oh so much happier. 

The evaporated milk makes it super creamy and using sharp cheddar gives you a better than the box taste.  It also reheats well for a leftover lunch.  I modified the original recipe a little bit by using fat free evaporated milk, reducing the butter slightly, using whole wheat noodles and adding some thyme.  I used rotini because I had it on hand, use elbows or shells or whatever you prefer or keep in the pantry.

Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown via Food Network

14 oz whole wheat short cut pasta

3 T butter

2 eggs
9 oz evaporated milk
1/2 - 1 tsp hot sauce
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a large pot of water to boiling, salt liberally and add pasta.  Cook to al dente per package directions and drain.  Reduce heat to medium low, return to pan and add butter.  Melt and stir to coat pasta.  Whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and pour over pasta.  Stir and cook about one minute.  Add cheese and stir to melt and incorporate, cook about two minutes, add additional salt and pepper if desired and serve.

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta

Do you stand in front of your closet thinking I have nothing to wear even though its full of clothes? I do this all.the.time. It drives my husband crazy because my closet seems like clothes are exploding from it half the time and my dresser drawers are way too full when all the laundry is clean. Its frustrating to him, but he does the same thing when he looks through the kitchen, he always says there is nothing to eat. Its true that I keep very few packaged foods on hand these days; there is usually a box of crackers and some granola bars for lunches but other than that, its pretty much pantry staples. Not exactly nothing to eat, but since he doesn't cook, he doesn't see the potential. Evidently I need a fashion consultant or something, so I can start seeing some potential in my closet. Or a new wardrobe - shopping would probably be more fun.


Keeping a well-stocked pantry makes it much easier to always have something to make for dinner. You won't need to run to the store 3 nights a week to pick up something or call for pizza. At a minimum, I try to always keep canned tomatoes, dried pasta in several varieties, vinegars, oils, mustard, chicken stock, garlic, rice, flour, and sugar. In addition, I always have frozen vegetables in the freezer, lemons and limes, and onions. I also grow fresh herbs so I can add oregano, thyme, basil, cilantro, or parsley to add more flavor. And of course, there is always wine on hand.


For this pasta dish, the sauce is a simple cheese sauce, similar to any macaroni and cheese recipe, started with a roux made with flour and butter. A little white wine, onion, garlic, Dijon mustard and then the delicious sharp white cheddar cheese. Add some chicken, some thyme and oregano and sprinkle on some red pepper flakes and you'll have a great meal in just a few minutes.

White Cheddar Chicken Pasta

For the chicken:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tsp dry mustard
1 T fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 T olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix together mustard, thyme, salt and pepper and sprinkle over chicken pieces. When pan is hot, add chicken and brown about 3 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove to a plate and cover with foil.

For the pasta:
1 pound rotini or other short cut pasta
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 T Dijon mustard
8 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
2 cups milk (I used skim milk but mixed in about 2 T heavy cream)
1 T fresh thyme
1 T fresh oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

Heat water to boil in a large stock pot for pasta, add salt and pasta and cook to al dente and drain according to directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to combine. Add wine, garlic, onions, and mustard. Cook about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Reduce heat to low and slowly add milk, stirring to combine. Cook about 5-7 minutes more until mixture begins to thicken. Add cheese and stir to melt. Add chicken and pasta and toss to incorporate sauce. Add thyme and oregano and serve topped with crushed red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.

White Cheddar Spinach Mini Quiche

Mini quiche are perfect for a brunch menu or served as appetizer. They are pretty easy to put together, there is a ton of flexibility in the ingredients, and they can be served at room temperature. Make your own pie crust or use a store bought refrigerated dough and just roll it out. The key with the white cheddar spinach mini quiche is to find a good, extra sharp cheddar cheese. This is one time where you definitely don't want to use the pre-shredded bag cheese. Spend the extra couple bucks and get a good sharp white cheddar and grate it yourself.



White Cheddar Spinach Mini Quiche

2 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 T fresh chopped chives
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out pie dough and cut rounds with a biscuit cutter or other circle shape. Press rounds into a non-stick mini muffin pan. Use a fork to poke a couple holes in the bottom of each crust. Bake about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 325 degrees.

Squeeze any excess water out of spinach and chop. Add a small amount to each crust. You will fill up each crust but don't worry the eggs will fill in around everything. Add a small amount of grated cheese to each crust. Beat eggs in a 2-cup measuring cup and add heavy cream. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, and chives and whisk to combine. Pour egg mixture over the spinach and cheese to almost the top of the crusts. Return to the oven and bake 18-20 minutes more until the eggs are set and the tops are golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes and then remove from pan, using a knife to loosen the edges if necessary.

Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

A lot of people think a cheese ball would be gross... I used to be included in that group of people. Then I actually tried one that wasn't purchased from the grocery store display and vacuum-packed. And I discovered that they can be really good.

You can really adapt a cheese ball depending on what flavors you want. Bacon, green onions, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc would all be great additions. In this case, I went with the ranch spice packet because my sister is a big fan of ranch dressing and it was her shower. You can also shape a cheese ball into various shapes, like a football for a tailgate party... cheese balls are great appetizers because they are so easy and versatile.


Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 packet powder ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cayenne pepper
6 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, ranch mix and cayenne pepper until light and creamy. Add cheese and scallions and stir until well incorporated. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes until the mixture is slightly firm.

Spoon mixture onto a large sheet of wax paper, wrap the paper around the mix and form into a ball. Remove from wax paper, add chopped pecans to wax paper and roll cheese ball over them, squeeze remaining nuts into the ball using the wax paper. Keep wrapped and refrigerate for at least 1 hour more before serving.

Beer Cheese Fondue

Fondue is one of those foods that turns "cheese dip" into something much more fun. For some reason, dipping food into the little pot on your color-coded skewer is always fun. I had a couple blocks of cheese, half a loaf of bread, and some apples on hand the other night so I decided to throw this together. The pepper jack cheese is great with the beer. I recommend using a darker Mexican beer or similar style for added flavor. You can use a light beer but it just wont add as much depth of flavor to the recipe.



Beer Cheese Fondue

4 oz pepper jack cheese
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz beer (I used Red Stripe)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 T flour
Juice of half of 1 lime

Grate cheese on a coarse grater and toss with flour and cumin. Rub a stove-top safe fondue pot or small saucepan with peeled garlic clove all over the inside of the pot and discard. Pour in beer and lime juice and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and add cheese a handful at a time, whisking constantly until melted. Add cheese slowly so that it doesn't clump up. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and cheese is well incorporated.

Transfer to fondue pot to keep warm and serve.

Dipping suggestions: warm bread cubes, apples, grapes, carrots, cubed potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

Spicy Crab Macaroni and Cheese

Inspired by the leftovers from my crab cake recipe that I had in the refrigerator, I decided to make some slightly fancier macaroni and cheese. Turned out to be fantastic. Since I'm assuming you won't have leftover crab cake mixture, the recipe below is from the beginning. Enjoy!


Spicy Crab Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz lump crab meat (you can use canned if you want)
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 T butter
2 T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup pepper jack cheese
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
8 oz short cut pasta (I used a mix of whole wheat rotini and regular elbow pasta because that's what was in the pantry)
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large pot of water for pasta. When boiling, add a generous spoonful of salt and pasta. Cook to just al dente, strain and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 1 T of butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add red pepper, onion and garlic and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and cool slightly. Roughly chop crab meat and add to pepper mixture. Beat egg, add Worcestershire sauce and add to mixture. In the same pan, melt the remaining butter and add flour. Whisk until foamy. Slowly add milk, whisking frequently. Stir in mustard and cayenne pepper. Cook until the mixture thickens slightly. Reduce heat to low and add in cheeses a handful at a time, stirring until melted. Add crab mixture and pasta. Stir everything together to mix well. Add thyme and salt and pepper to taste.


Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until bubbly.

Smoked Mozzarella Risotto

Oh.My.God. Seriously, go make this risotto now. This was my favorite part of our Valentine's dinner. The crab cakes were good, the cake was good, but this risotto was fantastic. I have never made risotto, I'm not even sure I've ever ordered risotto... but I think its my new favorite side dish. This stuff is amazing. I'm already looking for other recipes and combinations to try so I can make more. I always thought this was a dish that was really finicky and took forever but it was actually extremely easy. Yes it takes a little while, but the wait is worth it. This probably took a little less than 30 minutes total.

This recipe is from Elly Says Opa and the only changes I made were using onion instead of shallot, slightly reducing the amount of sun-dried tomatoes and I left out the fresh basil since I didn't have any and used dried herbs. The recipe below reflects my changes. I also think that this serves 4 people as a side dish instead of 2 as we had leftovers for lunch the next day.



Smoked Mozzarella Risotto

1 T butter
1/2 small white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 oz smoked mozzarella cheese (chop into small pieces)
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste

In a sauce pan, heat the 3 cups of stock over medium heat.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir until well coated distributed. Toast the rice, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced almost entirely.

Start adding broth, 1 ladle at a time, stirring the risotto frequently. Add another ladle of broth when the first addition is almost all absorbed. Continue this process until you've added all but the last of the broth. The rice should be creamy but still have a little bite to it. Add the sun-dried tomatoes with the last addition of broth and again cook until almost all absorbed.

Turn off the heat and add the cheese and all spices except the salt. Taste and add salt if necessary (I used low sodium chicken stock and between the stock and the cheese, didn't need anymore salt).

Jalapeno Cheddar Bread

This stuff is ridiculously good. It takes about 10 minutes to put together and most of that is chopping up the peppers.

Quick breads are about the easiest form of baking imaginable. Mix together the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients, barely mix and pour into a pan. That's about as easy as it gets and your whole house smells like fresh bread. In this case, a cheesy, spicy bread.

Jalapeno Cheddar Bread
Recipe adapted from Pink Parsley, originally from Savory Baking

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, diced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8" x 4" loaf pan with baking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, pepper, salt, and cheese. Toss together and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, combine milk, oil, and egg and whisk together. Pour mixture into well in center of flour and stir mix together lightly with a wooden spoon. Add peppers and stir just until dry ingredients are all combined. The batter should be lumpy.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.


Bake bread for approximately 45 minutes until golden brown. Bread should spring back when touched. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, run a knife around all sides and turn out of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Baked Brie

I have an appetizer obsession lately... baked brie. I think its my new favorite thing. We made it for an appetizer at Thanksgiving, again at a Christmas dinner I made, and last night, I made it for a New Year's Eve treat. Its an extremely simple appetizer that takes about 2 minutes of prep work and can be ready in about 30 minutes.

You can add so many different things to brie, in this case I used apricot preserves and toasted walnuts. It's great with pretty much any fruit chutney or honey mustard sauce.

1 wedge or wheel of brie

1/2 jar apricot preserves

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

French bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap brie in aluminum foil and bake on a rimmed baking sheet for about 25 minutes until the brie puffs up and is almost ready to ooze out. Meanwhile add walnuts to a small dry skillet and toast over medium heat until fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. Watch these carefully so you don't burn them. Remove brie from oven, transfer to a serving platter, spread preserves over the top and top with walnuts. Serve with thinly sliced, warmed or toasted bread.