RECIPE - GF Soft Pretzels with Beer Cheese Dip

It's OK to drool. I won't tell anyone...

Ok, so the gluten free soft pretzel recipe I cannot and will not share with you. I got it out of my new cookbook "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise G. Roberts. Check out her website, The Food Philosopher.  They're fantastic. Simply said. Do yourself a favor and buy this cookbook. Seriously! Your family will thank you.

Now, onto the cheese dip!! I first encountered beer and cheese in dip format at a great restaurant The Readhead in the east village. Besides having the 2nd best (umm, hello? see mine) fried chicken ever, they make this amazing cheese-y beer-y dip for soft pretzels. I did my best to make a gluten free lactose free version. That recipe I'll share with you.

Now, there's a couple of things that make this recipe awesome and special despite its being gluten free and lactose free. The first is Cabbott cheese. Oddly enough, my grandpa told me about this gem. Their cheeses are gluten free AND lactose free. And they taste like CHEESE!!!!

The second is the Tofutti cream cheese. I've used this cream cheese in the past as a healthier alternative to cream cheese, but it's also great because it's gluten free and dairy free!

And finally we have the beer. You only need a little, so use your favorite gluten free beer. I recently tried Estrella Daura, the best American-tasting gluten free beer (vs. the best European-tasting gluten free beer Greene's beer).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded Cabbott cheddar cheese
2 tbsp Tofutti original cream cheese
1/4 cup gluten free beer (I recommend Estrella Daura, see my review here)
a little salt and pepper
1 tbsp Hot Sauce (like for wings)

Directions:
Put everything into a bowl. Microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring after each burst. Once everything melts together, pour into your serving bowl and refrigerate. Difficult, eh?

PRODUCT REVIEW - Glutino Sesame Breadsticks

I was up in Rockland County, NY this weekend for Thanksgiving. One of the things I like about visiting towns outside "the city" is that the grocery stores are not confined to a tiny storefront. They are absolutely massive. This Stop+Shop had its own gas station!

More and more I'm finding grocery stores in the 'burbs have their own potion of an aisle devoted to gluten free products. Yesterday, I found these Glutino Sesame Bread Sticks on sale for 2/$5. They looked OK on the box, definitely more of a cracker-y breadstick than the Olive Garden version. So I tried them out.

Now, maybe my expectations were too high, but what I was expecting was the pretzel rod-esque breadstick covered in sesame seeds. You know what I'm talking about, right? But what I got was like an oversized rice puff cereal. It was weird. They have the texture just like the rice puffs, maybe a little like Corn Pops also. But they just tasted like cardboard. Dry, rough, not like sesame at all. There were a few sesame seeds baked into it, but not enough to add anything to the texture or taste department.

So, overall I would advise you to pass on this product. They do also have a pizza flavored breadstick, but I'd be willing to bet the review would be the same. If you're looking for the crunchy, pretzel-like breadsticks, I'd recommend Glutino's Pretzel Sticks. See my review of them here. If you're looking for the soft, doughy breadstick, I'd recommend taking your favorite pizza crust mix, mushing into a cookie sheet and cutting into breadstick shapes.

Have you tried this product? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

PRODUCT REVIEW - Glutino Pretzels

My boyfriend Eric's favorite snack food in the whole world is pretzels and lemonade. The planet could be overtaken by zombies, we could be the only living humans left, and give this man a bag of pretzels and a glass of lemonade, and he'd be just fine.

Eric had almost given up on the thought of his perfect snack combo. Until one day, he went to New Jersey and came back with this snack...

Enter Glutino Pretzels

These are delicious! They are the perfect pretzel to bring on a picnic, throw in a lunch, or enjoy with a glass of lemonade. They are crunchy, salty, buttery, and satisfying. Not quite like the normal pretzel sticks that you can buy at a deli. The taste if nearly identical (slightly less wheat-y than traditional pretzels), but they are definitely more buttery, which is fantastic. Kind of like the buttery-ness that you would expect from a Ritz cracker.

Now, the only downside to these pretzels is that they are way overpriced. I remember when I was younger I could buy an individual bag of pretzels for $1, a family pack for $2 or $3.

These pretzels: an 8oz bag is $5, and a 14oz family pack is $8. They're very tasty, but you have to ration your pretzels.

Have you tried these pretzels? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!