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Pilsner/Pale Ale

10 Minute Pale Ale Puff Pastry + Beer Caramel Apple Tartlets

13.03.2019 3 Comments

10 Minute Pale Ale Puff Pastry + Beer Caramel Apple Tartlets

LOOK

AT

THOSE

LAYERS!

I need to admit to you that I used to be one of those "puff pastry is a crazy amount of work so just buy it" people. Until today. TODAY I made it with a food processor and it took ten minutes.

Adding in a little beer, instead of the more traditional ice cold water, gives you just a little bit more of a rise out of your dough. That’s not a euphemism. It’s literal. But I can see the confusion since I am the type of person who would make a sexual innuendo out of a baked goods reference, it’s an honest mistake.

This puff pastry was so buttery, flakey and amazing I’ll never go back. It also freezes really well so you can spend a few extra minutes, make a few dozen batches, and freeze it for the future. Because if you’re anything like me, you could have a tart emergency at any minute (also not a euphemism) and just need to stuff your face with something sweet. It happens.

10 Minute Pale Ale Puff Pastry + Beer Caramel Apple Tartlets

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Ingredients
  

For the puff pastry:

  • 2 cups (240g) flour
  • 1 ¼ cup (285g) very cold butter cut into cubes
  • ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
  • ½ cup (4oz) very cold beer (pale ale, pilsner, pale lager)
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter (for baking)

For the apple tartlets

  • 1 large Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 2 tablespoons (25g) white sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (100g) brown sugar packed
  • 1 tablespoons (14g) butter
  • 3 tablespoons beer
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup (87g) heavy cream

Instructions
 

For the puff pastry

  • Add the flour, salt and approximately half of the butter to a food processor, pulse 10-15 times until just combined. 
  • Add the remaining butter, pulse to combine (don’t over process). 
  • Add the flour mixture to a flat surface, make a well in the center, add the beer. 
  • Mix with your hands until combined (this can also be done in a food processor, just make sure not to over mix or the dough will turn out tough). 
  • Add to a lightly floured surface, roll into a rectangle about ½ inch thick. Fold into thirds, like a letter about to go into an envelope. 
  • Roll again, then fold again. Repeat the process 3-4 times (this is how you get the layers). 
  • Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours. 
  • Roll the dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Cut into 12 equal sized squares. Score a border about ½ inch from the edge (do not cut all the way through) prick the center with a fork. Evenly space on a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. Chill while you prepare the apples. 

Make the apples and caramel

  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
    Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, salt, and brown sugar to a bowl, toss to combine. 
  • Add the apples to the center of the tarts, avoiding the edge. Brush the edges with the melted butter. 
  • Bake for 18-22 minutes or until puffed and slightly golden brown. 
  • Add the brown sugar, butter, and beer to a pot over high heat. Stir until the butter has melted, then stop stirring. Boil for 3 minutes.
    Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and cream. Return to heat, boil for one minute.
  • Add to serving plate, drizzle with caramel. 

Adapted from Bon Appetit

 

Green Beer Mac N Cheese (no food dye)

07.03.2019 4 Comments

Green Beer Mac N Cheese (no food dye)

This is your reminder not to take things too seriously. You know, the "don’t sweat the small stuff, also it’s all small stuff," reminder that we should all just relax and take it easy. On ourselves, on strangers, on the internet people who seem crazy but maybe they’re just having a bad day.

Make the Green Beer Mac N Cheese because it’s fun and because it’s almost Saint Patrick’s Day and maybe we should all just celebrate small things and get over the worry that keeps us from living in the good moments.

Do you remember what you were worried about this time last year? No? If yes, did it work out? Probably. Most things just find a way to work themselves out. Years ago, when I was in the midst of a crisis that was, at the time, fairly significant, a friend said to me, "No matter what, no one is going to die or go to jail, so it’ll be fine." That’s now my benchmark. Is there a possibility that someone will die or go to jail? No? Then it will work out.

Just relax, take a break, and trust yourself. You’ll be fine. It will work out, and you will make it. Someday you might not even remember this specific brand of worry that you’re consumed with. So make some food just because it’s fun, have a beer and give yourself a break.

Green Beer Mac N Cheese (no food dye)

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Ingredients
  

  • 10 oz (3 cups) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 2/3 cup (6oz) beer (pale ale, pale lager, wheat beer)
  • 1 cup (20g) chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 1 lbs large elbow macaroni

Instructions
 

  • 1. Add the cheese, cornstarch, garlic powder, evaporated milk, beer, and parsley to a blender. Blend on high until well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes.
    2. Cook the macaroni until just before al dente, about 3 minutes less than stated on the package directions.
    3. Drain the noodles and return to the pot. Pour in the cheese sauce.
    4. Bring to a simmer, cooking until thickened and the noodles are cooked through. About 5 minutes. 

Notes

Try not to use anything too hoppy (like an IPA) or the beer flavor will be VERY strong. Unless that's what you want, then you do you. 

Sheet Pan Sweet Chili Glazed Beer Chicken

28.02.2019 3 Comments

Sheet Pan Sweet Chili Glazed Beer Chicken

Do you ever wonder how long you’d live in a zombie apocalypse? Everyone imagines themselves surviving far into the future of the new world, rebuilding alongside fellow badass humans who have managed to evade bitey undead soldiers. But, most people are wrong. The only people whom I have full confidence in thriving in a zombie infestation are Jason Moma and this good friend of mine. Other than that, you’re all probably doomed.

Me? I think I’d be a solid medium. Due to my mostly feral upbringing, I have outstanding problem-solving skills that would carry me farther than most, but I’m also careless and disorganized. I’d leave the door open, or forget to grab my knife, or accidentally set off the car alarm. That would take me down.

But my tribe would miss me because I would be the one would could cook an edible meal with just pantry scraps and questionable meat. That’s really my only useful post-apocalyptic skill. I can’t grow things, or shoot things, or build things, but I can cook things. So, give me a fire and anything even edible adjacent, and I can work some magic. As long as someone else is looking after the locks and the loud noises.

Maybe it’s because I’m re-watching The Walking Dead on the treadmill this week (it legit makes me run faster), but that’s what came to mind when I decided to just use what I had on hand to make this. What can I make without going to the store? WHAT IF THERE WAS NO STORE?! I’M STILL MAD ABOUT CARL!!

So I bring you this chicken made with stuff you should always have on hand, as well as meaningless rambling, you’re welcome.

Also, how long would you last if the zombies took over?

Sheet Pan Sweet Chili Glazed Beer Chicken

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs chicken thighs or chicken legs (bone in, skin on)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/3 cup pale ale
  • 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce*
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Instructions
 

  • Add a wire rack over a baking sheet, spray with cooking spray. Add the chicken, skin side up, on the rack. Sprinkle liberally with salt.
  • Place in the oven, then set the temperature to 300°F, set a timer for 25 minutes (allowing the chicken to cook in the oven while it preheats helps to render fat and make the skin crispier).
  • Add the cornstarch and beer to a saucepan, whisk until combined. Stir in the chili flakes, chili powder, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha.
  • Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thickened, about 5 minutes.
  • After 25 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven, raise the heat to 400°F. Brush the chicken with glaze. Bake for 20 minutes.
  • Brush again with glaze, turn on the oven broiler.
  • Place the chicken under the broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce starts to caramelize.
  • Remove from oven, add to a serving platter, sprinkle with green onions.

Notes

Thai sweet chili sauce is found in the Asian section of the grocery store. I tend to favor a brand called Mae Ploy that can be found everywhere from Whole Foods to Target. But if you want to make it from scratch, I suggest this Sweet Chili Sauce recipe from Serious Eats. 

Hop Shortbread Beer Cookies

12.02.2019 2 Comments

Hop Shortbread Beer Cookies

I’m still trapped. Under several feet of snow in a city that can’t deal, surrounded by iced-over, hilly roads that my little car isn’t able to navigate. Still. The Californian in me is screaming and vitamin D deficient. So, obviously, it was time to bake.

I had to use what was on hand —and of course, I DO have dried hop flowers on hand—and decided to make you valentines cookies. Because for beer people, hops are far superior to hearts. I even had the hop cookie cutter on hand from when I made this.

You can get yourself one, too. You just have to look for a "pinecone" cookie cutter because normal people don’t just go around making cookies in the shape of beer ingredients, but I promise you, it’s a hop.

Even though I can’t leave the house and I’m about to start chewing on the curtains, at least I’m well stocked with the necessities, like dried hop cones and cookie cutters. I also have a lot of beer, so if you need any I’m here for you.

Dried hop cones can be bought at any local homebrew supply store, or online. Do not use pellets. You only need one dried hop flower, so if you have a homebrewer friend that can give you one, that’s your best bet. Or, if you’re adventurous, you can make Hopsta (hops pasta) with the rest of the dried hops.

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Ingredients
  

For the cookies

  • ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
  • 8 tablespoons (114g) unsalted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon (3g) vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (62g) powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) beer

For the icing

  • 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) beer
  • ½ teaspoon dried hop flowers, crushed (citra, mosaic, galaxy)

Instructions
 

  • 1. Add the salt, butter, and vanilla to a stand mixer, beat until well combined.
    2. Add the powdered sugar, beat until light and fluffy.
    3. Stir in the flour until just combined, then add the beer, stirring just to combine.
    4. Form into a log on a sheet of plastic wrap then wrap tightly. Refrigerate for one hour and up to 3 days.
    5. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until about ½ inch thick, cut into desired shape with cookie cutters.
    6. Evenly space on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Add to the freezer, freeze for 15 minutes (this will help prevent the cookies from spreading during baking).
    7. Preheat the oven to 325° F.
    8. Bake until the edges start to turn lightly golden brown. Remove from oven, pull the parchment on to the counter to cool.
    9. In a small bowl stir together the frosting ingredients.
    10. Spread the icing onto the cookies in a thin layer. 

Notes

Dried hop cones can be bought at any local homebrew supply store, or online. Do not use pellets. It's best to use aroma (or dual purpose) hops like citra, mosaic, or galaxy rather than a strictly bittering hop. 

 

Beer Braised Meatball Banh Mi Sandwiches

16.01.2019 6 Comments

I’m not sure why I do these things. It’s that part of me that leans toward obsessing, and it’s a small but powerful part. Mini but mighty.

Food, in one form or another, often finds it’s way into that space. Duck confit, pickling weird foods, doughnuts, bolognese, you really never know when something will settle into my major obsession zone.

When I do have things fall into the crack in my personality that sucks up obsessions, it doesn’t let them go (see also: beer, early rock photography, serial killers, bulldogs. It’s Ok to dislike me based solely on that list).

Right now, it’s Banh Mi, or if I use it as a command: BANH ME! It should be a socially acceptable command that you’re allowed to yell at people until they give you a Vietnamese-French fusion sandwich. But it’s not, so don’t try it.

After making a vegan Mushroom Bahn Mi sandwich for my book that’s in the processing of being published, I want to Bahn Mi all the things. ALL THE THINGS. I’m going to try to keep this obsession in check, but it has leaked through today, onto you so I hope you’re OK with that.

 

Beer Braised Meatball Banh Mi Sandwiches

Banh Mi and Meatballs in one sandwich with a sweet and spicy beer glaze!
5 from 1 vote
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Servings 4 Sandwiches

Ingredients
  

For the pickled shallots:

  • 1/4 cup very hot water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/4 cup beer (lager, pilsner, pale ale)
  • 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 large shallot bulb thinly sliced

For the meatballs

  • 1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
  • 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1.5 lbs frozen mini meatballs I used pork, but beef, chicken or vegetarian is fine
  • 1/2 cup beer (lager, pilsner, pale ale)

For the sandwiches

  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons sriracha
  • 1 large carrot grated with a box grater
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 large jalapeno
  • 4 crusty sandwich rolls

Instructions
 

  • 1. Add the hot water, sugar and salt to a small bowl, stir until dissolved.
    2. Stir in the beer and vinegar, add the shallots. Cover and refrigerate for one hour and up to 3 days.
    3. In a small bowl stir together the chili sauce, brown sugar, and fish sauce, set aside.
    4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, pulling the pan back and forth until starting to sear.
    5. Lower heat the medium, pour in the beer. Allow to simmer until most of the beer is gone, stirring occasionally.
    6. Pour the sweet chili mixture over the meatballs, raising the heat slightly, adjusting to maintain a low boil.
    7. Cook until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are well coated.
    8. In a small bowl stir together the sour cream and sriracha (can be done up to 3 days in advance).
    9. Spread the sriracha sour cream inside the rolls, fill with meatballs, carrots, cilantro, pickled shallots and jalapenos. 

Secret Ingredient Smooth and Creamy Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce

03.01.2019 6 Comments

Secret Ingredient Smooth and Creamy Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce

I did it. It only took two years and countless recipe trials to FINALLY bring you what I call, "7-11 pump cheese nacho cheese" but the homemade version. I know, I know, OFFICIALLY, that’s gross. But secretly, it’s amazing. It’s creamy, and it never seperates or gets grainy. HOW DO THEY DO IT?!

I don’t know, probably a chemical shitstorm that I don’t want to know about. But I do know how YOU can do that. You can be the cooker of the creamiest cheese sauce in all the land, and it’s made in your blender in 3 minutes. I know, you love me. I love you back.

It’s not one, but TWO secret ingredients that are super easy to find. Evaporated milk is the big one, it’s just milk that has been reduced. The same amount of milk proteins but will less water to interfere with stabilization (not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk, we aren’t making nacho fudge, that’s an entirely different website).

Second is cornstarch, it helps bind everything together and prevent it from separating. Just add in some cheese (obviously), beer and spices to those two secret ingredients and blend to your heart’s content. Then just heat and serve. You can even make it ahead of time. If you’ve ever tried that before, you’ll know that with a regular cheese sauce that’s laughable. But this stuff is the cheese sauce dreams.

Unless you don’t dream about cheese sauce, in that case, I’m not sure we can be friends.

Secret Ingredient Smooth and Creamy Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce

5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings 3 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups 300g shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 12 ounce can evaporated milk
  • ½ cup 4oz beer (IPA, pale ale, wheat beer)*

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth.
  • Add to a saucepan over medium heat, heat to desired temperature.
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use, heat to serve. Can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Notes

*Hoppier beers (IPA’s, American Pale Ales, etc.) will have a stronger beer flavor. For a lower beer flavor, opt for a wheat beer or a pale lager.

Invisible Apple Cake with Beer Caramel Sauce

14.12.2018 6 Comments

Invisible Apple Cake with Beer Caramel Sauce

This is why you don’t try to do things halfway. And by "you" I mean me, I’m talking to myself again. It happens, look away if you must.

On my way to dinner at a lovely couple’s house, I decided to kill two birds (not literally, I swear) and bake a dessert for these two wonderful men, one that I could also photograph and give to you (work bird, dinner party bird: both dead). It was a great plan until I decided that I didn’t REALLY need to cut into it to photograph it. You were just going to have to trust me about all those gorgeous apple layers.

The thing is, these are two guys that aren’t just amazing humans they are also fantastic cooks and cocktail makers, people who have outstanding and beautiful taste. I didn’t want to do what I normally do, which is cut up the thing, take pictures of the thing, put-back-together the thing, and then apologize for the thing once I arrived. So I was just going to take photos of the OUTSIDE of the cake, and bring it intact.

Which worked long enough to get myself out the door and over to dinner to enjoy beautiful cocktails and Thai food as well as an intact dessert. Until I got home and realized that I can’t do that to you.

It also needs to be mentioned that this is 100% about my own neurosis, the lovely friends in question would have found a previously detached, photographed, and reattached dessert adorable and charming and encouraged me to do this, had I asked.

So I made it again, just so that I could cut it open and show you these layers. Then I ate it. Maybe that was my subconscious plan all along, I do things like that.

Invisible Apple Cake with Beer Caramel Sauce

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Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients
  

For the cake

  • 2 lbs 3-4 x-large Honeycrisp apples
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup 100g sugar
  • 1/3 cup 72g beer (pilsner, lager, pale ale)
  • 3 tablespoons 42g butter, melted
  • ¾ cup 90g all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the sauce

  • ½ cup 100g brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon 14g butter
  • 3 tablespoons beer
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup 130g heavy cream

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Peel and core the apples. Slice very thinly, set aside.
  • In a large bowl stir together the eggs, sugar, beer, butter, flour and salt.
  • Add the apples, toss to coat.
  • Line a large (10 x 5) loaf pan, or an 8x8 square pan with parchment, spray with cooking spray.
  • Add the apple mixture to a the prepared pan.
  • Bake for 60 minutes or until the cake as set. Allow to cool, remove from pan. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Add the brown sugar, butter and beer to a saucepan over high heat. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and heavy cream, return to heat and bring to a boil again. Boil for one minute, remove from heat, allow to cool.
  • Pour the caramel over the cake, slice to serve.

Provençal Beer Chicken

12.12.2018 4 Comments

Provençal Beer Chicken, five minutes prep and perfect for weeknights or dinner parties!

Provençal Beer Chicken, five minutes prep and perfect for weeknights or dinner parties!

This is what happens when I get excited without thinking. I’m just finishing up the back-and-forth-editing phase with my publisher for my next book. The vegetarian book I finished writing this summer (you guys, I love it. I can’t wait to show it to you), so as a celebration I made chicken.

Provençal Beer Chicken, five minutes prep and perfect for weeknights or dinner parties!

Yes, let that sink in. I made CHICKEN to celebrate my "cooking with beer and in-season produce" vegetarian cookbook. I don’t make sense, you guys know that. Like how I decided to make homemade candy the day after Halloween, or when this happened.

But, the thing is, good food is good food. Sometimes that food has meat in it, sometimes it doesn’t. Roast chicken is one of my favorite ways to feed people, no matter the season. And this beer chicken was perfect: 5 minutes prep, and tastes fancy. I hope you like it. Unless you’re vegetarian, in that case, I apologize. But I do have an entire book headed your way, so I hope you forgive me.

Provençal Beer Chicken, five minutes prep and perfect for weeknights or dinner parties!

Provençal Beer Chicken

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Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 large shallots peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup beer pale ale or pale lager, I used Odell Colorado Lager
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes
  • ¼ cup kalamata olives pitted
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons herbs de Provence
  • 4 chicken leg quarters bone-in, skin-on
  • Rice or pasta for serving.

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oven to 400°F.
  • In a baking dish add the olive oil, garlic, shallots, beer, tomatoes, olives and 1 teaspoon salt, stir to combine. Add the sprigs of thyme and rosemary.
  • Combine the pepper, flour, herbs de Provence in a shallow bowl.
  • Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with remaining salt. Dredge the chicken in the flour until well coated on all sides.
  • Add the chicken on top of the tomatoes in a tight, even layer.
  • Bake, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and skin is golden brown, about 45 minutes, basting with pan juices two or three times during cooking.
  • Serve over rice or pasta.

Beer Mac N Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

29.11.2018 2 Comments

Beer Mac N Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos, the perfect game day snack!

I was born in California, cut my beer drinking teeth on Sierra Nevada, spent most of my life living up and down the Golden State. It’s a part of who I am and will always be my first home. You already know about the fires that have devastated one of the most gorgeous parts of our country. I watched, horrified, from my Pacific Northwest perch as my old neighborhoods were destroyed, my friends evacuated, places I used to roam burned beyond recognition.

Living in LA outsiders always asked if earthquakes scared me. No, never. Not once. It was the fires that ravaged us every year that put fear into my bones, not the occasional earthquake that hardly rattled the hanging lamps. This past year was the worse we’ve ever seen. I don’t need to go into statistics and details, you already know. When you just want to retreat into a beer and forget how bad it is, the good news is that there is a beer that can actually help.

Sierra Nevada has collaborated with over 1200 breweries nationwide to brew Resilience IPA, donating 100% of the sales (all of it, not just some of it) to the Campfire Relief Fund. Not only have they started out by donating 100K to the fund, brewed a beer to increase that amount on an hourly basis, partnered with over 1200 breweries, but they have also made it as easy as drinking a beer to help out. There will never be an easier way to do something to help a national tragedy.

Want to drink a beer for a charity? Find the brewery participating in the Resilience Butte County Proud IPA  project. I’d bet there’s a brewery close by you, and a way that your weeknight happy hour can be more than just an excuse to meet up with friends. Contact your local brewery to find out when their Resilience IPA hits the tap room, mark your calendar, organize a get-together, feel good about your nightly pint.

Beer Mac N Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

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Servings 24

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups 180g elbow macaroni
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted 14g butter
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • ¾ cup 6oz whole milk
  • ½ cup 4oz Pale Ale
  • 3 cups 240g cheddar cheese, shredded (plus additional for top)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 12 large jalapenos
  • 2 tablespoon 14g melted butter
  • ½ cup panko 25g bread crumbs

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400°F
  • 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.
  • Stir in the salt and garlic powder (add additional to taste).
  • Add the noodles, stir until well combined, allow the noodles to finish cooking in the sauce, about 3 minutes.
  • Cut the jalapenos in half, scoop out the seeds and membranes.
  • Place the jalapenos, cut side up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment.
  • Fill the jalapenos with mac n cheese.
  • Sprinkle with shredded cheese.
  • Stir together the melted butter and panko. Sprinkle the panko on top of the jalapenos.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the panko has browned.
  • Serve warm.

Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker Pressure Cooked Beer Chicken Jambalaya

30.10.2018 10 Comments


Pressure Cooker Beer Chicken Jambalaya

This post was sponsored by the Crock-Pot brand. Partnerships with The Beeroness and outside companies only occur when the company’s products are ones I use and enjoy myself. All ideas and opinions are my  own.

The reason I made this two days in a row is the same reason I love this little machine so much. I had every intention of this being a slow-cooker recipe, and that’s what I did. I slow cooked a jambalaya with all the meat, spices and rice that I wanted to cram into one bowl.

I liked it, I did. It was a super easy and satisfying way to eat a big ‘ol bowl of comfort food. But I couldn’t stop wondering how it would taste pressure cooked, and since the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker can do both, that’s just what I did. It was perfect, even better than the slow cooked version. Since the rice setting was built into the pressure cook mode (one of the hardest things to slow cook and get right is rice), it was simple.

The rice was perfectly cooked, the chicken was fall-apart-tender and the flavor tasted like it had slow cooked all day. THIS is how I’ll make jambalaya going forward, it was much better than I even hoped. I hope you like it as much as I do, this may be a staple in my house from now on.

The new Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cookeris a game changer. It has eight different functions that encompass all the functions you would achieve from using multiple different kitchen appliances from slow cooking to pressure cooking and sautéing to searing. The Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker is also available in NEW 4-Quart and 8-Quart Models.

Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker Pressure Cooked Beer Chicken Jambalaya

Print Recipe
Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 bell peppers diced
  • 1 sweet white onion diced
  • 1 rib celery diced
  • 1 lbs Andouille sausage sliced
  • 1 lbs chicken thighs cut into cubes
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 12 ounces beer pale ale, pilsner, pale lager, or wheat beer
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoons Cajun seasoning blend
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper more for spicier
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt a full teaspoon if your Cajun spice mix is low or sodium free
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups uncooked long grain white rice
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Set the Express Crock to sauté on high. Add the oil, allowing to get hot before adding the bell peppers, onions, and celery. Cook until the vegetables have softened.
  • Stir in the sausage and chicken, cooking until the chicken has turned white on the outside. Stir in the remaining ingredients (reserving the parsley for garnish).
  • Add the lid, turning to the locked position. Make sure the steam release value is set to sealed.
  • Turn the rice/risotto setting to high for 8 minutes. The Express Crock will take about 10 minutes to heat up and build pressure, during this time the display will say “HEAt” (yes, with a lowercase “t”). Once the 8 minutes have finished, turn the steam release valve to open (careful, the steam is hot!). Allow the steam to release before opening the Express Crock.
  • Ladle into bowls, top with parsley.

Pale Ale Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

24.10.2018 1 Comment

Pale Ale Thai Chicken Noodle Soup, 20-minutes to a deliciously satisfying soup!

We need to brace ourselves. The fall is spilling into winter and you can feel the frost and fire in everyone, online and in person. It makes me retreat, slowly back out the door and avoid other people in order to still like humans in general.

I imagine that we all, just for a moment, agreed on things. A literal moment, 90 seconds or so, all focus on what we can all get behind, even if it’s small. Small things that help us all feel like we get each other: how wrapping our hands around a warm drink on a cold day softens every stress, how squirrels are cute but also little assholes, and how we all dislike Gwyneth Paltrow (but we do, right?).

Maybe it won’t help, but these are the soup-making-days, the days I try to treat collective soul wounds with food. Sure, I know it doesn’t really help. I know I can’t make soup for all of you invisible internet people across the world. But I also know that you probably feel the same, in one way or another. At least this is what I try to believe in order to stay sane in the rapidly dissolving humanity of the world we live in.

Pale Ale Thai Chicken Noodle Soup

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Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup white onion chopped
  • 1 large red bell pepper julienne
  • 1 small Thai chilies sliced
  • ½ cup pale ale
  • 1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 3 large chicken thighs chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoon Red curry paste
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 5 large basil leaves sliced
  • 4 servings rice noodles
  • Cilantro for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven, add the onions, bell pepper and chili. Cook until the vegetables have started to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beer.
  • Add the coconut milk, broth, chicken, fish sauce, salt, garlic powder and curry paste.
  • Simmer until chicken has cooked through, about 6 minutes.
  • Stir in the basil and rice noodles, simmer until noodles are cooked, about 5 minutes.
  • Adjust seasonings to taste (the amount of salt you need is directly dependent on the broth you use).
  • Ladle into bowls, garnish with cilantro.

Beer Cornbread Biscuits

19.10.2018 4 Comments

 

Beer Cornbread Biscuits

This was really born out of necessity, at least the first time I made it. I’m not very organized, open any of my cabinets and you’ll see it (you’ll be horrified). My house is more or less clean but my life is messy. Anything that I can put in a closet, out of site, gets the shove allowing me to continue to pretend like my house is clean.

This quality extends far past my pantry and into all parts of my grown-up life where it becomes startlingly apparent that I’m not very good at adulting. And even though I go to the grocery store nearly every day, I still found myself without eggs, bread, and any other breakfast-related items early one morning. I need breakfast, this isn’t negotiable.

Instead of just going to the store I decided to make biscuits. It was just easier to write a recipe than it was to get out of my pajamas and head to the store. I’m not a "pajamas at the store" kind of girl, I can’t look as messy as I feel. I like to put on a good show, and trick people into believing that I’ve got my shit together. Spoiler alert: I don’t.

This hatched my Beer Cornbread Biscuits recipe, so tender and melt-in-your-mouth I obviously had to make them again, and then share it with you.

I also think I need to make them one more time, but add some cheddar cheese. And maybe some bacon.

Beer Cornbread Biscuits

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Servings 6 -8 biscuits

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ 300g cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ½ cup 96g brown sugar
  • 1 ½ cups 240g cornmeal
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 10 tablespoons 142g cup butter cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2/3 cup 160 heavy cream
  • ½ cup 116g beer (pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer)
  • 1 tablespoon 14g melted butter
  • ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • Add the flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a large bowl, stir to combine.
  • Add about half of the mixture to a food processor along with the butter, process until the butter is well combined with the dry mixture. Return the mixture to the mixing bowl, stir into the remaining dry ingredients.
  • Add the heavy cream and beer, mix with a fork until just combined.
  • Add to a lightly floured surface, press into a rectangle about 1 inch thick.
  • Cut into 6-8 circles with a biscuit cutter.
  • Add to a baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sea salt.
  • Bake until the tops are golden brown, 18-20 minutes.
  • Allow to cool before removing from the baking dish.

Oven Baked Orange Pepper Beer Chicken

11.10.2018 4 Comments

Oven Baked Orange Pepper Beer Chicken, delicious one-pot, super quick and easy meal!

There’s a thing about chicken that always seems to be true no matter how I make it: it’s just as much at home on a white tablecloth in a dimly lit sommelier infested fine dining space as it is on the rickety picnic table of a small backyard gathering.

I like this about chicken, it can go all places. This, in one way or another, is how I try to live my life. I want to be able to feel at home at the opera, or on the farm, or in the inner city. I say I TRY, not that I succeed. I try to be chicken, with its delicious versatility. I try to please everyone from nugget-loving-kids, to batter-dipped-and-fried-devotees to people who confit things.

I don’t, however, think it works all the time. I swear too much, making suburban moms nervous to have me at football parties. When I drink I get loud and start to draw too much attention. And I will probably knock down a toddler to pet a strangers dog. These are not very chicken-like things. Chicken makes people happy, chicken blends in but leaves a good impression. Chicken is a crowd pleaser.

I’m more like beer. You either love me or you don’t. But I do my best to make everyone happy. And maybe there is enough chicken in the world. But a girl can dream.

 

 

Oven Baked Orange Pepper Beer Chicken

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Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon orange zest about 1 large orange
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 2 lbs chicken legs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup 4oz pale ale (or pilsner, wheat beer)
  • ¼ cup 2oz orange juice (about ½ one large orange)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a small bowl combine the zest, pepper, salt, garlic powder and cornstarch.
  • Rub the spice mixture into the legs on all sides.
  • Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet until hot but not smoking.
  • Add the chicken, searing on all sides until browned. Pour the orange juice and beer over the chicken.
  • Transfer pan to the oven, cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Lazy Chicken: Dump, Bake, Done

03.10.2018 7 Comments

Lazy Chicken: Dump, Bake, Done. A super delicious meal with just 5 minutes of active time.

We all need this right now, don’t we? Something easy and uncomplicated to pair with the rest of our messy complicated lives. I’ve been making some version of this for a while, some version of baked-chicken-with-stuff-on-it when the weather shifts and the darkness of the day make it harder for me to dig creativity out of my brain.

I don’t do much measuring when I’m just making it for my own consumption (for you, I meticulously weigh and measure to make sure I give it to you the way it’s intended). Sometimes I just add what I have, sometimes I throw some rice or farro in the bottom and hope it cooks enough to eat.

This one I like. I like the sauce, I like the garlicky pesto, I like the way the broiler browns the cheese just a little bit. I hope you like it too and I hope it makes things just a little less complicated for you this week.

Lazy Chicken: Dump, Bake, Done

Print Recipe
Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups 85g baby spinach, packed
  • 1 lbs chicken thighs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup 4oz beer (wheat beer, pale lager, pilsner)
  • ½ cup 4oz chicken broth
  • ¼ cup 62g pesto sauce
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 10 sun dried tomatoes
  • ½ cup 40g shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Add spinach in an even layer to a 9x13 baking dish, add the chicken thighs on top, sprinkling with salt.
  • Add the beer, broth, pesto, pepper, and sun dried tomatoes to a bowl, stir to combine.
  • Pour the mixture over the chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.
  • Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Turn the broiler to high, place under the broiler until the cheese starts to brown, about 4 minutes.
  • Serve over rice, quinoa, or farro.

Green Tomato Recipe: Beer Chicken Posole Verde

05.09.2018 3 Comments

Green Tomato Recipe: Beer Chicken Posole Verde

Green Tomato Recipe: Beer Chicken Posole Verde

Green Tomato Recipe: Beer Chicken Posole Verde

It’s really time for me to stop pretending as if my tomatoes will redden before the first frost. Every morning, trudging out my back door in flip flops with a still sleep-fogged brain, I hope to find one or two showing a shade of ripening, and it’s just not happening.

There are tricks, I know. I’ve read about bringing them inside, or wrapping them in newsprint, or boxing them up with (gag) ripe bananas. But I can’t wait. I want to use them now.

I’m impatient like a child sometimes, and the tomatoes are gorgeous even in their grassy hue, and I want to pick them. I wanted to give you a green tomato recipe. So I did. Sure, I thought about fried green tomatoes, but I know you won’t actually make those right now. It’s September, you’re busy, you have so much going on right now, you really don’t want to babysit a slab of battered tomato as it splatters hot oil on your arms. Me either. Not this month.

But soup, soup I’ll make. I think you will too. It’s the perfect month for Posole. All of the garden ingredients that you need for this spicy pot of goodness are still in season, but the weather isn’t nearly as hot as it was a few weeks ago. It still tastes like summer but it feels like fall.

Really, it’s my way to give those green tomatoes a purpose before the fall claims them and I miss out.

Usually, I tell you about the beer I used IN the recipe, this time I’m telling about the I had WITH the recipe. This gorgeous Green Coyote Tomatillo Sour from Odell Brewing was perfect. It uses tomatillos usually seen in Posole Verde, but in a deliciously tart beer that pairs beautifully with a slightly spicy soup.

Green Tomato Recipe: Beer Chicken Posole Verde

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Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon 15mL olive oil
  • 1 cup 155g diced onions
  • 1 poblano chili cored, seeded and chopped
  • 2 jalapeños seeded and quartered
  • 4 large garlic cloves smashed
  • 1 cup 8oz pilsner or wheat beer
  • 7 cups 56 oz chicken broth
  • 1 pound green tomatoes* quartered
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1 25 oz cans of hominy, drained
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Garnishes:

  • Finely shredded green cabbage
  • sliced radishes
  • diced avocado
  • Mexican crema
  • tortilla chips
  • chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers, cooking until softened, about 8 minutes.
  • Stir in the garlic, cook for about 30 seconds. Pour in the beer, scraping to deglaze the pan. Add about half the broth (it does not need to be exact), tomatoes, lime juice and about half the hominy. Simmer until the tomatoes have softened.
  • Transfer to a blender, blend until smooth, return to pot.
  • Add the remaining broth, remaining hominy, the spices and the raw chicken.
  • Simmer until the chicken has cooked through.
  • Remove chicken from the pot, shred using two forks, return to pot. Adjust spices to taste.
  • Serve warm, allowing guest to garnish as they choose.

Notes

*if you don't have green tomatoes:
remove the green tomatoes and the lime juice from the recipe, replace with 1 lbs tomatillos, husked and quartered.

Super Juicy Grilled Pork Tenderloin (only 4 ingredients!)

28.08.2018 1 Comment

Super Juicy Grilled Pork Tenderloin (only 4 ingredients!)

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Hoisin Glazed and Beer Brine. Just 4 ingredients to a perfectly juicy pork tenderloin!

This is for you. All of you who’ve ever avoided pork tenderloin because it’d dry. I feel you, I was you. In the wrong hands and with too much heat, these long and lean cuts of meat can do you wrong.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Getting a tender, juicy, flavorful hunk of pork comes down to this: get it drunk.  Not you, the meat. Or both, it’s your life.

Any lean white meat (I’m looking at you, chicken breasts) needs a good long soak in salt and beer. It’ll tenderize and falvorize (that’s totally a word, I swear) your meat in a way that cooking it right out of the package never can.

Don’t be shy with the brine, let that sucker sit in there for days! As soon as you get it home from the market, put it away in a salty soak and it’ll be ready when you are. poultry really only has about 24 hours in a brine before it starts to get mushy and mealy, but pork is tougher and can stay in a brine for days without issue.

Hoisin is the perfect glaze. It’s got the rich umami flavor as well as a great sweetness that caramelizes well on the grill. Not a hoisin fan? Feel free to glaze with your fav. Barbeque sauce works well, want to try it with this Stout Beer Barbecue sauce? You should. Let me know how it goes, tag me on Instagram, (it totally makes my day).

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Hoisin Glazed and Beer Brine

Print Recipe
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs pork tenderloin
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 12 ounces pale ale pilsner or wheat beer
  • ¾ cup hoisin sauce

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle the pork on all sides with salt. Add to a shallow dish or a large Ziploc bag. Pour the beer over the pork. Remove as much air as possible before sealing the bag (or cover dish with plastic wrap).
  • Brine for 24 hours and up to 3 days.
  • Remove from the brine, rinse well, pat dry.
  • Heat the grill to 500°F.
  • Brush the pork on all sides with hoisin, add to the grill. Grill on all sides until the internal temperature reads 145°F.
  • Remove from grill, allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Notes

Don't over cook! The FDA recently lowered it's reccomended cooking temp for pork from 165°F to 145° probably because they were sick of their moms dry, overcooked ham.
You stil want a slight hint of pink in the center, not pure white and fiberous.

Skillet Sour Cream Beer Chicken

22.08.2018 4 Comments

Skillet Sour Cream Beer Chicken

Skillet Sour Cream Beer Chicken

Skillet Sour Cream Beer Chicken

I travel a lot, you know this. Last minute trips to South America, a rapid-fire two-day trip to Copenhagen, sometimes just a long road trip to clear my head.

I don’t travel the way normal people travel. To be honest, I rarely do anything in a conventional way, it’s something you just have to get used to. While I’m not a creature of habit, I do like to search for the same souvenir every time I travel. Two, in fact.

It started when I  began seeking out the little markets locals shopped at, usually dingy and unappealing, always far from tourist-heavy streets, and once even in a total city-wide blackout in a sketchy part of Costa Rica.

I wandered the aisle in the little store in Dominical, Costa Rica lit only by the afternoon sun streaming in from the open doors in the front of the bodega, only accompanied by a few older women picking up last minute supplies for dinner. The beige aluminum shelves boasting as much dust as dry goods and the summer heat heavy on my skin, making wandering the store a conscious effort. I found what I was looking for.

A small glass jar with what appeared to be a home-printed label with a scripty font that read, "Miel." Honey. That’s what I wanted. It’s a part of the land, the honey and it’s hard working bees allowing me to check in my luggage 6 ounces of the terrior to take home.

Ever since that trip, I seek it out, a small jar of the land to take home with me. Salt is the same. If it’s possible to find salt harvested from a local ocean, that comes home with me as well. So far, I have honey or salt from 15 countries.

I use it. On toast, in recipes, making bread. I don’t store it on a shelf to crystallize and be forgotten. It gets used, enjoyed, shared. It’s a way to keep the places that I’ve been a part of my life when I’m off the road. A way to remind myself that it’s OK to use, because my next adventure awaits.

Maybe even as I type this some little bugs are making my next souvenir for a trip I haven’t even planned yet.

The honey I use in this recipe was from my recent trip to Brazil, a place I fell in love with and a country I will most definitely visit again.

Skillet Sour Cream Beer Chicken

Print Recipe
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon 15mL olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced basil
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon 15g Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup 240g sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons 30g lemon juice (about ½ medium sized lemon)
  • 2 teaspoon 12g honey
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ cup 2oz pale ale
  • Rice or pasta for serving

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle the chicken thighs liberally with salt and pepper on all sides
  • Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken, sear on both sides until browned.
  • In a bowl stir together the basil, rosemary, mustard, sour cream, lemon juice, honey, and garlic powder, set aside.
  • Pour the beer into the skillet, scraping to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
  • Pour the sour cream mixture over the chicken, cover skillet and lower heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
  • Serve with rice or pasta.