M: Oktoberfest!!! Filed under ( appetizer, Bread, pork, side dish, Vegetables )

Welcome to my first blog post ever! And, thank you all so much for your warm welcomes! I'm going to get right down to business here...

Erica and I threw an Oktoberfest get together. I just love that word...Oktoberfest. Makes me think of all things good. Fall, beer, meat, cinnamon (is that weird? sorry, my first love is baking, my mind automatically goes to sweet stuff, I can't control it) etc...E gave you the run down of our menu in her previous post, so I will delight you with a few of the cool pics and details.

First, the beer cheese (adapted from Rachel Ray's German Cheddar and Beer Fondue recipe). See what I mean? How can one not want to try cheese made with beer? I followed the recipe almost exactly but cut out the hot sauce (I'm not a spicy food type of person, I know it's a travesty) and only used 1TB of the spicy mustard.




And now, the pretzels (the star of the show) from Joy the Baker's soft pretzel recipe (can I tell you how much I love Joy the Baker's blog? She always seems to save me when I need a recipe. I think we may have been separated at birth - Ok, I digress). Erica and I had so much fun making these pieces of doughy goodness together. Lets get some action shots of these bad boys:




These pretzels turned out golden brown and so tasty. They were perfect for dipping in the beer cheese. These two things were made to be served together!




Also in attendance from Erica's kitchen was a super crazy good brussels sprout bake, crock pot bratwurst cooked in beer and onions (no really, my house smelled like a brewery all night), and apple strudel. My other additions to the feast included a German potato salad and last but certainly not least the sausage balls, which my ridiculously awesome husband cooked up.

Let's talk a little about these sausage ball things...they are awesome...that's all you need to know. Make these suckers up for a tailgate or an appetizer for a party or just because you feel like it. They make you feel all warm inside. They are a little spicy, a little cheesy, and a little sausag-ey (that's not a word). This is my wonderful mother-in-law's recipe: (sorry no pics, the hubby snuck in the sausage ball cook time while I was trying to pretty myself up upstairs)

Ingredients:

1 lb. hot sausage

2 1/2 c. Bisquick

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Couple of dashes of cayenne pepper (judge by your own personal spice-o-meter!)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl (my hubs prefers to just get his hands in there and mix it the old fashioned way!). Roll into balls, just smaller than the size of a golf ball - you don't want these things too big. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. And that's it! Easy peasy.

And the entire table o' Oktoberfest:



Ok, so have some fun cooking up some of this stuff! You definitely don't need an Oktoberfest to do it! Beer cheese? Brats in beer? Potatoes and bacon? Apples stuffed in pastry? Um, yes, sign me up... =)

More of these recipes are still to come! And if there is anything you see on that beautiful table that you just can't take not having the recipe for like ASAP, then let us know! Signing off with a pic of the new Itzy's Kitchen duo!