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Monatsarchive: January 2014

Beer Fried Chicken

Beer Fried Chicken

I’ve told you that in my Past Life Pre Blogging Existence I worked with gang kids in South Central LA. Like this kid, and this one. As a skinny, blonde haired, blue-eyed, 21-year-old, I didn’t exactly blend seamlessly into Compton and Watts. My  Stand Out appearance was obvious to me, but it was other oddities about the Girl From The Farm persona that were more of a surprise to me, and food was one of those things.

In my culture, while at someones house, this is the expected exchange:

Host: "Can I get you somethings to eat?"

Me: "No thanks, I’m fine."

In my Middle American Culture, this is what is expected of me and I said it without hesitation, it was polite. Except that it wasn’t. Because I wasn’t in Lunchmeat Small Town USA, I was in Compton and unknowingly offending people who wanted to feed me. It was rude to refuse food, "What? You too good for my food?!". Before I was shoved against a locker by a co-worker and schooled on the non-WASPy response to food offerings, I was offered fried chicken in a trailer park in South Central LA.

It was late afternoon on a Wednesday and my first session with a sweet 12 year old kid that had found his way from juvenile detention to a foster family living in a 1970’s mobile home, run by a short, kind, plump woman who took her job of Foster Mom as seriously as a heart attack. She was the best I’d ever seen. The house wasn’t fancy (a few weeks later I helped her install peel-and-stick vinyl that she’d found behind a dumpster onto the kitchen floor), six people lived in 400 square feet, and there was no heat or air, but she was pure love. And the woman could cook. She turned the small food budget into a feast.

I made my way up the steel steps of the house as she ushered me into the kitchen to the smell of fried chicken. "You want some?" The no thanks I’m fine standard response stuck in my throat. I did want some. I hesitated, my eyes widened, I had the look of a cartoon dog salivating over a steak plastered on my face.

"Don’t pretend like your skinny ass don’t want some of this. Sit."

So I did. I sat my skinny ass at the small kitchen table surrounded by mismatched chairs. She joined me, along with her new foster son freshly freed from Kid Jail with the remainder of a GTA still hanging on his juvenile record.

We spent the next few hours talking, laughing, and eating the best fried chicken I’d ever had.

Before I was walked to my car by an older kid who wanted to make sure I was safe, I asked her what her secret was, "Always double up on the flour. Two dips in the flour, two dips in the buttermilk." I’ll take it. She knew what she was doing.

Beer Fried Chicken2

Beer Fried Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs chicken legs
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • 1 sweet white onion sliced
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 2 tsp red chili sauce such as Sriracha or Tapatio
  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Arrange the chicken in an even layer in a large baking pan.
  • Sprinkle evenly with kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Rinse the chicken and pan thoroughly of salt, return the chicken to the baking dish along with the onion slices.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, beer and chili sauce, pour evenly over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
  • In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, chili powder and brown sugar.
  • One at a time remove the chicken legs, dredge in the flour mixture then gently re-dip in the marinade and recoat with the flour mixture (double coating of the flour mixture will give you a crispier chicken), set on a baking sheet.
  • Allow the coated chicken to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • At the oil to a large pot until about 6 inches deep, heat to 350 degrees using a cooking thermometer clipped to the pan, adjust heat to maintain that temperature.
  • Working in batches fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 12 minutes each.

Beer Fried Chicken3

Goat Cheese Crostini with Beer Pickled Jalapenos and Mangos

 

Goat Cheese Crostini with Beer Pickled Jalapenos and Mangos

I told you about the time I almost died in Morocco, and the time I was in Dublin without a place to stay during St. Patricks day, but what about the time I was stuck in the drug smuggling capitol of Spain?

(As an aside, it bears mentioning that I apparently did little with my early 20’s other than accumulate ridiculous travel stories and the debt that goes along with them.  There are worse things.) 

I was on my way back from Fez, Morocco, a terrifying and beautiful experience, clutching the second half of my round trip ticket between Tarifa, Spain and Tangier, Morocco. The sun was setting over the port and I was shivering under a red fleece travel blanket with my sister, desperate to get back to Spain and still jittery from a 7-hour bus ride through the wild country side of Morocco.

And then a large white ferry boat appeared with the words TANGIER TO TARIFA 30 MINUTES painted on the side pulling into the dock in front of me. Handing my ticket to the port official, and a quick chat with him about how thrilled I was to get back to the charming Spanish town of Tarifa, walking on to that boat felt like I was being salvaged from a scrap yard.

The 30-minute ride turned into 45-minutes and then an hour. Slowly, as the time change pushed us past midnight, the TANGIER TO TARIFA boat started to pull into a port that looked nothing like the quaint Spanish town I remembered. As my sister and I met each other with puzzled looks, we heard an announcement over the crackling loudspeaker.

First in Arabic, then in Spanish, then in English, it ended with, "…Welcome to Algeciras."

It was past midnight, I’d just left a country that almost killed me twice and I had no idea where I was. My sister and I locked eyes, and burst out laughing. It was hilarious, mostly because of sleep deprivation, that I had no idea where I was but at least I probably wouldn’t be killed by a mob of young Moroccan men.

We both pull out our respective guide books.  Hers had one sentence about our new destination, "The best thing to do in Algeciras is to leave."

Mine was a bit more diplomatic, "Be careful while in Algeciras, it’s the drug smuggling capital of Spain, avoid this spot if possible. If you find yourself here, leave as quickly as you can."

Both of these commentaries on our new local added to the hilarity of our situation. We probably should have been panicked, or upset, or at the very least concerned, we were delightfully amused.

After an overly concerned inspection agent ravaged my backpack, even sniffed my shampoo bottles, I was through customs about the time the clock hit 1 am. The guide books were no help, the Algeciras chapters might as well have just said YOU’RE SCREWED on every page, we decided to wander the streets until we found a hotel or hostel that looked like we probably won’t need IV antibiotics after a nights stay.

The least terrifying place we could find apparently figured us for American drug dealers, we must have had that  Brokedown Palace look, and questioned us for twenty minutes. "Why are you in this town? Why so late? Show the passports. Open your bags."

We finally had a room. Two beds, four walls, one door and a window. Sanctuary.

After double checking the locks and climbing into the uncomfortable bed, I found sleep quicker than I ever had before or since.

The next morning I was determined to follow the advice of those who had gone before me. I wanted to leave as quickly as possible, I loved Spain and wanted to see more of it, more of the places that would imbed themselves in my soul. On the way towards the exit, the hostel looked really beautiful and peaceful by the early morning light. Before I left I found a small breakfast set out for the weary travelers. Bread, cheese and fruit. It felt perfect. It was exactly what I needed to feel renewed, like I could take on another day of uncertainty and road travel. It made me glad I was in a strange town with a strange story to tell.

Something about the right combination of good bread, cheese and fruit that makes you feel whole.

Goat Cheese Crostini with Beer Pickled Jalapenos and Mangos

Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 16 -18 crostinis

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 cup pale ale beer
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs salt
  • 2 ice cubes about 2-3 tbs water
  • 2 large jalapenos thinly sliced*
  • 1 large mango peeled and sliced julienne
  • 1 sour dough baguette sliced
  • 4 wt oz Chevre goat cheese
  • 3 tbs raw honey
  • 2 tsp smoked maldon salt

Instructions
 

  • In a pot over medium high heat add the vinegar, beer, sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved, remove from heat.
  • Add the ice cubes and stir until melted and the liquid has reached about room temperature.
  • Add the jalapenos and mangos to a small bowl (use separate bowls if you want the mangos not to be spicy, if you pickled them together the mangos will also have heat), pour the liquid over the jalapenos and mangos, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
  • Preheat the broiler on your oven.
  • Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler until lightly golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the slices over and place back under the broiler until browned, about an additional 2 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  • Spread each slice with goat cheese.
  • Drain the jalapenos and mangos.
  • Add two to three slices of mangos and jalapenos to each bread slice.
  • Drizzle generously with honey then sprinkle with smoked salt.

Notes

It's impossible to tell how hot a pepper will be. If you are worried about the heat level, remove the seeds. Most of the heat in a pepper is contained in the seeds and seed membrane in the middle of the pepper. Removing all or some of the seeds and membrane will give you an ability to control the heat.

Goat Cheese Crostini with Beer Pickled Jalapenos and Mangos3

Jelly Belly Makes Beer Jelly Bean

Draft Beer Bean

Beer Candy is a good sign. It’s a sign that these flavors we adore so much are so enjoyable to the mass market that they encourage large and successful companies to spend years developing those flavors into delicious non-alcoholic treats. It’s a win for the beer community.

Recently Jelly Belly released a new flavor, Draft Beer, which took three years of tedious flavor development to get right, and they nailed it. It’s first and foremost a jelly bean, a candy that is meant to convey a flavor while pleasing the candy consuming public. But what does taste like?

Jelly Belly Beer Bean Launch Party

 Jelly Belly Draft Beer Bean launch party at 21st Amendment Brewing

 

It tastes like beer.

But what kind of beer? In the beer community, this is the question that is asked when anything is beer flavored, “what KIND of beer?”

Developing a candy that taste like beer in general is much more difficult than developing a specific beer flavor, the candy has to represent the spectrum as a whole and this is a candy that does that well.

But that’s not enough of an answer for you, you want to know what kind of beer it tastes like.

Sparing you from the Beer Advocate user review taste synopsis, and without using the cringe inducing beer term mouthfeel, here is what those jelly beans taste like:

The smell is more of a pilsner and you get that right away. The initial taste is a bit of a Hefeweizen you get those honey and bready notes, and there is a bit of a cream ale flavor in there as well, and it ends with the taste of a sweet honey like flavor that reminds you that it is, in fact, a jelly bean.

Given that the bean has a great beer flavor, it’s not hard to concoct your own beer styles using the Draft Beer Jelly Belly as a base.

 Jelly Belly Draft Beer Recipes

 

The worlds first beer flavored jelly beans is worth a try for any beer lover. You can order them at the Jelly Belly online store if you’re curious enough to want to taste them for yourself.

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken Tacos with Jalapeno Slaw

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken Tacos

I’ve often been accused of going overboard.

Of being one of those people who just does too much. But it’s all smoke and mirrors in a way. I’m not as organized or even as interesting as I’d like you to think. I leave dishes in the sink far too long, my pantry is a mess and I am incredibly behind on what should be common business practices.

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken Tacos2

But I always make tortillas from scratch, so that’s impressive, right? I still have to figure out how to organize my life, and I can often be a little too relaxed with the domestic chores, but I will dazzle you with soft tortillas that took way less time than you think. And the five minutes it takes to get this in your slow cooker will make you think I have this all under control.

Because taco nights and beer fix most minor life crises.

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken Tacos3

Slow Cooker Beer Chicken Tacos with Jalapeno Slaw

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For Jalapeno Slaw

  • 1 cup shredded green cabbage
  • ½ cup red onions thinly sliced
  • 2 jalapenos chopped (seeds and membrane removed)
  • 2 tbs IPA beer
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ½ tsp salt

For the Chicken

  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp brown sugar
  • pinch cayenne
  • ¾ cup pale ale
  • 3 tbs tomato paste
  • 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs* cut into bite sized pieces
  • tortillas for serving

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl gently stir together the slaw ingredients, refrigerate until chilled.
  • In a small bowl whisk together cornstarch, cumin, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, brown sugar, cayenne, beer and tomato paste.
  • Add the chicken to a slow cooker, pour the beer mixture over the chicken.
  • Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is cooked through. Stir at least once during cooking.
  • Spoon chicken into tortillas, top with slaw.

Chocolate Stout Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream

Chocolate Stout Pudding2

So I have this problem with comfort food.

Or more, the problem is with me. I find comfort in odd foods. For most people it’s warm food, or crispy carby foods, or cheesy foods. For me, it’s cold food. Sushi is my comfort food. And cereal (don’t judge). And to make this even more strange, ice cream is not on my list of cold comfort foods (you can now judge me). Maybe it’s because I live in a land that is 80 degrees on Christmas, or maybe because I’ve just never been all that normal.

Pudding is a comfort food for me. It has that Summer Visit to Grandmas House feeling, and this version is full of beer and chocolate. It’s cold, but oddly comforting, for those of us that take our comfort that way.

But then again, it’s chocolate and beer, maybe I’m more normal than I thought.

Chocolate Stout Pudding3

Chocolate Stout Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream

Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Pudding

  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 tbs cornstarch
  • 4 wt oz dark chocolate 60%, chopped
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup chocolate stout
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tbs unsalted butter
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

For the whipped cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tbs stout
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • In a large saucepan off heat whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the cream, beer, and egg yolk, whisk until well combined. Add the chocolate.
  • Bring to a boil, stirring continually over medium heat. Whisk continually for 1 minute, remove from heat.
  • Add the butter and vanilla, stir until well combined.
  • Pour into serving containers, chill until set, about 2 hours.
  • To make the whipped cream, add the cream and powdered sugar to a stand mixer. Beat on high until soft peaks form. While mixer is running add the stout and vanilla, beat until soft peaks return.
  • Top pudding with whipped cream prior to serving.

 

Chocolate Stout Pudding6

Bloody Hell: Blood Oranges, Jalapeno, Whiskey and Beer Cocktail

Bloody Helly Beer Cocktail, Blood Oranges, Beer, Jalapenos, Whiskey

If there is anything that can lure me away from ordering a good beer, it’s a spicy cocktail.

The heat in a fresh pepper and some whiskey will get me every time. Once blood orange season rolls around, I’m powerless. Blood oranges have a great flavor, part naval orange, part raspberry and the color is incredible. The season has just started and ends far too soon. During the few peak weeks that I’m able to find these beauties that make my cutting board look like an episode of Dexter, I juice and freeze as much as I can for later.

Because before too long the only orange I’ll be able to find will be the boring orange ones.

Bloody Helly Beer Cocktail, Blood Oranges, Beer, Jalapenos, Whiskey

Bloody Hell: Blood Oranges, Jalapeno, Whiskey and Beer Cocktail

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz blood orange juice
  • 1 ½ oz bourbon
  • 1 tbs agave
  • 1 jalapeno sliced
  • 2 oz IPA beer

Instructions
 

  • In a shaker filled with ice add the blood orange juice, bourbon, agave, and jalapeno sliced. Shake well, pour through a strainer into a highball glass with ice.
  • Add beer, stir.

Bloody Helly Beer Cocktail, Blood Oranges, Beer, Jalapenos, Whiskey

Chili Lime Beer Chicken

Chili Lime Beer Chicken Wings 4

Girls are beasts.

I played Powder Puff Football in college in the free safety position, all 115 lbs of me, and saw up close and personal the kind of rule breaking brutality one girl can throw at another. Maybe it’s years of being told to sit up straight and act like a good girl, but once you strap on that waist belt of tear away flags and throw a football in the mix girls unleash a lifetime of pent up frustrations. I saw elbows to the face, cleats to the shins and pony tail pulls to the ground. None of that was me, other than one full contact body shove in the end zone, I played pretty fair. Sure that girl cried, but if you can’t handle the heat, get off the field.

The greatest part about my season of savage girl on girl football was that I now completely understand the game, which makes watching it so much more enjoyable. I’m also able to explain it in "girl language" to those ladies who missed out on being body checked by the pissed off Freshman ("downs are like chances").  Which other than the chicken wings I’ve made, is what I can bring to the Football Watching Parties I’m invited to.

And as much as I love to watch my team rattle the stadium so loudly the crowd registers on the Richter scale (raise your hand if you know who I’m talking about), I love the food that football watching requires.

This  weekend, and the very exciting game that will be happening on Sunday, will necessitate this Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken, probably this dip, and I’m using it as an excuse to make these Beer Doughnuts again. Because even if wrong team wins, at least I’ll have fried chicken and doughnuts. I’ll just have to find someone to body check to make myself feel better.

 

Chili Lime Beer Chicken Wings 5

Chili Lime Beer Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 3 tbs tomato paste
  • 3 tbs fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbs chili powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • 2 tsp red chili sauce such as Sriracha
  • 2 lbs chicken wings

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl whisk together the beer, tomato paste, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, honey, soy sauce and red chili sauce.
  • Add the chicken, stir to coat, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours and up to over night.
  • Place the oven rack at the top 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 400.
  • Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Remove chicken from marinade, add to prepared baking sheet.
  • Add the marinade to a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently until thickened and reduced, about 8 minutes.
  • Brush chicken on all sides with thickened marinade.
  • Bake for ten minutes, brush with marinade, repeat until chicken is cooked through, brushing with marinade and turning every ten minutes. Chicken will take 30-40 minutes to cook.

Chili Lime Beer Chicken Wings 3

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

People have irrational culinary fears, I get it. Some people avoid recipes using yeast like they are circus clowns in a dark alley. Some people can’t wrap their brains around the idea of plunging food into hot oil without a spotter. I have an irrational fear of mall Santas so I get it, there are just some things we tend to avoid.

Although I assure you, you’d be just fine if you wanted to fry these suckers in hot oil. I also assure you that if you bought a deep fryer your football parties will never be the same. But if you aren’t there yet, I get it.

I spent most of the summer cooking everything I ate on my backyard grill, taunting the grill-less into Sad Face reactions. One of my go-to sides was grilled french fries. I cut them large enough as not to slip through the grates and I learned that soaking them in a salt brine gave you that creamy middle and crispy outside that you really want in your french fries.

Now that most the grills in America are covered in the unsavory film of winter, I’ve switched to the oven method. The salt water soak is still the way to go when you want that creamy/crispy combo, and letting the baking sheet heat up in the oven will give you more of that golden brown outside that you’d get from that scary vat of hot oil.

Although I do promise that if you do decide to deep fry your potatoes, you’ll be fine. It’s not that scary, not like, say a grown man in a red suit that lurks near a Hollister.

Beer Soaked Oven Fries3

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 lbs russet potatoes
  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 1 tbs kosher salt
  • water
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp sugar

Instructions
 

  • Cut the potatoes into ½ inch strips.
  • In a large bowl add the beer and 1 tbs kosher salt. Add the potatoes to the beer, add just enough water that the potatoes are fully submerged, about 1 to 2 cups.
  • Cover and chill for at least 3 hours and up to 12.
  • Move the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven, place a rimed metal baking sheet on the rack. Preheat oven to 425.
  • Drain the potatoes and rinse well. Place on a stack of paper towels and pat dry. Add to a large bowl, drizzle with canola oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sea salt, black pepper and sugar. Toss until well coated.
  • Pour the potatoes onto the baking sheet in an even layer.
  • Bake for 20 minutes. Turn with a spatula and bake until golden brown, an additional 15-20 minutes.

Beer Soaked Oven Fries2

Mushroom Orzo and Stout Soup

Mushroom Stout Orzo Soup_ Have I told you about the time I made a complete spectacle of myself on an international flight?

It all started after I missed my perviously scheduled flight out of Spain, which is another story that involves churros and a bull fighting poster, and found myself in the middle of a sold out Madrid without a bed for the evening. Every room was booked, even those large mixed dorms that make you want to sleep fully clothed with your valuables tethered to your leg.

I was able to find a room about three blocks from Plaza Mayor in the home of an elderly couple that spoke no English. After a few weeks in Spain my Spanish language skills had risen to the level of a demented toddler and I was able to communicate Tarzan style enough to pay for the windowless converted closet and obtain a set of keys.

After spending the next few hours fighting with the airline I was safely booked on a flight the next day and happily wandering the afternoon streets near the Prado. I wandered into a bookstore looking for something that would keep me occupied on a 17 hour flight. The only English language book I could find was Tuesdays with Morrie. Fine, I’ll take it.

That night I hardly slept. I was so nervous about missing my mid-day flight that I woke up every hour to check the clock. Finally at 5am I gave up. I packed my bags, left my keys on the overly polished dining table and headed for the two trains that would take me to the airport.

Many hours and cups of strong coffee later I was settled into my aisle seat on a jam-packed jumbo jet headed for LAX. Exhausted but unable to sleep (remember I told you I sleep as well as a homeless prostitute?) I pulled out the book. Only minutes in I started to cry, half hour later I was sobbing. Not just pretty girls tears,but hysterical, ugly, snot and weird noises sobbing. People started staring.

I put the book down, pulled myself together, but couldn’t stop reading. This continued for most of the flight. Read, become so hysterical I can’t see over my own tears, feel like a crazy person, put the book down, repeat. A few rows ahead of me a girl flagged down a flight attendant and said, "Ummm…I think there is something wrong with that girl."

A few minutes later the flight attendant comes by, says nothing, sets down a plate of food: a small baguette, some cheese and a small bowl of soup. She pulls a package of Kleenex out of her pocket and sets it down. She leaves very quickly without a word. I felt ridiculous, but comforted. Soup and carbs seems to do the trick.

January, a historically hideous month in my personal life, calls for some comfort food.  Bring it on January, I have soup and carbs. Mushroom Stout Orzo Soup 2

Mushroom Orzo and Stout Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 sweet white onion sliced
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs unsalted butter
  • 8 wt oz sliced crimini mushrooms about 2 ½ cups
  • 3 wt ounces shitake mushrooms about 2 cups
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 12 ounces oatmeal stout
  • 1 cup dry orzo
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a pot over medium heat add the onions, olive oil and butter, cook stirring occasionally until onions have caramelized, about 20 minutes (do not let the heat get too high or the onions will burn before they caramelize).
  • Add both kinds of mushrooms and sage, cooking until the mushrooms have softened and darkened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the stout and stock, simmer for fifteen minutes.
  • Add the orzo and black pepper, cooking until orzo is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Salt to taste.

I use my Dutch oven all the time, it’s essential in my kitchen.

Mushroom Stout Orzo Soup 3

Tomato Herb and Beer Poached Cod with Caramelized Fennel

Tomato Herb and Beer Poached Cod with Caramelized Fennel_

I started this adventure masked as a blog just over two years ago. I decided when I first hit publish that this wasn’t a "let’s see how this goes" endeavor. This is was a full force, every piece of my life, both feet, all chips on the table undertaking. I was all in.

My stack of "I Need To Figure This Stuff Out" was much larger than my "I’ve Got This" pile and the more I fought towards the goals I set, the larger that first stack got. Lucky for me, my reaction to "You can’t do that" has always been, "You watch me." And somewhere along the road I stop hearing people say "no" to me and started to hear them say "Someday I’ll wish I’d said yes to you."

I guess it’s working, and I have a few gold stars to show for it. The first printing of my book,  The Craft Beer Cookbook (affiliate link), sold out in less than three months, I’m a regular beer expert on a radio show, I have people from all over the world share photos of the dishes they have made from my site with me over Facebook and Twitter (I LOVE this, keep doing it, highlight of my day), and in the past year I’ve been interviewed by dozens of magazines all over the world. I’m humbled by this in an enormous way, that what I’ve worked nights, weekends, poured so much time and money into is being realized. That I’m able to do this, share this love with you, and find a place in craft beer.

A few days ago an interview I did with the print magazine Imbibe hit newsstands. I stood in Barnes & Noble, trying really hard not grab the guy perusing motorcycle magazine standing next to me and yell, "THAT’S ME!" and shove page 21 in his face. I refrained.

So I’m doing it to you instead, I’m shoving page 21 in your face and yelling. But to you, I’m yelling "Thank you."

Beeroness in Imbibe_

Tomato Herb and Beer Poached Cod with Caramelized Fennel

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 fennel bulb sliced into ¼ inch slices
  • 3 cloves garlic mined
  • 1 cup white ale or wheat beer
  • 28 wt oz crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tsp crushed red peppers
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbs chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 4 cod fillets 4-5 ounces each
  • Rice potatoes or pasta for serving

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the fennel slices and cook until caramelized on each side, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, stir for about 30 seconds. Add the white ale, scraping to deglaze the pot.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, red peppers, paprika, basil. tarragon and salt, bring to a low simmer.
  • Add the cod fillets, pushing gently to submerge.
  • Simmer until cod is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, about 8 minutes (Note: do not boil or fish will become tough, keep tomato sauce at a low simmer).
  • Using a slotted spoon, remove cod from the pot, add to a serving platter.
  • Bring the tomato mixture to a strong simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced about 10 minutes.
  • Plate the cod, top with tomato mixture.

Tomato Herb and Beer Poached Cod with Caramelized Fennel 3

Beer Carnitas Pizza

 

Beer carnitas pizza

When I was kid Mexican Pizza involved ice burg lettuce and cheap ground beef. Possibly the perfect example of how neither Mexican food or pizza were given proper credit for the potential they had to compete in the Fine Food arena. They were both disregarded as low brow for far too long, but then again, so was beer. It took America awhile to see what Mozza did for pizza, what Rick Bayless did for Mexican food and what the craft beer industry as a whole did for beer.

It’s good thing we all woke up to the fact that we need to up our pizza night game. It’s a win for all of us.

Plus, it goes better with the good beer we’re now drinking.

Beer carnitas pizza3

 

I use this Beer Pizza Dough recipe, unless I fail to plan ahead, then I use this One Hour Beer Pizza Dough recipe.

Beer Carnitas Pizza

Ingredients
  

  • 4 lb pork shoulder trimmed and cut into 5 inches pieces
  • 1 tbs kosher salt
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 cup IPA
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • pinch cayenne
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 lb pizza dough
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
  • ½ cup shredded cheddar
  • ½ cup shredded mozzarella
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • ½ cup chopped tomatoes
  • ¼ cup Mexican Crema

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • Sprinkle the meat all over with the salt. Add to a shallow dish, cover and refrigerate for 12 hours and up to 3 days (if you skip this step make sure to salt the meat well before proceeding).
  • In a large Dutch oven, or roasting pan over two burners, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add the meat and cook on all sides until very well browned, working in batches if necessary. Remove the meat and allow to drain on a stack of paper towels.
  • Pour the beer into the pan, scraping to deglaze the bottom, turn off heat. Add the water, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and smoked paprika. Add the meat back in the pot.
  • Bake uncovered at 325 until falling apart, about 3-4 hours. Pull into bite sized pieces using a fork.
  • Add a pizza stone to the oven, increase heat to 425.
  • In a food processor add the black beans, olive oil and chipotle pepper, process until well combined.
  • On a lightly floured surface roll out the pizza dough, transfer to a pizza peel that has been well covered with corn meal.
  • Spread the black bean puree over the pizza in an even layer.
  • Top with cheese, then carnitas (you will have more than enough, save the remaining meat). Transfer to the pizza stone, bake at 425 until the crust is golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, top with tomatoes, cilantro and crema.

Adapted from David Leovitz Carnitas, and Spike Mendelsohn Mexican Pizza

Beer carnitas pizza2

Beer and Bacon Dip

Beer and Bacon DipBeer and Bacon Dip

This is a cheap ploy.

Using both beer and bacon in a dip to get your attention. It’s like a video of Christopher Walken volunteering as Tribute, or a list of The Things You HAVE to Know By The Time You’re 30, or those UpWorthy videos that Facebook always tells you are a Must Watch. You can’t look away.

Beer and Bacon Dip3

But it’s the food version of those things and you won’t be able to stop eating it until you run out of chips, and briefly contemplate using your fingers. But you shouldn’t, apparently, that’s tacky.

Beer and Bacon Dip4

Beer and Bacon Dip

Servings 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 16 wt oz cream cheese full fat
  • 1/2 cup sour cream full fat
  • 5 wt oz shredded mozzarella about 1 2/3 cups
  • 2 wt oz shredded cheddar
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • ¾ cup IPA or Pale Ale Beer
  • 8 slices bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Add the cream cheese, sour cream, mozzarella, cheddar, smoked paprika, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, cornstarch and beer to a food processor. Process on high until smooth and well combined, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in most of the copped bacon, reserving about 2 tablespoons.
  • Pour the dip into an oven safe bowl top with reserved bacon.
  • Bake at 350 until warmed through, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

If the dip is "fluffy" out of the oven, just stir before serving.