Bourbon Beer Cheese Puffs Food

CHEESE FONDUE WITH BEER AND BOURBON

Steps:

• Rub inside of a large saucepan with cut sides of garlic. Finely grate garlic into saucepan; add beer and 1 1/2 cups wine and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk cornstarch and remaining 1/2 cup wine in a small bowl until no lumps remain, then whisk into liquid in saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat so mixture is at a very low simmer and very gradually add Gruyère and Babybel, whisking until smooth (fully incorporate each batch of cheese before adding more).
• Whisk bourbon and baking soda in a small bowl to combine, then whisk into fondue, followed by lemon juice; season with salt. Transfer to a fondue pot and serve with bread, ham, salumi, pickles, and crudités for dipping.

FRENCH TOAST PUFFS

Steps:

• For the ginger butter: Place the butter, agave and ginger in a food processor and process until smooth. (If no processor is available, you may use softened butter and whisk all ingredients instead.) The butter should have a smooth consistency, ready to be dipped into.
• For the french toast puffs: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, using convection if available. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Put the bananas, oat milk, coconut, sugar, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, vanilla and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. If there are a few small chunks of banana, don't worry, it will add to the texture of the puffs.
• Put 1 loaf's worth of bread chunks in a large mixing bowl, followed by the batter. With a spatula or fingertips, gently fold everything together. Take care not to overmix. Homogenous is boring, so we are looking for the bread to be mostly intact, moistened by the batter. Let sit for 5 minutes. The texture should now be soft and wet, not soupy (if it's soupy, add more bread).
• When the correct texture is achieved, it will be easily scoopable with a golf-ball-sized cookie scoop. Scoop out all of the bread-batter mix onto the prepared baking sheet. Keep it funky and scoop larger amounts than the scoop can hold, like a scoop of hard ice cream. Bake until golden brown and crispy on the outside, 10 to 15 minutes. (Browned and slightly crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside, is our goal.) Eat with hands, dipping into Vermont maple syrup and ginger butter.

CHEF JOHN'S PARTY CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
• Stir water, butter, and salt together in a pot; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and whisk flour into butter mixture until a paste-like dough forms, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl to cool until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk 1 egg, thyme, and black pepper into cooled dough until egg is completely incorporated. Add remaining egg and whisk until completely incorporated into dough. Stir 3/4 the cheese into dough until combined. Scoop 1-inch balls of dough onto prepared baking sheet. Top each with remaining cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden and puffed, 15 to 20 minutes.

IRISH BEER CHEESE PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner (such as Silpat®).
• Combine butter, beer, salt, and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Let butter melt and bring to a simmer. Add flour all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until it all comes together, about 30 seconds. Continue to cook and stir until the dough dries out a bit and starts sticking to the bottom of the pan, another minute or so. Turn off the heat and continue stirring for another 1 to 2 minutes, scraping as much off the bottom of the pan as you can.
• Transfer dough into a bowl. Add one egg and whisk it into a bit of the hot dough. Keep whisking in more dough until incorporated. Repeat with remaining egg, cleaning out the whisk as needed, until well combined and dough is sticky.
• Add ¾ cup Cheddar cheese and cayenne and stir until incorporated.
• Scoop 12 rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Press a little Cheddar on the tops and sides of each puff.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until nicely puffed and beautifully browned, about 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and crack the door; let cheese puffs cool, undisturbed, for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the spread: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add leek and ½ teaspoon salt; cook and stir until just barely tender, 7 to 10 minutes, adding a splash of water every few minutes to prevent browning.
• Stir in green onions and sauté briefly for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer leek-onion mixture to a bowl and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and mascarpone cheese and mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until cheese puffs have finished cooling.
• Serve cheese puffs with spread.

CHEESY CORN PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Bring the corn, butter and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes.
• Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool slightly. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well between each addition. Stir in the cheese and chives. Chill the dough 15 minutes.
• Scoop tablespoon-size mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with more cheese. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and puffy, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.