Pickle Cheesy 'Bread' & St. Germain Gin Spritz

Crispy cheese, pickles, and a boozy ass cocktail? Yes PLEASE.

As soon as I saw the viral Pickle Bread Sandwich make its rounds on Instagram, I knew I had to try it! I don’t love that it’s meant to replace actual bread in a sandwich though, because bread is everything. So I went the “cheesy bread” route! Still no actual bread, but pickles and crispy cheese dipped in ranch is one HECK of a snack.

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This one would be absolutely fantastic with wine, but I was really craving a St. Germain Spritz. And when it’s Friday afternoon and you’re exhausted after a long ass week, you need to eat and drink whatever you want! Plus, this pairing was phenomenal. The cheesy pickles are salty, fatty, and the definition of savoury. The cocktail? Fresh, fruity, crisp, and floral. The alcohol and acidity in the cocktail temper the salt and cut through the oily cheese, and the fresh fruity florality contrasts and complements the snack’s savoury herbaceousness. Just perfect.

If you prefer wine, go with a New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, an Austrian Grüner Veltliner, or Prosecco! But technically any light, crisp (high acid) white or rosé would work just fine.

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RECIPE: St. Germain Gin Spritz

Ingredients

• 2 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

• 1 oz floral Gin (I used the Park Distillery Flora & Fauna Gin)

• 4oz Prosecco Rosé

• 1/4 of a lime, juiced

• Optional: Splash of sparkling water (approx. 1/2 oz)

Directions

• Fill a white wine glass (or your glass of choice) with ice. Add 2oz of St. Germain and 1 oz of gin, then top with approximately 4oz of Prosecco and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

• Finish it off with a splash of sparkling water (if desired), and garnish with a lime wheel and an edible flower if you have one! Give it a little stir, and ENJOY! :)

Notes

• Feel free to skip the sparkling water and add more Prosecco! I personally prefer this one boooozy.

• You can totally skip the gin and just make this a classic St. Germain Spritz! The floral gin works super well with the floral liqueur though, so if you’re into Gin I highly recommend it!

• You can use regular (not rosé) Prosecco, and any brand will work. I used the Kirkland Signature Prosecco Rosé - I always have a few bottles of this one and the Kirkland Signature Asolo Prosecco on hand for Spritz season!

• Technically you can use any sparkling wine, but Prosecco is awesome for a couple reasons:

  • The grape used in Prosecco, Glera, is naturally zesty and floral, which works perfectly with the floral liqueur/gin and the lime in this cocktail. Prosecco Rosé is also made from at least 85% Glera, with only the last 15% coming from a red grape variety (e.g., Pinot Noir) to give it that pink colour.

  • Prosecco is made using what’s called the Charmat or Tank Method, whereas Champagne or Cava are made in the Traditional or Champagne Method. Charmat method sparkling wines are usually fresher and fruitier since the secondary fermentation (AKA where those bubbles come from) is done in a larger vessel (a large tank vs. the bottle) and the wine doesn’t age on the lees (or dead yeast cells). The smaller vessel and extended contact with the lees are why Traditional method wines, like Champagne, have more autolytic flavours , (which are described as yeasty or bready) and are a bit richer and more complex. All that to say - fresher/fruitier wine works a bit better with the fresh/fruity flavours in this Spritz!

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RECIPE: Cheesy Pickle “Bread”

Serves: 2-7

(I always find servings so hard. Like… you could easily crush this with one other person if you’re obsessed with cheese and pickles and have a nice palette cleansing cocktail. But if everyone’s cool with a couple pieces each, then I guess it could serve up to 7!)

Total time: 35-55 minutes

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25-30 minutes (+ 5-10 minutes to cool)

Tools

• 15” x 10.5” sheet pan

• Pizza cutter

• Food processor or immersion blender

Ingredients

Cheesy Pickle “Bread”

• Spray oil

• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella

• 1 cup shredded dill pickle Havarti cheese (or regular Havarti)

• 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese

• 14 sliced sandwich Pickles (I used Strub’s Sandwich Snackers from Costco)

Homemade Ranch

• 1/4 cup buttermilk

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup 14% sour cream

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• 1/2 lemon, juiced

• 2 tbsp fresh dill

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• Sea salt to taste

Directions

Make buttermilk ranch

• Start by making the buttermilk ranch so that it can sit and thicken a bit. It’s even better if you make it the day before! And yes, the ranch is totally optional, but it really balances out the saltiness! And ranch = life.

• Add all ingredients to a food processor except the salt and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients/add salt if desired (just remember how salty the cheesy pickles are).

• Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Make cheesy pickle bread

• Preheat oven to 400 F and generously spray your baking sheet with oil.

• Shred and combine all 3 cheeses (Mozza, Havarti, and Asiago), then add approximately 2/3 of the cheese to your prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly to cover the entire surface.

• Pat pickle slices dry with a paper towel, place them on top of the cheese in two even rows, then top with the remaining cheese.

• Bake at 400 F for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is very bubbly and browning (but not burnt).

• Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when you can easily lift the ‘bread’ in one giant piece! It’s very satisfying.

• Lay your sheet of cheesy pickles on a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut it once down the middle (between the two rows of pickles) and then again horizontally between each row of pickles.

• Serve immediately with your homemade buttermilk ranch and St.Germain Gin Spritz!! (or if you prefer wine, scroll up for suggestions).

Notes

• You can play around with the types of cheese, but I found this combination awesome from a flavour and texture standpoint! You could also just do mozzarella and cheddar, or replace the Asiago with parm. Whatever floats your boat! I used dill pickle Havarti because I had some, and how could I NOT!?

• These aren’t the most make-ahead friendly. If you store them in the fridge, they will harden quite a bit and won’t be great. And if you microwave them to heat them up, they just turn into delicious pickly melted cheese. If you are making them in advance, reheat them in the oven until the cheese is bubbling, then let them cool before serving.

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ENJOY and let me know what you think!

xx Steph