A few weeks ago, the Creative Director and I went to our friends Jess & Josh's housewarming party. I brought the Black and Gold Caprese Salad, Celia and Jason brought LOTS of fresh veggies from their garden in Baltimore (DON'T WORRY - they aren't Ravens fans, they just live there) and the hostess made a super delicious beer and cheese dip.
Beer + cheese + veggies = victory dance (see below).
I brought a few bottles of Iahhrn (ahem, IRON) City Lager back from Irwin this weekend and thought it would be a great time to try a cheesy beer dip of my own.
Jess' dip was amazing right out of the oven - she even made a cute bread bowl and baked it right in there. Her's was brilliantly simple with no more than four ingredients (lager, cream cheese, cheddar and a packet of ranch seasoning). You know I like to make things a bit trickier and from-scratch whenever possible, so I threw a few extra herbs and veggies into my version. The beauty of this dip is that in addition to the cream cheese, cheddar and beer, you can really add any herbs or veggies that you like. My variation is made up of ingredients to which I am partial - chives, dill, garlic powder, smoked Spanish paprika. I threw a jalapeño (from Mom-mom) in the huddle too, but you can't be too careful with those seeds. I didn't leave any in the dip, but the oils got all over my fingers - and consequently, in my eyes.
Kate almost had to put me on the injured reserve list. Once the dip came out of the oven and we started snacking, I got back in the game.
YUM!
Save this recipe for gameday, because it's a winner!
Iron City Lager Veggie Dip
A Stiller Nation Snacks N'at Original
3/4 cup Iron City Lager
16 oz cream cheese (2 packages), softened
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 jalapeño, diced and seeds removed
1 small red bell pepper, diced and seeds removed
2 tbsp chives, chopped
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp dill
1 tsp garlic powder1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add cream cheese, lager, dijon, chives, dill and garlic powder to large mixing bowl and cream together with hand mixer on medium speed. Stir in cheddar, jalapeño and red pepper. Transfer to casserole dish and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 5-10 min and serve with veggies (carrots, peppers, broccoli) or tortilla chips.
