This month’s Lets Lunch comes to you from Germany. Octoberfest! An annual all out Beer Party held in Munich. It is the World’s largest VOLKFEST or “Public festival” where the beer is served in huge 1 litre steins carried 8 – 10 at a time by comely waitresses. By the way, that’s 8 – 10 in EACH HAND!!

What better way to celebrate Octoberfest if you cannot be there than to cook or bake with beer. Ok, I CAN think of better ways but this is the easiest!!

      Beer recipes all around!!

When I was little we lived in England. We spent four years there and moved 5 times. The Military is really good at that! While there we discovered lots of great food, despite what people said British food can be delicious, one of which became one of my Dad’s favorites – Welsh Rarebit. Or is it Rabbit? Rarebit? Rabbit? No one really knows, or cares for that matter, what it’s called. It is a wonderful easy dish for snack or lunch or dinner. This is the recipe my Mom got from one of her English friends and I still use it 55 years later.

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This is NOT just melted cheese, this is melted cheese mixed with beer, cayenne, paprika, and Worcestershire. MUCH better….

    1 lb sharp natural Cheddar {Use the really good fresh cheddar not the shrink wrapped from the grocers. Other wise it will not blend with the other ingredients.}
    2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    1/2 tsp dry mustard {or 2 tsp prepared English mustard}
    Dash Cayenne pepper
    Dash Paprika
    1/2 cup ale or beer
    Buttered toast cut into triangles

Shred the cheese and set aside
Mist the Worcesertshire, mustard, cayenne, paprika and beer in a saucepan and place over low heat until beer is hot.
Add cheese and stir until melted. {Don’t let the mixture come to a boil}. Just keep it over low heat until all the cheese melts and blends with the rest of the ingredients. If it boils, the cheese solidifies and separates from the liquid.
Pour over toast triangles.

So simple. So quick. So good.

I was going to stop there but then I ran across a recipe for Pumpkin Beer Bread and knew I had to try it and include it here.

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It is made with Pumpkin Beer which just enhances the flavor of the pumpkin.
This recipe is enough for two loaves or one loaf and some muffins or one loaf and some mini loaves.

    1 15oz can of pumpkin
    1 2/3 cup sugar {I used 1 cup Splenda and 2/3 cup sugar}
    1 bottle pumpkin beer
    1 cup brown sugar
    2/3 cup oil
    4 eggs
    4 cups flour {I used 1/2 AP and 1/2 Whole Wheat.}
    2 tsp salt
    1 tsp baking soda
    2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
    1 tsp ground ginger
    3/4 tsp nutmeg
    1/4 tsp cloves

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray two 9×5 loaf pans
In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sugars, beer, oil, eggs and spices
In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add those slowly to the liquid ingredients.
Pour into 2 loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove pans from oven. Let bread cool in pans completely before slicing. (Recipe is from Dessert before Dinner

What else is on the Lunch Menu?

    Linda at Spice Box Travels brought soy beer brown sugar roast chicken
    Betty Ann at Asian in Americabrought an appetizerPork Sisig