Meatles Archives - Cooking With Spirits

Get the fiesta started with warm queso. This queso beer-cheese dip is blended with flavors of lager beer, sweet and spicy peppers, and onion. This dip is an easy, entertaining favorite that is sure to please any crowd or as an easy weeknight dinner when served as nachos with rice and beans.

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoon butter divided
½ White onion, chopped
1Bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 Jalapeno
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup whole milk
½ cup Samuel Adams or your favorite lager
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
12 Ounces mild or medium Cheddar cheese shredded
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Chips or veggies to serve the dip with
Cilantro, tomatoes and fresh peppers make a great optional topping.

DIRECTIONS

Heat 1 tbs. of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft.
Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside. Add remaining butter to the pan and melt. Slowly sprinkle ½ tbs of the flour over the butter while whisking it. You should have a thick but smooth mixture.
Slowly add in the milk and keep whisking. Add in the beer and allow the mixture simmer.
While whisking slowly sprinkle the remailing flour into the sauce.
Cook over medium heat until the sauce is smooth.
In small amounts slowly add the cheese to the warm milk mixture. Be sure to keep whisking until the sauce is smooth. I like to work in batches until all of the cheese has been added in I have a smooth sauce.
Add the pepper and onion mixture to the cheese sauce
Simmer on low for a few minutes. Do not allow the cheese to overcook.

Serving

Queso Beer-Cheese Dip is great with chips or veggies. We like to top the dip with chopped fresh cilantro and diced tomatoes.

The Best Queso Beer-Cheese Dip Recipe

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Get the fiesta started with warm queso. This queso beer-cheese dip is blended with flavors of lager beer, sweet and spicy peppers, and onion. This dip’s an easy entertaining favorite that is sure to please any crowd or as an easy weeknight dinner when served as nachos with rice and beans.

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Ingredients

3 tablespoon butter divided
½ White onion chopped
1 Bell pepper seeded and diced
1 Jalapeno
2 cloves garlic minced
¾ cup whole milk
½ cup Samuel Adams or your favorite lager
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
12 Ounces mild or medium Cheddar cheese shredded
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Chips or veggies to serve the dip with

Instructions

Heat 1 tbs. of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft.
Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside. Add remaining butter to the pan and melt. Slowly sprinkle ½ tbs of the flour over the butter while whisking it. You should have a thick but smooth mixture.
Slowly add in the milk and keep whisking. Add in the beer and allow the mixture simmer.
While whisking slowly sprinkle the remailing flour into the sauce.
Cook over medium heat until the sauce is smooth.
In small amounts slowly add the cheese to the warm milk mixture. Be sure to keep whisking until the sauce is smooth. I like to work in batches until all of the cheese has been added in I have a smooth queso dip.
Simmer on low for a few minutes. Do not allow the cheese to overcook.

Get the fiesta started with warm queso blended with flavors lager beer, sweet and spicy peppers, and onion.This dip's an easy entertaining favorite!

The Williams Sonoma Essentials of Italian cookbook states that it was invented in the 1980s by a Roman chef for a vodka company that wanted to popularize its product in Italy.

Along with the penne pasta, this dish generally contains cream sauce mixed with tomatoes or red sauce, which are a combination unusual in Italian cooking because the acidity of the tomatoes tends to make the oil in the cream separate.

Why Add Vodka?

The vodka is an emulsifier, allowing the water and lipids to remain mixed. Vodka is also thought to release certain flavors from the tomato that would otherwise be inaccessible.

INGREDIENTS

Kosher salt
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves
4 oz. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
1 4.5- oz. tube double-concentrated tomato paste
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 oz. vodka
¾ cup heavy cream
1 lb. Penne
Basil leaves for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a stock pot or other large pot three-quarters full with water and heat over high. Toss in a handful of salt and bring to a boil while you do your other prep.
Peel and finely chop 1 onion.
Firmly smash 4 garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife and remove peel.
Grate 4 oz. Parmesan on the smallest holes of the box grater.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a Dutch oven over medium (position it next to pot of water). Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, just until onion is starting to brown around the edges, 5–7 minutes.
Add entire 4.5-oz. tube tomato paste and ½ tsp. red pepper flakes and stir until paste evenly coats onion. Continue to cook, stirring often, until paste is deep red and starting to brown on bottom of pot, 5–7 minutes.
Add 2 oz. vodka to deglaze pan and stir to incorporate, scraping bottom of pot. Reduce heat to low.
Using a heatproof glass measuring cup, scoop about ¼ cup boiling water from pot, then add ¾ cup heavy cream to measuring cup (this brings up the temperature of the cream so it won’t break when you add it to the pot).
Slowly add warmed cream to Dutch oven, stirring constantly, until a smooth sauce forms. Remove from heat.
Add 1 lb. penne to pot of boiling salted water and cook according to package instructions until al dente. About 1 minute before the timer goes off, use heatproof measuring cup to scoop up about 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Heat Dutch oven over low.
Using a spider, transfer rigatoni to Dutch oven along with any water that’s piggybacking on the pasta.
Add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to Dutch oven and stir to incorporate, then gradually add half of Parmesan, stirring constantly to melt cheese. You should have a smooth, glossy sauce that coats each piece of pasta. Season with salt and add a splash more pasta cooking liquid to thin sauce, if needed.
Divide pasta among bowls. Top with remaining cheese, dividing evenly. Drizzle with more oil, then tear basil leaves over.

VODKA SAUCE RECIPE

Cooking with Spirits test Kitchen

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Ingredients

Kosher salt
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves
4 oz. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
1 4.5- oz. tube double-concentrated tomato paste
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 oz. vodka
¾ cup heavy cream
1 lb. Penne
Basil leaves for serving

Instructions

Fill a stock pot or other large pot three-quarters full with water and heat over high. Toss in a handful of salt and bring to a boil while you do your other prep.
Peel and finely chop 1 onion.
Firmly smash 4 garlic cloves with the flat side of a chef’s knife and remove peel.
Grate 4 oz. Parmesan on the smallest holes of the box grater.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a Dutch oven over medium (position it next to pot of water). Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, just until onion is starting to brown around the edges, 5–7 minutes.
Add entire 4.5-oz. tube tomato paste and ½ tsp. red pepper flakes and stir until paste evenly coats onion. Continue to cook, stirring often, until paste is deep red and starting to brown on bottom of pot, 5–7 minutes.
Add 2 oz. vodka to deglaze pan and stir to incorporate, scraping bottom of pot. Reduce heat to low.
Using a heatproof glass measuring cup, scoop about ¼ cup boiling water from pot, then add ¾ cup heavy cream to measuring cup (this brings up the temperature of the cream so it won’t break when you add it to the pot).
Slowly add warmed cream to Dutch oven, stirring constantly, until a smooth sauce forms. Remove from heat.
Add 1 lb. penne to pot of boiling salted water and cook according to package instructions until al dente. About 1 minute before the timer goes off, use heatproof measuring cup to scoop up about 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Heat Dutch oven over low.
Using a spider, transfer rigatoni to Dutch oven along with any water that’s piggybacking on the pasta.
Add ½ cup pasta cooking liquid to Dutch oven and stir to incorporate, then gradually add half of Parmesan, stirring constantly to melt cheese. You should have a smooth, glossy sauce that coats each piece of pasta. Season with salt and add a splash more pasta cooking liquid to thin sauce, if needed.
Divide pasta among bowls. Top with remaining cheese, dividing evenly. Drizzle with more oil, then tear basil leaves over.