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Monatsarchive: October 2014

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette. Vegan, healthy and insanely delicious. Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving! 

 

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette. Vegan, healthy and insanely delicious. Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving!   #vegan #beer #recipe #sidedish #thanksgiving #potato

I once knew a woman who had marched on Washington with Martin Luther King. She was fascinating and captivating and no matter how many interesting stories I can tell you, she had me beat on all levels. I sat at a small formica table drinking bad coffee with a woman who was closer to my Grandmothers age than my own and she told me about praying with MLK Jr. in a tent the night before the big human rights rally. I was captivated. I looked at her hands, gripping a white paper cup and I imagined them gripping his. Facing each other, his hands tightly folded into hers, eyes closed, praying for the day to come, possibly wondering if they would both make it through alive. I felt like I was in the presence of Royalty. "One of the best things he ever said to me was to collect compliments, and disregard insults." I smiled, apparently she had picked up on the fact that I tend to disregard compliments and collect insults. "I’ll give you one, one that I hope you collect. Here it is: you get it. Most white people don’t, but you do. You get it. For as much as someone who has never been a minority can get it, you do."

To this day, it’s one of my favorites. More than Carlos Santana telling me I was pretty, or Tommy Lee saying I beautiful. It was a compliment that mattered from a woman I was intimidated by. It beat out Evan Kleiman saying my recipes are smart and even a woman I adored saying "you’re the kind of girl I hope my son marries." But all of these compliments I’m keeping. I’m saving them up and pulling them out when I feel beaten down. You should too. Collect the compliments, disregard the insults. After all, if someone wants to throw a nasty comment your way, it says more about them than it does about you.

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette. Vegan, healthy and insanely delicious. Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving!   #vegan #beer #recipe #sidedish #thanksgiving #potato

 

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh sage
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 4 lbs russet potatoes sliced into ¼ inch slices
  • 1/3 cup brown ale

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • In a small bowl stir together olive oil, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, allow to steep for five minutes (you can also add this to a small pan and bring to a boil on the stove top).
  • Place a layer of potatoes in an overlapping circle in the bottom on a 9-inch spring form pan.
  • Brush potatoes circles with olive oil mixture. Add a second layer of potatoes, brushing with oil, repeat until all potatoes are used. You should have three or four layers of potatoes, each layer brushed with the herbed olive oil. Once all potatoes have been used, pour 1/3 cup brown ale gently over the top.
  • Cover spring form pan with aluminum foil, bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
  • Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Place potatoes under the broiler for 3 minutes or until the top is slightly crisp and golden brown. Press down firmly on the top of the galette with a spoon or fork. Allow to cool. Remove the sides of the spring form pan, cut galette into wedges.

This recipe is crazy delicious and just so happens to be vegan. It’s a beautiful way to serve a side dish to a diverse crowd at Thangsiving. It can even be gluten free if you use GF beer and it’s relatively healthy. Want a delicious and different breakfast offering? Put an egg on it.

 

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette. Vegan, healthy and insanely delicious. Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving!   #vegan #beer #recipe #sidedish #thanksgiving #potato

 

 

Want to know how I made these incredibly delicious beer battered grilled cheese bites? You’ll love them. Check them out on the Harry & David blog.

Beer Box5

Chocolate Porter Mousse Tart with Potato Chip Crust

 Chocolate Porter Mousse Tart with Potato Chip Crust. POTATO CHIP CRUST!! #chocolate #beer #recipe

Chocolate Porter Mousse Tart with Potato Chip Crust. POTATO CHIP CRUST!! #chocolate #beer #recipe

You already know the kind of tricks I play over here. You know that I add salty things to sweet things more often than not. You know that pretzels have been a favorite, as is bacon. But I’ve moved on, or really, I’m expanding.

Chocolate Porter Mousse Tart with Potato Chip Crust. POTATO CHIP CRUST!! #chocolate #beer #recipe

I’m broadening my salty-sweet pairings to improve upon those chocolate covered potato chips you love so much more than you expected to. Sweet and savory is a balance, like malt and hops. It’s a way to round out flavors and bring them to a new level. Try it the other way too. Add a little brown sugar to your fried chicken, or maple syrup to your barbecue sauce.

Chocolate Porter Mousse Tart with Potato Chip Crust. POTATO CHIP CRUST!! #chocolate #beer #recipe

Beer needs that same balance, a little sweetness from the malt, and a little bitterness from the hops. Of course, I needed a beer that messed around with these principles as well. It seemed a bit fated when this beer showed up on my doorstep from Stone Brewing. This beer is savory. It’s warm and smokey with notes of cocoa and orange. It’s not a sweet chocolate beer that you might be used to. It’s perfect to pair with a big plate of barbecue beer ribs, and finish with a tart that has a big kick of savory-salty dessert mouthful. Stone’s Smoked Porter with Chocolate and Orange Peel is a fantastic cooking beer, the flavors and big and bold. It’s a fantastic reminder of how important beer and food are becoming to each other.

Stone Brewing Smoked Porter with Chocolate and Orange Peel

For the chips, I used Kettle Brand Sea Salt chips, so perfect.

Chocolate Porter Mousse Tart with Potato Chip Crust

Ingredients
  

  • 7.5 wt oz about 6 cups bag salted kettle potato chips
  • ½ cup flour
  • 3 tbs cornstarch
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 3 tbs melted butter
  • 10 wt oz about 1 ¾ cups dark chocolate chips
  • ½ cup + 2tbs porter Stone Smoked Porter with Chocolate & Orange Peel
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Add the chips, flour, cornstarch, and brown sugar to a food processor, process until chips have been reduced to crumbs. While the food processor is running, add the melted butter until well combined with the potato chip crumbs.
  • Starting with the sides, press the crust into a 9-inch tart crust with removable bottom (alternately, you can use a spring form pan, pressing the sides up just about 1 ½ inches).
  • Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  • In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips and ½ cup porter. Microwave for 45 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. Allow to cool for ten minutes.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer add the cream, remaining 2 tablespoons porter, salt and powdered sugar. Beat on high until soft peaks form.
  • While mixer is running, slowly add the chocolate until well combined.
  • Spoon into cooled crust in an even layer. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

 

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken. Even the pasta and chicken get cooked in the same pot!  

 

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken. Even the pasta and chicken get cooked in the same pot!

Sometimes I like to look at photos of old living rooms I used to occupy. The one when I was kid with the brown tweed couch, and the one with the tan futon from college, and the one I painted orange from right after I graduated. I stare at these images and think that if I just tried hard enough I could go back. I could walk in the door, throw my bag on that weird built in shelf next to the stove that Sophia chewed on when she was a puppy. That the awkward wrought iron table would still be there and the bad bathroom tile would still be covered in lady bug decals.

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken. Even the pasta and chicken get cooked in the same pot!

 

Then I remember that fight I got into with my academic advisor when I was in college. He was also the dean of my department and the type that would wear thin short sleeved button down shirts without the obligatory Hanes barrier between my eyes and his man nipples. He always had a way of pissing me off, but for some reason I told him that I was having a hard time adjusting, that friends had never been that easy for me to come by, that even going home felt more empty than I’d imagined.

"It’s true what they say," as he leaned back in his chair his large mass caused the seat to creak in protest under his weight, "You really can’t go home again."

I stood up, angry at him. He was right, and it made me furious.

Sometimes I think he might be wrong. For a second I think that there might be way, if I could find the key, that I could open the door and it would all be the same.

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken. Even the pasta and chicken get cooked in the same pot!

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 4 chicken thighs
  • salt and pepper
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • ½ yellow onion diced
  • 1 large carrot diced
  • 15 asparagus stalks trimmed
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 12 ounces brown ale
  • 2 lbs fresh tomatoes diced
  • 6 wt oz tomato paste
  • 4 wt oz parmesan with rind
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 8 wt ounces fettuccini noodles

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper.
  • Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Cook chicken on both sides until cooked through, remove from pot, chop.
  • Add onions and carrots, cooking until softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the asparagus and garlic, cook until asparagus is slightly browned.
  • Stir in the beer, scraping to deglaze the pot.
  • Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, simmer until the tomatoes have broken down. Grate the parmesan, reserve the rind. Sprinkle the pot with parmesan, stir until combined, Add the rind to the pot as well.
  • Stir in the garlic powder, oregano. Add the fettuccini noodles, cooking until noodles are al dente.
  • Plate the noodles, top with chicken.

One Pot Tomato Parmesan Brown Ale Fettuccini with Chicken. Even the pasta and chicken get cooked in the same pot!

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

The best fried chicken I’ve ever had was in a trailer park in Compton, a particularly rough part of South Central Los Angeles (you can read that story here). Since then I’ve had a mild obsession with perfecting the at-home fried chicken recipe. It’s an easy recipe to obsess over, its meant to be an at-home recipe. It’s origins are in home kitchens in the South, kitchens that don’t have fancy equipment or any need for expensive ingredients. It’s a recipe that often turns out better in a home kitchen than in a commercial one. Fried chicken is meant to be shared, made in larger batches, and eaten with both hands. I’ve learned a few things along the path of my obsession that help get that perfect bite that turns Fried Chicken into Crack Chicken:

1. Brine. Always, always brine. A mixture of beer and buttermilk gives you an incredibly juicy chicken that has no trouble standing up to the heat of a deep frier.

2. Sweet and heat. A little brown sugar and chili powder will give you a nice full, rounded flavor to your breading that can’t be matched. Don’t be afraid of the sugar, it’s a secret ingredient for many, many chefs and home cooks.

3. Wire rack. Skip the paper towel covered plate, it’ll make the bottom part of your chicken soggy. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet and the entire thing will stay crispy.

4. Skip the spendy oil. Because of the low smoke point of olive oil, it’s the last thing you want to use. Use canola oil or peanut oil for best result. Some home cooks (particularly the Southern Grandma types) like to use a mixture of Crisco and peanut oil.

5. Use your oven too. It’ll take a while to cook 3 pounds of chicken, make sure that the first batch is as warm as the last by sticking it on a wire rack over a baking sheet and placing that in the oven while you finish up. It will also help keep the crispy coating from turning soggy.

6. Let it sit for a few minutes. Allowing the chicken to rest between the buttermilk/flour step and the deep frier will help your chicken cook more evenly and help the breading to stick to the chicken.

 

My last advice is to pair it with a highly carbonated, moderately hopped pale ale. But that’s your call. Have a great fried chicken tip? Please add it in the comments section!

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

 

 

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs chicken pieces thighs, legs, wings
  • 2 tbs kosher salt
  • 1 sweet white onion sliced
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 12 ounces pale ale
  • 1 tbs sriracha
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • canola or peanut oil for frying

For the Glaze:

  • ¼ cup honey
  • 3 tbs sriracha

Instructions
 

  • Arrange the chicken in an even layer in a large baking pan.
  • Sprinkle evenly with kosher salt, top with sliced onions.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, beer and sriracha, pour evenly over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
  • In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
  • One at a time remove the chicken pieces, dredge in the flour mixture then gently re-dip in the buttermilk/beer marinade and recoat with the flour mixture (double coating of the flour mixture will give you a crispier chicken), set on a wire rack that has been set over a baking sheet.
  • Allow the coated chicken to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 250.
  • Add 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 (between 4 and 12 minutes each, depending on how thick the chicken and if the piece has a bone in it, use a meat thermometer to check for doneness).
  • Once each piece is done, return to the wire rack and place baking sheet in the oven while the remainder of the chicken is cooking.
  • Whisk together the honey and sriracha, drizzle over the chicken just prior to serving (alternately, it can be used as a dipping sauce).

 

Sriracha and Beer Fried Chicken with Sriracha Honey Glaze. The best fried chicken I’ve ever made, and really simple.

Porter Ginger Glazed Salmon

  Porter Ginger Glazed Salmon. 20 minutes and SO good! #salmon #recipe #quick #easy #asian  


  Porter Ginger Glazed Salmon. 20 minutes and SO good! #salmon #recipe #quick #easy #asian

I have this bizarre ability to have strangers confess dark secrets to me without provocation. Several times, after such admissions, they’ll say, "I can’t believe I just said that," as they further expand upon the revelation. Maybe it’s something in my eyes, or maybe it’s that I have a Master’s Degree in Feelings (Psychology, whatever), or maybe it’s that I genuinely do care about people, but sometimes it’s jarring.

I was at a local market buying salmon when I start chatting with the clerk about my recent move to Seattle from Los Angeles and my love for the Dodgers that hinges on my unabashed adoration of Vin Scully. She’d lived in LA too, decades ago "I left because I had a drug problem," the 70-year-old checker declared. She gasped and waited for my reaction.

"Looks like you’ve kicked it, congratulations. Seems like it was a good move for you,"

She gave me a childlike smile, "I did some nude modeling too, but that was when I was much younger,"

"Look at you! So saucy, I bet you were quite the dish back then,"

"I WAS!" she said, with a huge grin on her face.

My transaction was complete, salmon packed in my shopping bag so I left, I didn’t want her to Next Level her admission. Although, there was part of me that wanted to invite her over for dinner and hear the rest of her stories. If I got drug problems and nude modeling in 6 minutes at the check stand, imagine what she’d admit to after a few beers.

  Porter Ginger Glazed Salmon. 20 minutes and SO good! #salmon #recipe #quick #easy #asian

Porter Ginger Glazed Salmon

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • ¼ cup porter beer
  • 2 tbs soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic grated with a microplane
  • 1 tbs grated ginger
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 4 salmon fillets
  • 1 tbs sesame seeds
  • 3 tbs green onions

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl stir together the olive oil, beer, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar. Add the salmon. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  • Preheat the broiler. Add the salmon to a baking sheet that has been covered with aluminum foil, pour the marinade into a saucepan.
  • Bring the marinade to a boil, stirring frequently until thickened, about 6 minutes.
  • Brush salmon with glaze, place under broiler for 2 minutes, remove from oven, re-brush with glaze and broil for two minutes, repeating this step until salmon flakes easily with fork.
  • Plate salmon, sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

  Porter Ginger Glazed Salmon. 20 minutes and SO good! #salmon #recipe #quick #easy #asian

 

Gingerbread Ale Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream & Fall Beers for Non-Pumpkin People

Gingerbread Ale Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream & Fall Beers for Non-Pumpkin People  

Gingerbread Ale Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream. Ten minutes of prep for homemade pudding and whipped cream,and it's SO good! #beer #gingerbread #pudding

 

By the time October rolls around, Pumpkin ALL The Things has hit it’s crescendo.  Pumpkin beer lists have been made, all the Top Ten have been analyzed and disputed, and frankly, most of us have pumpkin weary palates. Thankfully there is a mountain of non-squash related beers that fall has to offer.

Barrel aged beers are starting to be released after spending most of the summer aging in liquor barrels they finally see the inside of bottles and are shipped to your nearest bottle shop. A few to seek out:

Surly Brewing – Barrel Aged Darkness

Founders Brewing – Backwoods Bastard

The Bruery – Black Tuesday

Brooklyn Brewery – Black Ops

Fresh hop beers have a very small brewing window. The vast majority of beer is made with either hop pellets (that look a bit like bunny food), or with hop flowers that have been dried for storage. The few weeks between late summer and early fall when hops come into season and the yearly harvest begins, is the only time that brewers can use a fresh hop right off the bine (yes, it’s spelled "bine"). Once picked, fresh hops run the risk of going bad if not dried fairly quickly making this time of year a golden window for some exceptional beers. A few to seek out:

Barley Brown – Tank Slapper 

Sierra Nevada – Harvest Series 

Bale Breaker – Piled High Imperial Fresh Hop 

Rogue Farms – Wet Hop Ale 

Brown Ales don’t get enough airtime. A nice smooth transition from the session IPA’s of summer to the deep roasty stouts of winter, the brown ale is your bridge. The perfect fall beer when you aren’t quite ready to accept that snow is on it’s way but you want something deeper than a pale ale. A few to seek out:

Bell’s Beer – Best Brown Ale

Cigar City – Cubano Style Espresso Brown

Sixpoints – Brownstone

Mankato – Leaf Raker

Then we have these one of a kind beers. Like this Gingerbread Ale from Bison Brewing that just tastes like fall and scarcely has competition in it’s category.  With beautiful spice flavors of fall and a deep rich color and flavor, it’s perfect for those who want to indulge in fall beers but would rather eat their vegetables than drink them.

I, of course, took it one step further and made an easy ten minutes pudding that would also be brilliant as a pie filling. But serving it out of half-pint glasses works too.

Fall Beers For Non Pumpkin People

 

 

Gingerbread Ale Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
  • 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup gingerbread ale pumpkin ale or brown ale will also work
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 3 tbs unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • For the Whipped Cream:
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tbs gingerbread ale pumpkin ale or brown ale will also work

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan off heat stir together the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk in the cream, beer, and egg yolks until well combined.
  • Add the butter and vanilla, add pan to medium high heat. Stir constantly until butter has melted and the mixture has thickened, about 6 minutes.
  • Pour evenly between four small serving dishes. Chill until cooled and set, about 1 hour.
  • Just prior to serving add the cream, vanilla and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high until soft peaks form. While the mixer is still running, slowly add the remaining 3 tablespoons beer, continue to beat until cream stiffens up. Top pudding with whipped cream.

Notes

To make a pudding pie, just pour pudding into a pre-baked and cooled 9-inch pie shell. Top with whipped cream just prior to serving.

 

Gingerbread Ale Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream. Ten minutes of prep for homemade pudding and whipped cream,and it's SO good! #beer #gingerbread #pudding

Porter Braised Beef Short Ribs Sandwiches with Jalapeño Beer Cheese Sauce

Porter Braised Beef Short Ribs Sandwiches with Jalapeño Beer Cheese Sauce  #beer #recipe #tailgating   

Porter Braised Beef Short Ribs Sandwiches with Jalapeño Beer Cheese Sauce 2

On the way to making quick chicken tacos I decided to make a burger. One that takes a couple of hours, one that I decided to call a sandwich instead because I felt like it. One that I decided to spice up with jalapenos. Because things that take a few hours need to be made. There’s a feeling of accomplishment, of unguarded control, a way to push back against the restraint of the rest of your life, the parts that you can’t govern as you want.

But you deserve a little control, a little bit of your life that you have total say over. A little bit of something that goes right, and no one is pushing you around, or taking advantage of you, a space where your work doesn’t go unnoticed. No matter what great things you’ve done this week, and I know there have been plenty, you won’t be getting a parade. Or a Congratulations card. Or even a confetti shower when you walk in the door. But you should, because I’m sure you’ve done something to deserve those things. But with these, all that hard work won’t go unnoticed. You might not get a piñata and a present, but you will get some delicious sandwiches. Even though I’m sure you deserve much more.

 

Porter Braised Beef Short Ribs Sandwiches with Jalapeño Beer Cheese Sauce

 

Porter Braised Beef Short Ribs Sandwiches with Jalapeño Beer Cheese Sauce

Ingredients
  

For the Short Ribs:

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 lbs bone in beef short ribs
  • 3 tbs flour
  • ½ tsp chili powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups beef broth
  • 12 oz porter beer

For the Beer Cheese Sauce:

  • 2 tbs butter
  • 2 fresh jalapenos diced
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 cup IPA beer
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups 4 wt oz shredded cheddar cheese
  • 8 sour dough rolls split

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle the salt on all sides of the short ribs. In a small bowl stir together the flour, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin and brown sugar. Sprinkle the ribs on all sides with the flour mixture.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the short ribs, browning on all sides.
  • Add the broth and beer, bring to a low simmer. Add the lid at a vent, cooking until short ribs are tender and falling off the bone, about 2 ½ hours, remove from heat. Using two forks, shred while still in the pot. Allow to sit in braising liquid for ten minutes, remove from braising liquid.
  • In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add the jalapenos, cook until softened. Sprinkle with flour and cornstarch, whisk until well combined, allow to cook until a light brown color.
  • Add the beer and the milk, bring to a low simmer. About ¼ cup at a time, whisk in the cheese, making sure all cheese is melted before adding more. Keep warm while you make the burgers (sauce will thicken as it cools, add additional milk or beer and add to heat if the sauce thickens too much).
  • Add the ribs into rolls, top with cheese sauce. Serve warm.

Porter Braised Beef Short Ribs Sandwiches with Jalapeño Beer Cheese Sauce3

 

 

 

Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates

Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates #soup #recipe #beer #sweetpotato #pomegranate #fall  

Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates  #soup #recipe #beer #sweetpotato #pomegranate #fall

Do you ever get wrong number phone calls?

I’m a bit of a magnet for them, even though I’ve had my current cell phone number since I was a teenager.

I get the same woman calling me about once a month, and she never remembers that she has the wrong number. Although I don’t know for sure what she looks like, in my head she is an older African-American woman, in a floral bathrobe sitting at a vintage oak dinning table sipping Taster Choice out of an old mug.

This was our most recent conversation:

My phone rings, I know it’s her.

Me: “Hi!”

Her: “Oh…Um…do I have the right number?”

Me: “Honey, you’ve called me every month for the past two years and this still isn’t the right number.”

Her, laughing: “Girl! Haha! Do I really? Aren’t you a sweetheart! Why you keep takin’ my calls?!”

Me: “Because if I don’t answer you just keep calling! Plus, I’ve gotten used to this.”

Her: “You are so sweet! You’re my girl. I won’t call you again, I promise! So nice to talk to you again.”

Me: ” Ok, hon. Talk to you next month.”

And I hope I do.

I have her number saved in my phone as Mrs. Tasters Choice and when her number pops up, I get a big smile on my face. She’s told me stories about a friend of hers in the hospital, about how she used to sell pies at Penn Station, about her husband that passed away a few years ago from a heart attack right in the middle of a Sizzler. She’s seen hard times, that’s obvious, but she’s the kind of woman who chooses to be happy, to brighten people’s day. At least that’s what she always does for me.

Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates  #soup #recipe #beer #sweetpotato #pomegranate #fall

 

Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tbs unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup chopped shallots
  • 3 tbs flour
  • 2 tbs brown sugar if using orange sweet potatoes, reduce to 1 tbs
  • 12 oz brown ale
  • 1 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 3 lbs 6 cups white sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh sage leaves
  • ½ cup pomegranate seeds

Instructions
 

  • Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the shallots, cooking until softened. Sprinkle with flour, stir until well combined, thickened and flour has browned.
  • Add the brown sugar, brown ale, and chicken broth, stir to combine.
  • Add the sweet potatoes, cook until potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat.
  • Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
  • Stir in the salt, pepper, cayenne and heavy cream.
  • Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
  • Add the sage leaves, fry on both sides until crispy, about 10 seconds per side. Remove from oil, allow to drain on paper towels.
  • Spoon soup into the bowl, top with sage leaves and pomegranate seeds.

 

Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates  #soup #recipe #beer #sweetpotato #pomegranate #fall

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits

 

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits  

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits_

 

I was once friends with a man who was 100 years old. We had a bit of an unlikely friendship, since he had reached retirement age long before I was even born. He was smart, funny, and seems to have no concept of the age gap.

Life was a constant opportunity to make people laugh, and he took full advantage of it.

When he moved to Los Angeles in the 1940’s to get his pneumonia stricken daughters out of the frigid East Coast winters, he was without money, without a job, and without an education. He walked in to a Taxi company headquarters and asked for a job. He had a fantastic driving record and a winning smile, in his book, that’s the only resume he needed. As soon as the hiring manager found out that he had only lived on the West Coast of a week, knew nothing about Los Angeles freeways, and had never driven a cab, he shut down the interview.

“If you don’t know how to get from LAX to the Roosevelt Hotel, how are you going to get the client there??”

Jack responded with this famous smile, “Well if you don’t give me the cab, it’s gonna take a whole lot longer!”

He got the job.

Jack worked as a cab driver, running tourist from the Airport to Hollywood for over 30 years. He was also the very first Employee of the Month for the cab company, and to date, the recipient of the  most complimentary letters ever sent to the cab company about any one of their employees.

As I sat with him only a few months before his 101’s birthday, eating biscuits that his nurse had made us, I asked him if he had any regrets.

“Not really. The secret to living 100 years old and not regretting anything is this: Do your best. Don’t hurt anyone. Make friends with anyone who will let you.”

 When my job moved me farther from his apartment in the valley, I wasn’t able to visit as often as I used to so I wrote letters, postmarked from my Santa Monica office. One day I got a return letter, addressed to me with flowery handwriting. It was from his 76 year old daughter:
"Jackie,
I’m not sure what it was that formed a friendship between you and my Dad, but I wanted you to know how much he valued you. Your visits brightened his day, even his week. If there was a highlight from his last decade of life, it was the time he spent with you. He spoke of you often, and although my sister and I were at first skeptical of a friendship between him and a girl in her 20’s, it quickly became clear that there was a special bond between you two. I’m so sorry to tell you that he passed away, just a week shy of his 101’s birthday. I do want you to know that we appreciate the time you spent with him in his last year. Thank you."
I cried. And ate biscuits in his honor, his favorite breakfast. To this day, "Do your best. Don’t hurt anyone. Make friends with anyone who will let you” is some of best advice I’ve gotten.

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits 3

 

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits

Ingredients
  

For the Biscuits:

  • 3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 8 tbs unsalted cold butter cut into cubes
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2/3 cup Belgian ale or wheat beer
  • 2 tbs melted butter
  • ¼ tsp course sea salt

For the Chicken and Gravy:

  • 3 tbs butter
  • 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped yellow onion
  • 8 wt oz chopped crimini mushrooms
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • ¾ cup stout beer
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbs honey
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • In a processor add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
  • Pulse to combine. Add the cold butter, process until well combined. Add to a large bowl.
  • Add the buttermilk and beer. Mix with a fork until just combined.
  • Add to a well-floured flat surface, pat into a rectangle. Using a cold rolling pin (preferably marble) gently roll into a large rectangle, about 1 inch in thickness, using as few strokes as possible.
  • Fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter about to go into an envelope. Roll lightly, once in each direction to about 1 inch thickness, fold in thirds again. Gently roll into about 1 1/2 inch thickness (this will give you the flakey layers).
  • Using a biscuit cutter cut out 6 to 8 biscuits. Place in a baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Brush biscuits with melted butter, sprinkle salt.
  • Bake at 425 for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
  • While the biscuits bake, make the gravy.
  • Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat.
  • Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear on each side until golden brown, remove from the pan, chop (they do not need to be cooked through).
  • Add the onions, cook until softened, about five minutes. Add the mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are dark brown and soft.
  • Sprinkle with flour, cook until the flour has turned brown, about 2 minutes.
  • Add the beef stock and stout. Simmer until thickened. Add the chicken cubes back into the pan, simmer until cooked through.
  • Add the cream, honey, stir until well combined.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Split the biscuits, fill with gravy.

 

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits 2