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Beer Styles

Mushroom, Stout and Goat Cheese Pot Pie

A bunch of years ago I was in Dublin, Ireland for the St. Patricks day celebrations. I had flown over from LA, with only two nights booked at the Brewery Hostel at the base of the Guinness brewery.  The night of the festival I was without a room, all at once ecstatic to be in Dublin for the Merriment and panicked to be without a place to stay.

Mushroom Stout and Goat Cheese Pot Pie4

I had three options.

1. Through a friend of a friend twice removed, I was connected with an Irish man willing to take me in for the night.

2. I had met some lovely Australians who were working on renovating a flat in town, but it was completely empty of any furniture and the electricity and water were both shut off, but it was walls and a roof.

3. Wander the streets for the evening, falling in and out of pubs, until I pass out on the street with some of the more rowdy locals.

Mushroom Stout and Goat Cheese Pot Pie5

I hesitantly opted for option one. If you have ever been a young girl with a backpack and a guidebook in a foreign city, I don’t need to underscore the concerns I had with this set up. Lucky for me, this man was Irish to the core: friendly, hospitable and a perfect gentleman.

I spent most of the evening running around Dublin, from pub to pub, drinking the local beer (Guinness), probably offending the bartenders by tipping them (not a custom in Ireland, "Would you tip your doctor?!") and watching the locals swell with patriotic pride as fireworks burst over the River Liffey in the heart of Dublin.

All of this, the people who welcomed me in, the beer that warmed my soul, and the celebration that swirled around me, will always give me a deep love for Ireland and Her people.

Kiss the Irish, they deserve it.

Mushroom Stout and Goat Cheese Pot Pie

Mushroom, Stout and Goat Cheese Pot Pie

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs olive oil plus additional as needed
  • 4 large carrots chopped
  • 2 large leek chopped (white and very light green potion only)
  • 2 celery stalks chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 ½ lb assorted mushrooms i.e. portobello, crimini, shiitake
  • 1 cup peas
  • 1 cup broth vegetable or beef
  • 12 ounces stout
  • ¼ cup AP flour
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 ounces goat cheese
  • 1 sheet puff pastry thawed
  • 2 tbs melted butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, leeks and celery, sauté until the carrots start to soften.
  • Add the mushrooms and cook until softened and darkened, about 5 minutes (add additional olive oil if the pan starts to dry).
  • Add the peas, broth and stout. Bring to a simmer. Sprinkle with flour, stir to combine. Stir in the oregano, pepper and salt. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes, remove from heat.
  • Divide evenly between 6 oven safe (12 to 14 ounce) serving bowls, sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese.
  • Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface, cut into 6 equal squares.
  • Top each bowl with one square, press into shape.
  • Brush with melted butter, slice 3 to 4 small slits in the top of each bowl.
  • Bake at 375 until puff pastry is golden brown.

 

Mushroom Stout and Goat Cheese Pot Pie2

 

Chocolate Stout Waffle Sundae with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce

Chocolate Stout Waffle Sundae with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce5

In my world, this is dessert.

But that being said, I ate it at 3 in the afternoon (mostly because I wanted to make it for you, and I refuse to photograph using artificial light, necessitating a mid-day desert for picture taking purposes).

Breakfast in my land, is savory. Although I occasionally indulge in sugar loaded calorie bomb in the morning hours only because for some reason it’s socially acceptable, but if we step back and look at it objectively, this is dessert.

Since I put beer in your breakfast on multiple occasions (Like this, and this and don’t forget about this), I would never judge you for eating this pre-noon. BUT, it’s dessert. And it needs to be served with a stout that’s almost warm. Maybe a sipin' stout that’s been aged in a bourbon barrel, or a smokey porter.

But it’s definitely dessert. Even if you eat it in the middle of the day.

Chocolate Stout Waffle Sundae with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce2

Chocolate Stout Waffle Sundae with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce

Ingredients
  

For The Sauce

  • 3 tbs butter
  • ½ cup stout
  • 2 tbs corn syrup
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips

For the Waffles

  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2/3 cup stout
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs divided
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • Ice Cream for serving

Instructions
 

  • Add the butter, 1/2 cup stout and corn syrup to a sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until butter has melted and the mixture has just started to boil.
  • Turn off heat and stir in 1 cup chocolate chips until completely melted. Allow to cool slightly before using.
  • Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturers specifications.
  • In a large bowl add the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt, stir.
  • In a microwave safe bowl, add the chocolate chips and milk. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. Stir in the beer, vegetable oil, vanilla and only the yolks of the two eggs.
  • Add the whites to separate bowl, along with the sugar. Whip with a hand mixer until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the chocolate milk mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold into the egg whites until just incorporated.
  • Cook in waffle iron according to manufacturers specifications, using butter flavored cooking spray if indicated.
  • Plate waffles, top with desired amount of ice cream, drizzle with chocolate sauce. Serve with a malty stout.

Chocolate Stout Waffle Sundae with Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce3

Stout French Dip

Stout French Dip

When you write, reading isn’t important, it’s essential. Unfortunately, my days are packed too full and reading has become a rare luxury. All due in no small part to the fact that I’m not only writing a cookbook (due to my publisher at the beginning of next month) I’ve also started writing for a print magazine as well as two other websites. Once I can, at least, check "cookbook" off my to-do list, I can get back to being a normal human and indulging in reading, and sleep, and all those sorts of activities that I’m currently ignoring.

I’m making a list, I thought I’d share. About a month ago, I posted on The Beeroness Facebook page asking for suggestions for beer books. Since you all are so amazing, the list has been growing.

Beer & Food:

  1. The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food, Garrett Oliver
  2. Beer, Food, and Flavor: A Guide to Tasting, Pairing, and the Culture of Craft Beer, Schuyler Schultz
  3. The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.: Liquid Lore, Epic Recipes, and Unabashed Arrogance, Randy Clemens & Steve Wagner & Greg Koch
  4. The Oxford Companion to Beer, Garrett Oliver

Beer Non-fiction:

  1. America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies, Christine Sismondo
  2. Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women’s Work in a Changing World, Judith M. Bennett
  3. Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits, Jason Wilson (beer & liquor)
  4. The Search for God and Guinness: A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World, Stephen Mansfield
  5. Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America’s Kings of Beer,  William Knoedelseder

For The Homebrewer:

  1. The Naked Brewer: Fearless Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Rule-breaking Recipes, Christina Perozzi & Hallie Beaune
  2. For The Love of Hops: The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops, Stan Hieronymus
  3. Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales, Stan Hieronymus
  4. IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale, Mitch Steele

Stout French Dip3

Stout French Dip

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cayenne
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
  • 3 lb chuck roast
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 12 ounces porter or stout
  • 3 cups beef stock
  • 4 French sandwich rolls

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, black pepper, salt, cayenne, and smoked paprika.
  • Pat the roast dry. Rub with spice mixture.
  • Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven, or other large oven safe pot, until hot but not smoking. Add the roast, sear on all sides. Pour beer and broth over the meat. Cover and roast in oven at 325 for 3 hours or until very tender. Move meat to a cutting board.
  • Place Dutch oven back on the stove. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.
  • Shred meat using two forks. Split rolls, fill with meat. Spoon a bit of sauce over the meat. Serve remaining broth in bowls with sandwiches for dipping.

Stout French Dip5

Beer and Butter Poached Lobster with Saison Risotto

Lets Get romantic, shall we?

Last year, my Valentines day post earned my quite a bit of hate mail. But, I suppose when you label your post "How Blow Jobs and Shoe Shopping Are Alike," That’s bound to happen.

But the post wasn’t about blow jobs, or shoe shopping, and the hate mail was largely from single women who had never been in a successful long term relationships, and exclusively from people who didn’t read the entire thing.

The post is about figuring out what your partner needs to feel important and giving it to them gladly and frequently. Because although the "Golden Rule" is Treat Others How You Would Like To Be Treated, I think that might be what’s wrong with most relationships.

Because, really, treating someone how YOU would like to be treated is pretty self-involved and arrogant. How about Treat Others How THEY Would Like To Be Treated and maybe we would have a higher marriage success rate as a nation. Because although you might think you’ve done everything you can for your partner, maybe the problem is that you’re asking, "What else can I do?" rather than, "What do they need?"

Can you tell I have a Masters in Psychology? I would have made a terrible therapist, but I make a killer risotto.

So here it is, with some beer and butter poached lobster.

Beer and Butter Poached Lobster with Saison Risotto

For this recipe I used Saison Rue from The Bruery.

Beer and Butter Poached Lobster with Saison Risotto

Servings 2 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Risotto

  • 2 ½ cups chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbs chopped shallots
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • ¾ cups arborio rice
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • ½ cup Saison Beer plus 2 tbs, divided
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tbs heavy cream
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 tbs chopped chives

For The Lobster:

  • 2 ½ cups unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces 1 1/2 cups Saison beer
  • 2 fresh lobster tails

Instructions
 

  • Place the chicken broth in a saucepan and bring to a mild simmer, keeping to warm, but not boiling.
  • In a separate pot, add the butter and allow to melt over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, but don’t allow to brown. Add the garlic and cook until you can smell them, about 20 seconds
  • Stir in the rice, (if pan is dry, add the oil) cooking until the rice is completely coated with butter and it smells slightly nutty, don’t allow to brown. About 2 minutes.
  • Add ½ cup of the beer and cook until the pan begins to dry, stirring frequently. About 6 minutes.
  • Add about ½ cup of broth into the rice. Stir frequently until the rice is almost dry, and then add another ½ cup and repeat. This process should take about 20 minutes. Don’t leave the risotto while it’s cooking, the rice on the bottom of the pan burns easily. (if you run out of broth, just use hot water the same way you would broth)
  • Once your risotto is cooked through (taste it to verify that the rice is cooked and not crunchy), turn heat to low and add the cheese, cream, remaining 2 tbs beer and salt and pepper to taste. Risotto should be soft and wet, not dry like typical rice. It should be firm enough to be served as a side on a plate, but soft enough to jiggle when the plate is shaken.
  • While the risotto is cooking, start working on the lobster. Using a sharp pair of kitchen sheers, cut a straight line down the tail shell, carefully remove the tail meat in one piece.
  • In a small sauce pan (if the pan is too big, the lobster will not be covered by the butter and beer), melt the butter. Don’t allow to brown or simmer.
  • Add the beer and clip a cooking thermometer on the side of pan, making sure to maintain a temperature between 160 and 180 degrees. Do not boil or even simmer the poaching liquid.
  • Once the poaching liquid has reached the proper temperature, add the tails. Cook until the tails have turned red and the meat is just opaque, about 6 to 8 minutes. Don’t overcook or tails will be rubbery.
  • Divide the risotto between two plates, sprinkle with chives.
  • Top with lobster tails, serve immediately.

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

 

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice2

Can we still be friends if I tell you that I don’t really like slow cookers? I resisted getting one for years, and then, like the culinary lemming that I can often be, I caved and asked for one for Christmas.

As I kid, I hated them. I saw it only as that thing that ruined spare ribs that should rightfully be cooked on the grill.  And now, all I see is how much people lose their minds over how great these slow cooking machines are. So far, I’m not impressed. Of the "dump and cook" recipes I’ve tried, the flavors just end up muddy and I’m left feeling completely left out of the cooking process like I wasn’t invited to the party.

That’s why this recipe calls for two parts, slow cooking the beans and then finishing the dish with a conventional cooking to add more layers of flavor.

Slow cooking the beans is really the best way to go, wether it be on your stove top, or in one of these slow cooking machines I have yet to fall in love with. Much better final result than with canned beans, and I’ll admit, the slow cooker does a great job of babysitting during the long process so you can go about your life.

If you have a fantastic slow cooker recipe, PLEASE let me know. I’d love to be let in on the secret to this that I’m clearly missing out on. Leave it in the comment section (a link is fine, if you’ve got one), because maybe there’s hope for me and this slow cooker after all.

 

 

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb small red beans or red kidney beans dry
  • 24 ounces stout or porter
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 hickory smoked ham hock
  • 1 red onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tsp sriracha
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 lb raw chicken bratwurst sliced
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 4 strips bacon sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Cooked rice for serving.

Instructions
 

  • Add red beans, porter, chicken broth, ham hock, onion, garlic and sriracha to a slow cooker. Cook on low for eight hours.
  • Once the beans are finished cooking, heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook the brats, green peppers and bacon until meat has been cooked through. Stir the brats, bacon and peppers with the beans, salt and pepper to taste. serve over rice.

 Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

 

Beer and Buttermilk Fried ChickenP

 I’ve been wanting to make you some beer fried chicken for a while now, but it’s a bit intimidating.

The best fried chicken comes from the south, it’s a fact of sorts. As is the fact that, other than a few weeks in Atlanta, I haven’t spent much time in the Southern states. And, let’s be honest, a white girl from Washington State isn’t exactly your go-to when you want the worlds best fried chicken.

But I have some confidence in this recipes because it isn’t really mine. I’ve added a few things, but the heart and soul of it belongs to a woman who’s chicken was so incredible, Ruth Reichl spent weeks, and copious amounts of beer, extracting the recipe from her. Even 40 years after plying Claritha with enough beer to obtain said recpe, Ruth not only remembers it, she writes about it in Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table.

Like any great recipe, it travels. How I hope my recipes become your recipes. My Chocolate Stout Cake becomes your Chocolate Stout Cake, the one your boyfriend begs you to make him for his birthday and tells his friends, "My girl makes the best cake." Because once your hands have cut the butter, stirred the batter and frosted the cake, it’s not my recipe any more, it’s yours. As it should be.

So, from Claritha, to Ruth to Random House to me and finally to you, is the best fried chicken I’ve ever made. I hope it becomes your fried chicken too.

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken2

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Adapted from Claritha's Fried Chicken, Ruth Reichl, Tender at the Bone

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs chicken drumsticks
  • 1 to 2 cups kosher salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 cups blonde ale
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 2 tsp packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 cup butter

Yield: 4servings

    Instructions
     

    • Place chicken in a wide bowl. Cover with salt, place uncovered in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove chicken from the bowl.
    • Rinse the chicken well and clean the bowl to remove all the salt. Add buttermilk, beer and onion slices to the bowl, stir to combine. Add the chicken back in the bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 20 hours.
    • Add the flour, salt, cayenne, brown sugar, and pepper to a bag, shake to combine. Drain the chicken. add chicken to the bag, shake until the chicken is well coated. Place chicken on wax paper or parchment paper. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1/2 hour.
    • In a large skillet melt the vegetable shortening and butter over high heat. Add chicken (working in batches if necessary), cover and lower heat to just above medium. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, turn and cook on the opposite side for about 8 additional minutes or until cooked through.

    Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken3

     

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream

     

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili With Cashew Cream

     

    If you’re new to the Craft Beer scene, it might surprise you how many vegetarian and vegans there are here.

    While I am a meat eater (clearly, I put bacon in desserts), I did spend three years as a vegetarian. Mostly, this was a response to growing up on a farm and getting up close and personal to the butchering process as well as the jarring realization of knowing the first name of my dinner. It did, however, give me a profound respect for the food I eat and the farms that share that respect.

    I still eat vegan quite often, and there are some dishes, like lasagna, that I just think are just better in vegetarian form.

    My true and honest feeling about vegan cooking is that regardless of what your typical diet is if you can’t cook a vegan meal that you love, you just aren’t that good of a cook. Produce is amazing, you get to use all the grains, seeds and nuts that you want and by the way, for the most part beer is vegan.

    I first heard about Cashew Cream from this guy, and the idea was intriguing, given that I would have a much easier time giving up meat than sour cream and goat cheese. I like the idea of having a creamy element when I want to go non-dairy. This cashew cream was a really beautiful creamy addition to a vegan chili, when sour cream isn’t an option. I wanted to balance the sweetness so I added some acid and some spices, but feel free to experiment. This would also be a great place to add a little chipotle.

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili With Cashew Cream2

     

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream

    Ingredients
      

    For The Cashew Cream:

    • 2 cups raw cashwes
    • 1 to 1 ½ cups almond milk
    • Additional 1/3 cup almond milk
    • 2 tbs IPA beer
    • ½ tsp onion powder
    • ½ tsp garlic
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp pepper
    • 2 tsp white wine vinegar

    For The Chili:

    • 3 tbs olive oil
    • 1 white onion chopped
    • 1 red bell pepper chopped
    • 1 cup crimini mushrooms finley diced
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 12 wt ounces Soyrizo
    • 2 cup stout
    • 2 cups veggie broth
    • ¼ cup tomato paste
    • 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 15 oz can stewed diced tomatoes, with juice
    • 1 or 2 large chipotle peppers in adoboe minced
    • ½ cup quinoa
    • 1/3 cup bulgur wheat
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp garlic powder

    Garnishes:

    • ½ cup Cilantro chopped
    • 1 Avocado sliced
    • Tortilla Chips

    Instructions
     

    • Add the cashews to a bowl, pour almond milk over cashews until covered. Let stand for 4 hours.
    • Drain cashews and add to a food processor with 1/3 cup almond milk, IPA, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and vinegar. Process until smooth, about 5 minutes, possibly longer. Add additional almond milk or beer for a thinner consistency.
    • In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onions, red peppers and mushrooms. Cook until onions and peppers have softened and the mushrooms have darkened.
    • Add the garlic and the soyrizo, stir, breaking up the soyrizo.
    • Add the stout, broth, tomato paste, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes and chipotle, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
    • Add the quinoa, bulgur, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and garlic powder, simmer until the quinoa has cooked, about 15 minutes. The longer chili simmers, the thicker it will be.
    • Plate on top of tortilla chips, if desired, top with cilantro, avocado, and cashew cream.

    Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

    Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake Bars with Pretzel Crust P

    I need your help.

    I’m somewhere around halfway done with this cookbook, and I need some feedback. I have about 50 recipes ready to go, but they have never been cooked outside of my kitchen.

    I want to know if they work for you, if you like them (or didn’t), if the directions make sense. This part is important to me, it increases the chances that we can catch some of the flaws, some of the directions that may be misleading, or some factor I might have overlooked.

    This book means so much to me, and the recipes working for as many people as possible is a high priority.

    And I can’t do this on my own. If you are willing to make one (or more) of the Top Secret recipes I have in the works, keep it secret until the book goes to print, and give me your honest opinion, I need that.

    If you’re at all interested, Please, check out my Book Page for more info. Please.

     

    Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 oz sweetened dried cherries about 1 ½ cups
    • 2 cups stout
    • 3 cups mini pretzels twists lightly crushed (about 1 ½ cups once processed)
    • 2 tbs brown sugar
    • ½ cup melted butter
    • 24 ounces cream cheese
    • ½ cup sour cream
    • pinch salt
    • 2 tbs flour
    • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • ½ tsp vanilla

    Instructions
     

    • Place dried cherries in a bowl or tall glass. Pour stout over cherries until fully submerged. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of the soaking liquid.
    • Preheat oven to 400.
    • In a food processor, add the pretzels and brown sugar, process until only crumbs remain, about 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly add the melted butter while the processor is running. Pour into the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Use the flat bottom of a heavy glass, measuring cup or mug to press the crust really well into a flat even layer.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, beat on high until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream and beat until well combined. Add the salt, flour and sugar, mix until well incorporated. Add the eggs and vanilla, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add ¼ of the stout used to soak the cherries, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in the cherries.
    • Pour cream cheese mixture over the crust, smooth out into an even layer.
    • Place in the oven and reduce oven temp to 350. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes or until the cheesecake has puffed slightly and center no longer jiggles when you shake the rack it sits on. Don’t over bake, it will firm up once it chills. Remove from oven (allow to stand at room temp until slightly cooled, about 10 minutes) refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 4 hours and up to 24. Cut into squares for serving

     

     Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake Bars with Pretzel Crust2

     

     

     

    Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie

    Happy 2013.

    Anyone broken their New Years Resolutions yet?

    I love resolutions, I just don’t make those "I’m going to remove things I love from my life" kind.

    I make resolutions that are more inline with goals. As in:

    -I’m going to take a homemade pasta class

    -I’m going to read more food lit

    -I’m going to explore vegan cooking, because produce is amazing

    Someday I’ll set the "I’m going to start homebrewing this year" resolution, but I’m not there yet.

    Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie2

    It’s possible that were you live, it’s actually cold right now. And maybe you set a resolution about cooking more often, if that’s the case, I have the perfect thing for you.

    Chicken pot pie, with cornbread build right in. Oh, and some beer.

    Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie

    Ingredients
      

    Filling:

    • 4 ears of corn
    • 2 tbs butter plus 2 tbs, divided
    • 1 large shallot chopped
    • 2 large carrot peeled and sliced into rings
    • 1 cup peas
    • 2 ribs of celery chopped
    • 2 tbs oil
    • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped into bite sized pieces
    • 3 tbs flour
    • 3 cups chicken broth
    • 4 sage leaves minced (about ½ tsp)
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp pepper
    • 1/3 more, plus more chicken

    Cornbread top:

    • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
    • 3/4 cup flour
    • 1 tbs baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • ½ cup beer pilsner or low to medium hopped pale ale
    • 1 large egg
    • 3 tbs melted butter

    Yield: 6 servings

      Instructions
       

      • Preheat oven to 400.
      • Cut the corn off the ears, set aside.
      • In a large pot, melt 2 tbs butter. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, peas, and celery, cook until the vegetables have soften about an additional 5 minutes. Remove from pot, set aside.
      • Heat the olive oil. Add the chicken, cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, remove chicken from pot.
      • Add remaining 2 tbs butter, heat until melted. Spinkle flour on top, whisk until well combined. Add the chicken broth and bring to a low simmer. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pot along with the corn, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
      • Place 6 individual, oven safe bowls (about 1 ½ cup sized) on a baking sheet. Pour chicken soup into bowls until about 2/3 full.
      • Ina large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and stir until combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the beer, egg and melted butter. Stir until just combined.
      • Top the bowls with cornbread mixture (it’s OK if the batter sinks, it’ll rise during baking).
      • Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown.

       

       Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie3

      Stout Hot Chocolate with Stout Whipped Cream

      Stout-Hot-Chocolate_2

      I was interviewed by a baking magazine a few weeks ago, because apparently I am the foremost expert on cooking with beer. This was the second interview I’ve done on the subject for a print magazine. One question always gets asked, so I figure some of you might have this same question:

      "Does the alcohol cook off? Is it safe for kids?"

      The short answer is: yes. The long answer, it depends.

      Stout Hot Chocolate 4

      Let me explain. No matter how much you cook beer, or any alcohol for that matter, some trace amounts remain. So trace, that their effects will never be felt, nor will the alcohol enter your blood stream. The USDA deems the consumption of cooked alcohol safe for all ages as well as pregnant women, you can see evidence of this when you are able to order steak in a red wine sauce or a rum raisin cake without being carded.

      In order for the beer to be cooked enough to remove the alcohol it must be cooked at 170 (or above) for at least 10 minutes. This isn’t much. Everything that is baked will meet these requirements. Pan fried items generally will also meet the requirements, and although beer battered items aren’t cooked for ten minutes, the heat is so high and the amount of alcohol so small (about 1tbs per serving) the amount of alcohol actually left behind is minimal.

      Because of this, I see no health concerns with the consumption of cooked beer. The only concerns that I do have are moral. I cook often, and have a diverse group of friends, among them are people who have moral conflicts with alcohol, such as Mormons and people in recovery. I would strongly suggest that if you are cooking for others, let people who may be morally opposed to consuming alcohol know what they are about to be served. Someone in AA might be triggered by the taste of beer, and some religions condemn the consumption of alcohol in all forms, even trace amounts.

      Wow, not that thats out of the way, I have a Stout Hot Chocolate for you. And with your newly acquired beer cooking knowledge you have full control over how boozy you make it.

      Head over to Rachel Cooks for the recipe.

      Stout Hot Chocolate 5

      Ham And Beer Cheese Sandwiches

      Your Holiday Ham leftovers don’t stand a chance.

      Smothered in delicious beer cheese and served on a leftover dinner roll.


      Ham and Beer Cheese Sandwich3

      And don’t be afraid if your previous beer cheese ventures haven’t gone so well. This one is foolproof, I promise. I’ve cracked the beer cheese code. Mostly for selfish reasons. Regardless of the reason behind the failure, I hate when my recipes don’t work for you. And beer cheese, since the dawn of time, has always been difficult. Except this one. It also takes about 5 minutes, and it will work.

      Ham and Beer Cheese Sandwich

      1 batch Foolproof Beer Cheese

      2 tbs melted butter

      8 Kaiser rolls (or leftover dinner rolls)

      about 2 lbs ham, sliced

      1 cup arugula

      2 large tomatoes, sliced (or, sliced cherry tomatoes)

      Split buns or rolls, brush with melted butter. Toast lightly under a broiler or in a toaster oven.

      Add ham, top with generous amounts of beer cheese sauce, and then with arugula and tomatoes.

      Ham and Beer Cheese Sandwich3

      Brown Ale And Cheddar Grits With Pancetta And Crispy Sage

      I like homebrewers. Mostly because they give me beer, but also because there is this fascination with flavors and a "What Would This Taste Like?!" attitude that is at the core of every food bloggers culinary soul. I feel like they get me. They have an understanding of why I write down crazy ideas, unexplored flavor combinations that may be doomed to fail, just to see if it can be done.

      I’m not a homebrewer, its actually a little intimidating to me. Someday, when my life is a little less hectic, I want to take the Mash Tun Plunge. But for now, I’ll setting for drinking the concoctions of others. I did learn recently that the more recent rise in popularity of brown ales has been credited to the massive increase in homebrewing and the popularity of the style with the homebrewer. I’d never though of it, but it seems to be true. Most of the brown ale I’ve had in the past few months has come from someones closet. I do love a great brown ale, to drink with as well as to add to my cheese grits. I guess saving the Brown Ale from extinction is another reason I can love the homebrewer.

      Brown Ale And Cheddar Grits

       

      Brown Ale And Cheddar Grits With Pancetta And Crispy Sage

      Ingredients
        

      • 2 ½ cups whole milk
      • ¾ cups brown ale
      • 1 cup regular corn grits not instant
      • 1 cup smoked cheddar
      • ½ cup whole milk
      • 1 tsp salt
      • 1 tsp black pepper
      • 1 tsp onion powder
      • pinch cayenne
      • 3 tbs butter diced
      • 3 oz diced pancetta
      • 5 Sage leaves chopped (about 2 tbs)

      Instructions
       

      • Add the milk and beer to a large pot, bring to a gently simmer, slowly whisk in the grits. Allow to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes.
      • Slowly whisk in the cheese, milk, salt, pepper, onion powder and butter, stir until completely combined.
      • In a separate pan add the pancetta and cook until browned and most of the fat has been rendered, do not burn. Add the sage and cook for about 30 seconds or until crispy. Drain.
      • Serve grits topped with pancetta and sage.

      Brown Ale And Cheddar Grits4

      Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce

      To be honest, this post is one hundred percent selfish.

      Since the shooting Friday, I haven’t been able to stop watching the news or reading every bit of online news about the recent tragedy. Therefore, the tears are pretty much a mainstay in my life.

       Foolproof-Beer-Cheese-SauceP

      And in my emotionally fragile state, I can’t handle a beer cheese failure and we could all use even a small win.

      Let’s be honest, beer cheese can be a bitch. It’s a pretty standard fondue, but it has about a 50% fail rate (*this is a completely made up statistic based solely on conjecture & observation) and I didn’t want to deal with a mess if the Beer Cheese Gods were otherwise occupied.

       Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce2

      Look back on my blender epiphany that brought us the Roast Garlic and Parmesan Beer Cheese Dip and the epic win that it is, I wanted to see if it also extended it’s foolproof graces to beer cheese sauce.

      Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce4

      It does. Blend the crap out of it and it won’t have a choice but to work. This takes the guesswork, and the fear of failure, out of making a lovely little cheese sauce for all to enjoy.

       Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce3

      And don’t forget the cornstarch, it’s not yummy, I wouldn’t ask you to add it if it wasn’t important. Also, pre-shredded cheese has additives that hinder it’s ability to re-melt, so don’t use it.

       

      Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce

      Servings 2 1/2 cups

      Ingredients
        

      • 2 tablespoons Butter softened (or melted)
      • 2 tablespoons Flour
      • 1 tablespoons Cornstarch
      • 1 cup beer wheat beer, blonde ale, pale ale, pilsner
      • 1 cup shredded Gouda do not use pre shredded
      • 1 cup shredded Cheddar do not use pre shredded
      • 1 cup whole milk
      • salt and pepper

      Instructions
       

      • Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Process on high until very well blended, about 5-8 minutes.
      • Transfer contents to a saucepan over medium high heat. Whisk rapidly and continuously until thickened, about 5 minutes.
      • Salt and pepper to taste.
      • If small bits of cheese solids remain, blend until smooth with a hand blender.
      • Serve warm.

       

       

      Black and Tan Cookies: New York Deli Cookies Meet Beer Mixology

      Black and Tan cookies. This is the hybrid of that great New York Deli cookies, the Black & White, and the Grandfather of Beer Mixology, the Black & Tan.

       

      Although the Black & Tan, a mixture of stout and pale ale, most often brings to mind a Bass/Guinness marriage, it actually dates back to the 1880’s when British pub owners tried to find a way to make the winter stout stash last without pissing of their customers. The trend caught on, and stout drinkers started to order the lighter mix during the summer months.

      The idea of the Black & Tan is really similar to the idea of the Black and White cookie, two contrasting flavors, joining together to enhance the other. Plus, beer and cookies are just great.

      Speaking of, whoever is first to open a pub/gourmet-bakery hybrid with a "Cookies and Beer" theme might find me as their brand new stalker.

       

      For the Cookies:

      2 sticks butter

      2 cups Sugar

      1 tsp vanilla extract

      ¼ tsp lemon extract

      2 eggs

      ½ cup heavy cream

      ½ cup pale ale

      4 1/2 cups Flour

      pinch of Salt

      1 tbs cornstarch

      1 tbs baking powder

      2 tsp baking soda

      For the Frosting:

      4 ½ cups confectioners sugar, divided

      ¼ cup stout

      1 ounce unsweetened bakers chocolate, chopped

      ¼ cup pale ale

      ½ tsp vanilla

      Makes about 2 dozen

      In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment add the butter and sugar and beat on high until well combined. Reduce speed to medium, add the eggs, lemon extract and vanilla extract, one at a time, and beat well between each addition, scraping the bottom occasionally.

      Reduce speed to medium, add the heavy cream and the beer, mix until incorporated.

      Stop the mixer, sprinkle the flour, salt, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda on top of the butter mixer. Stir gently until just combined, scraping the bottom to insure the butter and flour are fully incorporated.

      Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerated for 3 hours, and up to 36.

      Scrape dough out of bowl onto a well floured surface. Pat into a rectangle, dust the top with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into an even ½ to ¾ inch thickness. Using a large round biscuit cutter, cut out 24 to 30 cookies, place on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Place baking sheets in the refrigerator while oven preheats, about 15 minutes.

      Preheat oven to 325.

      Bake cookies at 325 for 12 minutes or until cookies have puffed and no longer look wet. Do not brown cookies. Immediately slide the parchment off the baking sheet and onto a flat surface.

      To make the frosting, put the stout and unsweetened chocolate in a pot over low/medium heat. Whisk until chocolate has melted. Add 2 cups confectioners sugar, whisk until combined. Add additional sugar to thicken, if needed. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

      To make the white frosting, add  the remaining 2 ½ cups confectioners sugar to a bowl, add the pale ale and the vanilla, whisk to combine. Add additional sugar if needed to thicken.

      Frost all cookies with white icing on just half of the cookies. Frost the other half of all of the cookies with the chocolate frosting.

      Chorizo Egg Breakfast Skillet

      There is something about lingering over a long breakfast with those I love that just makes me feel like I did something right. Everyone eats dinner, most of us have a few minutes for lunch, but it’s when we take time to sit and spend "valuable, productive" hours of the day actually tasting our food, chatting with those people whose company often gets taken for granted, that the day really become special.

      This may be a habit I picked up while traveling in those countries that wouldn’t think of letting a hotel guest check out without being fed, even if you only spent $5 on a bed in a shared room. I think maybe a hotel owner and his wife insisting that the 19 year old American who spoke no Italian MUST sit for a cup of espresso and a some bread before departing had a huge impact on me, especially given that I was broke and had paid less for the room than I would have paid for the breakfast in the States. Some how breakfast and hospitality have since been linked in my brain. I feed my guests. A lot.

      This is a great Family style breakfast that takes very little skill to throw together. Tons of flavor, little effort.

       

      Chorizo Egg Breakfast Skillet

      Ingredients
        

      • 2 tbs olive oil
      • 1 cup red potatoes peeled and diced small dice
      • ½ tsp salt
      • ½ tsp pepper
      • 1 large shallot chopped
      • 1 bell pepper sliced julienne, stem and seeds removed
      • 6 oz chorizo sausage removed from casing
      • ½ cup pale ale beer I used Scrimshaw
      • 14 oz crushed stewed tomates in juices
      • 4 eggs
      • ¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
      • 1 large avocado sliced
      • ¼ cup cilantro

      Instructions
       

      • preheat oven to 350.
      • In a cast iron skillet, heat the olive oil. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper, cook over medium high heat until potatoes are fork tender, remove potatoes from skillet.
      • Return skillet to heat, adding additional olive oil if the pan is dry and cook the shallots and red peppers until soft. Add the chorizo, stir and break up while cooking. Once the chorizo is mostly cooked, add the beer, scraping to deglaze the pan.
      • Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Return potatoes to the pan.
      • Crack the eggs on the skillet, evenly spaced.
      • Cook in a 350 oven until the whites have set, about 10 minutes.
      • Top with cilantro, parmesan and avocado prior to serving.

      Chocolate Stout Crinkle Cookies

      I think I want my next cookbook to be The Chocolate Stout Cookbook.

      It really is my favorite beer to cook with. Not just for the Christmas Cookie of all Christmas Cookies, it’s also awesome for braising meat with.

      And even in the dead of summer, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, I’d still drink me some dark beer. In fact, if I could stock my fridge with System of a Stout, I don’t think I’d ever leave my house.

      If this is your first time to my little corner of the internet, and you are still a bit skeptical about adding beer to your food, I beg of you to try a chocolate dessert recipe with beer. I’d really like to take credit for cakes and cookies having a beautiful depth, a richness without being overly dense and a slight puff without being dry, but we owe it all to the stout.

      Here are my notes about amending your favorite chocolate  dessert recipe with stout:

      Replace about 1/2 the liquid with beer.

      Up the fat content (an extra egg yolk, a tbs or two of oil) if you replace a liquid, like milk or cream, that has fat in it

      Up the sugar a bit (about 1 tbs per 1/4 cup beer, more if you are using an extra bitter stout)

      That’s about it. Hope your next chocolate cake will include a dark beer, even if it is from a box (especially if it’s from a box).

      Chocolate Stout Crinkle Cookies

      Ingredients
        

      • 1 cups all-purpose flour
      • ¼ cup cocoa powder
      • 1 tablespoon baking powder
      • 1/2 teaspoon salt
      • 1 tsp espresso powder
      • ¼ cup granulated sugar
      • 12 ounces about 2 2/3 cups, chopped good quality dark chocolate (60% cocao)
      • 1/2 stick unsalted butter cut into cubes
      • 1 tbs vegetable oil
      • 1/2 cup Chocolate Stout
      • 2 large eggs
      • 1 cup powdered sugar
      • Makes 18 to 20

      Instructions
       

      • In a bowl add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, espresso powder, and sugar, mix until well combined. Set aside
      • In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate, the butter and the oil. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, stir and repeat until melted. Don't over heat or the chocolate will seize. Add the beer and stir.
      • Add the eggs to the chocolate and stir until well combined.
      • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined, some lumps are OK.
      • Cover and refrigerate until the dough as has set, about 3 hours and up to 36. Overnight refrigeration is recommended.
      • Preheat oven to 350. Place powdered sugar in a small bowl.
      • Using a cookie dough scoop, make balls just a bit smaller than golf balls, roll into shape with your hands. Place dough balls into powdered sugar, roll until well coated.
      • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, add cookie balls
      • Bake cookies at 350 for 8-11 minutes or until the edges have set but the center is still a bit soft. Don't over-bake or the cookies will be dry and crumbly.

       

      Chipotle Stout and Chorizo Chili Topped with Pork Rinds

       

      I’m so glad I can share this recipe with you. I’ve been working like a crazy person to develop and test recipes that I fall in love with but I can’t share them with you because I need to save them for the cookbook.

      And, of course, I’m putting a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to make each recipe a home run.

      Because once you buy the book, and actually pay for the recipes, I want them all to be amazing. This, my friend, is a huge amount of pressure on me and the limits of my culinary creativity.


      But then I get these crazy ideas, like putting crushed Chicharrones on top of chili and I can’t even wait to share it. I have to post it as soon as possible, even pushing back a more "seasonally appropriate" post because I want to show you this.

      And Chorizo, with its spice and fatty goodness, is perfect in chili. In fact, I pretty much raided the "C" section of my local Mexican food market (there isn’t a "C" section, by the way, but there should be) to bring you a dish with chipotle, chorizo, chicharrones, cilantro, cheddar and cumin.

       And then I ate three bowls before I could even share it with anyone.

      If I was planning on tailgating anytime soon, I would make this in huge vats.

      And if you are a "beans in your chili" kind of guy, go ahead and throw some in, I won’t mind.

      Or add some sour cream, if that’s your thing.

      Chipotle Stout and Chorizo Chili Topped with Pork Rinds

      Ingredients
        

      • 2 tbs olive oil
      • ½ white onion chopped (about 1 cup)
      • 1 red bell pepper chopped, stem and seeds removed
      • 6 oz chorizo raw, removed from casing
      • 1 lb ground beef chuck 80/20 lean to fat
      • 4 cloves garlic minced
      • 1 cup Chipotle Stout
      • 14 oz stewed diced tomatoes canned is fine
      • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo from can, minced plus more if desired
      • 1 tsp adobo sauce
      • ½ tsp smoked paprika
      • 1 tsp black pepper
      • 1 tsp cumin
      • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

      Toppings:

      • 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
      • ½ cup cilantro chopped
      • 2 cups Chicharrones pork rinds, lightly crushed
      • Makes 4-6 servings

      Instructions
       

      • In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until onion softens but isn’t browned, about 5 minutes.
      • Add the chorizo and beef, cook until meat starts to brown. Add the garlic and stir.
      • Add the beer, diced tomatoes, one chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, smoked paprika, pepper, cumin and Worcestershire sauce. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, until thickened. Add additional chipotle peppers as desired to raise heat level.
      • Pour into bowls, top with cilantro, cheddar and Chicharrones.