I Suck at Blogging, but Look! Beer Cheese Dip!

Okay, so the blogging thing hasn't been as consistent as I would like.  I could sit here and say I will attempt to be better, but there just seems to be a time and place for everything.   Will I blog again?  Sure.  Will it end up being weird recipes?  Maybe.  I'll just be here when I have something to say.

Today, I do have something to say: Beer Cheese Dip!

This story starts on Pinterest.  We were scheduled to have a pitch-in at work in for St. Patrick's Day, and in addition to the dessert I was making (Green Velvet Cheesecake Cake...it was good, but needs modification), I wanted to make Beer Bread and a Beer Cheese Dip, which preferably was able to live in a crock pot.  I found an awesome Beer Cheese Bread recipe, which worked out great.  I actually doubled it and made three smaller loaves.  The only caveat is that I had to cook it a lot longer than advertised - like almost twice as long.  I was afraid the cheese would be rock hard, but it turned out well, though I did lay foil on top of it about half way through.

Anyway, Pinterest and Google were not helping me with a dip recipe.  I would either find one that was way too convoluted or beer cheese soup.  So, I kind of took the little of this, little of that approach, and what I came up with was damn well amazing.  The office raved about it, and I decided to write it down, post it here, and then pin it to Pinterest for posterity.

I will say this recipe uses a small block of Velveeta, and I know that might make some turn their noses up.  Frankly, I don't care.  I know it is a processed "cheese" product, so about as far away from "all natural" or "organic" as you're going to get, but when it comes to making creamy sauces, it and it's bastard brother, Cheez Wiz, actually brings a lot to the table.  I've made Mac & Cheese that contained a couple dollops of Cheez Wiz, which have brought foodies to their knees.  In the end, this isn't haute cuisine.  It's a dip with beer in it. 

Beer Cheese Dip

¼ cup butter
1 White Onion chopped (I purchased 6 oz pre-chopped to saved time and tears)
4 tablespoons flour
12oz Beer (I used Killian’s Irish Red)
2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves garlic
½ Heavy Cream
16oz block of Velveeta; cut into cubes
8oz package of cream cheese; cut into cubes
16oz package of Cheddar Blend shredded cheese

For Taste:
Cayenne Pepper
White Pepper
Salt

Melt butter in a saucepan and add in chopped onions.  Saute until the onion is translucent, approximately 4-5 minutes.  Add in the flour and stir to coat the onions.  Cook for a few minutes to create the roux, and then slowly add in the beer.  Bring to a boil while stirring, and then whisk until the mixture has thickened.   Add in the garlic and heaving cream; stir to blend.  Begin adding in the Velveeta and cream cheese; stirring until the cheese completely melts.  Add in the “For Taste” ingredients to your desired flavor, keeping in mind the Cayenne can create quite the kick, which can get hotter over time.

At this point, all the dip to cool, and then place into a container to refrigerate overnight.  This allows the flavors to come together.   The next day, layer the dip into a small crock pot starting with a layer of dip and following with a layer of shredded cheese.  Do this until you reach the top.  Heat in the crock pot until you are ready to serve, making sure to stir it before you do so that all of the melted cheese gets mixed throughout the dip.  Moderate the heat so that it does not burn.

This made a bit over 1 quart of dip.