Name: Cheesy Mustard Dip
Cook time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons grainy brown mustard; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 tablespoon root beer, or beer, or water; 2/3 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

Mustard Dip with cheddar cheese; Great snack idea! Pretzels and mustard cheese dip. This recipe for mustard dip is slightly spicy, with lots of sharp cheddar cheese melted in.

I remember this one time, my parents took a trip to Europe, and they brought me a jar of English mustard as a souvenir.

Oh, how well they know me.

The stuff was spicy, really spicy, the kind of spicy that clears out your sinuses and makes your eyes tear up. It’s one of my favorite gifts ever, and, strange as it sounds, I will always remember that jar of mustard.

In the interest of full disclosure, I think I should tell you that the American yellow mustard is a thing which will never touch my lips. What is in that stuff? I’m pretty sure that particular shade of yellow is found nowhere in nature. But brown mustard, spicy mustard, honey mustard, these are the things which I adore.

Especially with pretzels. Yum.

By the way, this recipe is not going to bring a tear to the eye or clear your sinuses. It is a touch spicy, but nothing like that English souvenir mustard from years ago.

I’m just going to address this now, because I know you’re going to ask.

Yes, I did put root beer in my mustard dip. I know it sounds a little weird, but I liked the idea of something sweet with a little bite to it in the mustard dip, and I think it worked nicely. If you are not into root beer, you could actual beer, something dark like a stout, or you could just skip it and use water.

Your choice.

I love this dip served warm, all the melted cheese and spices make it so comforting and delicious. I figured I needed a pretzel rod with it, something that could hold up to the strength of the mustard dip.

It makes a pretty small batch. Small enough for me to eat almost the entire thing by myself. Feel free to double if you’re serving more than 3 or 4 people.

I think I’ll just keep my batch to myself.