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Food & Wine Recipe

Kentucky Beer Cheese on Toast

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  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME: 25 MIN
  • SERVINGS: 6
  • •BASIC-EASY
  • •FAST
  • •MAKE-AHEAD
  • •VEGETARIAN

Welsh rarebit's American cousin—a punchy blend of cheese and beer melted over toast—is a classic horse-country dish. "You can open any fridge in Kentucky and find a tub of Hall's beer cheese in there," says Amber Huffman. "It's one of the regional dishes Jess Jackson likes to eat when he's here."

Plus: Grilled Cheese Recipes

  1. 1 pound extra-sharp cheddar, cut into 1-inch cubes
  2. 3/4 cup dark beer
  3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
  4. 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  5. 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  6. Salt
  7. Toasted baguette slices from 2 baguettes
  8. Sliced tomatoes
  1. In a food processor, combine the cheddar with the beer, garlic, mustard and cayenne and blend until smooth. Season the beer cheese with salt.
  2. Preheat the broiler. Spread the toasts with the beer cheese and arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil the toasts 6 inches from the heat for about 2 minutes, rotating the pan, until the cheese is bubbling and browned around the edges. Top with tomato slices and serve.

Suggested Pairing

Dark beer would be more appropriate with this down-home dish, but Huffman is just as happy with a Kendall-Jackson Riesling, whose zippy acidity is a good complement to sharp cheese.