Beer Cheese and Beer-Cheese Burgers for the #BlondeBBQChallenge

Cheese! Cheese! CHEESE!!!

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, under the shadow of O'Hare airport's many flights, and just a few blocks from the entrance to the tollway that led to the Mecca of cheese - otherwise known as Wisconsin.

While there were a great many Wisconsin cheese products for sale at grocery stores in my suburb, a trip across the border gave me access to small cheese shops and giant purveyors of mountains of cheese.

It was wonderful.

I always brought a cooler with me, and I did a pretty good job filling it. And of course the nonperishable jarred and bottle products didn't take any cooler space, right?

One thing that often followed me home was a tub of beer cheese, often sold in a little crock.

I never really thought about what beer cheese was - I guess I assumed that it was cheese that tasted good with beer. Because that's another thing you can find a lot of in Wisconsin.

But no, beer cheese isn't just something that tastes good with a glass of beer - it has beer in it!

I decided that it was about time I made my own beer cheese, and then I went a step further and melted it on top of a burger. With a side of beer.

I was beery happy with the results.

My good friends at Guinness supplied me with some of their new Guinness® Blonde™ American Lager, along with a few other goodies (mmm ... beer) for my participation in creating a recipe that goes with beer. But once I had that beer cheese idea in my head, I had to go with it. And then I used it in a recipe that goes with beer.

Snickers is skeptical about the big metal tub. She thinks it's a doggy bathtub!

Guinness Blonde, if you haven't tried it, is hoppier than Guinness, but with a nice maltiness as well. I don't usually care for highly-hopped beers like IPAs, but I really liked the Blonde.

Besides being lovely on top of a burger, this cheese is great on crackers. Probably also good spread inside a celery stick, but around here we went for the burgers and crackers.

Beer Cheese Burgers

Mmmmm ... melted cheese!

For the beer cheese:
1/2 pound sharp (or extra-sharp) cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 pound mild cheddar or colby cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
6 ounces (1/2 bottle) Guinness Blonde

For the burgers:
(do you really need this?)
Ground meat, formed into patties
Beer cheese
Buns, to match the number of patties
Condiments and toppings, as needed

To make the beer cheese:

Cheers!

Pulse the cheeses along with the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne in your food processor until you have small bits.

Add the worcestershire sauce. turn the processor on, and with it running, add the beer. Continue processing until you have a smooth paste. If you think you need a little more beer, feel free to add it. Otherwise, I'm sure you'll find a really good use for that other half-bottle of beer!

Transfer the beer cheese to an appropriate container and refrigerate until needed. It will be soft right after it's processed, but it will firm up as it chills. If you need it softer for spreading - like on crackers - let it come to room temperature, and it will soften.

To make the burgers:
Grill the burgers as you usually do, adding the cheese to the top just before they're fully cooked. Close the grill and allow the cheese to melt - it doesn't take long, maybe 30 seconds.

Put the burgers on buns and add your favorite condiments. This time, I topped the burger with a large slice of tomato and a few pickled jalapenos.

Serve with a refreshing glass of Guinness Blonde, for adults only.

This post was sponsored by Guinness. 

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Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak

Skirt steak is one of my favorite cuts of beef. I enjoy a good prime rib or ribeye, but skirt steak is so great for marinating and grilling. Cut against the grain, it's perfectly tender, too.

The one teeny mistake I made with this steak was that I marinated it without cutting it first. Which could have been okay, except that once I got it on the grill, I realized that if I wanted even cooking I was going to have to cut it into sections. So I ended up whacking it into four pieces after it was on the grill.

The aji panca chili paste is a dark red paste that I bought in a small jar. I thought it needed a bit of sweetness and tartness, and the first thing I thought of was the black cherry balsamic vinegar that I bought recently. It was the perfect balance for the chili paste, and the hint of fruitiness it added to the steak was just about perfect.

Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak

1 skirt steak
1/4 cup aji panca chili paste
2 tablespoons black cherry balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put everything into a zip-top plastic bag and massage it around to coat the steak with the marinade. Set aside for an hour, if you have the time. Or, refrigerate for a couple hours.

Heat your grill (or, you can use a grill pan) an cook the steak on both sides on high heat to get grill marks. This cooks quickly since it's so thin, so watch it carefully, and don't overcook.

Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain to serve.

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Boneless Ribeye - I'll bet you never cooked it this way before

Everyone knows that the day after Christmas is the best day to stock up on wrapping paper and bows, but the fifth of July is a pretty good day to hit the grocery store. I picked up a honkin' thick (a bit less than 2 inches) boneless ribeye steak for 30 percent off the pre-holiday sale price.

I have a recipe somewhere for cooking a beef tenderloin by putting it under the broiler and cooking the heck out of the outside, then wrapping it in foil and stashing it in something warm(ish) to finish cooking - or at least an enclosed space that will retain the heat.

So I thought, "Why not try it with steak?" But not under the broiler. I figured I could do the same thing on the grill.

Here's how it went:

Ribeye on the Grill

• I seasoned the steak on both sides and let it rest about and hour at room temperature. Just salt. Nothing else.
• I heated the grill to blasting hot.
• I cooked the steak for a total of 4 minutes on each side, moving the steak at about the 3-minute mark to get pretty grill marks.
• I wrapped the steak in a triple layer of aluminum foil and put it into a cast iron dutch oven, since I knew that would retain the heat.
• After 45 minutes, I checked the steak, and it was nicely warm and right about rare. I wanted it done just a bit more, so I tossed it on the grill for a couple more minutes. Perfect!

I really like this cooking method, but I need to tweak the timing just a little bit. On the other hand, I don't get steaks this thick very often, so I'd have to adjust the timing for a more normal-sized steak, anyway.

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Country-style pork ribs with maple whisky barbecue sauce

I love country-style pork ribs. I don't recall ever seeing them when we lived in Chicago. Maybe I just never looked. But here in Colorado, they're pretty common. This time I decided to slow cook them on the grill.

But before I put them on the grill, I marinated them in a super-simple marinade. The flavor will be different depending on which ketchup you use, so it's wise to do a little tasting before you slather it on the meat. Many brands of ketchup are sweet enough, but that's up to you. And of course salt is a personal taste.

If you refer a spicy sauce, you could add a pinch of cayenne.

I've been having a lot of fun with the Maple-aged whisky from Crown Royal. I've used in in ice cream a few times, but this time I decided to use it in a savory dish. This was a winner for sure. An it couldn't be any easier.

Country-Style Pork Ribs
--- on the grill with maple whisky barbecue sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Crown Maple
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
4 pieces country-style pork ribs

Combine the ketchup and Crown Maple. Give it a little taste and add salt and sugar, if needed.

Put the ribs in a plastic bag and add the sauce. Massage it a bit to make sure the sauce is evenly coating the meat.

Set aside for an hour at room temperature, or refrigerate if you won't be cooking for a while.

Preheat your grill with the fire off to one side or with just one burner turned on medium-low temperature if you have an electric grill. Cook the rib on indirect heat, covered, until the meat is tender. How long this takes depends on how thick the meat is and what temperature your grill is, but figure about three hours. The goal is low and slow cooking. It's mostly unattended, though - just make sure the fire doesn't go out, move the meat around once in a while to make sure it's cooking evenly, and make sure the meat isn't getting too close to the fire, so it doesn't burn or overcook.

When the meat is tender, remove it from the grill and let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Leftovers make great shredded pork sandwiches.

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You've heard of chicken under a brick, right? This is chicken under a grill press.

Well, how about 1/2 chicken under a grill press?
Chicken under a brick isn't so much a recipe as a technique. You cook a flattened (spatchcocked) chicken in a pan and use a heated, foil-wrapped brick to weight down the chicken.

The heat of the brick helps cook the chicken on the top at the same time it's being cooked on the bottom.

The weight of the brick also keeps the chicken pressed against the pan for faster and more even cooking all the way through.

So I thought, well, gee, why not apply the same sort of technique to chicken on the grill?

I don't happen to have bricks sitting around that I want to wrap in foil. A grill press, made from cast iron and with a handle, makes more sense, anyway. It's heavy enough to weight the chicken down, and having a handle makes handling a lot easier. You try lifting a crazy hot brick.

The handle is for convenience, but isn't heat resistant, so keep that in mind. A potholder, mitt, towel, or tongs are what you need to lift the grill press once it's hot.

The grill press isn't a one trick pony. It can be used when cooking bacon to keep the strips flat, if that's your preference. I'm sure there are other uses. Like keeping a cookbook open. Or ... hmmm. I'm sure I'll think of other things.

As far as cooking chicken, I was thrilled with the results. The skin was crisp, and despite the fact that I overcooked the bird a little bit due to inattention, the chicken was juicy.

You could certainly use this technique with a whole chicken, but I bought a rather large one and I knew that it would be more than enough for the two of us. So I only cooked half.

Half-Chicken Under a Grill Press

1/2 chicken
Olive oil, as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Fire up the grill with the grill press over the fire to heat up.

Rub the chicken skin with olive oil ans sprinkle with salt and pepper. I used a seasoned salt and lemon pepper, but whatever you have is fine.

Place the chicken, skin-side up, on the grill and place the grill press on top of the chicken. Close the grill and cook until the chicken is done (use a meat thermometer). If you like, briefly reheat and then re-position the grill press on top of the chicken to get cross-hatched grill marks.

You can cook the chicken over direct heat, or over indirect heat. On direct heat, watch for flareups. How long it will take to cook depends on the size of the chicken and how hot your grill is. My big, fat chicken should have been done in about 45-60 minutes.

Let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes before you cut it apart.

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Cast Iron "Grilled" Baby Bok Choy and Super Simple Spuds

Baby bok choy are so cute, aren't they? I've used them in stir fry dishes, and I've shredded them for salads. I've even put them in soup.

But all that slicing and dicing sort of ruins the cute factor.

This time, I decided to cut them in half and grill them. Or, actually, I seared them in a cast iron pan.

And then, well, you'll see. It's my little "secret" for getting them a little more tender quickly.

Cast Iron "Grilled" Baby Bok Choy

2 baby bok choy
Drizzle of olive oil
Feiny's Veggie Rub

Remove any damaged or bad leaves/stalks from the outside of the bok choy. Cut them in half horizontally.

Drizzle the cut sides of the bok choy with olive oil, then sprinkle with the veggie rub. Or, if you prefer, salt and pepper, or your own favorite spices or spice mix.

Heat a cast iron pan on medium high heat. When it's hot, place the bok choy in the pan, cut side down. Leave them in place until they are brown or lightly charred.

Turn them over and add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. You don't need to measure exactly - just eyeball the amount. It will boil out quickly and steam the bok choy as is disappears.

Remove the bok choy from the pan and serve hot.

If you prefer it cooked more, you can cover the pan after you add the water, or continue cooking in the dry pan, turning the bok choy as needed to cook it evenly and keep it from charring.

You can also cook your bok choy on the grill - closing the lid with the vegetables away from direct heat (after searing the cut side) will get them cooked through.

Red, White, and Blue Spuds

Not much of a recipe, really, but my absolutely favorite way to cook small potatoes is to scrub them well, then cook them, still in their peels, in boiling  salted water.

This time I used a mix of red-skinned potatoes, white potatoes (with yellow flesh) and blue potatoes. They look a little more interesting with all the colors in the bowl.

After boiling, I serve the potatoes with with just a teeny sprinkle of salt and maybe some butter or a drizzle of olive oil. If you're feeling decadent pass some sour cream or creme fraiche at the table for those who want it. Guild the lily a little with chopped chives, if you like.

I know it's ridiculously simple, but sometimes simple is just what you need.

Leftover potatoes can be used in potato salad, or they can be sliced and sauteed. Or just warm them a bit in the microwave (poke some holes in them before microwaving, unless you feel like cleaning your microwave.)

I received a box of vegetables from Frieda's Specialty Produce, and the Veggie Rub from Fein Tasting Foods. I was not obligated to write this post. This was just part of dinner.

If you're in Colorado, you can find Frieda's products at King Soopers, City Markets, and Sprouts. 

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Cheese pizza on the grill

Grilling season has begun. Or, more accurately, it's coming and going. Some days, it's nice enough for me to want to be outside, and others, I want my fluffy socks and a mug of hot chocolate.

The great thing about pizza is that it can be made on the grill or in the oven. In this case, I made the pizza on the grill.

As far as the dough, I prefer to make pizza dough ahead of time and let it rest in the refrigerator at least overnight, if not longer. This time, I wanted pizza for that night. To make up for the fact that the dough wouldn't get the flavor from the long rise, I added semolina flour. It adds a nice depth of flavor.

For the toppings, I sent with something very very simple. Because sometimes simple is all you need.

Cheese Pizza (On the grill. Or not.)

2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup semolina flour
2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the yeast, water, sugar, and semolina flour in the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to combine and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Add the bread flour and salt and knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball, drizzle with the olive oil, and return it to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.

I use a gas grill, so I started that preheating about 20 minutes before the dough had risen, with my cast iron pizza pan in the grill, with the heat on either side of the pan on medium and the burner directly below off. The pan got plenty hot.

My grill also has a rack that hangs above the grates that can be used for keeping things warm. I placed some quarry tiles up there. Those tiles absorb heat and help the pizza cook from above as well as below - because of course as soon as you lift that lid, you lose a lot of heat.

Of course, there are a lot of styles of grills, so set yours up as best you can so you have heat around the pizza pan or stone (and make sure your stone can be used on  a grill - some can't) and less heat directly below.

When the dough has risen, divide it in half. You have your choice of making 2 pizzas, one after the other, or stashing that second half of the dough for another day.

Roll the first half into a disk about 12 inches in diameter. Sprinkle your pizza peel (or whatever you'll use to transport pizza to grill) with cornmeal or semolina. Transfer the pizza to the peel and add your preferred toppings.

I used:

A drizzle of olive oil on the dough
Canned crushed tomatoes
A sprinkle of salt
A scattering of oregano
Slices of mozzarella

Move quickly when you're adding toppings, then give the peel a few gentle shakes back and forth to make sure the dough isn't sticking.

Transfer the pizza to the hot stone, close the lid, and let the pizza cook for 8 minutes. Open the lid just enough to peek inside to check the cooking.

Cook a few minutes more, if needed.

If the bottom of the pizza is getting overdone and the top is still underdone, you can turn on your oven broiler and give the pizza 30 seconds under the broiler to finish it. No need to preheat - just turn it on and let it go.

Slice the pizza as desired. Serve with some crushed red peppers, if you like, for sprinkling on at the table.

Make the second pizza the same way as the first.

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