Prince Greenjean's Adventures in Sausage-Making and The Holy Grail Ale Bread

nce upon a time, there was a hard-working young Prince who was always searching for his next endeavor. The Prince was industrious, like his father King Kenneth, and always believed that idle hands were the devil's tools. Prince Greenjeans, or Sir Keith of Cowtownia, has created breathtaking and bountiful gardens and stunning works of stained glass but now he desired to produce something of a more culinary pursuit. Sure, we ate ham and jam and Spam but Prince Greenjeans wouldn't be satisfied until he had made...sausage.

He'd worked for an Establishment in the kingdom of Marietta that made it's own sausage and served it with homemade beer bread and good cheese. Sir Keith decided to duplicate this repast using only the finest of ingredients. He found an ancient text to use as his sausage-making guide (something obscure and arcane called www.lets-make-sausage.com ) and then obtained a recipe for beer bread authored by some knave with the unfortunate title of Alton Brown. The beer bread recipe called for an ale...but what magical elixir could we find for this?

Indeed, the answer was a strange brew right under our noses...Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale which had been "tempered over burning witches." This dark and sinister brew made for a perfect ingredient for Sir Keith's bread.

In the end, Sir Keith's first attempt at sausage-making was a success....the meat was flavorful and delicious. We rechristened the bread The Holy Grail Ale Bread and Merlin's Beard, the aroma of this bread baking was maddening....it was like anticipating a cupcake gifted by the Lady of The Lake herself. When it finally arrived, it was marvelous...warm and savory and completely satisfying.

Prince Greenjeans was completely satisfied with the results of his task and happily no blood had to be shed or limbs lost (tis' but a flesh wound!). As the Prince was happy, all was well in Cowtownia and the kingdom was at peace.

The End....save for the portion of ancient text that describes the making of the bread...

Alton Brown's Beer Bread (or in our Kingdom, The Holy Grail Ale Bread)

Ingredients

• Nonstick spray
• 8 ounces all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
• 4 1/2 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
• 12 ounces cold beer, ale or stout
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds, optional

Directions

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat the inside of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick spray and set aside.

Whisk together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dill in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheese and stir in the beer just to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds, if using.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 to 55 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.