Mac and Beer Cheese Brats with Beer Caramelized Onions

I just use it as an excuse.

The truth is, I only use the cultural intrigue over Oktoberfest as an excuse to do things like this. Because in any reasonable persons mind, this is a bit too far. One too many. Coco Chanel is telling me to take something off before I leave the house with these things. In a way, I did. I wanted to add crumbled bacon to the top. And jalapeños, although I’ll even admit that would be one too many. Just a bit too far, pushed too far over the edge for enjoyment.

In reality, there are two ways to look at these: extreme and ridiculous displays of overt glutton lust, OR as a concerted effort in indulgence moderation. I’ll choose the later. And I’ll choose a beer, and I may choose to have two.

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Mac and Beer Cheese Brats with Beer Caramelized Onions

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 sweet white onion, sliced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup beer (Belgian ale, pale ale, red ale)
6 raw bratwurst
12 ounces beer (pilsner, pale ale, or wheat beer)
6 buns, split
2 cups Mac n Cheese (recipe link below)

Instructions

In a pot over medium heat melt the butter (not too hot or the onions will burn before they caramelize).
Add the onions, cooking until they soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the brown sugar.
Pour in the beer and allow to cook until the onions are dark brown and the beer is mostly gone, about 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from heat, set aside.
Add the brats to a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the beer, bringing to a low simmer. Cook over medium heat until the brats are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add the brats to a pre-heated grill or grill pan until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side.
Add the brats to the buns, top with caramelized onions and mac n cheese. Serve immediately.
*if making in advance, store all elements separately. Re-heat and assemble right before serving.

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Stove Top Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese Recipe

Irish Apple Beer Cake & Craft Beers For St Patrick’s Day

Irish Apple Beer Cake & Craft Beers For St Patrick’s Day

Years ago I spent Saint Patrick’s day in Ireland. Stumbling around the city with rowdy locals, watching fireworks burst over the River Liffey. Since that night I’ve fostered a love for Ireland, her people, and her beer. There isn’t a celebration that can compare to it anywhere in the world. At its core, it’s about patriotic pride and the joy of living in a great country.

In America, we do things a bit different. The 17th of March is more about green clothing, false proclamations of Irish heritage, food dye in pale lagers, and over-consumption of both Guinness and McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes. We can do better. Just like the tradition of Corned Beef and Cabbage is more of an homage to the American-Irish than the Ireland-Irish (they never ate that), craft beer has been honoring our beer loving Irish friends for years. This year, support local craft beer, honor Ireland, and for the love of God, put down the green food dye.

Irish Inspired Craft Beers for Saint Patrick’s Day

Michael Faricy’s Irish Stout // Arbor Brewing (Michigan)
Irish Ale // Boulevard (Missouri)
Irish Red // Moylan’s Brewery (California)
Irish Death // Iron Horse Brewery (Washington)
Irish Lager // Rogue Ales (Oregon)
Celtic Red // Harpoon Brewery (Massachusetts)
Irish-Style Extra Stout // Schlafly (Missouri)
Lucky SOB Irish Red // Flying Dog (Maryland)
The Chesty Irish Red // Legacy Brewing (California)
Dry Irish Stout // Brooklyn Brewing (New York)

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Irish Apple Beer Cake & Craft Beers For St Patrick’s Day

Ingredients

For the cake:

3 cups flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
3 large Fuji apples, peeled and chopped
6 tbs melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup beer (red ale, wheat beer, pilsner, or golden lager)
2 eggs

For the Whipped Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tbs beer (or 1 shot of Irish Whiskey)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, both kinds of sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt cinnamon and nutmeg.
Stir in the apples, then make a well in the center.
Add in the butter, vanilla, beer and eggs, stirring until just combined.
Pour into a 9 inch spring form pan that has been greased.
Bake at 350 until the center has set, 40-45 minutes.
Allow to cool completely.
Just prior to serving add the cream, powdered sugar and beer (or whiskey) to a stand mixer. Mix on high until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Serve cake topped with whipped cream.

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Garlic Herb Beer Butter Roasted Potatoes

Cowboys and brewers aren’t that different.

I grew up on a farm, surrounded by cowboys and farms and it didn’t take long to notice how different their “job” was from those 9 to 5’s that other people had. There were no days off, and this had nothing to do with the fact that ranches and farms never shut down, it was because you can’t keep a cowboy away. Give him a day off and he’ll still be there, boots laced up at dawn, hat pulled on as he heads out the door, driving a truck through the fields.

Give a brewer a day off and his brain will still be there. He’ll write down notes about what he wants to brew next, try to solve the problems with his last batch, wonder how the fermentation is going on what he’s brewing now, briefly considering going in to check. You can’t take the brewery out of the brewer.

Maybe that’s what life is about. Finding a job you’d do on your off time, finding a way to earn a paycheck from your obsessions. Even if that paycheck is smaller than the one you get from that job that you can’t wait to leave when the clock hits 5:00. Maybe it just comes down to a quality of life issues. The best advice I got in grad school was “Never get paid to do a job that you wouldn’t do for free.”

Maybe it isn’t the doctors and CEO’s we should be jealous of, maybe it’s really the brewers and the cowboys that really have it all figured out.

Garlic Herb Beer Butter Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

2 lbs baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
6 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown ale
2 large clove garlic, grated with micropalne
1 tbs chopped fresh basil, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, minced
½ tsp flakey sea salt (smoked Maldon salt preferred)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.
In a pot over medium high heat melt the butter. Stir in the beer and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes, remove from heat.
Stir in about half the herbs, reserve the other half.
Place the potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish, drizzle with butter, toss to coat.
Roast at 425 for ten minutes, stir, then continue cooking until fork tender, about another ten minutes.
Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon and add to a serving dish.
Sprinkle with remaining herbs and salt.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/05/21/garlic-herb-beer-butter-roasted-potatoes/

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Poblano

When I was 19 I thought it was a great idea to drive a 20-year-old Ford Bronco nearly the entire length of the 5 Freeway to be my primary means of transportation.

Slow, old, unreliable, often ticketed, frequently towed, it didn’t end well. I was broke and had barely enough money to fill the gas tank, let alone maintain it. Which lead to finding creative ways to deal with the mechanical issues that arose. When one of my headlights went out, I discovered that the brights still worked just fine. So I never turned them off.

Late one night, headed to Hollywood on the 101 I was behind a well cared for vintage Cadillac, my brights reflecting off his rear view mirror. He slams on his breaks, skids slightly towards the median. I do the same. Luckily the breaks on the Bronco were still going strong and I stop inches from his bumper.

In the middle of late night Los Angeles on the far left lane of the freeway, he gets out of his car and heads toward my door, cars whizzing past us at 70 miles per hour. I was too close to him to drive around, just inches from his bumper. As he gets closer I can see he is still wearing dark sunglasses, the stems tucked under his red dew rag. I can’t see his eyes.

He walks to my window and motions for me to roll it down. As I crank the window down, heart racing blood pumping in my ears, he pushes his black and white plaid shirt back, just the top button is buttoned, the rest open. He puts his hands in the pockets of his black Dickies pants and I can see his white tank top and the butt of silver pistol in the waist band of his pants. I know instantly that he wants me to see it.

Photo via The Beeroness on Instagram

“Your brights” he says, swaying slightly so that I can see the light reflect off his gun. “They are on.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry…” I don’t know what else to say.

“You need to turn them off.”

“Ok.” I’m frozen. I can’t move.

“Now. Turn them off now.”

“Ok. Yeah.” I’m shaking. I reach up and switch them off, my left headlight going dim completely.

“Thank you. Have a nice evening.” He waits a beat before smiling, covering the gun and walking back to his car.

Nothing really happened, but I was shaken. I immediately got off the freeway and stopped at a roadside taco stand to catch my breath. And I asked the lady behind the counter the question I always ask at a new place, “What do you eat?” She said she eats the stuffed peppers. They aren’t on the menu, but she’d make them for me. I was grateful. I never ended up making it to The Troubadour that night, but those stuffed peppers were worth it.

Chicken and Beer Cheese Stuffed Anaheim Chilies

Ingredients

5 (wt oz) shredded sharp cheddar (about 2 cups)
3 tbs cornstarch
¼ cup sour cream
1 cup red ale or malty pale ale
2 large chicken thighs, cut into small cubes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
¼ cup diced green onions
4 large Poblano Chilies

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
In a blender or food processor add the cheese, cornstarch, sour cream, and beer. Process until smooth, set aside.
Sprinkle the chicken cubes with chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt, toss until well coated.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic.
Add the chicken, cook until browned on all sides.
Pour in the cheese sauce, simmer until thickened, remove from heat, stir in the tomatoes and green onions.
Cut the stem off the chilies, remove the seeds inside. Spoon the chicken and cheese mixture into the peppers.
Place upright in oven safe coffee mugs, place coffee mugs on a baking sheet.
Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until peppers have softened.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/04/16/chicken-beer-cheese-stuffed-anaheim-chilies/

Irish Red Ale Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese and Pomegranate

When you write a cookbook, you fall in love with some of the recipe. You don’t love them all the same, you don’t even remember them all the same. Recipes aren’t like children, you’re completely allowed to have favorites.

When I wrote The Craft Beer Cookbook (affiliate link), there were a few recipes I immediately feel love with, like Hefeweizen Brioche Pull Apart Bread (page 82), and the Porter Osso Buco (page129), and Amber Ale Carrot Cake with Mascarpone & Beer Spiked Cream Cheese Frosting (page 179) and a few I added because I was already in love with them, like the Beer Pecan Cinnamon Rolls (SO GOOD! page 26) and this soup.

This was a soup that I’d been making for years, with and without beer. Gleefully sprinkling the bowls with two of my culinary guilty pelasures: goat cheese and pomegranate seeds. Adding in the hop bitterness of an Irish red ale gave a great balance to the creamy decadence.

Now that we are around the corner from Saint Patricks day, I’m sharing this recipe with you. It’s a new way to celebrate the Irish, and a vegetarian friendly one at that (if that’s your thing). After all, corned beef isn’t even a tradition in Ireland. But beer always is.

Irish Red Ale Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese and Pomegranate

Ingredients

1 (3.5 to 4 lb) butternut squash
1 head garlic
6 tbs olive oil, divided
2 shallots, sliced
2 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 cup red ale
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
¼ tsp turmeric
pinch cayenne
½ cup cream
3 ounces goat cheese
½ cup pomegranate seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
Cut the squash down the middle lengthwise, scoop out and discard the seeds. Place cut side up on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tbs olive oil.
Rub most of the white papery skin off the garlic head. Cut the tip off the head of garlic, exposing the cloves. Place garlic on a small square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tbs olive oil, fold aluminum foil up over the garlic to form a tight packet. Place garlic on baking sheet with the squash.
Place baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the garlic and allow to cool. Continue to roast the squash until fork tender, about an addition 20-30 minutes (total of about 1 hour). Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Gently scoop out the flesh (should be between 4 and 4 1/2 cups).
In a pot over medium heat, add the remaining 3 tbs olive oil and the shallots. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes (do not cook at too high heat or the shallots will burn). Add the broth and the beer and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the roasted squash, add the soft garlic cloves (discard the rest of the head) and stir until well combined.
Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth (you can also work in batches to puree in a food processor or blender). Add the salt, pepper, turmeric, cayenne and cream, allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
Ladle into serving bowls, garnish with goat cheese and pomegranate.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/03/12/irish-red-ale-butternut-squash-bisque-goat-cheese-pomegranate/

You can buy The Craft Beer Cookbook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Urban Outfitters.

Beer Cheese Ball

I was a lifeguard for three years in college. Mostly at summer camps, poorly run water slide parks and a bad summer on floating dock in the middle of a dirty lake.

Late one night at a summer camp in Western Canada the guys who ran the camp decided to let the pre-teen campers, hopped up on Sysco ice cream and fudge sauce, jump into the pool. For about two hours I watched as they seemed to instinctively go from one side of the pool to the other, cheering, waving their hands, jumping up and down. When that got boring, they just did it all on the other side of the pool.

The following week, after Ice Cream Social Night, the pool was opened again, and the same thing happened again with a completely different group of adolescents doped up on saccharine. Every week after was the same routine. “WE LOVE THIS SIDE OF THE POOL!” they all seemed to be cheering, and a few minutes later, “NO THIS SIDE OF THE POOL IS THE BEST!”

We don’t grow out of that by the way, we just find more adult ways of shifting from one side of the pool to the other, “WE LIKE MINI SKIRTS!” no, wait, “WE LOVE MAXI SKIRTS!” And as cool as we think we are in the beer community, we do it too. “WE LOVE HOPS A LOT!” but, wait, “MALTY BELGIANS ARE THE BEST EVER!” While hops and malt, opposing forces that could never live without each other, will always be held in equal regard when it comes to importance in the beer making process, the “in beer” seems to favor one or the other. We have made a bit of a shift in the past year, from the Hop The Crap Out Of This Quadruple IPA to the Malty Sweetness Deep And Roasty Belgian ales. To celebrate this shift, I used a red ale that has tons of malt but didn’t forget the hops. A common ground in the middle of that Hops vs Malt pool.

I’m up for either, as long as you don’t trash talk the other side of the pool, you know you’re going to be back there in a few minutes.

Beer Cheese Ball

Ingredients

5 wt oz cream cheese
2 wt oz goat cheese (about ¼ cup)
4 wt oz shredded Asiago cheese (about 1 cup)
4 wt oz shredded parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup red ale
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup chopped chives
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Add the cream cheese, goat cheese, Asiago cheese, parmesan cheese, beer, and garlic powder to the food processor, process until well combined. Add the chives and pulse until just combined.
Place on a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a ball, wrapping with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours and up to 24 (flavors develop overnight, don’t be afraid to make this a day ahead of time).
Remove from the plastic wrap, gently roll in chopped walnuts until coated.
Serve with pretzels or crackers.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/12/12/beer-cheese-ball-recipe/

Salted Beer Caramel Sauce plus 5 More Edible Homemade Beer Gifts

‘Tis the Season.

To drink too much, eat too much and blame it all on seasonally appropriate Holiday Cheer. I can get behind that, excess seems to agree with me. And while we’re at it, DIY’ing a few holiday gifts infused with beer is another great excuse to break into that beer stash. After all it’s better to give, right? Especially if a byproduct of that giving is figuring out what to do with that “leftover” beer. It can’t go to waste, that just doesn’t make economical sense.

1. Chocolate Pretzel Beer Toffee

A surprisingly easy to make candy that’s always a big hit. It also makes a great addition to a cookie tray, but be careful it’s hard to stop eating this stuff, it has a crack like presence.

2. Stout & Sriracha Beer BBQ Sauce

A little break from all the sweet treats, this is a great sauce to pass along to friends and family. Don’t forget to print out a few recipe ideas to go along with, like these Oven Roasted BBQ Beer Ribs or these Oven Baked BBQ Chicken Wings.

3. Chocolate Stout Truffles

These are pure decadence. A beerified version of a traditional holiday favorite.

4. Beer Caramel Corn

A little treat reminiscent of childhood, with a grown up flavor of craft beer.

5. Beer Candied Pecans

Bring Beer Nuts to entirely new level.

6. Salted Beer Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

Ice cream socials will never be the same.

Salted Beer Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
½ cup beer (see note)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut into cubes
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 tsp flakey sea salt

Directions

Add the sugar and beer to a very large heavy bottom saucepan over high heat (caramel will bubble up to 10x's it's original volume). Stir just until the sugar has melted then stop stirring.
Allow to boil untouched (you can swirl the pan a few times to evenly distribute caramel but stirring will cause crystallization) until the caramel reaches a deep amber, almost reddish color.
Add the butter, stirring continuously until all the butter has melted. Remove from heat.
Slowly whisk in the cream and salt until well combined.
Return to heat, cooking until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes
Allow to cool for ten minutes before transferring to a glass jar.
Keep refrigerated until ready to use, heat the caramel to thin, if desired.

Notes

You want a beer with some maltyness. Look for a brown, red or amber ale that has a strong malt backbone.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/12/03/salted-beer-caramel-sauce-plus-5-edible-homemade-beer-gifts/

Beer Caramelized Mushroom Gorgonzola Tart

Food is the one common thread we all share. Since the dawn of time, food, and the pleasure we find in it, has been comprehensively universal. The community and connection found over broken bread doesn’t need explanation. Maybe that’s why beer and food find a seamless union, beer is a communal beverage. Beer begs to be shared, enjoyed, talked about, in a very similar that food does. You can feel it in the community that craft beer has created. It isn’t about competition, it’s about collaboration. It favors quality over quantity and people over profit. It’s why I wanted to be a part of this world.

As my offering to the world of craft beer and her people, I wrote a cookbook, The Craft Beer Cookbook (affiliate link),. As a fantastic byproduct of said book writing, I’m going on tour. In a few weeks I’ll embark on a West Coast Brewery Hopping Book Tour, to sign books, meet people and, of course, drink some beer. If you’re on the West Coast, come out and see me, we can trade beer cooking war stories.

I’ll be stopping at Ninkasi in Eugene Oregon, a sexy, hip kid when it comes to breweries in the Pacific Northwest. With equal parts Consistent Old Soul and Youthful Daringness, these are beers to seek out. I was able to get my hands on a bottle of Believer Double Red Ale, a beer with a great balance of low malty notes and the higher, bright citrus notes. It’s creamy and smooth, but still kicks you some hops, it’s a great beer. I used it to beerify (that’s a word, I swear) some mushrooms, and added some creamy cheese to balance it out on a flakey crust. It’s a beer flavored tart that can, and should, be shared. Over beer.

Beer Caramelized Mushroom Gorgonzola Tart

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
2 lbs assorted wild mushrooms
1 sweet white onion, sliced
2/3 cup red ale (such as Ninkasi Believer)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 tbs butter, melted
3 ounces gorgonzola
coarse kosher or sea salt
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion, cook until the mushrooms darken and onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the beer, reduce heat and allow to simmer until the beer is almost completely evaporated.
Preheat oven to 400.
Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a baking sheet. Brush the entire pastry with melted butter.
Sprinkle the cheese evenly across the tart, avoiding the outer 1-inch edge.
Spoon the mushrooms and onions over the cheese.
Sprinkle with coarse salt, and thyme.
Bake at 400 until a light golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/09/27/beer-caramelized-mushroom-gorgonzola-tart/