Hickory-Cheese Loaf
Men’s Favorites, Crusty Hot Breads, Card #20
My mom, like nearly everyone else I knew in the early 1980s, used the stove top or oven as the primary means of cooking. However, the early 80s also ushered the microwave into our home.
The first microwave my parents bought was a real behemoth of a machine. They had to buy a rolling cart for it because there wasn’t counterspace to accommodate it.
Microwave ovens had been around before the 80s, but for most of the people we knew, they were still something of an extra. However, as prices dropped and tech improved (and undoubtedly marketing increased), one by one, families around us starting buying microwave ovens.
Microwaves became so popular that even Betty Crocker had a cookbook dedicated to microwave cooking. This isn’t a heat up and serve cookbook. You start with raw ingredients, and the microwave is your cooking method for meats, soups, vegetables, breads, and desserts.
Everything that could possibly ride the coattails of the microwave craze did. Did someone say microwave milkshakes? Yes. That was a thing.
Today, most people I know have small microwaves they use primarily for warming up leftovers or coffee or making a frozen microwave meal.
Appliances and kitchen gadgets trend like anything else. The pressure cooker made a comeback under the brand name Instant Pot. Before that, the slow cooker had a resurgence.
I have both. I use them, but with such infrequency that I literally dust them off each time I get them out. I’ll also mention that I got the Instant Pot free when my friends moved and decided they didn’t use it enough to take it with them.
That’s how these trends go.
Now, the “it” appliance is the air fryer. I have one of those, too.
The air fryer I have now was also given to me. My neighbor received one as a gift she couldn’t return. (She already had one and didn’t see the need for two.) When I mentioned I was in the market for one, she said, oh, I have one you can have! Lucky day!
Unlike the crockpot or the Instant Pot, I use the heck out of that air fryer.
It’s great during the hot days of summer because it keeps me from having to heat up the oven and thus the whole house. The air fryer can save time, too, because it’s essentially a convection oven, circulating hot air for faster cooking. It’s absolutely the best for crisping foods, whether it’s reheating pizza or fries or making perfectly crispy kale chips or roasted Brussels sprouts.
Turns out, it’s also great for making cheesy bread!
I had my friend over for dinner the other day, (same friend who gave me the air fryer), and I miscalculated my timing on a few items. I had a soufflé in the oven at the same time I needed to make the hickory-cheese bread, which I had planned to broil.
What was I to do? Then it hit me. Air fryer. In under 2 minutes…done. Toasty bread. Melted cheese. Chef’s kiss.
I don’t know what appliance will make its way into my home next. Ever since Back to the Future 2 came out, I’ve been waiting for the food hydrator. Remember when Lorraine popped the tiny, dehydrated pizza into what looked like a cross between a toaster oven and a microwave? In mere minutes it came out a perfect pizzeria pizza. I want that as soon as it gets invented.
Modifications
· Soy sauce instead of Worcestershire sauce
· Oak smoked Malden salt instead of hickory smoked (It’s what my store had.)
· As for the preparation, I used an air fryer instead of Betty’s grill method.
Betty Crocker’s Hickory-Cheese Loaf
1. 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread
2. ½ cup soft butter or margarine
3. 1 cup shredded natural sharp Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
4. 1 tablespoon snipped parsley
5. ½ teaspoon hickory smoked salt
6. 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Betty Crocker’s Hickory-Cheese Loaf (aka Oak-Cheese Loaf, Suz E.’s Way)
Serves: Betty says 6-8 but it depends on how big the loaf is.
Ingredients
For Oak-Cheese Loaf
· 1 loaf (1 pound) French bread
· ½ cup soft butter
· 1 cup shredded natural sharp Cheddar cheese
· 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, snipped
· ½ teaspoon Malden smoked salt (smoked with oak)
· 2 teaspoons soy sauce
Instructions
Cut bread into 1 inch slices.
Mix together the butter, cheese, parsley, and soy sauce until combined.
Top each piece of bread with the spread, then lightly sprinkle Malden smoked salt over the top.
Air fry on the broil setting (400° F) for about 1 minute and 30 seconds (cheese should be melted and bread toasty).
If you want to make it Betty’s way….
She calls for the grill. She says once you have the spread on each piece, “reassemble loaf; wrap securely in…aluminum foil. Place on grill 4 inches from medium coals. Heat loaf 15 – 20 minutes.”
Note: I only needed ½ the recipe. My air fryer is the basket style, not the toaster oven style. If I had needed the whole recipe, I would have needed to run it in 2 batches, but it’s quick and still less time than putting it on the grill.
Rating
4 / 5 Red Spoons Excellent. May need minor adjustments, but I will make it again.
I expected more of a wood-forward or smoky flavor. May try liquid smoke in place of soy sauce next time.
Printable Recipe Below
