These are fun and easy when sharing with a crowd and this Smoked Gouda Stuffed Cheese Bread is so good you’ll wish you didn’t have to!

I know…it’s Saturday. Not a day I normally post a recipe but somehow this week got away from me and I found myself a day off. Those holiday weekends do that to me and all week I found myself a bit discombobulated. I was working on this post this past Wednesday when sometime midday I realized it was actually Thursday and my plans to share this ah-may-ZING Smoked Gouda Stuffed Cheese Bread were pushed aside because well, Fridays are all about the cocktail!

Not that I haven’t run out of time before and it’s no big deal; I just wait until the next week but the truth is I made this bread with one thing in mind. Football. Or in this household, more specifically, Broncos Football. The Broncos are in the playoffs so if I waited, well, I don’t even want to think about them not advancing but still thought it best to get this out there now. It’s such perfect game day food.

Now, I’ve had stuffed cheese breads before and they’ve typically been good. As a matter of fact, I had made one a day prior to this one but it wasn’t. All that good. I admit I’m not one of those food bloggers who test and retest her recipes before blogging about them but occasionally that does turn out to be the case. For the most part if I make it and we love it then it’s blogworthy in my book; decades of cooking experience make up for lots of testing. Sometimes though I will try something that sounds fantastic but the results fall short of expectations and I might give it another shot…and that’s exactly what happened with this bread. While I most often create something from scratch, when I do use a recipe my DNA seldom allows me to follow recipes to the letter. Funny, this was one of the few times I did exactly as the author proscribed and wish I hadn’t.

First, I used a round loaf of bread and the bread to cheese ratio on those inner slices was a bit skewed. Additionally it would not hold it’s shape, it wanted to blossom like one of those fried onion things. It ended up in a square baking dish and I was OK with that but the truth is I thought the flavor did not quite cut it; I wanted more. It was very Italian and the seasonings shone way more than the cheese; which by the way just would not melt satisfactorily. All in all it was just OK, but not great.

So, seeing that potential but not loving the results I gave it another chance but this time taking a lot of poetic license. And this one was a WOW! Blame it on the Smoked Gouda. My new favorite cheese. I made this Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon not long ago (note to self; add some crisp bacon bits to this bread next time) and have been completely hooked on this wonderful cheese. I love Gouda but that touch of smoke takes it over the top to a goodness I am addicted to. Grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, salads – you name it and I’ve done it. So while it might seem an obsession it’s a good one and I was powerless..off to the store for both an Italian loaf and some smoked Gouda to try, try again.

Winner. WINNER. One of those times when I was glad I had help eating the results of my labors or I literally think I could have sat in front of a movie and devoured the entire thing. I think we all shed a tear when it was gone. And not just gone either. Devoured. It is a bit decadent but I’ll assume you’ll be sharing like I did so it’s not totally bad for you. Enjoy it with other finger foods during the game and see it disappear (and see if you don’t want to sob a bit too). No game in your life? Eat it next to a huge salad and you’ve got dinner. Eat nothing else and just finish off this bread? I know…I get it and I promise, I won’t tell!

By the way…want a great cocktail to accompany this rich bread? Try this Winter Citrus Mojito; it would be perfect. And if you’re another Bronco fan please note this cocktail does have orange in it!