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Monatsarchive: June 2014

Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts

 

Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts 3

Let’s talk for a second about last meals.

We’ve talk about this before while discussing Julia Childs last meal and how I defiled it with a stout. Many discussions have been had over what entrée and dessert we’d all have if we were afforded the choice. Would it be Grandmas pot roast? Sushi? A burrito from that place you used to go when you were a kid?

The conversation needs to extend to the pint glass, what’s your last beer? If it’s a true last beer, there are a few factors you no longer need to consider: price? Charge it. ABV? Doesn’t matter, hangovers won’t be felt. If it really is your last beer, the last sip you’ll take as an earthly being, you probably wont be rolling the fermented dice on something new, you’ll grab an old favorite, your comfort beer.

What is it? What do you drink? Is it the first beer you fell for, the one that got you into craft beer? Is it one with memories attached to it?

For me, it would be a stout. Probably the first craft beer I feel in love with: Old Rasputin.

But then again, maybe I would surprise myself. I might want one of those fantastic California IPA’s that felt like home for some long. Sculpin, Race 5, Pliny? Who knows, it would be a game time decision.

But one things for sure, if you’re the one flipping the switch, make sure there’s proper glassware; I can’t drink it out of a mason jar.

Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts_

 

Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts

Ingredients
  

  • 1/3 cup IPA beer
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbs butter
  • ¼ tsp Sriracha
  • pinch cayenne
  • 2 ½ cups mixed nuts

Instructions
 

  • Add the beer and brown sugar to a large saucepan over medium heat.
  • Stir until sugar has melted.
  • Bring to a boil. Allow to boil untouched for 3 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, stir in butter, Sriracha and cayenne.
  • Add the nuts, stir until all the nuts are well coated.
  • Line a baking sheet with a silpat (or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray), spread the nuts in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake at 350 for 6 minutes, stir bake for an additional 6 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, allow to cool, break apart.

Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts 2

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting P

Beer and fruit have a bit of a sordid past. From the ill-advised orange slice served on the side of a hefeweizen, to the cringe inducing Bud Light Lime.  Thankfully, plenty of remarkable unions have a sordid pasts. Beer and fruit just needed a few takes to get it right. The current state of beer and fruit, in the hands of remarkable brewers, is exciting.

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting 3

Craft brewers have pushed the limits of what these two can do, bringing us remarkable examples like Festina Peche from Dogfish Head, and Orange Wheat from Hangar 24. Those brilliant brewers make beer with watermelon, cherriesmarionberries, and pretty much everything else they can get their hands on.

It’s evidence of what beer can do, what it’s capable of. Think for a second of the first beer you ever tasted, probably a pale lager poured from a keg out of the back of a pick-up truck. The flavors in that beer were small, a ground floor offering, a beer made to vaguely satiate the masses. Craft beer being made now is being made to get people excited, make us think. Love it or hate it, it’s beer you remember.

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting 4

It’s why beer and food go so well together. It’s the only alcoholic beverage that’s made with just about any ingredient in that meal on your plate. It was only a matter of time, and dozens of brilliant brewers, before beer and fruit started to make sense. And that was only the begining. You should see what those brewers do with chai, and chocolate, and carrots, and everything else you can throw at them.

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting 6

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
  

For the Cake

  • 4 eggs divided
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
  • ½ cup full fat coconut milk from can, shaken
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp coconut extract
  • 1 cup pale ale beer
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup dried coconut flakes

For the Frosting:

  • 1 ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 8 wt oz cream cheese softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbs lime juice
  • 3 tbs pale ale beer
  • 1/2 cup toasted coconut optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 .
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer add the egg whites, reserve the yolks.
  • Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Remove whites from mixer, add to a medium bowl, chill until ready to use.
  • In the mixer bowl add the butter and sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, beat until well combined.
  • Add the coconut milk, vanilla extract, coconut extract and beer, beat until well combined.
  • Lift the mixer heat, sprinkle with flour, baking soda and salt, stir until just combined. Add the egg whites, stir until just combined.
  • Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
  • Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, beat until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and beat until well combined.
  • While the mixer is running mix in the beer and the lime juice.
  • Frost the cake with the frosting, chill until ready to serve.
  • Garnish with toasted coconut just prior to serving, if desired.

Coconut Cake with Pale Ale Lime Cream Cheese Frosting 5

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Stout Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Stout Chocolate Chip Cookies-P

I have this theme in my life right now about fear.

Not the kind of fear that keeps you from jumping out of airplanes (which I’ve done), or the fear that comes when you hear a noise in the middle of the night which clearly means a murderer is in your living room.

But a fear that you don’t even realize you have, the you don’t realize is controlling you. Like this video of fear disguised as practicality. Or the fear that keeps you from standing up for yourself. Or the fear that keeps you from going after your dream. Or the fear that keeps you locked in a harmful relationship.

Talk to any sucessful person and you’ll hear a story of failing. A failure that got them closer to the goal, with more information and more drive. Fear is just part of it. Brewers know this. Every brewer will tell you about how much fear there was in the early years.

When it comes to brewing, or dreams, or needs, or relationships, success isn’t about being fearless, it’s about being fear tolerant. Accept that the fear won’t hurt you and move forward in spite of it. Learn to tolerate the feeling of fear and it won’t be able to control you.

Now let’s enjoy the spoils of that success and go drink some great beer.

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Stout Chocolate Chip Cookies3

 

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Stout Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
  

For the Cookies:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup stout
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup chocolate chips

For the chocolate dip

  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips 60% coca content
  • 1/3 cup stout
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt like Maldon sea salt

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract, beating until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl to insure all ingredients are well combined. Add the beer, mixing until well combined.
  • Lift the head of the stand mixer, sprinkle flour, baking soda, mix until just combined, stir in chocolate chips.
  • Using a cookie scoop, scoop onto a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper.
  • Refrigerated for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Bake at 350 for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before dipping.
  • In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate and remaining 1/3 cup stout beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, stir and repeat until melted.
  • One at a time, dip the cookies. Sprinkle with sea salt. Chill until chocolate has set.

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Stout Chocolate Chip Cookies2

Frozen Beer Soaked Watermelon


Beer Soaked Watermelonsicles

Summer beers have arrive, filling the shelves of our bottle shops with pale ambiguous summer refreshment. If you’re new to beer, these labels can be a bit confusing due to the comprehensive lack of cohesion with the title: summer ale. Some have a beautiful bitter hop bite, some have a nice malty flavor, some are mild and clean. I’m an advocate for an open mind and full beer cart, but if you’re a bit more leery and want a specific flavor profile when looking for beer, here are a few things to keep in mind.

"American" in front of any beer title (i.e. American Summer Ale, American Pale Ale…) means that beer will be hoppier than it’s non-patriotic counterparts.

Summer ales and summer release aren’t the same thing, but close. Summer release just means a beer that is only released that season, but can be any style.  Summer ales are generally a pale ale with notes of citrus, light to medium bodies, some hops but not overwhelming, but brewers are free to run wild within a very broad definition so many summer ales taste vastly different.

Saisons are made to be served in the summer, they are often mild, fruity, generally have a bit more sweetness to them and very low hops. Sometimes these are made with wheat, but not always. This is a great style to seek out if you’re new to craft beer or looking to introduce people to craft beer.

Kolsch is a mild crisp beer, it’ll give you a bit more hops than a saison, but not as much as a pale ale. It’s a great summer beer to pair with your barbaque, it’s mild enough for the watermelon and bold enough to stand up to salsa and has a great carbonation to wash down that burger.

Session IPA's are just IPA’s with a low alcohol content, letting you drink more without embarrassing yourself. You’ll still get a great bite of hops, but without becoming an intended YouTube sensation.

To booze up these watermelon cubes, I used the summer release beer Hell or High Watermelon by 21st Amendment brewery. It’s a wheat beer made with fresh watermelons, crisp and dry and perfect for summer.

It was the obvious choice.

Frozen Beer Soaked Watermelonsicles

 

Frozen Beer Soaked Watermelonsicles

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs watermelon cut into cubes
  • 12 ounces beer pale ale, wheat beer or IPA

Instructions
 

  • Place watermelon in a bowl. Pour beer over the watermelon. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
  • Remove from beer, skewer with 6 inch wooden skewers.
  • Place on a large plate, cover and freeze for 1 to 2 hours.
  • Serve frozen.

Beer Soaked Watermelonsicles 2

 

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads

 

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads

Let’s say you and I get into it over pizza. We hash it out over the best pizza we’ve ever had. We talk about Naples, and LA, and both agree that New York beats Chicago, unless you want a casserole, then Chicago pizza will do.

And then I tell you that the best Ray’s pizza in New York is the one at 4th and Houston, to which (if you’re a New Yorker) you recoiler in horror that I’ve chosen said Ray’s instead of one of the 147 other Ray’s in Manhattan.

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads 2

We finally just agree to get a beer and pizza and call it a day. Nowhere in our spirited conversation do we mention Seattle. Because the thing about Seattle is that beer is world class, so is the coffee and the produce can’t be beat, but the pizza…

We’ll just talk about the beer and the coffee and the produce and leave talk of the pizza out of it shall we? Similar to a discussion of the best people in the world named Joe wouldn’t include talk of either Buttafuoco or Francis. Let’s just stick to the good stuff.

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads 3

Of course I have a theory about this. The same water that makes the beer fantastic and coffee legendary isn’t so kind with the pizza dough. But here is the thing about baking your pizza dough with beer, wherever you go in the world, your dough will be the same.

Water is for the weak, switch to beer and your pizza dough will become the stuff of folklore.

It might even be brought up in the New York vs Chicago debate.

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads 4

 

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads

Servings 4 (6-inch) flatbreads

Ingredients
  

Crust:

  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • 1 1/8 tsp rapid rise yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ cup wheat beer or pale ale
  • 2 tbs oil
  • ½ tsp salt

Chicken:

  • 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 cup wheat beer or pale ale
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • oil for the grill

Topping:

  • Stout and Sriracha BBQ Sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ¼ tsp cilantro chopped
  • 2 apricots thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup red onion chopped

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast and sugar. Mix until combined.
  • In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, add the oil and salt while the mixer is still running.
  • Turn speed to high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface. Knead several times, cut into 4 equal sized pieces. Form each piece into 6 inch circles.
  • While the dough is rising, make the chicken. Place the chicken in a bowl, cover with 1 cup beer. Chill for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove from beer, rinse and pat dry.
  • Preheat the grill.
  • In a small bowl combine the onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin and salt.
  • Sprinkle chicken on all sides with spice mixture.
  • Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
  • Remove from grill, slice.
  • Oil the grill (alternately, you can oil the flatbreads). Grill one side of the flatbread until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes, flip and very lightly grill the other side, about 30 seconds, remove from grill. Place the flatbreads on a flat surface with the well grilled side facing up. Top with barbeque sauce, cheese, chicken, sliced apricots, cilantro, and onions. Place back on the grill, close over, cook until cheese has melted.

My recipe for Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce, you have to make it.

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads 5

Blackberry Basil Belgian Ale Milkshake

Blackberry Basil Belgian Ale Milkshake

I’m going to confess to you the least foodie thing I’ve ever done.

A few years ago I was in Spain, I’d missed my flight out of Madrid because of an ill-timed visit to the Prado, some churros, and a bullfighting poster and I was stuck for an indefinite amount of time. I wanted some comfort food.

Blackberry Basil Belgian Ale Milkshake

I wanted something familiar to help me deal with the fact that I was stuck half way across the world, dealing with an airline that was refusing to help, and all the budget hotels and hostels were sold out for the night. So I went to McDonald’s.

I was in one of the most culinary rich countries in the world and I went right past all those great markets and family run cafes right to the American capital of sub-mediocre food to order a milkshake and some french fries.

And it worked. It was bland, and salty and creamy and reminded me of my processed food childhood and made me feel like everything was going to be OK. I’m not proud of myself, I could have had cured meats and cheese and fresh bread.

But I don’t care. Sometimes, you just need a milkshake.

Blackberry Basil Belgian Ale Milkshake

 

Blackberry Basil Belgian Ale Milkshake

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 1 cup belgain ale
  • 5 leaves basil chopped
  • 1 cup blackberries

Instructions
 

  • Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

 

Jalapeno Cornbread Beer Bread Muffins with Salted Beer Honey Butter

Jalapeno Cornbread Beer Bread Muffins, cooking with beer

 

There’s a contradictory element to cornbread.

It’s enough to be a meal all on it’s own, especially when you eat 4 of them, with a beer and some honey butter, but you miss the rest. You miss the ribs, and the greens, and the coleslaw and the mac n cheese and the fried chicken. You miss all those things that cornbread always sits beside on the plate. Maybe it’s just that cornbread is a social food, it just goes with everything. Or maybe it’s because your cornbread memories are accompanied by other comforting good-time food.

But either way, it’s a food that seems to be lonely all by itself. So you should probably make some beer fried chicken and some beer and bacon mac n cheese, maybe some stout BBQ sauce ribs while you’re at it.

Or just eat 4 of them with a beer and call it day.

Jalapeno Beer Cornbread Muffins3

Jalapeno Cornbread Beer Bread Muffins with Salted Beer Honey Butter

Ingredients
  

For the muffins

  • 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3 jalapenos chopped (remove seeds for a lower heat level)
  • 1 ear of corn grilled (leftover grilled corn works perfect)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¾ cup melted butter
  • ¾ cup wheat beer
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tbs vegetable oil

for the butter:

  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 tbs wheat beer
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 1 tsp Maldon salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400.
  • In a large bowl stir together the cornmeal, flour, jalapenos, kernels cut off the cob of corn, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  • Make a well in the center.
  • Add the melted butter, beer, eggs and vegetable oil, stir until jut combined.
  • Scoop into the wells of a muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Bake at 400 until lightly browned and top spring back when touched, about 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool.
  • In a stand mixer, beat the butter with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly add the beer and honey, mix until well combined, stir in the salt.
  • Scrape the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap, roll into a log, refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
  • Serve the cornbread with butter.

Jalapeno Beer Cornbread Muffins2

Sriracha Beer Butter Grilled Corn

 

Sriracha Beer Butter Grilled Corn-P

I was once invited to leave The Viper Room when the guy I’d been chatting with escalated past douche bag right up into unignorably obnoxious territory and I was swept up in his wake.

I not so subtly parted ways with him to cross the street towards The Roxy when he escalated further,"You’re leaving?! I pulled out my best stuff for you!" I had no idea that he’d been trying to get somewhere with his meaningless rambling.

Oh, you mean the uber-impressive story about having lunch with Alan Thicke last week? Or telling me that your ex-girlfriend was a sexsomniac?

Or bragging about stealing wifi from your neighbor? Because it was all gold, so clearly I have no reason to leave with this depth of conversational wealth that’s being offered to me.

Sriracha Beer Butter Grilled Corn3

Sometimes, people just try too hard when what they really want is to impress. We can do the equivalent of Over-Sharing-Drunk-Viper-Room-Guy with food. We can try too hard, do too many things, and make a mess of it all.

Keep it simple this summer, some grilled produce, good ingredients, real butter and great beer.

And save the stories of your ex-girlfriend for your guy friends and only after they’re too drunk to object.

Sriracha Beer Butter Grilled Corn

Sriracha Beer Butter Grilled Corn

Prep Time 7 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup unsalted butter chopped into cubes
  • 3 tbs IPA beer
  • 1 tsp sriracha
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp kosher salt
  • 6 ears fresh corn shucked
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter until light and fluffy.
  • Add the beer, sriracha, garlic and salt. Beat until well combined.
  • Add the butter to a piece of plastic wrap, roll tightly into a log. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
  • Preheat the grill.
  • Brush the corn with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Grill on all sides until lightly charred and tender, 8-10 minutes.
  • Add the corn to pieces of aluminum foil, top with several slices of butter, sprinkle with cilantro.

 

Porter Date Jam Crostini with Prosciutto, Arugula and Goat Cheese

 

Porter Date Jam Crostini with Prosciutto, Arugula and Goat Cheese 2

If there was any doubt about how much I like self-torture, you can defer to this: I’m writing another cookbook.

My first cookbook, The Craft Beer Cookbook took four months and most of my sanity to write. And here I am, doing it again. Maybe it’s the post publisher amnesia, maybe it’s that I had such a great time on the book tour, or maybe it’s that I like self inflicted torment.

Either way I’m nearing the half way point of writing my second cookbook. The topic this time is appetizers and party food. Craft beer lends itself to party food. The community of people that beer draws, and the flavors of the great beer that those craft beer people create just have to be shared. A book about food that’s at the center of a gathering of good beer and great people is therapeutic for me right now. It’s a reminder of the good parts of these lives we live, that the Quality of Life that we all strive for has more to do with who we share it with any other peripheral accessories that the world can offer.

A book about food that’s meant to be shared with people we love, I can’t think of anything I’d rather spend my time creating.

Porter Date Jam Crostini with Prosciutto, Arugula and Goat Cheese 3

Porter Date Jam Crostini with Prosciutto, Arugula and Goat Cheese

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • ½ cup white onions
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup smoked porter
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbs molasses not black strap
  • 15 madjool dates about 8 wt oz, pitted and chopped
  • 1 long french baguette
  • 4 wt oz goat cheese crumbled
  • 4 wt oz prosciutto sliced
  • 1/3 cup baby arugula leaves

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook the onions until soft. Stir in the garlic, then the porter, vinegar, molasses and dates.
  • Simmer until the dates have softened and broken down and the beer has reduced, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about ten minutes.
  • Add to a food processor and process until mostly smooth.
  • Preheat broiler. Cut the baguette into 24, 1-inch slices. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler until golden brown. Flip the slices over and place back under the broiler until golden brown on the other side.
  • Spread each slice with porter date jam, top with crumbled goat cheese, prosciutto and arugula.

Porter Date Jam Crostini with Prosciutto, Arugula and Goat Cheese_

Candy and Beer Pairings That Will Rock Your Party

 

Candy & Beer Pairings that will rock your party.  

Candy and Beer Pairings

Two of the greatest guilty pleasures in this world are candy and beer. With the extensive data base of flavors that craft beer has to offer, it’s easy to find the perfect beer to pair with any candy you can manifest. Earlier this year I helped Jelly Belly get the word out about their new Draft Beer Jelly Belly jelly bean, an easy task given that beer and candy make easy playmates.

When it comes to pairing the two, there are just a few small guidelines to keep in mind. Rules don’t exist, if you like it, it’s a good pairing. There are a few things to keep in mind when you decide which beers to drink with each candy.

Consider intensity. IPA’s are a big strong beer with a huge flavor presence, necessitating a candy that can take a punch. Pair an intense beer with an intense candy, it’s a lot of fun to experience two high flavors duke it out.

Consider texture. Smooth, mellow beers, like oatmeal stouts, go well with smooth creamy textures, like milk chocolates. While high carbonation beers can help cut a more sour candy.

Consider flavors. Every beer and every candy has a dominate flavor. Think of the dominate flavor in the beer and the candy, is it lemon? Chocolate? Caramel? Peach? Can you picture those two flavors meshing well?

When pairing beer and candy, pick two options and try them both. Go with your gut. Which one makes you want more? Even if it doesn’t make sense, that’s the one you want to serve.

No matter what you end up with, you’re still drinking beer and eating candy, there are no losers in that game. Have a great time, drink some great beer and don’t forget to share.

Check out my recommendations on How To Throw A Beer and Chocolate Party.

 

Beer and Candy Pairings

 Beer and Candy Pairings 1

  1. Orange Jelly Belly Jelly Beans with Orange Wheat beer.

Beer suggestion: Hangar 24 Orange Wheat

Beer and Candy Pairings 2

  1. Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters with Brown Ale.

Beer Suggestion: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Ale or Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale

  1. Candy Corn with White Ale

Beer suggestion: Allagash White

  1. Caramel Corn with Belgian Dubbel Ale

Beer Suggestion: Ommegang Abbey Ale or The Lost Abbey, Lost & Found Abbey Ale

  1. Dark Chocolate Almonds with Chocolate Stout

Beer Suggestions: Bison Brewing Chocolate Stout or Rogue Double Chocolate Stout

Beer and Candy Pairings 3

  1. Peanut brittle with Scotch Ale

Beer suggestions: Moylan’s Brewery Kilt Lifter or AleSmith Wee Heavy Scotch Ale

Beer and Candy Pairings 4

  1. Sour Gummy Worms with IPA

Beer Suggestions: Bear Republic Racer 5 or Sierra Nevada Torpedo

Beer and Candy Pairings 5

  1. Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels with Imperial Stout

Beer Suggestions: Old Rasputin or Stone Imperial Stout

  1. Crushed Pineapple Jelly Belly Jelly Beans with Saison (or a brett/wild ale)

Beer Suggstions: Great Divide Colette Farmhouse Ale or The Lost Abbey Carnevale

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Before my gypsy soul led me to Los Angeles, I spent a few years growing up on a pig farm. With seven sisters. Eight girls, startling close in age, running around like ferrel children on endless acres of farmland. Although I learned to drive a tractor before I could drive a car, maneuver a 300 pound pig anywhere I wanted him to go using just a 5 gallon bucket, and  how to milk goats, these are skill that don’t really come in handy in a more urban area.

One useful skill that farm livin' did teach me was how to grill meat and what to serve with it. This was the first occurrence of beer cooking in my life, the meat was always marinated in a mixture of barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke and beer (Coors light I’m sad to say). Two sides were always, ALWAYS served alongside any meat that came off the grill: potato salad and baked beans. Potato salad and I have our issues, mostly the cringe inducing overuse of mayonnaise. But baked beans I never passed up. I like mine deep in flavor, and not too sweet. If you like your baked beans on the sweet side, add 1/4 cup brown sugar. If you like your potato salad swimming in mayo, you’re on your own.

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ lbs pinto beans
  • ½ lbs navy beans
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 12 ounces smoked porter or stout beer
  • ½ lbs bacon chopped
  • 1 sweet white onion chopped
  • 3 tbs molasses
  • ¼ cup real maple syrup
  • 3 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp mustard powder
  • 1 ½ cups hot water

Instructions
 

  • Add the beans and baking soda to a large pot (the baking soda softens the beans and allows them to soak more efficiently). Cover with about 2 inches of water.
  • Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat, allow to soak for on hour. Drain.
  • Add the beans and remaining ingredients to a slow cooker.
  • Cook on high for 10 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Cooking the bacon and caramelizing the onions in the bacon fat before adding it all to the slow cooker will give you a deeper flavor, if you have the time.

I use this slow cooker (affiliate link).

 

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Slow Cooker Maple Bacon Beer Baked Beans

Porter Black Bean Dip

I’ve been told that a writer is no greater than the sum of their experiences.

Experiences, those I’ve got, more than most. More than I’ll ever admit to. But are the ones I’ve accumulated the right inlay for the foundation of the life I want? I was never anyones high school sweetheart, but I was the mysterious girl at an Italian hotel. I’m not sure I’ve been anyone’s best friend, but I was the girl drinking beer at Elton Johns birthday party.  I’ve never made cookies with my grandmother but I did learn to make a noodle kugel from a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor. I’ve never been to Disney World, but I’ve taken a taxi ride to feed monkeys in Middle Atlas. I’ll never be the person who works at the same company for 20 years, but I have taught anger management skills to gang members in South Central Los Angeles.

Are these the experiences that I’ll be glad I’ve accumulated? Are they the right ones because they’re more rare? Am I missing out on the beauty of a more traditional life? I’m not sure.

But I know that I have a gypsy soul that likes to wander, and doesn’t gravitate towards convention.

 

Porter Black Bean Dip

Ingredients
  

  • 2 15 wt oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ cup 4 wt oz cream cheese
  • 2/3 cup smoked porter beer
  • ½ cup cilantro plus additional for garnish
  • 3 jalapenos chopped
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup cotija cheese

Instructions
 

  • In a food processor add the beans, cream cheese, porter, cilantro, jalapenos, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and smoked paprika. Process until smooth.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pour into a serving bowl, top with cotija cheese and cilantro.
  • Can be served warm or at room temperature.