Susan, this bud’s for you. Or more specifically, this Peg Leg Ale is for you. The other day I was catching up on a few of the regular food blogs I read, Susan’s Farmgirl Fare being one of them. Truth be told, I don’t get to visit as many as I’d like to regularly, but the lure of the impossibly cute animals on Susan’s farm is nearly too much to bear.
While I was catching up on what she’s been up to, I spied her recipe for beer bread. Seriously, folks, how can you not whip up a batch of this stuff? I’d wager a bet that you have all the ingredients on hand, and it is, no lie, in your oven happily making its way to pure homebaked goodness in under 10 minutes. Once you have those facts under your belt, why would you steer towards another course? Grocery store breads be darned!
Seeing she had quite a few variations with the recipe, I had a hunch that the recipe would be forgivable with a little ‘o this and a little ‘o that thrown in for good measure. I mixed and matched and yes, I know cheddar isn’t Italian, but it’s my bread, so there. A dash of oregano, a sprinkling of basil, two minced garlic cloves and more than a smattering of shredded sharp white cheddar… delish. One other tweak I added is when I was putting the batter into the loaf pan (and she’s right, it is thick, don’t be scared), I put half of it in, added more cheddar (uh huh!) and then the rest of the batter on top … producing a nice cheesy, rippling river right through the center of the loaf. Oh baby. Go crazy. I betcha sun-dried tomatoes would taste fab in this.
Forty-five oven baked minutes later and I was rewarded for my efforts (ha! what effort?!) with fresh-baked bread. You cannot go wrong with this one; do give it a whirl. It would make a perfect holiday gift for your neighbors, and they’ll think you slaved all day. Thanks, Susan!
P.S. Heard the news? The kick-off of the 2007 Food Blog Awards is nearly here; if you’re a food blogger, please help spread the word.
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