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Monatsarchive: April 2014

Pineapple Habanero IPA Shrimp

Pineapple Habanero IPA Shrimp

There’s a beauty and effortlessness in the collaboration of beer people. It’s an illustration of the spirit of community that exists in the world of craft beer. And indicator of how brewers are fans of each others, how the idea of competition is so so faint, it almost can’t be felt, how beer people cheer each other on and push each other forward.

Beer week, regardless of the city you’re in, has a way of brining these collaborations to the years giddy apex. This year Seattle beer weeks collaboration may be the largest yet. Six different breweries, Black Raven, Pike Brewing,  Naked City, Georgetown, Schooner Exact, and Elysian brewing, all came together to brew one beer. A great session IPA that has a beautifully well balanced hop flavor that’s insanely drinkable.

Lucky for beer people, as well as those just looking to explore hopped up liquors, Beer Weeks are popping up all over the country. If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, check out Seattle Beer Week May 8-18th. If you aren’t make sure to check out the beer week in your area and support local brewers, local beer and local economy, with the added benefit of a day full of great beer in your pint glass.

Pineapple Habanero IPA Shrimp3

Pineapple Habanero IPA Shrimp

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • ½ lbs raw shrimp peeled and deveined
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ cup white onions diced
  • 1 red pepper diced (stem and seeds removed)
  • 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
  • 1 habanero peppers chopped, stem and seeds removed
  • 2/3 cup plus 2 tbs IPA beer, divided
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 3 tbs rice wine vinegar
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 2 tbs green onions chopped
  • Rice for serving

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat.
  • Sprinkle the shrimp all over with salt and pepper. Add to the pan, cook until pink on all sides, remove from pan, set aside.
  • Add the onions and red pepper, cook until softened and slightly caramelized, about 8 minutes.
  • Add the pineapple, pepper, 2/3 cup beer, honey, vinegar, and cornstarch, cook over a low simmer until pineapple has broken down and sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the shrimp back in as well as the remaining 2 tablespoons beer, stir until combined, remove from heat. Serve over rice, sprinkle with green onions prior to serving.

Pineapple Habanero IPA Shrimp2

Grilled Beer Marinated Prosciutto Wrapped Filet Tip Skewers

Grilled Beer Marinated Prosciutto Wrapped Fillet Tip Skewers5P

Don’t roll your eyes at me. I’m not even sorry that I keep making you skewers.

I’m in a mood to put meat on sticks these days, and the grill is officially open. I’ve also discovered that filet tips are perfect for getting soaked in beer, stabbed with a metal skewer and thrown on a hot grill. Which makes them my new meat best friend.

Let’s talk about those tips I speak of for a second. When you decide it’s a good day to throw a Hot Meat Party (normal humans call these "barbecues") and invite your friends to partake in said hot meat for the price of some (hopefully good) beer or other edible offering, you should choose your meat carefully. You want something that’s going to impress, but feeding an army of hungry beer thieves takes a lot of meat. Tips can often be less expensive than buying a whole filet and better flavor than buying a cheap cut.

Beer marinading is a must with Hot Meat, the natural meat tenderizing properties of beer give the meat an added ability to stay tender and full of flavor even when exposed to high levels of grill induced heat. It also makes your beer bearing friends so impressed with your grill skills, they’ll bring better beer next time.

Grilled Beer Marinated Prosciutto Wrapped Fillet Tip Skewers7

Grilled Beer Marinated Prosciutto Wrapped Filet Tip Skewers

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces porter
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt, divided
  • 1 lbs fillet tips cut into cubes
  • 3 wt oz ounces prosciutto

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl or baking dish stir together the porter, Worcestershire, onion powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
  • Add the filet tips and marinate for 6 to 12 hours.
  • Preheat the grill.
  • Remove the filet tips from the marinade, discard marinade.
  • Place the filet tips on a stack of paper towels, top with more paper towels, allow to dry for about ten minutes.
  • Salt the filet tips on all sides with remaining salt.
  • Wrap the filet tips in prosciutto, thread onto metal skewers (or pre soaked wooden skewers)
  • Grill on all sides until desired level of doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium.

Grilled Beer Marinated Prosciutto Wrapped Fillet Tip Skewers

Beer Poached Pears with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce and Moose Munch Crumble

 

Beer Poached Pears with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce and Moose Munch Crumble_

One of the perks of blogging is the invitations for the behind the scenes tours of places you’d never be allowed in otherwise, to fully indulge the Food Geek in all of us in the how it’s made process that thrills and fascinates those of that have dedicated our loves to internet food. The vast majority of these invites I turn down. The ones I accept are only from companies I can get behind.

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Harry & David is a fantastic Pacific Northwest company. Although I choose to highlight their pears and Moose Munch, they’re so much more. They even have a well stocked bottle shop section of their Harry & Davids company store in Medford Oregon, I picked up a bottle of Alameda My Bloody Valentine and Walkabout Jabberwocky Ale. I was also amazed that this company that does such large volumes or candy, fruit, wine and gifts was run by a small and dedicated team. They all seemed to know each other, support each other and value the quality of their products. It’s exactly the type of company I want to support.  Plus there is talk of beer cheese dip and beer bread mixes making their way into the Harry and David baskets, something I’m definitely keeping an eye out for.

H&F fieldsR

Until then, I’ve poached some pears in beer and smothered them with beer chocolate sauce and topped it with some of that famous Moose Munch for a little texture.

Beer Poached Pears with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce and Moose Munch Crumble 2

 

Beer Poached Pears with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce and Moose Munch Crumble

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups beer*
  • 1 cup sugar plus 1/3 cup, divided
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp whole cloves
  • 2 large Comice pears peeled
  • hot water
  • ¼ cup chocolate stout
  • 3 tbs corn syrup
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 cup Moose Munch caramel corn rough chopped

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot over medium high heat add the beer, 1 cup sugar, vanilla, cloves. Bring to a simmer. Add the pears and enough hot water so that pears float. Cook until the pears are fork tender, 15-20 minutes.
  • In a separate pot add the chocolate stout, corn syrup, remaining 1/3 cup sugar and cocoa powder, bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 8 minutes.
  • Drain the pears and add to small bowls. Drizzle with chocolate sauce, sprinkle with chopped Moose Munch.

Notes

*For the poaching liquid you want a malty beer, but not a dark beer (dark beers may change the color of the pears). Look for a Belgian ale, brown ale or amber ale.
*You can also use regular caramel corn in place of Moose Munch.

Beer Poached Pears with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce and Moose Munch Crumble 3

 

Harry & David paid all the expenses for the trip , but this post was not sponsored or expected.

All opinions are my own. 

Connect with Harry & David:
Web ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Pinterest

Other blogger’s posts:

Reluctant Entertainer

Crazy for Crust

HeatherChristo

Homemade Stout Beer Salt

Homemade Stout Beer Salt 4

Stouts are my comfort food.

If I’m feeling stressed, or overwhelmed in any way, it’s my go-to liquor of choice. There is a comfort and familiarity a good stout brings. It’s the cable knit sweater of the beer world. And maybe that gives me the beer soul of an old man, but I’ll take it.

Lucky for me the Pacific North West is a hot bed of great dark beers, from the tried and true Black Butte Porter, and the hard to find Big Lebrewski, to the award wining Shakespeare stout, I’m in a good place now that my stress level has been turned to 11.

I do strange things when I’m at maximum stress level, like make flavored salt. Because really, I don’t NEED flavored salt, I just need to make it. I need to know that I can take refuge in a ridiculous creation of a flavored salt that I made just because it tastes like one of my favorite beers.

Homemade Stout Beer Salt_

Shakespeare stout is a great choice, it’s a fantastic beer.

Shakespeare is a great guy to have around, this is a beer that wins awards, show up when you need him and is easy to find from San Diego to Kansas. Maybe I just need a guy who show up when I need him, is that too much to ask?

The salt that resulted in my high heat abuse of our good friend Shakey, has some nice beer flavor. It makes a fantastic rim salt for your Beer Bloody Mary, or any savory cocktail. I might also suggest sprinkling it on a crostini with goat cheese and smoked salmon, or salting your beer marinated steak with it before it hits the grill. But it’s your call.

Homemade Stout Beer Salt 2

Homemade Stout Beer Salt

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ¾ cups stout beer
  • 1 ½ cups coarse sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Add the beer to a pot over medium high heat. Cook until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, thick and syrupy, 15-20 minutes.
  • Stir in the sea salt. Lay on a sheet of wax paper and allow to dry for 24-48 hours.
  • Add to a food processer, pulse a few times to break up crystals.
  • Store in an air tight container until ready to use.

Notes

If the salt is still a bit sticky after it's air dried, bake it at 425 for 5 to 10 minutes.

Homemade Stout Beer Salt 3

Yogurt and Beer Marinated Chicken Skewers

 

Yogurt and Beer Marinated Chicken Skewers 2

I’ve decided that the grill is officially open. Regardless of the weather, regardless of the time constraints, regardless of the lack of Meats on Sticks occasions in my near future. The grill needs to be open. Maybe it’s the catastrophic levels of stress in my life right now, maybe it’s my severe vitamin D deficiency since leaving Southern California, or maybe the grill should never be closed at all.

There’s a therapeutic quality to the first grilled food of the season. That delicious char you’d almost forgotten about. Cooking in the great wide open with sun on your face, beer in one hand, ridiculously oversized tongs in the other. And the realization that winter has passed. It all adds up to one of the most satisfying meals of the year.

Although I am considering not closing the grill at all next winter, but I’ll report back to you once the snow hits.

Yogurt and Beer Marinated Chicken Skewers_

Yogurt and Beer Marinated Chicken Skewers

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup pale ale
  • 1 tsp dried crushed red peppers
  • 1 ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika or 1 tsp sweet and ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 large garlic cloves grated with a microplane
  • 2 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs or breast, cut into cubes
  • vegetable oil for the grill
  • 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl stir together the yogurt, beer, red pepper, paprika, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add the chicken cubes, stir until fully submerged and coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24.
  • Preheat grill to medium high.
  • Remove chicken from marinate and thread onto metal skewers (or presoaked wood skewers), discard marinade.
  • Brush the grill with oil to prevent sticking.
  • Grill the chicken skewers on each side until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
  • Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving, if desired.

 

Yogurt and Beer Marinated Chicken Skewers 3

Chocolate Stout and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream (vegan)

Chocolate Stout and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream (vegan)

Everyone wants to feel like they have things figured out. That they have everything in it’s designated box. You’e made decisions, said decisions help you navigate the world.

And every once in a while that comfortable social constructionists gets a bit rocked. You hate country music but you find yourself sinfully signing along to Devil Went Down to Georgia and really enjoying yourself. And you watch the entire last half of Pitch Perfect when it comes on HBO and will never admit that you YouTubed the last performance three times the next days.

Which is the same reason you barely glance at the Vegetarian section of the menu at resturants. Because you’ve decided that you like meat, and that section doesn’t apply to you. And then an ice cream comes alone and it’s better than any other chocolate ice cream you’ve had and it’s vegan. Which makes you wonder about those line dancing bars you’ve avoided and the American cars you never test drove.

Because it’s just plants and beer and it’s better than the "regular" ice cream your usually drawn to. And that makes you want to explore the other things that just aren’t you. Which may be a good thing, but they don’t always end this well.

Chocolate Stout and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream (vegan)2

Chocolate Stout and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream (vegan)

Ingredients
  

  • 1 13.5 fl oz can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup granulated sugar *
  • 2/3 cup chocolate stout
  • ¼ cup high quality cocoa powder
  • ½ cup coconut flakes

Instructions
 

  • In a large sauce pan over medium high heat add the coconut milk, sugar, stout, and cocoa powder. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
  • Chill for at least 2 hours or until cold to the touch.
  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Add coconut flakes to a baking sheet. Bake for 3 minutes, stir and continue to bake until golden brown, about 3 additional minutes.
  • Churn in ice cream maker according to manufactures specifications until a soft serve consistency, about 15 minutes.
  • Add to an air tight container, stir in the coconut flakes.
  • Chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

*While sugar is inherently vegan, some companies use processes using animal bones. If you’re concerned about it, look for a company that produces vegan sugar, like the Whole Foods 365 brand.

Beer is similar, to make sure the stout you choose is vegan check Barnivoire to make sure.

I use the KitchenAid ice cream maker and this cocoa powder for this recipe (affiliate link).

Chocolate Stout and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream (vegan)3

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Poblano

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Chilies 2

 

When I was 19 I thought it was a great idea to drive a 20-year-old Ford Bronco nearly the entire length of the 5 Freeway to be my primary means of transportation.

Slow, old, unreliable, often ticketed, frequently towed, it didn’t end well. I was broke and had barely enough money to fill the gas tank, let alone maintain it. Which lead to finding creative ways to deal with the mechanical issues that arose. When one of my headlights went out, I discovered that the brights still worked just fine. So I never turned them off.

Late one night, headed to Hollywood on the 101 I was behind a well cared for vintage Cadillac, my brights reflecting off his rear view mirror. He slams on his breaks, skids slightly towards the median. I do the same. Luckily the breaks on the Bronco were still going strong and I stop inches from his bumper.

In the middle of late night Los Angeles on the far left lane of the freeway, he gets out of his car and heads toward my door, cars whizzing past us at 70 miles per hour. I was too close to him to drive around, just inches from his bumper. As he gets closer I can see he is still wearing dark sunglasses, the stems tucked under his red dew rag. I can’t see his eyes.

He walks to my window and motions for me to roll it down. As I crank the window down, heart racing blood pumping in my ears, he pushes his black and white plaid shirt back, just the top button is buttoned, the rest open. He puts his hands in the pockets of his black Dickies pants and I can see his white tank top and the butt of silver pistol in the waist band of his pants. I know instantly that he wants me to see it.

Photo Apr 14, 3 03 09 PM

Photo via The Beeroness on Instagram

"Your brights" he says, swaying slightly so that I can see the light reflect off his gun. "They are on."

"Yeah. I’m sorry…" I don’t know what else to say.

"You need to turn them off."

"Ok." I’m frozen. I can’t move.

"Now. Turn them off now."

"Ok. Yeah." I’m shaking. I reach up and switch them off, my left headlight going dim completely.

"Thank you. Have a nice evening." He waits a beat before smiling, covering the gun and walking back to his car.

Nothing really happened, but I was shaken. I immediately got off the freeway and stopped at a roadside taco stand to catch my breath. And I asked the lady behind the counter the question I always ask at a new place, "What do you eat?" She said she eats the stuffed peppers. They aren’t on the menu, but she’d make them for me. I was grateful. I never ended up making it to The Troubadour that night, but those stuffed peppers were worth it.

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Chilies 3

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Chilies

Ingredients
  

  • 5 wt oz shredded sharp cheddar (about 2 cups)
  • 3 tbs cornstarch
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup red ale or malty pale ale
  • 2 large chicken thighs cut into small cubes
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ white onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 large Roma tomatoes diced
  • ¼ cup diced green onions
  • 4 large Poblano Chilies

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • In a blender or food processor add the cheese, cornstarch, sour cream, and beer. Process until smooth, set aside.
  • Sprinkle the chicken cubes with chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt, toss until well coated.
  • Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic.
  • Add the chicken, cook until browned on all sides.
  • Pour in the cheese sauce, simmer until thickened, remove from heat, stir in the tomatoes and green onions.
  • Cut the stem off the chilies, remove the seeds inside. Spoon the chicken and cheese mixture into the peppers.
  • Place upright in oven safe coffee mugs, place coffee mugs on a baking sheet.
  • Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until peppers have softened.

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Chilies_

 

Miniature Coffee Stout Cinnamon Rolls

Coffee Stout Cinnamon Rolls3

No matter how great beer is in meat recipes, bread will always be it’s culinary kindred spirit. Because the heart and soul of bread and beer is the same: yeast. The beast that gives us bread, also gives us beer. A few months ago I was interviewing a brewer at an LA brewery who told me how he really feels about his job, "I don’t work for the brewery, I work for the yeast."

2014-04-06 12.46.35

It might sound intimidating, but really, nothing will work harder for you in the kitchen than yeast. It’s the most active ingredient you’ll ever work with, it becomes a cooking partner if you can just follow it’s rules and it will do more for your bread than you do.

2014-04-06 12.47.45

And there is something about watching yeast dough rise, smelling it bake in your kitchen, and tasting it fresh from the oven that just has healing powers. Just follow the simple steps: make sure the yeast hasn’t expired, make sure the temperate is correct (use a cooking thermometer), and make sure your kitchen isn’t too cold, and you’ll be fine. You’re yeast will work for you to make a gorgeous loaf.

2014-04-06 12.52.34

Then theres the beer, that has it’s own yeast, and it’s made from bread like ingredients. It’s a bread makers dream when it comes to baking the perfect batch of cinnamon rolls. You’ll get more than what you’ve worked for, and a batch of unforgettable rolls that are more than worth the effort they took. Plus you’ll be able to serve beer for breakfast, and that’s a dream all on it’s own.

Coffee Stout Cinnamon Rolls2

Miniature Coffee Stout Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients
  

For the Dough:

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 packets rapid rise yeast
  • 1/4 cup dry milk powder
  • 4 tbs butter
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • ¾ cup coffee stout
  • 2 large egg yolk room temperature
  • ½ tsp salt

For the Filling:

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tbs cinnamon

For the Frosting:

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup Coffee Stout

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook add the flour, sugar, rapid rise yeast (do not use regular dry active yeast), and dry milk powder. Stir to combine.
  • In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the cream and stout, microwave for 15 seconds, test temperature and repeat until the temperature of the liquid reaches between 120 and 125 degrees.
  • Add liquid to the mixer and stir until incorporated.
  • Add the egg yolk and salt, mix on medium high speed until dough comes together and gathers around the blade.
  • Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
  • On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to an approximately 12 inch by 16 inch rectangle.
  • In a bowl stir together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
  • Spread the cinnamon-sugar butter evenly over the dough. Cut the dough in half, lengthwise.
  • Starting at the long end, roll each half into a tight log.
  • Cut each log into 1-inch rolls, place cut side up in a mini muffin tin (or tightly into a baking dish) that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes (to make ahead, the second rise can take place over 12 hours in a refrigerator. Remove from fridge and allow to come to room temperature the following day prior baking).
  • Heat oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 minutes.
  • To make the frosting, beat the softened butter and softened cream cheese until well combined and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Add the beer and mix until light and fluffy. Spread frosting on rolls prior to serving.

Coffee Stout Cinnamon Rolls

Lime Sugared Blackberry and Coconut Pale Ale Pastry Cream Tart

Lime Sugared Blackberry and Coconut Pale Ale Pastry Cream Tart

When I was a kid I thought you grew up, picked a life and that’s were you sat. You stayed in this grown-up place, and that was it. You’d found your grown-up life and you were done.

But my grown-up life seems to go through a comprehensive metamorphosis every few years. New city, new job, new people. For a natural-born gypsy with the soul of a wanderer, this isn’t a bad thing. Experiences are satisfying and change can be cleansing.

But then there are times when it seems catastrophically difficult, even when it’s necessary. Like cleaning out road rash so the wounds of a bike crash will heal. Sometimes it’s the cleaning that hurts more than the crash. But it’s part of the process, part of the evolution, part of necessity of growth that keeps us from the stagnation that will kill our souls.

Growth, change, healing, just because it hurts doesn’t mean it isn’t the right path. Keep moving forward, keep breathing, know that it isn’t selfish to fight for your own happiness. Know that it’s hard because it’s worth it.

These are the days I bake. The days I cover fruit in sugar. The days I open a beer, grab a friend and take stock of the things I’m truly grateful for. Because no matter what is on the the hard list, the good list can always be longer.

Lime Sugared Blackberry and Coconut Pale Ale Pastry Cream Tart4

Lime Sugared Blackberry and Coconut Pale Ale Pastry Cream Tart

Ingredients
  

For the Tart Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter cut into cubes
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ¼ cup ice cold beer
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Coconut Pastry Cream:

  • 1 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup Saison beer or Hefeweizen
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

For the Blackberries:

  • 1 lbs black berries
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • Zest from one large lime about 2 tbs

Instructions
 

  • Add ¾ cups of flour, salt and sugar to a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the butter and egg yolk, process until well combined and dough gathers around the blade.
  • Add the remaining flour and pulse 6-8 times or until all the flour has been coated.
  • Transfer to a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the beer until completely incorporated into the dough (don’t add the beer in the food processor or your dough will turn into a cracker). Dough will be very soft.
  • Lay a long sheets of plastic wrap on a flat surface.
  • Place the dough onto the plastic wrap, form into flat disks.
  • Wrap disk tightly in plastic wrap, chill for 1 hour and up to 3 days.
  • Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Roll the tart dough into an even circle on a lightly floured surface. Line a tart pan with the crust. Prick bottom of the tart with a fork several times, adding pie weights if desired.
  • Bake at 350 until lightly golden brown, about 15-18 minutes. Allow to cool.
  • In a sauce pan off heat add the milk, cream, coconut milk, vanilla, egg yolks, Saison, sugar and cornstarch, whisk until well combined. Add to medium heat, whisk until thickened, about 10 minutes.
  • Pour pastry cream into crust. Chill until set and cooled, about 3 hours.
  • Add the sugar and lime zest to a food processor, process until all the lime oils and sugars have been well combined, about 3 minutes (this can be done days or even weeks in advance, keep in an air tight container until ready to use.)
  • Just prior to serving, add the blackberries to a bowl, pour the sugar over the berries, toss until well well coated.
  • Top tart with the berries prior to serving.

Lime Sugared Blackberry and Coconut Pale Ale Pastry Cream Tart2

Orange Chili Porter Glazed Skillet Chicken

Honey Chili Porter Glazed Chicken 2I know the google stalking that goes on. But don’t think it’s one sided. I see the key word searches, or the things you post about me on Facebook, but I do the same thing.

I’ve clicked over to your page too, seen the vacation photos and the fact that you also have a mild obsession with Bill Withers too, and I’ve wondered if we’d be friends in real life. I’ve clicked over to your Pinterest page after you’ve re-pinned one of my pins and thought we could hang out. Have some beers and talk about those rustic modern houses we love but will probably never have. Or the make up tutorials that we will never even attempt.

The breweries we’ve been to and the ones still on our lists. The places we’ve been, the place we want to go and the places we wished we’d skipped. We would laugh and talk and share some beer, if we knew each other in real life.  I’d tell you all the things I’m afraid to type out loud and you’d understand.

Because beer people are that way. We like each other, we get along and we root for each other. If only we knew each other in real life, we’d each pick up a round of pints and hang out in person. Beer does that, it seems to level the playing field and make us all friends.

Long live beer people.

Honey Chili Porter Glazed Chicken_

Orange Chili Porter Glazed Skillet Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cloves garlic grated with a microplane
  • 1 cup fresh orange juice about 3 large naval or cara cara oranges
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • ½ tsp red chili sauce such as sriracha
  • 1 tsp red chili flake
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup porter
  • 1 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs 4-6 large
  • salt and pepper
  • Rice for serving

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl whisk together the garlic, orange juice, soy sauce, red chili sauce, red chili flake, smoked paprika, onion powder, brown sugar and porter.
  • Sprinkle the chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper.
  • Add chicken to the marinade, cover and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • Pour the chicken and the marinade into a cast iron skillet.
  • Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Turn chicken over and continue to bake until cooked through, about 15 additional minutes.
  • Remove chicken from the skillet and transfer to a serving platter.
  • Place the skillet and the marinade over high heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened. Pour glaze over chicken before serving.
  • Note: if you don’t own a cast iron skillet, pour the chicken and marinade into a baking dish. Once the chicken is cooked through, pour marinade into a pot and cook until reduced to a glaze.
  • Note: If glaze becomes too thick and sticky, return to heat, stirring in a few splashes of beer to thin.

Honey Chili Porter Glazed Chicken 3

Salted Beer Caramel Topped Blondies

Salted Beer Caramel Topped Blondies_

I was in a port town in Greece, waiting for a boat to take me back to Italy, when I decided to spend the last bit of money I had with me on Baklava. This was the moment I realized how important food had become to me. I had just spent my last year of college working three jobs in order to save enough money to buy a plane ticket to Europe and hope that my Europe On A Shoestring guide book would get me through the trip with enough money leftover to make my first student loan payment when I got home. Like any great obsession, there is very little choice in the matter. It either grabs you or it doesn’t, and it often isn’t until it’s too late that you see that the shark has your leg.

A side effect of this affliction is an extraordinary fixations that it creates. Sometimes it’s a dish. Sometimes it’s an ingredient. Sometimes its a cooking method.

I have in no way been saved from these fixations. It’s gnocchi, and goat cheese, and roasted chicken, and the perfect dinner rolls, and caramel, and so many more.

I started making caramel a few years ago, it’s simple. You just need a candy thermometer and the patience not to walk away, since that will always be the moment the sugar burns. Caramel has become an obsession, what I can put in it, or on it, or with it, or how many times I can make it during Christmas before people start to roll their eyes.

Don’t leave me alone with sugar and a pot. You never know what you’ll come back too, but it’ll probably be a dark amber color and taste like beer.

Salted Beer Caramel Topped Blondies 2

 

Salted Beer Caramel Topped Blondies

Ingredients
  

For the Blondies Layer:

  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 yolk
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbs stout beer
  • 1 ¼ cup bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt

For the Caramel Layer

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup light corn syrup
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup stout plus 1 tbs divided

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment add the butter and brown sugar, beat on high until well combined.
  • Add the egg, yolk and vanilla extra, mix until well combined, light and fluffy.
  • Add 2 tablespoons stout, stir until combined.
  • Sprinkle the flour and salt over the butter mixture, stir until combined.
  • Spread evenly into a greased 8X8 baking pan.
  • Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
  • In a pot over high heat add the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream and ¼ cup stout. Stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
  • Allow to boil until a dark caramel color and reached 248 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 8 minutes. Allow to cool for ten minutes.
  • Pour over the blondies layer, chill until set, about 3 hours.

 

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema3I’m still in shock.

A few days ago I was given word that I’m a finalist for a Saveur award for BEST Original Recipes. Best on the entire internet and in the entire world. Out of the millions of food blogs out there and out of the 30,000 they considered, they chose The Beeroness as one of the six best.

SAV_Best Food Blog Award_FINALIST_2014

 I’d love to tell you that I feel justified, or vindicated. But really, I feel humbled. I feel honored. I even feel a little overwhelmed.

I want you to like what I’m doing. I want you to make my recipes for your family, I want them to become your recipes, for these recipes to be a great excuse to explore craft beer. But I never really needed it to be more than that, more than just me and you making some beer food and sharing it over a few pints.

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema2

 

And the Saveur goes and makes me want this too. I want to win it, for us, for the love of beer food.

So take a second and vote for The Beeroness for the Best Original Recipes

Because beer food really is the best.

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema

 

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema

Ingredients
  

For the Polenta:

  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup Saison beer
  • 1 cup dry polenta corn grits
  • 3 tbs butter
  • 3 wt oz smoked gouda shredded
  • Salt and pepper

For the Shrimp:

  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp red chili flake
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 lb raw shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 3 clives garlic minced
  • ½ cup saison beer

For the Crema:

  • ½ cup Mexican crema
  • 2 tbs fresh lime juice
  • 1 avocado sliced

Instructions
 

  • Heat the chicken broth, water and beer in a pot over medium heat. Add the polenta and cook over a low simmer, stirring occasionally, until creamy. About 30 minutes. Stir in the butter and cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.
  • While the polenta is cooking, make the shrimp.
  • In a small bowl stir together the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red chili flavors, smoked paprika and salt, set aside.
  • Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the beer.
  • Add the shrimp, sprinkle with seasonings.
  • Cook the shrimp until pink, remove from heat.
  • In a small bowl stir together the crema and lime.
  • Plate the polenta, top with shrimp and avocado slices, drizzle with crema.

I use Bob’s Red Mill Polenta (affiliate link), it’s non-GMO, organic, very consistent and really high quality.

 

Spicy Beer Shrimp with Smokey Creamy Saison Polenta and Lime Crema4

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

 

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast P

I have this idea that breakfast is a mark for true culinary hospitality. It’s much more intimate than dinner, it’s more vulnerable in a way. You’ve had dinner with hundreds of people, but how many people have you had breakfast with?

How many times have you made breakfast for someone? How often do you get up early, put on a larger pot of the good coffee, mapped out several dishes to serve someone just past dawn?

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast_

Those people are the special ones. I bet the people you’ve done that for are the ones you keep in your life, keep with you through the hard times. The ones who help you move, the ones who’s weddings you’ve gone to hung over from the festivities of the night before, the ones who show up at the hospital, the ones who don’t forget your birthday.

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast 4

So when we make these breakfast, for those Breakfast Worthy People in our lives, it should be something great. Something unforgettable. Something that we need to schedule a mid day run to work off.

And beer is absolutely acceptable during these breakfast festivities.

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Filling:

  • 8 wt ounces cream cheese softened
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips melted
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 3 tbs chocolate stout

For the French Toast:

  • 1 large loaf Italian bread
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup cream
  • ½ cup chocolate stout
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbs sugar
  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tbs butter

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl add the cream cheese, melted chocolate, granulated sugar and salt. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined. Add the 3 tablespoons chocolate stout, mix until well combined and creamy.
  • Slice the bread into 4 inch slices (about 6 total).
  • Using a sharp knife, make a slit in the center of the bread slices, forming a pocket for the filling.
  • In a medium bowl add the eggs, cream, ½ cup chocolate stout, vanilla, and sugar, whisk until well combined.
  • Add the graham cracker crumbs to a shallow bowl or a plate.
  • Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  • One at a time spoon the filling into the bread slices. Dip in the egg mixture, making sure to coat well. Allow the liquid to drain off the bread, then place on the graham cracker crumbs, turning over to coat the other side as well.
  • Place the French toast in the hot pan, cook on each side until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.
  • Serve warm.

 

Chocolate Stout Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast P