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Beer Styles

Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge

Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge. Only takes 10 minutes, and it’s crazy good. 
Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge. Only takes 10 minutes, and it's crazy good.

Winter ales make me glad it’s December. The frozen roads, crowded stores, jam-packed schedules are the price of admission to the best month of beer all year long. We still have some fresh hop beers from hop harvest that happened a few months ago, barrel aged beers are hitting the bottle shops in full force, and winter ales have showed up to join the party.

So…what is a winter ale? Glad you asked, and the answer is both really simple and completely complicated. Basically a winter ale is a beer released in November or December that has a higher than average ABV (about 7% or higher), often maltier and sweeter than your average beer, and features spices often found in holiday meals such as cloves, cinnamon, orange, and nutmeg. Of course there are hundreds of exceptions and many people consider barrel aged stouts (that really don’t fit that definition) to fall under the category of "winter ales." People call these "winter ales," "winter warmers," "holiday ales," or "christmas ales." They make excellent sharing beers due to mostly being sold in the large bomber style bottles and having a generous dose of booze for your pint. The flavors go incredibly well with holiday food, especially if you decide to serve duck or goose as your holiday feast.

Want to try a few? Here are some to look out for, in no particular order:

Freemont Brewing // Bourbon Barrel Abominable 

Highland Brewing // Cold mountain Winter Ale 

Ninkasi Brewing // Sleigh’r 

Widmer Brothers Brewing // Brrr Winter Ale

Hopworks Brewery // Abominable Winter Ale 

Sierra Nevada Brewing // Celebration Fresh Hop Winter IPA

Maritime Pacific Brewing // Jolly Roger Christmas Ale 

Tröegs Independent Brewing // Mad Elf 

Southern Tier Brewing // Old Man Winter 

Great Divide // Hibernation Ale 

Black Raven Brewing // Festivus Winter Ale 

Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge. Only takes 10 minutes, and it's crazy good.

Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge

Servings 18 -24 pieces (depending on size cut)

Ingredients
  

  • 16 wt oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or bar form
  • 1/3 cup 102g sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
  • ¼ tsp .5g vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup winter ale plus 2 tbs, divided
  • 2 standard sized candy canes crushed

Instructions
 

  • Line an 8x8 baking pan with wax paper; set aside.
  • In the top of a double boiler over gently simmering water add the chocolate, 1/3 cup beer, and sweetened condensed milk. Stir until well combined and chocolate is melted.
  • Stir in the vanilla extract and remaining 2 tablespoons beer.
  • Pour into prepared pan. Top with crushed candy canes.
  • Chill until set, about 3 hours.

Notes

Note: weight ounces and fluid ounces are not the same. Weigh the chocolate on a kitchen scale to get an accurate measurement, or refer to the weight ounces listed on the chocolate package.
Note: If you don’t own a double boiler, place a metal or heat safe glass bowl over a pot of water. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Bring the water to a gentle simmer; do not boil.

 

Holiday Ale Candy Cane Truffle Fudge. Only takes 10 minutes, and it's crazy good.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

The next day is always better.

It’s calm, relaxed. The cooking is finished, the fridge full of food, the dishes done. The relatives have left, but the house is still full with those special few.

Of course you can slice a few rolls in half and pile them high with turkey, potatoes, corn and a drizzle of gravy. You can just re-heat and set up a mini buffet for those still left in your care. You can and everyone will be happy.

But maybe you want to try something new. Maybe it’s time for change. This dough takes about fifteen minutes and gives your guests a fun new way to experience leftovers. It’s new, but made with the stuff you already have stacked in tupperware in the fridge.

Or maybe you tuck this idea in your back pocket for the next time you have unexpected guests, a few tubs of leftovers, and you want to do something that feel special.

Either way, you’ll look brilliant.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

Servings 10 -12 empanadas

Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 3 cups 350g Masa Harina (corn flour)
  • 1 cup 120g all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp 6g salt
  • 1 cup 226g warm water
  • 1 cup 226g pale ale beer, warmed to body temperature
  • 2 tbs 32g vegetable oil
  • Oil for baking

Filling:

  • Roasted turkey chopped
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Corn
  • Cheddar cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Add the masa, flour, salt, water, beer, and oil to a bowl, stir until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too wet, add additional flour. The consistency should be similar to Play-Doh. Cover the bowl and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  • Form dough into balls about the size of golf balls.
  • One at a time place between two sheets of parchment paper (parchment works better than plastic wrap, the dough removes more easily) and using either a tortilla press or a rolling pin, press/roll into 6 inch circles.
  • Add about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center (use any combination of left over Thanksgiving food that appeals to you). Using the parchment, fold over the dough to form a crescent shape. Peel back the parchment and press the dough to seal the edges. Repeat for all dough balls.
  • Place on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. Flip over and bake for a additional 15 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese (15-minutes Stove Top)

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese (15-minutes Stove Top)

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese 2

These photos were taken at the beginning of a power outage that lasted two days.

Luckily, the light from my window was filtering through breaking storm clouds in an eerie but beautiful way that made it possible to shoot the macaroni I’d finish making by candlelight. It also tastes fantastic in the dark, although the gorgeous slightly pink hue of the Sriracha cheese sauce is lost in the low light, it didn’t matter.

I spend the night trying, and repeatedly failing, to keep the fireplace going and the candles lit. Instinctively trying to flip light switches when I’d enter a room. Reminding myself that I no longer have a gas stove, it’s electric, so cooking is not an option. Realizing that I’m much more dependent on the comforts of electricity that I’d like to admit.

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese 3

It gave me a profound appreciation for things I take for granted, the things we refer to as "little things" are only little when you have them, they turn into a giant beast that has your comfort and convince in a stranglehold when you don’t have them. You realize they are so huge they consume your life and hobble your ability to function in the way you’re accustomed to.

So today, as the lights flickered back on, I’m thankful. I’m grateful for warmth, electricity, and the ability to cook again. Tonight I’ll raise a pint to the fact that I almost never have to go without, and in the grand scheme of the world today that makes me fortunate.

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese 5

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese

Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lbs elbow macaroni
  • 2 tbs 30g unsalted butter
  • 3 tbs 24g flour
  • 2 tbs 12g cornstarch
  • 2 cup 480mL whole milk
  • 1 cup 240g IPA or Pale Ale
  • 1.5 lbs 681g white cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ tsp 3g salt
  • ½ tsp 2g garlic powder
  • 2 tbs 64g Sriracha red chili sauce

Instructions
 

  • Cook the macaroni in lightly salted boiling water until just before al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, set aside.
  • In a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until well combined. Add the milk and beer, bring to a low simmer, do not boil.
  • A hand full at a time add the cheese, whisking until all the cheese has melted before adding more.
  • Sitr in the salt, garlic powder and Sriracha (add additional to taste).
  • Add the noodles, stir until well combined, allow the noodles to finish cooking in the sauce, about 3 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

If the sauce breaks, use an immersion blender to bring it back to life.

 

Coconut Pumpkin Ale Overnight French Toast Bake

Coconut Pumpkin Ale Overnight French Toast Bake

Coconut Pumpkin Ale Overnight French Toast Bake 1

Every interview, radio and TV, that’ve done the past two months has involved answering questions about pumpkin beer.

I told you about the harvest question incident already, and the problem with pumpkin beer. Beer people, for the most part, see this time of year as hop harvest season more than pumpkin season. Fourth quarter has some of the most incredible beer. We have wet hop, barrel aged beer, winter warmers, holiday ales, barley wines. There is so much to explore when it comes to beer. Pumpkin beer can be fantastic but the truth is if pumpkin beer disappeared tomorrow—never to be seen again—I’d hardly notice.

Pumpkin fanaticism this time of year grows to such a fevered pitch it’s hard not to be irritated but the fascination points to a growing trend: in-season produce. That’s good news. Although the obsession gets derailed by the a spice blend that contains no actual hint of the produce other than the name, the idea is still solid. We should do this more. We should lose our minds of blood oranges in January, infusing our beer and lattes as much as possible. We should freak out over apricots in June. We should await peach harvest every summer like a kid on Christmas morning. I’m hopeful these obsessions will continue, pushing us to focus more on the produce that just came out of the ground. Pumpkin, I’m hoping, is just the start of the produce loving snowball rolling down hill.

Pumpkin beer is a great cooking beer. Especially for those who would rather drink something else. Of course it’s strange to add beer to your breakfast, but you make this the night before when finishing the remaining beer from the bottle you open is a lot less strange. The yeast and carbonation give this a slight leavening effect, they way a beer cheese dip can have a soufflé texture out of the oven. The center will puff slightly and the bread will turn slightly puffy and creamy.

And you can pair this with coffee, pumpkin spiced or not.

Coconut Pumpkin Ale Overnight French Toast Bake 3

Coconut Pumpkin Ale Overnight French Toast Bake

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 loaf 1 lbs Challah or Brioche bread, cut into cubes
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 can 400 mL full fat coconut milk
  • 1 cup 226g pumpkin ale, brown ale, or winter ale
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup 122g pumpkin puree
  • ¼ cup 55g brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup 150g white sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp 6g pumpkin pie spice*
  • ½ tsp 3g salt
  • maple syrup or whipped cream for serving, optional

Instructions
 

  • Add the bread cubes to an 9x13 baking dish.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the bread.
  • Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 350. Bake until the top is lightly springy and appears to have puffed in the center, about 35-45 minutes.
  • Slice and serve warm with whipped cream or maple syrup.

Notes

(*For homemade pumpkin pie spice 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice)

Coconut Pumpkin Ale Overnight French Toast Bake 4

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup 4

A few weeks ago I stopped a radio interview, mid-conversation, to correct the interviewer.

I don’t ever do this. I love talking to people who don’t know beer, who want to ask questions. People who have genuine interest in learning about a subject they have only scratched the surface of. Sometimes I get someone who just pretends to know about beer. It makes things awkward. I’ll let a few things slide, like the radio guy I adore who keeps referring to all beer as "lagers" even when he’s actually talking about ales. We’ll just move forward, no need to correct. But then sometimes it’s just too much and I have to shut things down for a 30 second beer-geek rant. It started a bit like this:

Interviewer: "So this is a big season for beer people, right?! I mean harvest beer! I love harvest beer, you know, because I can’t get enough pumpkin. I love anything that tastes like pumpkins!"

So we stopped to talk about harvest beers. The fact that "harvest" actually refers to hop harvest and beers made with freshly harvested hops. Hops are only harvested once a year making the beer made that special time of year—that small window of time when you can use freshly harvested hops—incredibly rare and sought after. But only if your brewery is within driving distance of the farm, hops start to go bad fairly quickly. The rest of the year you can only use dried hops in one form or another. Harvest is a big deal for us. No matter where we are, it’s the first beer we want to try if we see it on tap. After all, it’s only a matter of time before all the wet hopped kegs are dry and the moment has passed.

The good news is that I got to talk about hop harvest and what a huge deal it is, especially in the Pacific Northwest where 80% of the hops in the USA are grown. I also got to talk about how beer people will push a case of pumpkin beer down the stairs just to get to a fresh hop beer. I was nice, because we’ve all been there. We’ve all been in a situation when we though we knew what we were talking about, but really had no idea. I thanked the interviewer for letting me talk about fresh hop beers, they are my favorite right now. And I hope fresh hop beer sales went up just a tick in that broadcast network. Even if it meant that pumpkin beer sales went down.

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup 7

 

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lbs dried black beans
  • ½ sweet white onion diced
  • 1 large carrot chopped
  • 1 large red bell pepper chopped
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 12 ounces smoked stout or porter
  • 4 cups broth vegetable or beef
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbs Gochujang Korean hot sauce*
  • 1 large avocado diced
  • ½ cup cilantro chopped

Instructions
 

  • Add the beans, onions, carrots, bell pepper, tomato paste, beer, broth, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika and hot sauce to a slow cooker, stir to combine.
  • Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours, stir occasionally if possible.
  • Ladle into bowls, top with avocado and cilantro before serving.

Notes

--Gojuchang is a Korean hot sauce that is easy to find in the Asian section of most major super markets, even Target. It's sweet, spicy and smokey.
--You don't need to pre soak the beans, the beer does a great job of breaking them down and making them creamy inside.
-- If you have time, sautéing the onions, carrots and bell peppers for 10 minutes before adding to the slow cooker will improve the final flavor.

I use this slow cooker (affiliate link).

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup 2

Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies

Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies

Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies1

I have these moments. These "how have I lived this long without this?" moments that seem to reveal an incompleteness prior to the revelation that I was unaware of.

Beer was a big one. Realizing in the dawn of my beer drinking days that "imported" didn’t mean better, it meant, arguably, worse. The only thing  I knew for sure about the "imported" beer was that it wasn’t fresh, and was most likely stale and destroyed from months of shipping in warm containers.

Cocoa powder is another. There is a vast difference in taste between cheap brands, and craft brands. Rich, dark, silken texture gives you an elevated result. Your chocolate desserts taste Nordstrom instead of Walmart. It’s like a secret ingredient that’s hidden in plain sight. Why you can make the same brownie recipe as your neighbor, but yours just taste better, and no one can figure out how you do it.

Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies3

There there was salt. Salt, in general, is grossly underused by most home cooks, but that’s not the only revelation. Good salt. Great salt. Every time my passport has been stamped as I return to the USA, It has always been with a pouch of salt in my bag.

Honey and salt will always return with me from any destination. Smoked salt is my favorite, it’s transformative. Step far, far away from the iodized salt and immediately replace it with Kosher. Buy some French Gray, and some Himalayan Pink and a ton of Smoked Maldon and you’ll be off to a good start.

Coconut was another.  Ever since the most loathsome of all Trick-or-Treat offerings, Neapolitan Sundaes, Almond Joys and Mounds bars, started taking up valuable real estate in my orange plastic pumpkin during childhood Halloweens,  my Trow Away pile of post-Halloween candy sorting convinced me that coconut was to blame.  Assaulting me with its odd texture that wasn’t quite crunchy and wasn’t quite chewy and definitely wasn’t delicious. Then came chicken Panang and I realized that I love, LOVE coconut, I just hated crappy candy. Now, I stockpile coconut milk, full fat, of course.

Then there are smoked things. I went through a phase of not liking anything smoked, mostly because of a run in with meat that had recently vacated a 1940’s gym locker that had been transformed into a meat smoked. But still smelled like sweat socks. I got over it, with the help of bacon. Now, I love all the smoked things. I even own a stovetop smoker.

So, beer, coconut, salt, smoked things. This is why I give everyone, and most food products, a second chance. Or maybe a third. But don’t push it.

Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies2

Pecan Pie Smoked Porter Brownies

Servings 12 brownies

Ingredients
  

For the Brownies:

  • 18 standard sized 280g graham crackers (two standard sleeves)
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ½ cup 90g plus ½ cup (90g) melted butter, divided
  • 2 cups 420g white sugar
  • 1 ½ cups 135g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp 8g salt
  • ¾ cup 164g smoked porter beer*
  • 1 tsp 6g vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs plus 2 yolks
  • 2/3 cup 95g flour
  • ¼ tsp .5g smoked paprika

For the Pecan Layer:

  • 2 tbs porter
  • 1 cup 234g packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup 171g light corn syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tbs 12g vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup 55g butter, melted
  • ¼ cup 57g heavy cream
  • 2 cups 227g chopped pecans
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Add the graham crackers and brown sugar to a food processor, process until just crumbs remain. While the mixer is running add ½ cup melted butter, process until well combined.
  • Press into the bottom of a 9X13 pan in an even layer.
  • Add the remaining ½ cup melted butter, sugar, cocoa power, salt, beer and vanilla to bowl. Stir to combine.
  • Add the eggs, stir until well combined.
  • Sprinkle with flour and smoked paprika, stir until just combined.
  • Pour over the crust. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
  • Reduce oven heat to 325.
  • In a large bowl stir together the 2 tablespoons beer, brown sugar, corn syrup, eggs, butter, cream and pecans.
  • Pour over brownie layer, sprinkle with sea salt.
  • Bake at 325 for 35 minutes or until the center is a little wobbly, but not sloshy.
  • Allow to cool to room temp. Cover and chill until set, at least two hours and up to two days.

Notes

*I used Alaskan Brewing Smoked porter. You can also use a coffee stout, or a barrel aged stout.

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls6

This is an early warning sign.

Some people have a nicotine itch when the stress starts to climb up their insides, some people get aggressive and angry, but I make bread. It’s a strange feeling, "I just want to make some bread," being my pressure release valve. Biscuits are the yellow light before it turns red and I break out the yeast packets and KitchenAid.

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls11

It’s also one of my favorite ways to use beer. The biscuits give you flakey, almost creamy layers when you give them a bit of beer. Even if you abusively roll them into a large rectangle, smear them with butter and cheese, roll them up and cut them, they still stay light and fluffy.  Which is good because with an open bottle of beer and a plate full of cheese carbs around, the last thing you need is more stress.

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls7

 

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls

Servings 8 -10 rolls

Ingredients
  

  • 3 ½ 420gcup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp 8g baking powder
  • 1 ½ tsp 8g baking soda
  • 1 tsp 6g salt
  • 1 tsp 5g sugar
  • 10 tbs 146g unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes
  • ¾ cup 190g pale ale or wheat beer
  • 1/3 cup 76g buttermilk
  • 8 tbs 110g softened butter
  • 1 large clove garlic grated with a microplane
  • ½ tsp 1g garlic powder
  • pinch 1g salt
  • 2 cups 226g grated cheddar cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • In a food 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 gently roll into a large rectangle, about 3/4 inch in thickness, using as few strokes as possible.
  • In a small bowl stir together the softened butter, garlic, garlic powder and pinch of salt.
  • Spread the dough with the butter mixture (reserving 2 tablespoons), sprinkle with grated cheese.
  • Starting at the long end, roll into a tight log. Cut 2-inch rounds, place in a baking dish.
  • Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons garlic butter, brush the top of the rolls with the melted butter.
  • Bake at 400 for 14 to 16 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
  • Serve warm.

20-Minute Garlic Cheddar Beer Biscuit Rolls9

Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce

Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce

Bet vegan meal I've ever made. Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce #vegan #recipe #meatless #vegetarian

Let’s say you had someone coming over for dinner.

This is a person you like, a person that happened to be vegan. But for you, that’s not a big deal. You’ve got this. Except you don’t. Because salad is boring, and pasta is predictable. You don’t want anything complicated, you want the "this old thing?" version of a meal.

But then you freeze up. It’s a simple dinner, a "I hardly have more than 20 minutes to throw this together" meal, but it still has to be great. So you go back to your childhood comfort foods. And although what your mom made was less "enchiladas" and more of a "burrito casserole," it was still one of your favorites.

Bet vegan meal I've ever made. Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce #vegan #recipe #meatless #vegetarian

Tortillas are vegan. So is corn and beans and avocados. Beer is vegan, for the most part. And even though you still put cotija cheese on half of it, it’s still a damn good meal, vegan or not. Because produce is amazing and celebrating it in a big 'ol pan of spicy sauce will a malty stout should be something that everyone does more often.

Because plants are awesome.

Bet vegan meal I've ever made. Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce #vegan #recipe #meatless #vegetarian

This is how I make corn tortillas, once you start, you’ll never go back to store bought.

Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce

Servings 2 -4 servings

Ingredients
  

Sauce:

  • 2 tbs cornstarch
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • 1 chipotle chili in adobo finely minced
  • 2 tbs adobo sauce
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • ¾ cup stout

Enchiladas:

  • 2 large avocados
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 8-10 homemade or good quality corn tortillas
  • 1 can 425g black beans, rinsed and drained
  • kernels from one ear of corn
  • ¼ cup cotija cheese optional. Omit for vegan
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425.
  • Add the cornstarch, tomato paste and tomato sauce to a pot, whisk until well combined. Add to medium heat, stir in the chipotles, adobo sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cumin and stout.
  • Allow to simmer until slightly thickened, about five minutes.
  • In a small bowl mash together the avocados, salt and pepper.
  • Heat the tortillas slightly to make them more pliable.
  • One at a time spread tortillas with avocado, fill with black beans and corn, roll tightly.
  • Place into an 8X8 pan in a tight row.
  • Pour the sauce evenly over the pan.
  • Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until warm and bubbly.
  • Top with remaining ingredients, serve warm.

Notes

*For an 9x13 pan, double the recipe

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce3

This is a game changer.

It’s the "best cranberry sauce ever" for cranberry sauce people, also for I-don’t-like-that-stuff people, and even for "don’t judge, but I like the phallic looking, ridged, gelatinous, canned version, don’t hate" people.

It’s smokey, spicy, and has a slight hint of beer. A  recipe that requires you to open a beer, then "figure out" what you should do with the remaining 1/2 cup.

It’s also a make ahead, one step, one pot, fifteen minute dish that makes holiday prep easy.

We can do this. We can make it through the holidays. Although we may need much more than 1/2 cup beer to helps us get that job done.

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 12 wt oz fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup white ale*
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 medium sized chipotle chili in adobo minced
  • 1 tbs adobo sauce
  • pinch salt

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a pot, bring to a low boil.
  • Boil, stirring frequently, until thickened, about fifteen minutes.
  • Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
  • Can be made three days in advance.

Notes

*Use a white ale, Belgian ale, Hefeweizen, or craft cider

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce3

Stout Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Stout Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

I’m going to tell you why I’m not a good person, at least not at first.

I was late a few days ago, trying to get to a place that had me stress-rushing but wasn’t important enough to remember now, three days later. The car in front of me, a Volvo station wagon as old as I am was making very slow forward progress, slightly swerving, down a winding back road in the Wine Country of King County. I’m annoyed, irritated, wondering if Seattle drivers do this on purpose. Do they see that you’re in a rush and slow down to make a point? Everyone in LA was always in a hurry and driving less than the speed limit wasn’t even physically possible. What the hell was this guys problem? At the first opportunity I speed past him, out of the corner of my eye I see his car slow to a stop in the middle of the road, his hazards flip on, and his body slump over the steering wheel.

I stop, my I-Need-To-Get-There-Now destination on hold. I turn around and go back to check on him. I pull off on the soft shoulder of the road, my tires scrapping a few blackberry bushes that have just gone dormant. I see his old, frail body shaking a bit.

I grab the thick black handle on the faded blue door of his car and pull it open with a loud creak, "Are you OK?" he looks up, smiles. He is easily 80 years old. He tells me that the car has been acting funny, but he thought he would be able to make it to the store, but then it just stopped. He’s shaken, unsure what to do. This is the man I though was an asshole for going so slow just three minutes earlier. I feel awful.

 A small market is right across the street and a few employees have come outside to see what the action is. I wave them over. We push the car out of the road for him, and help him call a tow truck.

When I leave, he’s fine, his car problem assessed and fixed. But I wondered why I do that. Why do I first assume the worse about strangers? Maybe the guy in traffic is having car problems. Maybe the rude waitress isn’t a bitch, maybe she just got the worst news of her life and she’s only trying to hold it together. Maybe we should all just give each other a break and assume the best until proven otherwise. Maybe I need to stop driving like I still live in LA, and stop freaking out when I’m late.

Maybe we just need to get some beer and hug it out.

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Steak:

  • 1 ½ lbs flank steak
  • 1 ½ cups stout or porter
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp salt
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbs butter

Chimichurri:

  • 2 tbs 20g finley chopped shallots
  • ½ cup 6g fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup 6g fresh sage leaves
  • 1/3 cup 72g olive oil
  • 1 tsp 3g red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbs 15g red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbs l 15g lemon juice
  • 1 clove 3g garlic, smashed
  • ¼ tsp 1.5g salt
  • ¼ tsp .5g black pepper

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, whisk together the beer, Worcestershire, onion powder, paprika and salt.
  • Place the steak in a baking dish, cover with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours and up to 24, turning at least once while marinating.
  • To make the chimichurri combine all ingredients in a food processor, pulse several times until combined.
  • Remove the steak from the marinade, pat dry. Allow to sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 400.
  • Pat the steak dry again, if needed, sprinkle on both sides with salt and pepper.
  • Melt the butter in a cast iron skillet over high heat.
  • Add the steak, cook for two minutes, flip and cook on the other side for one minute.
  • Transfer to the oven and cook for 7 minutes or until the thickest part of the steak reads 120 on a meat thermometer.
  • Remove from the pan and allow to rest for ten minutes. Slice against the grain and serve with the chimichurri sauce

Beer Brined Pan Seared Flank Steak with Sage Chimichurri

Hefeweizen Mozzarella Bombs

 Hefeweizen Mozzarella Bombs

Mozzarella Bombs2

You should do an experiment.

Before you become so dismissive of the impact of beer in baking (or, as a marinade for chicken), do a side by side. Sometime we beer-cook because of the flavor, but not always. Do you taste the baking soda in your cake? Of course not. But if it’s missing you can tell right away. If you marinate chicken in beer and then grill it, it stays juicy. If you don’t, it will dry out on your grill. If you can’t taste the beer, but the chicken is still juicy, congratulate the beer because it did it’s job.

Bread is the same way. I spent the summer making these beer doughnuts for just about every backyard soirée I was invited too (it was too much, honestly, but I couldn’t stop). One of those excessive doughnut making adventures came at a time when I was short on beer, so I used something else and the doughnuts suffered. Same recipe, same amount of liquid, but the doughnuts tasted flat, a little more dense and little tougher. This is how beer shines in baking. It’s amazing baking-super-concoction of yeast, grains and carbonation gives you an amazing texture.

So, maybe you can’t taste the beer every time. And maybe you aren’t supposed to. But maybe it tastes better because of the beer, and you should give thanks to the beer that did all the work and got none of the credit. Some of us can relate to that.

Mozzarella Bombs1

Hefeweizen Mozzarella Bombs

Servings 16 Mozzarella Bombs

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups 360g all-purpose flour
  • 1 envelope 7g rapid rise yeast
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 3/4 cup 186g wheat beer
  • ½ cup 113g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 6g tsp salt
  • 16 ciliegine sized Mozzarealla balls
  • topping:
  • 1 tbs melted butter
  • 1 tsp coarse or flakey salt I used smoked Maldon
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

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 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, sprinkle with the salt and add softened butter.
  • Turn speed to medium-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.
  • Add to a lightly flowered surface, knead for about 3 minutes. Cut dough into 16 pieces.
  • One at a time press the dough into a small circle, add the mozzarealla ball to the center and form the dough tightly around the cheese. Make sure the dough isn’t too thin in any place, and the mozzarella is completely covered.
  • Add to a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with garlic powder and salt.
  • Allow to rest for 15minutes while the oven heats.
  • Preheat the oven to 400.
  • Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a light golden brown.

Mozzarella Bombs3

Coconut Beer Steamer Clam Chowder

Coconut Beer Steamer Clam Chowder

Coconut Beer Steamer Chowder2

I remember the walls were dirty. Before he tried to push the glass table through my torso, I could only focus on the stains spread like a grease constellation across the Navajo White walls of the government subsidized apartment I was trapped in. His mom’s girlfriend wrapped her dark, sinewy arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides. Their tandem screams, dulled by the shock that had numbed my brain, tumbled together like puppies rolling down a hill…

I have these narratives rolling around inside me, fighting to get to the surface. They wake me up at night. Sentences form out of nowhere that take me back to a forgotten time and place.

Mostly, it’s repressed memories from my days in Hollywood, and the times I worked with gang members in South Central Los Angeles. It’s parts, mostly, of experiences I can’t remember entirely. Feelings searching for words. But the thing is, experiences are made up of an amalgamation of your senses. It’s a big ball of touch, smell, taste, sight, and sound. Words don’t fit well in that sensation cocktail. Even when the words leave me, I know they are so small, so inadequate. But it’s all I have. It has me, more than I have it. I’ll never claim that editing and technical writing is my calling in life, it’s always been a struggle.  But creative expressions via words and images has sucked me into it’s undertow.

So, please. Give me a pass when the verbs and tenses don’t stand in a perfect line, and typos come en masse. I’m trying to turn feelings into words, and there is only one part of that I can do at a time.

Coconut Beer Steamer Chowder3

Coconut Beer Steamer Clam Chowder

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 4 wt oz 114g pancetta, diced
  • 1 large 43g shallot, diced
  • 1 large 110g carrot, diced
  • 3 tbs 22g flour
  • 1 cup 236g wheat beer
  • 1 ½ cup 360 mL chicken broth
  • 13.5 fl oz 400 mL coconut milk
  • ½ tsp 4g salt
  • ½ tsp 1.3g black pepper
  • ½ tsp 1.3g garlic powder
  • ½ tsp 1.3g smoked paprika
  • 3 medium sized 300g red potatoes, diced
  • 1 lbs manila clams
  • 2 cups 44g sliced Swiss chard (or spinach)

Instructions
 

  • Add the pancetta to a large pot or Dutch oven (add pancetta to a cold pan, it will render better than if you add it to a hot pan). Cook over medium high heat until crispy, remove with a slotted spoon.
  • Pour off about half of the fat in the pot, leaving about 2 tablespoons.
  • Return to medium heat, add the shallots and carrots, cooking until very soft and slightly caramelized, about 15 minutes (if the pan dries too much, add a bit of olive oil).
  • Sprinkle flour on top, whisking until the flour turns slightly brown.
  • Add the beer, scraping to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
  • Stir in the broth, coconut milk, potatoes, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika and red potatoes. Simmer until slightly thickened and potatoes have softened, about 15 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to low, add the clams and chard, cover and allow to cook for 6 minutes. Discard any clams that have not opened. Serve immediately.

Coconut Beer Steamer Chowder5

Oatmeal Stout Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Oatmeal Stout Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Oatmeal Stout Cookie Bars-2

 

A few years ago I had to sell a house. One I’d bought when I was probably too young to do so, and the Los Angeles housing market was angry and hostile. It was only about a year before things started to go south and I knew I needed out.

I had just one open house. The realtor asked me to leave an hour early so that she can get set up, work her house-selling magic. Before I left to wander the city and hope for the best, I baked a huge plate of cookies and left them on the kitchen table for the gawkers and home buying hopefuls to partake in. When I returned a few hours later I had three full-price-or-better offers, and a house that still vaguely smelled of vanilla and caramelized sugars.

Oatmeal Stout Cookie Bars-1

Every offer was accompanied by a letter, and each letter mentioned the cookies. Maybe it was just the smell of freshly baked, chocolate-studded, hand-held desserts. Or maybe there is something about fresh-baked cookies that will transform your house and make people want to live there. Either way, it was the best batch of cookies I’ve ever baked.

Oatmeal Stout Cookie Bars-3

Oatmeal Stout Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Servings 9 bars

Ingredients
  

Crust:

  • 9 graham cracker sheets 147g
  • 2 tbs 39g brown sugar
  • 4 tbs 46g melted butter

Filling:

  • 1 ¼ cups 100g old fashioned oats
  • 1 cup 120g all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup 92g brown sugar
  • ¼ cup 58g white sugar
  • ½ tsp 3g baking soda
  • 1 tsp 6g salt, divided
  • 3 tbs butter melted
  • 1/3 cup 90g stout beer
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 4 wt oz dark chocolate chunks

Instructions
 

  • preheat oven to 350.
  • Add the graham crackers and brown sugar to a food processor, process until just crumbs remain. While the food processor is running, slowly add the butter until well combined and resembles wet sand.
  • Press firmly into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.
  • In a large bowl stir together the oats, flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
  • Make a well in the center, add the melted butter, beer, yolks, and vanilla, stir until just combined.
  • Add the chocoloate chips in an even layer on top of the crust.
  • Press the filling into an even layer over the chocolate chips, sprinkle the top with the remaining salt.
  • Bake at 350 until the top is golden brown, about 22-26 minutes.
  • Allow to cool completely before cutting.

 

 

Pumpkin Ale Cornbread

Pumpkin Ale Cornbread

Pumpkin Ale Corn Bread1

There is a moment in the year that every food becomes both necessary and then irrelevant.

Ice cream becomes a necessity, and absolute brilliant idea, sometime around mid-May when the weather spikes up past 80 degrees for the first time in months. When the sweaters get shed like downy feathers, and scarves feel more like a noose than a comfort, a cold bowl of sweet creamy dessert feels like salvation. And then the tide turns. A few months later, a season and a half has past, and that shed outerwear becomes vital to survival and desserts become warmer and crispier.

Then there are those foods that never turn. There is no pendulum swing. They are always welcomed, always have a place on the plate.

This is cornbread. There are summer barbecues and paper plates sagging under the weight of sticky-messy ribs and baked beans, begging for the crumbly square of cornbread to take up the space in the corner. When the summer gives way to the fall you have steaming pots of chili. There are spicy, rich, beans-or-no-beans pots of fight-over-the-right-way-to-make-it bowls that are perfect for everything from football viewing to lazy Sunday suppers.

Cornbread is as season-less as beer. It’s always a good idea.

Pumpkin Ale Corn Bread5

Pumpkin Ale Cornbread

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ 242g cups cornmeal
  • ½ cup 60g all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp 8g baking powder
  • 1 tsp 6g baking soda
  • 1 3g teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup 75g brown sugar
  • 2 tsp 6g pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 cup 244g pumpkin purée
  • ¼ cup 66g heavy cream
  • ¾ cup 184g brown or pumpkin ale
  • 3 tbs 38g olive oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbs unsalted butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 with a cast iron skillet in the oven.
  • In a large bowl stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice.
  • In a small bowl stir together the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, beer, olive oil, and eggs.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
  • Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven, add the butter. Swirl around the pan until the butter is melted and the pan is well coated. Pour the excess butter into a small bowl.
  • Pour the batter into the pan in an even layer, pour the excess melted butter on the top.
  • Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched, 16-18 minutes.
  • Remove from oven, slice, serve warm.

Pumpkin Ale Corn Bread2

Stout Bolognese and I Brewed A Beer with Fort George Brewing

Ft George Beeroness Beer

It started with a phone call.

A question. Would I be interested in teaming up with Fort George Brewery out of Astoria, Oregon to brew a beer for this years Willamette Week’s Beer Pro/Am in Portland, Oregon?

Of course I would, what kind of questions is that? I’d love to, not-be-able-to-sleep thrilled to. First step: deciding what I want to brew. I thought about the beers I’d fallen in love with over the years, the first beers, the best ones, the most memorable pints. I decided on a stout, the dark beers will always have my heart.  The beer I brewed was inspired by food, a decision that seemed fairly fated. Head brewer Jack Harris and I brewed a deep, malty, stout with candied and roasted pecans that we’ve decided to call Glazed and Confused Praline Stout. I’m thrilled with how it’s turned out, it’s delicious, the notes of brown sugar and pecans melt into the malty backbone of the stout.

 

This weekend Jack and I will be pouring our Glazed and Confused , hoping you’ll love it as much as we do. If you’re at the event, come say hi. Try my beer and let me know what you think.

 

Stout Bolognese

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs 20g olive oil
  • 2 ribs 100g celery, chopped
  • 1 large 350g white onion, chopped
  • 1 large 120g carrot, chopped
  • 1 lbs 454g ground chuck (85% lean)
  • 12 wt oz 340g ground pork
  • 2 tsp 16g salt
  • 2 tsp 8g black pepper
  • 1 tsp 6g red peppers
  • ¼ cup 50g Mama Lil’s (pickled Hungarian goat horn peppers)
  • 1 cup 268g whole milk
  • 12 ounces 340g stout
  • 1.5 lbs 680g crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tbs 16g tomato puree
  • 1 cup 80g fresh shaved or shredded parmesan
  • 6 servings parppardelle pasta about 1 ½ lbs 525g

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, onions, and carrot. Cook until the vegetables have softened and the onions have started to caramelize, at least 15 minutes and up to 45 (the longer you allow the onions to caramelize, the better the overall flavor).
  • Add the beef, pork, salt, black pepper, red pepper and Mam Lil’s, allow meat to brown, breaking up as it cooks.
  • Add the milk and allow to cook until the milk looks as though it is mostly cooked off, and the pan looks mostly dry, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the stout, cooking until the beer is mostly gone, about 15 minutes.
  • Stir in the tomatoes and tomato puree, cook over medium/low heat (very low simmer), for three to four hours (you can transfer the sauce to a slow cooker instead, cook on low for 8 hours).
  • Stir in the parmaesan in the last ten minutes of cooking.
  • Serve over pasta, sprinkle with additional parmesan if desired.
Stout Bolognese 4

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas and a Craft Beer Adventure in South America

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas 6

The first thing you notice about the owners of Bogota Beer Company is how much they care. About each other, about the people who work for them, about the brand and every detail of it. It conveys so strong, the minute they picked me up from an airport in Panama, I could feel it instantly. The entire reason they’d flown me thousands of miles was because of how much they care. The menu they had in the 27 pubs spread over 2 countries was good, but they wanted it to be great. They wanted me to revamp it, add some beer, make it exciting.

Colombia Panama

The week was peppered with new experiences every day. A fish market in Panama, foods and flavors that were new to me, gorgeous dinners, late nights walks around a rain slicked city, a private coffee class in the hills of Bogota, Colombia. All the while I was reworking an already decent menu. A menu that, to be honest, was better than most American pubs. We made it exciting. We added a burger with a bacon jam made with their porter, doughnuts served with sauces infused with their beer, fried chicken made the way American Southern women make it, and a pizza menu that feels as artisan as their beer.

Colombia Panama2

I’m proud of what we did. Proud to work with a company that is paving the way for great craft beer in countries that are brand new to even the idea of a beer that isn’t a pale lager. The beer is fantastic, and the company is even better. If you’re in Bogota, Colombia, stop in the BBC for a pint and sample the menu I helped create. Or stop by one of the micro-pubs they’re dotted across the country in renovated shipping containers. If you visit Panama City, stop by La Rana Dorada. Stop by and have a pint, have some food, and make some friends. They are the best people you can hope to come across while traveling.

Colombia Panama3

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas

Servings 12 empanadas

Ingredients
  

Dough:

  • 3 cups 350g Masa Harina (corn flour)
  • 1 cup 120g all purpose flour
  • 2 cup 450g warm water
  • 2 tbs 32g oil

Filling:

  • 1 tbs oil
  • ½ large 160g white onion, chopped
  • 12 wt oz 340g Ground pork
  • 1 cup 226g stout
  • 2 tbs 32g Tomato puree
  • 15 oz 425g Black beans
  • ¼ tsp 0.6g smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp 1.5g garlic powder
  • ½ tsp 3g salt
  • 1 tsp 1g black pepper
  • Oil for frying

Instructions
 

  • Add the masa, flour, water, and oil to a bowl, stir until a soft dough forms. If the dough is too wet, add additional flour. The consistency should be similar to Play-Doh. Cover the bowl and allow to rest while you prepare the filling.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the onions until slightly caramelized, about ten minutes. Add the pork, cooking until browned, breaking up into small pieces.
  • Add the stout and allow to cook until the beer is almost completely gone.
  • Add the tomato puree, black beans, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper, cook until well combined. Remove from heat.
  • Form dough into balls about the size of golf balls.
  • One at a time place between two sheets of parchment paper (parchment works better than plastic wrap, the dough removes more easily) and using either a tortilla press or a rolling pin, press/roll into 6 inch circles.
  • Add about 2 tablespoons of filling in the center. Using the parchment, fold over the dough to form a crescent shape. Peel back the parchment and press the dough to seal the edges. Repeat for all dough balls.
  • Heat the oil (canola or peanut oil), in a large pot over medium high heat. Using a cooking thermometer adjust heat to maintain 350F degrees.
  • A few at a time, fry the empanadas until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Allow to drain on a stack of paper towels.

Notes

Masa Harina is sold in most major markets, look for it in the Hispanic food section.
To make ahead of time: After frying allow to cool. Place on a plate and loosely cover, chill for up to three days. Once ready to serve, drizzle with oil and bake at 425 for 12 minutes.

Stout Braised Pork and Black Bean Empanadas 7

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup 1You don’t have to make a decision.

There’s no pressure to decide if you really want to give this a try, or if you think it’s a new deviant low in beer cooking. It can always be both. More than anything, its a reminder. Don’t look both ways before crossing the food trend street. Don’t check the paper next to you  when searching for the right answer to whether or not something is desirable. Blink. What’s your blink reaction? There needs to be no further explanation. There needs to be no additional analysis. This seems to be difficult. It’s hard, in a way, to just like what we like because we like it. We seem to need constant validation as to our decision making and preferences.

Let’s just stop. Let’s just like stuff, because, well, we like it. Let’s drink without checking reviews on Untapped or Beer Advocate. Let us eat, cook with, order and enjoy stuff regardless of trending hashtags. Just for a while, just to see how it feels.

 10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup 4

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup

Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups 450g wheat beer, pale lager, pilsner
  • 3 tbs 30g cornstarch
  • 16 ounces 450g sharp white cheddar, grated
  • 1 cup 240g broth (vegetable or chicken)
  • ½ cup 120g heavy cream
  • 1 tsp 4g red pepper sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup chopped chives
  • 2 cup 200g tater tots, cooked according to package directions*

Instructions
 

  • Add the beer, cornstarch, cheddar, broth, heavy cream, and red pepper sauce to a blender. Blend on high until very well combined, about 5 minutes.
  • Add to a pot over medium high heat, simmer until warmed and slightly thickened.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir in chives.
  • Ladle into serving bowls, top with tater tots, serve immediately.

Notes

*To bake crispy tater tots, rather than soft ones, drizzle with oil just prior to baking.

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup 3

 

Crispy Honey Porter Sticky Chicken Wings

Crispy Honey Porter Sticky Chicken Wings

Crispy Honey Porter Sticky Baked Chicken Wings 3

This was version 6 of this recipe.

Usually, it doesn’t take me that long to get a recipe right. More often than not, I get it on the first try, maybe a few small tweeks, but this one took some trail and a lot of error.

None of the versions were bad, they just weren’t what I was looking for. Like that guy you dated a few years ago that just wasn’t a fit. Although I’m sure your issue with him had nothing to do with how crispy his skin is, or how thickly glazed he was. Although, I don’t know your life.

I had a very specific vision. I wanted wings that are baked-not-fried, skin so crispy it could hold up to glaze without getting soggy, I wanted a thick glaze that was sticky and sweet, and although I’m Ok with a few steps, I didn’t want it to be a huge pain in the ass. I’ve told you that I’d found the secret to crispy skinned baked chicken wings that are even better and crispier than fried (these crispy chicken wings) so I used that as a base. I brined them in beer, which made a remarkable difference in the fall-off-the-bone texture, and I finally got the glaze right.

This will officially be my go-to chicken wings recipe for this football season. Although I’m sure it won’t be long until I make a spicy version. I tend to do that.

Crispy Honey Porter Sticky Baked Chicken Wings 1

Crispy Honey Porter Sticky Chicken Wings

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2.5 lbs chicken party wings
  • 1 tbs 4g salt
  • 12 wt oz 355 ml beer (wheat, brown ale or pilsner)
  • 2 tbs 16g baking powder
  • 1 cup 226g porter or stout beer
  • ½ cup 170g honey
  • 2 clove 8g garlic, grated with a microplane
  • 3 tbs 46g soy sauce
  • 1 tsp 2g black pepper
  • ½ tsp 1g smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp 8g chili powder
  • 2 tbs 16g cornstarch
  • Chopped cilantro optional

Instructions
 

  • Add the wings to a shallow bowl or baking dish, sprinkle with salt. Pour beer over the wings, cover and refrigerate for one hour and up to over night.
  • Preheat oven to 250.
  • Remove from the beer, rinse and pat dry, making sure wings are as dry as possible. .
  • Add the wings to a large bowl. Sprinkle with baking powder, toss to coat.
  • Place a wire rack over a baking sheet, brush with oil or spray with cooking spray.
  • Place the wings on the wire rack.
  • Bake in the lower section of the oven for 30 minutes. Move to the upper 1/3 of the oven, increase oven temperature to 425. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.
  • While the wings bake, make the glaze.
  • Add the porter, honey, garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder and cornstarch in a pot over high heat. Boil, stirring frequently until thickened, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
  • Add the wings to a bowl, pour the glaze over the wings, toss to coat.
  • Serve warm.

Crispy Honey Porter Sticky Baked Chicken Wings 2