Cowboy Beer And Cheddar Bread

Cowboy Beer And Cheddar Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
½ cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, any kind will do—even nonalcoholic brands

Directions:
Butter
PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" × 5" loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the
beer and mix with a fork until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.
Spread the dough into the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the
center of the loaf comes out clean and dry, 40 to 55 minutes. Brush the top of the hot
loaf with butter. Transfer to a rack to cool, then cut into thick slices.
CHILE BASICS
Ancho chile powder is a pantry staple in Mexican cuisine. It is used in everything from mole sauce, stews,
rice, and bean dishes to chocolate desserts. Indeed, a bit of it added to chocolate cake or brownie batter
enhances the chocolate flavor. Dried whole ancho chiles can be found in the Hispanic section of your
supermarket if they aren’t hanging in bags in the produce section. They are a dried, deep reddish brown chile
pepper about 3" wide and 4" long with a sweet hot flavor. When fresh, they are referred to as poblanos.
Anchos are flat, wrinkled, and heart shaped. The ancho is the sweetest of the dried chiles. It is most
commonly used in authentic Mexican cooking and is a staple in red chili and tamales. Ground ancho chile
pepper can be purchased online from if you cannot find it in your market.
4 | AUTUMN
“A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.”
—Omar Khayyám
A
utumn is my favorite time of year, not least because it’s harvest time. Beets,
carrots, onions, leeks, celeriac, potatoes of all kinds, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips,
sweet potatoes, yams, garlic, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery,
chard, eggplant, fennel, kale, wild mushrooms, okra, pumpkins, spinach, winter squash
—the list goes on and on. With so many colorful, nutritious, and flavorful vegetables
plucked fresh from the earth, there’s no time like the fall for making soup. It’s also the
season for partaking in one of my most prized activities—foraging for the golden
chanterelles that grow in the forest that surrounds our home. When my husband and I
have collected enough to feed several people, we invite friends over to sample them
—sautéed in butter with fried sage to start, followed by a creamy chanterelle soup
with crisp croutons. For a larger gathering, our annual Harvest Soup Party is the
perfect, low-stress way to celebrate the season’s bounty. The instructions on the
invitations are simple: “Bring 1 cup chopped pot-ready vegetables.” When the guests
arrive, I ask them to dump their vegetables into the pot of broth boiling on the stove.
We’ve had as many as 50 university students at a party at one time, and there is always
plenty of soup to go around. I bake several breads and set out spreads, cheeses, and
drinks. Admittedly, this is a direct take on the classic Stone Soup as described in the
folktale of the same name. But it works, and not just with a gathering at home but for
neighborhood-wide parties, church dinners, and extended family gatherings, as well.