Cooking With Beer: Episode 1: Halloween Pumpkin Cheese Fondue

Happy Halloween! And Welcome to whatever this segment is going to be called about cooking with beer!

Here is the recipe I promised you so that you too can make the deliciousness!

It’s the great beer-cheese fondue pumpkin!

*Recipe makes 1 pumpkin worth of cheese… If preparing for a party, I recommend 1 pumpkin for every 4-6 people

Ingredients
1 pie pumpkin (hollowed)
2 cloves garlic crushed
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 french baguette torn into pieces
1/4 pound each good swiss cheese and cheddar shredded (ask your cheese guy!)
1 bottle beer*
Spices: Cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, salt…

Prep and Cook!
– Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
– In a small bowl, mix together crushed garlic and oil.
– Prepare pumpkin by rubbing the inside of the pumpkin with the garlic and oil mixture.

(WARNING: This is sorta gross but it does really need to be done, it allows the cheese to melt instead of burning, if you ever want to make this recipe without the pumpkin, you would do the same thing to a normal bowl)

– In a medium bowl, shred your two cheeses (feel free to have fun with your cheese selections) and mix them together until well blended.
– Stuff your pumpkin! Alternate layers of torn baguette and shredded cheese. You should start with a bread layer and end with a cheese layer.

(HINT: Feel free to add some spices in between layers here. Cinnamon is a great and unexpected flavor with cheese but compliments your pumpkin flavors well. I like spice, so I always add cayenne, and as always, salt and pepper!)

– Now for the beer! Pour the beer into the pumpkin until the pumpkin is full. Don’t be shy about this, the beer is what is going to make your cheese all nice and melty!
– Place your entire pumpkin in a pan of some sort (a pie plate is perfect) and transfer to the over for 1 hour! (HINT: make sure there is plenty of space in the oven for your pumpkin, you don’t want there to be an oven rack hovering right above it, the cheese will rise and may be hard to get out)

Waiting for Your Pumpkin
While the pumpkin is cooking, slice the remaining baguette to eat with your cheese, this could also be served with crackers or veggies! I recommend doing this slicing before sampling your beer.

Time’s Up!
An hour has passed and your ready to chow down on some cheese-y goodness! This is VERY HOT, I recommend preparing a few pieces of baguette with the cheese and waiting an impatient minute or two before digging in! Now you’re ready to enjoy!

*A note about the beer
I used a red lager because I used a smoked cheddar as my second cheese which I thought would be well complimented by the amber beer. If you go with a more delicate cheese like a fresh mozzarella I would recommend a pale ale or even a wheat beer! Hell, why not go with a pumpkin beer? Have fun with your cooking! It’s beer after all, what could go wrong?

Please help us with a name!
Help! We need a name! I came up with a few really lame ideas like, “Beer, it’s what’s for dinner” or “the Malternative kitchen” But we want to hear what you think! Comment your idea below and you could name the next ACB segment and, if we choose your name, we’ll send you a free ACB Classic Tee.

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