Name: Beer Cheese Bread (Quick)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients: butter for greasing the pan; 3 ounces (1 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated on the large holes of a grater (divided); 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (you can also use half whole wheat flour); 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper; 4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into cubes (about 1 cup or 1/2 of a regular block from the grocery store); 1 cup lager or pilsner beer; 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly; 1 egg, beaten

Beer Cheese Bread (Quick) + Video

October 22, 2017

This quick beer cheese bread is easy and so tasty that you’ll want to make it every week! It’s great with soup or just as a snack! Scroll down for the video.

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Cooking with Beer

So…when your husband co-owns a beer store, you have a pretty big selection of beer at your disposal and you only have to send a text to get it (just FYI, we do pay for the beer we bring home, lest you think that we are rolling in “free” beer). That seems like a pretty good excuse to incorporate beer into as many recipes as possible, no? Honestly, though, I could make this beer cheese bread on the weekly and just leave all the other recipes…that’s just how good this bread is. I promise you, it’s better than any beer bread you ever made from a pricey mix.

The tricks to this bread (which I adapted from a recipe in the Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book <–affiliate link):

1) Lots of cheese
I mean, it’s beer cheese bread. Why skimp on the cheese? Cutting the cheese into cubes instead of grating it results in the most amazing little pockets of cheese distributed throughout, and crusting the top and bottom with Parmesan means that your bread will have a nice, sharp, crusty, cheesy edge.

2) Lager or Pilsner
I mean, you can certainly use whatever beer you want (I wouldn’t recommend something chocolatey or anything like that), but the light flavor of a lager or pils works really well here because it lends a little bit of a beer “tang” to the bread without overpowering the flavor of the cheese. Philip doesn’t really drink a lot of lagers or pilsners (and you guys know I really don’t drink a lot of beer at all), but they really are perfect in this application.

3) Sour cream and Butter
The sour cream and butter up the moisture factor (but if you are out of sour cream, you can use Greek yogurt too). Full-fat will definitely lend the best texture and flavor.

Best Bread Ever?

I took a loaf of this into the shop and got rave reviews – including one guy who told me that it was the best bread he had ever had (I am not joking) and another who told me that it tasted like a Cheez-It, which is one of the best comparisons that you could possibly make in my book (I❤Cheez-Its). Trust me, you want to make this bread (and it comes together in just about 15 minutes, so you really have no excuses).

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Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

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Mary

Yield: 1 loaf

Beer Cheese Bread (Quick)

This recipe is adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book

15 minPrep Time:

50 minCook Time:

1 hr, 5 Total Time:

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Ingredients

butter for greasing the pan
3 ounces (1 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated on the large holes of a grater (divided)
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (you can also use half whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into cubes (about 1 cup or 1/2 of a regular block from the grocery store)
1 cup lager or pilsner beer
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350?. Grease a loaf pan with butter. Sprinkle half of the Parmesan cheese on the bottom of the loaf pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. Add the cheddar cheese and toss to coat with the flour mixture.
In a smaller mixing bowl or a large mixing cup, combine the beer, sour cream or Greek yogurt, melted butter, and egg. Pour over the dry mixture and stir to combine until no large dry spots remain.
Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden on top.
Cool for at least an hour on a wire rack before serving.

https://chattavore.com/beer-cheese-bread/

Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes

July 17, 2017

Fried green tomatoes are Southern food at its best, but oven-fried green tomatoes take the messy, popping oil factor out of the equation! (Scroll down for video!)

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Fried Green Tomato Obsessed

Regular readers of my blog are fully aware of my undying love for fried pickles and fried green tomatoes. I can resist neither when I encounter them on a restaurant menu, unless they’re both there, at which point I have to make a choice. It’s never an easy choice but it usually comes down to (a) mood; (b) prices; and (c) dipping sauces. Both have been featured here, most recently oven-fried pickles…swoon.

Oven-Fried is Better!

And since I mentioned it, you may have noticed that I do an awful lot of oven-frying around here. I already have a pan-fried green tomatoes recipe, but let’s be honest…on a weeknight, who really wants to fool with a big pan of popping hot oil? If I’m really speaking the truth, I don’t want to deal with it ever. Usually I just let other people (i.e. restaurants) do the frying for me.

Where to Find Green Tomatoes

Green tomatoes are plentiful right now if you know where to find them. Some grocery stores have them but often by the time you get to them, they’re already striped pink. My produce stand keeps them in the refrigerator, delaying the ripening process and keeping them green, so that’s where I usually get them. Right now I have a bunch of green tomatoes on a vine in my front yard, but they’re all so tiny that they’re going to be better for eating ripe than for frying.

Fried Green Tomato Success!

These tomatoes here were given to me by my pal Becky from A Calculated Whisk (I call her Blogger Becky so my husband knows that I am talking about her and not my other friend, OT Becki). Truth time again: we took these pictures in November, when she got a few green tomatoes from the end of the tomato crop at her CSA, Big Sycamore Farm (that’s her hand dipping that tomato!). Becky had never had fried green tomatoes or Alabama white BBQ sauce, so we sliced these up and made some quick oven-fried green tomatoes with some white BBQ sauce for dipping. I think that she was sold, and I doubt that I’ll ever actually fry green tomatoes again.

Just FYI, oven-fried green tomatoes are pretty flipping tasty on fried green tomatoes po’boys. You can take my word for it or you can give it a try for yourself.

Click here to save this recipe to your Pinterest appetizer or Southern cooking boards!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

Mary

Yield: 8-10 slices

Oven-Fried Green Tomatoes

15 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

35 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal (not self-rising cornbread mix)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large green tomatoes - cut into 1/4 inch slices
Alabama White BBQ Sauce , Remoulade Sauce , or [ranch dressinghttps://chattavore.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/pantry-ranch-dressing.pdf], for dipping

Instructions

Preheat a baking sheet or stoneware pan in the oven at 450 degrees. Set a wire cooling rack over another baking sheet.
Set up a breading station with the 1/2 cup flour in one bowl, the egg and buttermilk beaten together in another, and the cornmeal combined with the salt, pepper, and cayenne in a third.
Dip each tomato slice into the flour, egg mixture, and the cornmeal to coat completely. Set on the wire rack as you finish each.
When all of the tomato slices have been coated, remove the preheated pan from the oven and spray generously with olive oil spray or cooking spray. Place the tomatoes on the pan and spray the tops with oil spray or cooking spray. Bake for ten minutes. Flip, respray the tops, and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

https://chattavore.com/oven-fried-green-tomatoes/

a photo of a hand dipping an oven-fried green tomato into a bowl of Alabama white sauce

Southern Fried Pickles & Buttermilk-Lime Dressing

April 24, 2014

Southern fried pickles are my favorite snack. They’re easy to make and perfect served with this buttermilk lime dressing.

Surprising news, you guys: I love fried pickles. I remember the first time that I ever tried fried pickles: some of my sorority sisters took me to Durty Nelly’s (the restaurant/bar that used to be in the Taco Mamacita location) and said, “You have to try fried pickles!” and I was all, “Fried pickles? What?” The truth of the matter is, I never even liked pickles until I worked in a bagel shop for a few months, when I learned to love the dill spears we put on the side of our bagel sandwiches.

But fried pickles? Those were a revelation. Sixteen years later, I still remember those fried pickles as the best that I ever had. Funny thing is, I really didn’t eat very many fried pickles between that time and the inception of this blog, then something in my awakened and I couldn’t stop with the fried pickles. If you’ve read a lot of my restaurant blogs then you are aware that I am physically incapable of not ordering fried pickles when they appear on a menu. I’ve learned a few things about my fried pickle preferences, including that I prefer chips over spears for two simple reasons: (1) you get more of them; and (2) you are far less likely to burn the roof of your mouth on pickle chips than spears. Also, ranch dressing is a great accompaniment for fried pickles but only if it’s house made ranch. Nothing disappoints me more than getting Sysco ranch dressing alongside some great pickles.

For some reason my Southern fried pickle craving has been through the roof recently (no, I am not pregnant) so I decided it was time to crack the code. I don’t suppose that fried pickles are really a “southern” preparation but because they are so often served with barbecue, which is a decidedly southern food (unless you are from Kansas City, of course), and because I southernized this recipe all up with cornmeal and buttermilk, I have decided that it counts. And this dressing? One of the best I’ve ever made, inspired by a similar recipe by the Lee Brothers, who are among my southern cooking idols, this dressing is similar to ranch but not that much. It’s tangier (for obvious reasons, lime, hello) and a little sweeter and, well, just unexpected and it pairs perfectly with the Southern fried pickles. I can’t wait to serve it alongside some fried green tomatoes this summer. But for now I’m just oh so excited that now I don’t have any reason to go out to a restaurant when I want Southern fried pickles.

Give my Southern fried pickles a try next time you have a craving!

Mary

Yield: 2-4 servings

Fried Pickles with Buttermilk-Lime Dressing

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Ingredients

For the fried pickles

canola or vegetable oil
1 cup dill pickle chips (drained and dried on paper towels)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal (not cornbread mix)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 cup buttermilk

For the Buttermilk Lime Dressing

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 green onion
juice and zest of 2 limes
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley (tightly packed)
1/2 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

To make the dressing: If using a blender, place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. If not using a blender, finely chop the green onion then whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate for up to a week.
Pour about half an inch of oil into a 9-10 inch skillet (I use my 9-inch cast iron skillet). Place over medium heat.
While the oil is heating, whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the buttermilk and whisk to make a thick batter.
Place half of the pickle chips into the batter and use tongs to toss them to coat in the batter. When the oil is shimmering, place the chips in a single layer in the pan.
Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until brown. Remove to paper towels and repeat with remaining pickles. Serve immediately.

https://chattavore.com/southern-fried-pickles/

Fresh Broccoli Salad with Bacon & Pickled Onions

April 21, 2014

This fresh broccoli salad has the classic ingredients plus pickled onions and dried cranberries. It’s delicious and substantial enough to be a main dish!

Ah, broccoli. Much maligned broccoli. Why does everyone hate you so? Broccoli seems to be the quintessential vegetable that gets scapegoated in everyone’s “I hate vegetables” rant. I am going to presume that this is because of the stinky nature of broccoli and our tendency to overcook it. Nothing pains me more than to see floppy spears of broccoli plated up, especially when they have been cooked to the point that they are no longer green but yellow. Yes, that’s right. I have seen yellow broccoli served. In a restaurant!

I have always loved broccoli, raw or cooked (though for some reason I never cared for my mom’s broccoli casserole until I was an adult. I can’t explain.). Raw broccoli, of course, is typically served up with copious amounts of ranch dressing….cooked broccoli cloaked in a swath of cheese sauce…because vegetables are icky and their flavors must be masked. Of course that is sarcasm, but certain ranch dressing manufacturers and processed “cheese” sauce purveyors would have us believe just that.

I had never tasted or even heard of broccoli salad until I was an adult. It is not something that I remember at the church potlucks or in the box lunches of my youth. I discovered it in a gardening book and started making it constantly. It was only then that I noticed it showing up on tables that I was eating from, usually including some sort of dried fruit (more on that in a minute) and sunflower seeds. Turns out that it’s a traditional Southern thing, with a recipe in every fundraiser cookbook.

Now, as much as I love broccoli, raw broccoli can be a bit unwieldy to eat. Chewing with whole florets in your mouth can be a challenge. Traditional broccoli slaw is something that you don’t even want to get me started on…I find those bags of thick shreds of broccoli combined with thick shreds of carrot to be insipid and dull. However, if you turn your fresh broccoli into slaw by slicing it up finely, you’ll find it not only tasty but easier to shovel into your mouth with a fork (not that I shovel…ahem)…so it makes a perfect fresh broccoli salad.

Traditional recipes include golden raisins but you guys, I have a confession: I. HATE. RAISINS. I spent many years in denial of this fact and I’m not going to live the lie anymore. So we use cranberries. Toasted sunflower seeds and almonds give it crunch, and bacon gives it, well, bacon, and that needs no explanation. I’ve discovered that if I finely chop raw onions and give them a quick pickle in some vinegar, I can eat them! The vinegar in the onions combines with mayo, sour cream, buttermilk, and a little sugar to make a dressing that’s lightened up from the traditional dressing, which includes just mayo, vinegar (plain old white vinegar traditionally), and sugar.

This fresh broccoli salad is a quick and simple side, potluck dish, or, if you’re like me, something that you will eat straight from the bowl standing at the counter until you are so stuffed full of broccoli that you don’t even want to eat anything else.

At any rate, make this fresh broccoli salad. Even if you stuff yourself, you won’t regret it.

Mary

Yield: 6-8 servings

Broccoli Salad

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Ingredients

1/4 red onion, finely minced (I used 1/4 of a gigantic onion, because I cannot EVER find small red onions at the grocery store)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1lb broccoli
4 Slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds, lightly toasted (oh, you could use roasted & salted seeds and I am sure that they would be JUST fine. In fact, they'd probably be better than fine. I just like to save mine for scarfing.)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk, well-shaken
salt and pepper

Instructions

Pickle the onions: Place the onions in a small bowl (I mince mine up as finely as I can by continuously running my knife through them). Pour the vinegar over and give them a stir. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Prep the broccoli: slice off the ugly brown ends and the leaves and discard. Cut the florets off of the stem. Cut the stems into planks lengthwise then stack the planks and cut crosswise into matchsticks. Cut the florets crosswise into 3 or 4 thin slices each. Place into a large mixing bowl.
Make the dressing: whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, and sugar.
Assemble the salad: put the bacon, sunflower seeds, almonds, cranberries, and pickled onions (along with all the vinegar in the bowl) into the bowl with the broccoli. Pour the dressing over. Stir to combine thoroughly. Salt and pepper, stir, taste, adjust seasonings, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

https://chattavore.com/fresh-broccoli-salad/