Beer Cheese!!!

Okay, so my annual Kickoff Party is a week and a half away. I have a bunch of things to do. The menu is all set. With Labor Day coming up this weekend, I can take advantage of the sales. I'll load up on chips and pretzels, as well as beer and soda. Since my place is the official Homegating Headquarters for all game day festivities, I usually buy in bulk so that I'm always prepared, especially for unannounced guests. It makes my life easier that way.

You can't have a good football party without several dips and chips. That's pretty much a standard when you're homegating. Of the many dips I usually haul out during the course of the season, I thought I'd introduce you to my Beer Cheese Dip. It's so easy to whip up (literally) because it's all done in the food processor (one of my favoritest kitchen appliances). It takes just minutes to prepare.

I developed the beer cheese dip after my bestie asked if I could replicate a cheese spread that her local restaurant would place on tables instead of the standard basket of bread and butter. The chef wouldn't share the recipe, so she had me culinarily (is that a word?) dissect it. After a lot of trial and error, I came up with a pretty damn good facsimile. I unleashed it on my co-workers and it was a hit. Hence the legend of the Beer Cheese Dip.  And now you, my lucky fellow homegaters, are privvy to it. Go ahead, shock and awe your guests...

Beer Cheese Dip
(makes 1 pint)

1- 8oz package of cream cheese, softened
10 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
1 tbs red onion
1 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 bottle lager or ale** (you don't want anything heavier than that, or it will overcome the dip)
1 bag of pretzels

Method:

1.  Place the red onion in the processor and process until it's finely minced.

2.  Add the shredded cheese and begin to process. With the processor running, drizzle the beer in a little at a time. What you want to do is develop a cheese "puree." Once the cheese reaches that consistency, add the cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce and the hot sauce. Process until smooth.

3.  If the dip seems too thick, add more beer and process until you reach a smooth consistency.

You can double or triple this recipe to make however much you want.

Serve with pretzels and enjoy the games!

* Don't use the pre-packaged shredded cheese because that cheese is tossed in cornstarch to keep it from sticking. Trust me, you don't want to use it. You can shred a block of cheese easily in the food processor using the shredder disk.

** Non-alcohol beer is perfectly fine.

See you next week for more ideas and another recipe!