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Pilsner/Pale Ale

Blackberry Sweet Rolls with Beer Dough


Blackberry Sweet Rolls with Beer Dough, like cinnamon rolls just WAY better. 

It finally happened. Out of nowhere, and without my consent. I’m not even sure when it started, really. But now, it’s official.

I’m a Pacific Northwesterner, authentic and legitimized and I was finally given proof. I am, after all, a California girl born and raised. Heat seeking, lizard-on-a-rock always looking for a terrarium to spend time in. Summer was always my favorite season, and I need sunshine like I need air. But then, it happened.

After weeks of near triple-digit heat squeezing the breath out of  Seattle area, I woke to a light rain, air sweet and soft, and a dew covered garden.  "Thank God," I thought, "It finally rained," and there it was. A delicate summer rain was welcomed into my life like aloe on a sunburn.

I’m a Pacific Northwesterner. I even found myself aching for the fall, the sweaters, the smell of a fireplace, the color of the leaves as they say goodbye like the finale of a fireworks show.

I won’t be drinking any pumpkin spice lattes any time soon, so don’t get any ideas. I will, however, be picking as many blackberries as I can before they leave for the year. Freezing the excess for winter baking, and take full advantage of these charming weeds that overtake the Seattle area side roads and unkempt lots.

Just about 20-minutes of picking yielded 4 pounds of fruit, so obviously I needed to spend Sunday afternoon baking some Blackberry Sweet Rolls, and settling into the idea that for the first time in my life I’m not really sad to see the summer come to an end.

Blackberry Sweet Rolls with Beer Dough

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 4 cups 480g all-purpose flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons 1 envelope rapid rise dry active yeast
  • ¼ cup 50g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon 2g lemon zest
  • 1 cup 8oz beer (Hefeweizen, pale ale, pilsner)
  • ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 teaspoons 10g vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt

For the filling:

  • ½ cup 114g butter, softened
  • ½ cup 100g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • 1 teaspoon 5mL fresh lemon juice
  • 1 ½ cup 220g blackberries

Frosting:

  • 1 tablespoon 15mL lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon 6g lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon 5g vanilla extract
  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup 114gsoftened butter
  • 2 cups 240g powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon 3g salt

Instructions
 

  • Stir together the flour, yeast, sugar, lemon zest, in a stand mixer.
  • Heat the beer to 120°F (Always defer to the liquid temperature listed on the package of yeast, regardless of what the recipe says. Your yeast package says 105°F? Heat the liquid to that temperature!)
  • Add the warmed beer to the stand mixer, mix until incorporated.
  • Add the butter, vanilla and salt. Continue to beat until the dough is no longer sticky and gathers around the hook, about 8 minutes.
  • Add dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Add dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle about 9x13 inches in size.
  • Add all filling ingredients (except the blackberries) to a bowl, mix until well combined.
  • Spread the filling evenly across the dough, sprinkle evenly with blackberries.
  • Starting with the long end, roll the dough tightly into a long log. Cut into 12 rolls about 1 ½ inches wide.
  • Add the rolls tightly into a baking dish, cut-side up.
  • Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
  • Bake at 350°F until golden brown, about 40 minutes.
  • Beat together the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add in the remaining ingredients, then beat until light and creamy.
  • Frost before serving. Serve within 10 hours of making.

 

Squash Blossoms Garden Pizza with Beer Pickled Cherries and Beer Crust

Squash Blossoms Recipe: Garden Pizza with Beer Pickled Cherries and Beer Crust

I just hit send. Out into the ether to the inbox of my publisher. I just sent off the completed manuscript for my 3rd cookbook along with 96 photos.

I started a year, and what feels like a lifetime of experiences ago. When I wrote this to you last year, I was just starting off, just dipping my feet into the pool of the third installment of my cookbook trilogy.

This one, the one I just dispatched to the publishing house, is by far my favorite.

Leaving it behind, walking into a life that isn’t center around conceptualizing and creating recipes that I won’t get to share with you until next year, is bittersweet. I love this project, I love what I did and I can’t wait to see it materialize in my hands as a physical manifestation of a year’s worth of work.

Until then, I have some pizza for you. When I moved into this house a few months ago the garden gave me a volunteer squash plant. A small sprout that would grow nearly exponentially every day, a plant that I just discovered wasn’t the zucchini plant I’d imagine it to be (thank god, I hate zucchini), but a pumpkin vine that snakes around the yard.

Sure, It’ll give me harvestable pumpkins soon, but it’s already giving me squash blossoms, which are far superior. Even if that’s the only thing I harvest from it to indulge in as many squash blossom recipes as I can make, it’s well worth the effort to care for it.

I also planted peas, not just for the traditional reasons but because pea shoots are delicious. If you grow peas and just harvest, well, peas, then you’re missing easily half the reason to plant them in the first place. The vines and leaves are not only edible but have a gorgeous herbal, floral, mildly sweet but peppery flavor that’s perfect on everything from pizza to salad.

That reminds me, I should pesto those. Yes, I used "pesto" as a verb and you can’t stop me!

Squash Blossoms Garden Pizza with Beer Pickled Cherries and Beer Crust

Ingredients
  

For the cherries:

  • ½ cup 3 oz Bing cherries, pitted and cut into quarters
  • ½ cup 4 oz apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup 4ozpale ale
  • 1 tablespoon 15g sugar
  • 1 tablespoon 18g salt

For the crust:

  • 2 ½ cups 300g bread flour
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons 1 envelope rapid rise yeast
  • ½ teaspoon 1.5g garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon 5g granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup 6oz wheat beer
  • ½ teaspoon 3g kosher salt
  • ¼ cup 60g olive oil

For the toppings:

  • ¼ cup pizza sauce
  • 4 oz buratta cheese or mozzarella ball, sliced
  • 6-8 squash blossoms cut in half
  • 3-4 pea shoots chopped if desired
  • 3 leaves of basil ribboned

Instructions
 

  • Add the cherries to a storage container. Add the remaining cherry ingredients to a saucepan over medium high heat, stir to combine. Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Pour the pickling liquid over the cherries. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast, garlic powder and sugar.
  • Mix until combined. Heat the beer until the temperature reaches between 120°F and 125°F (double check your yeast package to confirm this is the temperature your yeast needs. Default to the temperature listed on the package).
  • Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the flour has been moistened, slowly add the salt and oil while the mixer is still running. Turn speed to high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Add a pizza stone to the grill, heat the grill to 500°F.
  • Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 10-inches in diameter, add to a pizza peel covered with semolina flour or corn meal. Cover with pizza sauce, cheese, squash blossoms and cherries. Carefully transfer to the pizza stone. Shut the lid and allow to cook until the top of the crust is bubbly and starting to brown, about 6-8 minutes.
  • Remove from the grill, transfer to a serving platter, top with pea shoots and basil. Slice and serve.

 

Brazilian Beer Gumbo (Moqueca)

Brazilian Beer Gumbo (Moqueca)

There’s a nervousness, a panicked isolation that can set in when you’re thousands of miles from familiarity and alone in a country that speaks a language you aren’t even vaguely familiar with.

Water? Hello? Taxi? When not even those basic travel words are accessible, it can cause a panic to rise up like the water in a quickly flooding basement.

I’m somewhere in the middle of the mountains of Brazil, in a town that’s not even on most maps of the country and I’m alone, wandering the streets with a camera and Google Translate, and I realize that I don’t, in any way, feel unsafe.

Maybe, from where you sit, that’s not a big revelation but in that moment, it’s shocking. It’s my fault, really, for believing that this gorgeous country was dangerous beyond reason. Sure, Rio has crime.

It’s a city filled with humans, and humans pose danger. So is Detroit. And Los Angeles. And Paris. The part of Brazil I’m in, however, happens to contain a collection of the nicest people I’ve encountered anywhere in the world.

From other conference attendees, to the guy at the front desk of the hotel, to the people at the Brazilia airport, the outpouring of kindness is unexpectedly overwhelming.

I came to find myself in this place, this city with its stunning waterfalls, amazing beer and outstanding people, as part of a beer conference, one that’s gaining traction and should someday be bigger than anything else on that continent.

I’m there to talk about beer, about beer and food, but in reality, I walked away with far more than I gave.

The first night in Brazil I end up on the patio of a gorgeous restaurant, a clay pot of seafood bubbling away in front of me, the company of over a dozen people I’d just met, and even the jet lag from 34 consecutive hours of travel couldn’t shake my love for that moment.

I asked what it was, this gorgeous mixture of shrimp, peppers, and coconut milk steaming away in front of me in a handmade clay pot.

"It’s Brazilian Gumbo!" laughed one of the locals who had just returned from Lousiana. It made sense, even if it wasn’t entirely accurate. I had it four more times before I left, far less than I would have liked. I came back and knew I wanted more.

Even if I didn’t have access to the gorgeous homemade chili oil that I’d spiked it with. Even if I couldn’t eat it alongside the lovely Brazilians that had been there that night. It’s still a beautiful and simple way to serve a meal.

Brazilian Beer Gumbo (Moqueca)

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ lbs cod fillet
  • 1 lbs raw shrimp
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large limes
  • 1 tablespoons palm oil or olive oil
  • 2 cups chopped bell peppers red, yellow or orange
  • ½ yellow onion sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 cup pilsner or pale ale
  • 1 cup broth fish broth or chicken broth
  • 1 15oz can of coconut milk
  • 1 lbs fresh tomatoes diced
  • Rice for serving
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • In a medium bowl add the cod and shrimp, sprinkle with salt. Squeeze the juice from both limes on the fish, allow to sit at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the meal.
  • Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the peppers and onions, cooking until softened.
  • Stir in the garlic, red peppers, pepper and cumin, then pour in the beer and broth, then the coconut milk and tomatoes. Simmer until tomatoes have broken down, about 15 minutes.
  • Raise the heat to a low boil, stir in the fish and shrimp, cooking until the cod has broken up and the shrimp has cooked, remove from heat. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve warm with rice and cilantro.

 

 

Grilled Beer Brats with Pineapple Salsa and Bourbon BBQ Brand Kettle Chips


Grilled Beer Brats with Pineapple Salsa and Bourbon BBQ Brand Kettle Chips

This post is sponsored by Kettle Brand Chips. Mostly because I have a well-known love for all of their chips and I really wanted to see what flavors they had up their sleeves, they did not disappoint. All words and opinions are my own.  

We’ve done it again. We’ve made it through the winter, past the sleet and the snow, right into a gorgeous grilling season. I mean spring. Without hesitation one of my favorite things about the turning of the weather is that I break out the grill.

Even though the actual act of reviving it from its slumber is the fear of also unearthing a spider colony. Or snake habitat. Or dragons. This has never happened, but my child-like imagination likes to mess with me at all opportunities.

It’s always worth facing that spider-snake-dragon fear. That first meal of the season to come to my plate with smoky-char-tracks across its belly makes me wonder why I’d ever cook any other way. This meal was no exception. It also made me wonder why I don’t crush up Kettle Brand Chips and add them to ALL of my food.

It’s a legit question. I beg you to think of a savory dish that wouldn’t benefit from the taste and texture of those chips. After all, they have somewhere around one billion flavors (*probably not an accurate number*) and the newest, Kettle Brand Chips Bourbon BBQ Chips, are pretty much going to go on all of my food from now on. Especially the grilled things.

Burgers with Bourbon BBQ Kettle Brand chips?! Yes, please. Grilled pizza topped with crushed chips?! I dare you not to love that.

I can’t take it. Now I have to go grill something else and add some crushed chips. I’d like to tell you that I’ll be right back, but this is probably going to consume the rest of my day.

Grilled Beer Brats with Pineapple Salsa and Bourbon BBQ Brand Kettle Chips

Ingredients
  

  • 6 large bratwurst raw
  • 12 oz pilsner or pale ale
  • 1 ½ cups pineapple diced
  • 1 large jalapeno diced
  • ½ cup red onion diced
  • ¼ cup cilantro chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 8.5 oz bag Bourbon BBQ Kettle Chips
  • hoagie buns

Instructions
 

  • 1.Add the brats to a large 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.
  • 2.Add the brats to a pre-heated grill (grill pan will work as well) until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat
  • 3.Add the pineapple, jalapeno, onion, cilantro and salt to a bowl, stir to combine.
  • 4.Add the brats to the buns, top with salsa.
  • 5.Crush about ½ cup of chips, add the crushed chips to the top of the pineapple salsa. Don’t skip this, it adds an amazing texture and flavor!
  • 6.Eat the reaming salsa with the remaining chips.

 

Family Beer Waffles (that I wasn’t planning to share)

Family Beer Waffles: It Took 3 Years To Get This Recipe Right 

I decided ten minutes ago to share this recipe. It’s of the personal sort, the "not for a client, just for me," sort. It’s the recipe I’ve been tweaking for years trying to get just right.

It’s the recipe I make for family, or for people who feel like family, or for those I wish were my family. To be honest, I don’t always use beer. I’ve used La Croix, I’ve used Pelligreno, I’ve used sparkling apple juice. Really, it’s more about the bubbles than anything else.

So why now? Why decide to share this with you? I want to give you something I didn’t develop for any other reason than just to eat and enjoy. Most recipes I share here start with you in mind.

What will you like? What do you want to cook? What will you click on? This recipe started differently. It’s a simple recipe. Nothing sparkly or trendy, just my own fascination with perfecting my own version of classic dishes.

I remembered it this morning and wanted to share it with you. So that you can make them for your own family, or your own "I wish we were family," crowd. And I hope you like them as much as I do.

To be really honest, these aren’t even pictures of the waffles in this recipe. They’re just waffle photos I took 3 years ago and thought looked similar. I’m sure yours will be much prettier, the recipe I’m sharing is way better than what I used to make the waffles pictured.

 

Perfect Family Beer Waffles (that I wasn’t planning to share)

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 eggs separated
  • 150 ml 5 oz pilsner beer (can sub sparkling water)
  • 360 ml 12 0z milk
  • ½ cup 114g butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoon 4g vanilla extract
  • 3 ¼ cups 380g all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoon 27g cornstarch
  • 1 ½ teaspoon 5g baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon 5g baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • 1/3 cup 68g sugar, plus 2 tablespoon for egg whites

Instructions
 

  • Set out three medium mixing bowls.
  • Add the egg whites to one bowl, yolks to another.
  • Add the beer, milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the yolks, beat until well combined, light and fluffy.
  • In the third bowl (make sure this is the largest bowl, all ingredients will end up in this bowl) stir together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/3 cup sugar.
  • Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the yolk mixture, stir until well combined.
  • Gently fold in the egg whites. Cook in your waffle iron according to manufactures specifications (make sure to use cooking spray or melted butter if indicated).

 

I Want to Give You a Beer Fridge! + Grilled Lime and Herb Beer Chicken

Grilled Lime and Herb Beer Chicken

I have a beer fridge in my office!! There really isn’t a way to overstate how happy this makes me. My excessive stash of beer that once took up residence in my regular-food-fridge is now happily occupying a boozy-VIP-space in my office between some nerdy books and a weird ceramic head vase.

It was one of those, "why didn’t I do this sooner?" acquisitions that came almost by accident. The same day that I decided that it was well past time that I actually get a beer fridge, I get an email from New Air asking if they can send me one without obligation. Yes, of course the answer is yes.

And then it came! It’s stunning. It’s gorgeous. It’s the best thing I’ve taken ownership of since Chowder Jones. I haven’t ever (and I mean ever) been this in love with an appliance. For your own sake, check it out.

This is the SKU that they sent my way: Dual Zone Beer and Wine Cooler(it can do a different temperate for each side!)

And because you’re so awesome, I want to give you one, too. And because THEY are so awesome, they agreed. So it’s settled:

We are giving you this Black Beer and Beverage Refrigerator (not the same one I have, but it’s super amazing!) to one lucky winner.

Just three easy steps to enter:

  1. Follow @TheBeeroness on Instagram
  2. Follow @NewAirUSA on Instagram
  3. Leave a comment with your Instagram handle saying you do so.

No Instagram? No problem! Just share this post on Facebook, leave a link in the comments below to your post on Facebook (make sure it’s public so I can see it!)

I can’t wait to see who wins!

(Giveaway ends  March 28th, 2018. USA Addresses only)

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. *winner has been notified*

But you can still get one!

Use the code: BEERONESS at checkout at newair.com for 20% off!

 

I also have some chicken for you, because that’s how much I adore you.


Grilled Lime and Herb Beer Chicken

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup basil chopped
  • ¼ cup cilantro chopped
  • ¼ cup parsley
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
  • 3 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 large lime juiced
  • ¼ cup oil
  • 1 cup beer pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer, pale lager
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 lbs chicken drumsticks

Instructions
 

  • Add the basil, cilantro, parsley, green onions, garlic, lime juice and oil to a blender. Blend on high until well combined. Add the beer, pulse to combine.
  • Sprinkle salt liberally over the chicken.
  • Add the chicken to a large bowl or Ziploc bag. Add the marinade, cover (or seal), refrigerate for one hour or up to 12 hours.
  • Preheat a grill to medium high heat.
  • Add the chicken to the grill, brush with marinade. Grill on all sides until cooked through, brushing with marinade with each turn.
  • Serve immediately.

 

 

I was given a free beer and wine refrigerator by New Air, as well as one to give away. I was not monetarily compensated for this post. As always, all opinions, text, photos, and recipes are my own.  

Chipotle Pale Ale Polenta with Stout Braised Mushrooms

Chipotle Pale Ale Polenta with Stout Braised Mushrooms

Chipotle Pale Ale Polenta with Stout Braised Mushrooms

I have something to tell you. I’m writing another book, a cookbook, obviously. It’s a book I’ve wanted to write for a while, a book that I’m excited to create. It’ll focus on cooking with not only beer, but with in-season produce.

It’ll break down the seasons, what fruits and vegetables are grown (in the ground!) that time of year, and the recipes will highlight those amazing ingredients. Beer is seasonal, too and that will be incorporated in the recipes. Each season will bring you dishes that will make you want to grab a beer and raid your local farmers market.

I thought about this a lot, about how to truly make the produce the star of the show. How to focus on what’s amazing about each fruit or vegetable and make it shine. I decided that in order to do this, I needed to leave meat out of it.

It really needs to be produce focused. This (even as a meat eater), makes me the most excited. I love being able to bring out the best in these amazing ingredients, create dishes that don’t feel "without" just because the protein isn’t meat. I love veg food, and this book will be my love letter to it.

I’ll give you more details as I get closer to the release date. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Chipotle Pale Ale Polenta with Stout Braised Mushrooms

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Polenta:

  • 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup pale ale
  • 1 cup corn grits polenta
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ cup half and half or almond milk for vegan
  • 1 large chipotle peppers in adobo minced (seeds removed, if possible)
  • 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

For the Mushrooms:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped white onions
  • 6 cups chopped assorted mushrooms crimini, oyster, shiitake
  • 1/4 cup stout beer
  • 3 gloves garlic chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 large leaves of fresh sage minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Add the vegetable broth and beer to a saucepan, bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer.
  • Add the grits and salt, simmer, stirring occasionally until the grits have softened. Stir in the half and half (or almond milk), chipotle peppers and adobo, garlic powder and smoked paprika.
  • Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the onions, sauté until onions have softened and started to brown.
  • Add the mushrooms, cooking until the mushrooms have softened, about 15 minutes (keep the heat relatively low to get the most flavor out of the mushrooms without burning).
  • Add the beer, garlic, salt, pepper and sage. Cook until the beer is gone and the pan is mostly dry.
  • Plate the polenta, top with mushrooms, sprinkle with cilantro, serve immediately.

 

Mozzarella and Beer Pesto Stuffed Flank steak

Mozzarella and Beer Pesto Stuffed Flank steak

I was on top of a mountain last week and I saw a dinosaur. Not a real one, obviously, I’m not crazy. I’d taken a gondola ride up to the summit of Mount Rainier, the very top, no more left to climb.

There he was, right below the platform I stepped out onto. He was wearing a giant inflatable dinosaur costume as he clipped his boots into the bindings of his snowboard. Laughing, he threw a hang ten sign skyward as he started to rapidly glide towards the bottom of the mountain.

We. Were. On. The. Top. The literal top of the mountain, a 20° temperature drop from the bottom, steep downward trajectory on both sides of me. He didn’t just decide to snowboard down an entire mountain, but he was so confident in his abilities, he did so in a giant inflatable costume.

I want to be that confident in my abilities, in what I do. I want to be Dino-Confident (Confident-osauras?).  This is what I want. Because even if I CAN do dino-confident things, I still doubt myself.

Maybe THAT should be New Year’s goal. Let’s agree that we’ll try to believe in ourselves more, that we can find Inflatable Costume Confidence inside of us.

Mozzarella and Beer Pesto Stuffed Flank steak

Servings 6 -8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lbs flank steak
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 12 ounces pilsner or pale ale
  • ½ cup pecan pieces
  • ¾ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup packed fresh basil leaves torn
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons pilsner
  • 1 6oz ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into 1 inch slices
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil vegetable, olive, safflower

Instructions
 

  • Add the flank steak to a large baking dish. Sprinkle on all sides with the salt.
  • Reserve 3 tablespoons of the pilsner for the pesto, pour the remaining beer over the steak. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Add the pecan to a pan over high heat. Toss the pecans until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes (watch carefully, they burn quickly).
  • Add the pecans, Parmesan, basil, salt, pepper, and garlic to a food processor. Process until only small crumbs remain.
  • While the food processor is running, add the olive oil and reserved 3 tablespoons beer until well combined.
  • Add the flank steak to a flat surface, pat dry.
  • Cut the tapered ends of the flank steak to make a neat rectangle. Cover with parchment paper and pound with a meat mallet, heavy rolling pin or heavy pan until thin and even.
  • Spread the pesto evenly over the steak. Add a row of mozzarella lengthwise about 2 inches from the edge. Starting at the cheese edge, roll into a tight log.
  • Tie with kitchen twine.
  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook on all sides until well caramelized on the outside and the internal temp reaches 130° F.
  • Add steak to a cutting board, remove twine, slice into 2 inch circles. Serve immediately.

 

 

Beer Chicken Tortilla Soup

Beer Chicken Tortilla Soup, best 20-minute soup ever.

Beer Chicken Tortilla Soup

You’d be shocked if you knew how many nights I lay away wondering what you want me to make. Trying to predict what it is that you’ll take notice of, share, and love as much as I do.

Sometimes I go too far with it and make something side-eye-worthy like this, and sometimes I just make something I love and hope you love it, too.

This is the second one. I wanted something that reminded me of LA, of the older Mexican ladies who made me homemade tortillas and were forgiving about my toddler-like Spanish.

The women who sold tamales in Echo Park and would never use any cheese other than cotija (or maybe panela) in their food and topped everything with Crema. 

I wanted something warm and spicy so I could forget that I’m in Seattle and we’re in the thick of it right now. The Pacific Northwest is pretending like daytime doesn’t exist and we’re going from dawn to dusk with not really much in between.

It’s a soup for lovers, for pretenders, for those of us who don’t live in the present as much as we like to pretend we do. I’m already planning my escape to a warmer land, even if it’s just for the weekend.

For now, my warm escapes are mostly just soup and coffee.

Beer Chicken Tortilla Soup

Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 6oz can tomato paste
  • 2 dried negro chili pods stem and seeds removed, torn in pieces
  • 1 cup beer pilsner, pale ale, pale lager, Hefeweizen
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 3 large radishes thinly slices
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 avocado diced
  • ¼ cup cotija cheese crumbled
  • 4-8 tostadas crumbled (or fried tortilla strips)
  • 1/4 cup Mexican crema

Instructions
 

  • Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chili pods, and beer to a high powered blender. Blend on high until well combined.
  • Add mixture to a large pot over medium high heat along with the broth and all spices except the salt.
  • Sprinkle salt all over the chicken. Add the chicken to the pot to poach.
  • Once the chicken is cooked through, about ten minutes, remove from soup, shred using two forks, return to pot.
  • Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with remaining ingredients.

Notes

Garnishes are not optional. They make a big difference in the flavor profile and the balance of the soup. If you don't like radishes, try sliced jicama.Don't like cilantro? try green onions instead.

 

Punk in Drublic Beer Battered Buffalo Cauliflower (vegan)

Punk in Drublic Beer Battered Buffalo Cauliflower (vegan)

You know what’s punk rock? Beer. NOFX. Making a beer with NOFX. Pouring beer into your food. Deep frying things you aren’t supposed to deep fry. Fat Mike wearing brewing clamps as handcuffs.

You know else? Punk in Drublic—the dirty bastard child that resulted from the union of Stone Brewing and the NOFX guys—is really damn great.

And not just when you eat it with deep fried stuff. It’s an awesome beer that just so happens to be awesome with deep fried stuff. And buffalo sauce. And loud music.

But don’t take my word for it, crank up “The Separation of Church and Skate” so loud someone calls the cops, open some of that hoppy goodness, and find out for yourself.

Punk in Drublic Beer Battered Buffalo Cauliflower (vegan)

Ingredients
  

  • Canola oil for frying
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 12 ounces Stone Punk in Drublic beer
  • 3 cups cauliflower florets stems removed
  • ½ cup buffalo sauce
  • 2 tablespoons butter or vegan margarine melted

Instructions
 

  • Heat 4 inches of canola oil in a pot over medium high heat. Clip a deep fry thermometer on the side and bring oil to 350F, adjust heat to maintain this temperature.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, garlic powder and cornstarch.
  • Pour two tablespoons of the beer into a small container, set aside. Add the remaining beer to the flour bowl along with 2 tablespoons water, whisk until combined adding additional water to thin until the batter is the thickness of pancake batter.
  • Turn the oven to 175F. Place a wire rack over a baking sheet, add the baking sheet to the oven.
  • One at a time dip the florets into the batter until well coated, then add to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown on all sides, about 4 minutes, then transfer to the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm until all cauliflower is done.
  • Stir together the reserved beer, buffalo sauce, and butter.
  • Add the deep fried cauliflower to a bowl, drizzle with sauce, toss until well coated, serve immediately.

 

This post was a paid partnership with Stone Brewing. 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

Beer Cheeseburger Pie with Dill Pickle Potato Chip Crust

Beer Cheeseburger Pie with Dill Pickle Potato Chip Crust

This was the first recipe I ever cooked. Well, a variation of this, devoid of beer and with the inclusion of Bisquick. I was 9 and my mom asked me to pick a recipe I wanted to cook. I had no idea where to start. I didn’t know anything about cooking; I’d never even turned on a stove, or picked up a measuring cup. But I did know that I liked cheeseburgers and I liked pie, that’s pretty much all I needed to know when I read the title. We served our mash-up dinner with potato chips, which were used as scoops towards the end of the meal. A flavor and texture combo that was a solid win.

 

There is something about the food you first fell in loved with that will never leave you: cheeseburgers, pie, potato chips, pickles. Those will always be food that will comfort in a soul-satisfying way that the foods we fell in love with as adults just can’t.

My obsession with the new flavors of Kettle Brand Chips was renewed when I found out that have a dill pickle flavor. DILL PICKLE POTATO CHIPS! This is not a drill! They’re exactly what you want them to be and it just so happens that they pair excellently with both cheeseburgers and beer.

DON’T FORGET to enter the Kettle Brand Chips Birthday Giveaway. These prizes are so much fun: and ultimate road trip ($7000 package), a killer BBQ prize pack ($7000 package), or just some straight up cash ($3,500). Enter here: kettlebrand.com/birthday

Beer Cheeseburger Pie with Dill Pickle Potato Chip Crust

Ingredients
  

Crust:

  • 1 8.5 oz bag of Kettle Brand Dill Pickle Potato Chips
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 lbs ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • ½ cup pale ale
  • 1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 2 ½ cups cheddar cheese divided

Sauce:

  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons pickle relish
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon pale ale

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350F
  • In a food processor add the potato chips, process until just crumbs remain. Add the flour, processing until combined.
  • While the food processor is running, add the melted butter until well combined with the crumbs.
  • Press into a 9inch pie pan. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.
  • While the crust is baking, make the filling.
  • Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, cooking until softened and starting to brown. Add the beef, stirring and breaking up until starting to brown. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir in the beer.
  • Sprinkle with flour, stirring until thickened.
  • Add half a cup of cheese, stir until combined with the beef. Repeat with another half cup of cheese. Stir in the tomatoes.
  • Add the filling to the crust, sprinkle with the remaining 1 ½ cups cheese.
  • Put the pie in the oven just until the cheese has melted, about 3 minutes.
  • Stir together the sauce ingredients.
  • Serve the pie slices drizzled with sauce.

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

Indian Beer and Butter Chicken

15 minutes to this delicious dinner: Indian Beer and Butter Chicken

There’s a small Indian restaurant in LA, run by an amazing family from Delhi.  They cook family recipes for the masses who line up outside their doors. I’d make a call to this little spot when I was sick, or just too tired to leave the house. I’d place an order and ask if they deliver.

They didn’t, I knew this already. I’d sound sad and disappointed when they reminded me that they didn’t deliver. After a long pause, they’d ask where I lived. Just a few blocks away, I’d tell them.

They’d send their son over, in his old, faded red, Honda civic. He’d deliver it to me, always smiling, and tell me to feel better.

I did this about once a month. I think, towards the end, they were on to me. They knew that I hadn’t forgotten that they didn’t deliver, but they played along anyway.

The generosity, the butter chicken, and the Naan made me a loyal customer. I still miss that chicken, and nothing in Seattle has come close.

So I’ve started to tweak a recipe I got from a friend to try and recreate it. I love this version, even if it doesn’t come from a smiling restauranteur’s son, deliver in a compact economy car.


Beer and Butter Chicken

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • ½ white onion chopped
  • 1 lbs chicken thighs cubed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala spice mix
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¾ cup pale ale
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 7 oz plain Greek yogurt
  • Rice for serving
  • Chopped parsley

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
  • Add the onions, cooking until softened and starting to brown.
  • Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garam marsala, turmeric, ginger, smoked paprika, garlic powder and cayenne, stir to combine.
  • Add the chicken, cooking until browned (does not need to be cooked through at this point).
  • Stir in the beer, scraping to deglaze the bottom of the pan.
  • Stir in the tomato paste, then the Greek yogurt. Lower heat, simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
  • Serve over rice, sprinkle with parsley.

 

Buffalo Beer Chicken Wing Soup

Buffalo Beer Chicken Wing Soup

 

It occurs to me that in the event of a zombie apocalypse I have no useful skills. No one is weeks deep in a bunker, unshowered, clothes unchanged and thinks: "What I really need is someone to take a great picture of this MRE before I eat it."

Oh, but food! (you must be thinking this, please be thinking this of me). Sadly,  I can’t even keep an air plant alive, there is no hope I could re-populate the earth with produce. My only useful skill is the ability to improvise and the possibility that I can make expired canned goods edible.

This, my friends, is how my brain works. Years ago I woke up in a panic after too many zombies-eat-the-world dreams and I had to make a Zombie Plan in order to put my mind at rest and resume the ability to sleep.

So, I decided to make a soup out of just what I had on hand to test my ability to be useful in case of an apocalypse of some sort (possibly also fueled by current-political-climate-induced-fears, I’m sure).

Although the stop-motion-video would be of little use in the event of worldwide system failure, the soup turned out fantastic.

And yes, If you’re wondering, I really am that nuts. Sometimes. (most of the time).


Buffalo Beer Chicken Wing Soup

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Soup

  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup white onions chopped
  • 2 ribs celery chopped
  • 2 large carrots chopped
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless
  • 1 cup pale ale beer
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
  • ¼ cup buffalo wing sauce
  • ½ cup Mexican crema or 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper

Toppings:

  • 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbled
  • Chopped green onions
  • Chopped cilantro

Instructions
 

  • Melt the butter in a stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.
  • Add the onions, celery, and carrots, cooking until the vegetables have softened and started to brown.
  • In a shallow bowl stir together the flour, chili powder and salt.
  • One at a time dredge the chicken in the flour mixture until well coated.
  • Push the vegetables to the edge of the pot making a hole in the center. Add the chicken one or two at a time until seared on all sides.
  • Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over the pot.
  • Pour in the beer, scraping to deglaze the bottom of the pot.
  • Stir in the tomato paste, broth, and wing sauce.
  • Lower heat to medium, stir in the crema, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the broth has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with blue cheese, green onions and cilantro.

 

Day Two on the BC Ale Trail and Garlic Sriracha Beer Steamed Mussels

 Garlic Sriracha Beer Steamed Mussels

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BC Ale Trail and Tourism New West, Discover Surrey and Tourism Delta. All opinions and text are mine.

TO COME

Day two began how all days should begin: with fried chicken. River Market in New West is a destination all on it’s own. Fresh bread, craft coffee, homemade soap, produce, and restaurants. It’s a lovely place to get lost in. I impatiently waited outside the doors of Freebird Chicken Shack to get my hands on some of the fried chicken I’d been hearing so much about, and it didn’t disappoint.

My suggestions: Turmeric Fried Chicken, and Hot & Sour Fried Chicken Skin

Of course, after that I need a beer. I traveled a few miles to Central City Brewery, one of the most well distributed craft breweries in Canada. With award winning beer and spirits, it’s not hard to see why.

My suggestions: Sour No. 2 Sour Kriek

The afternoon was spent in one of the more unexpected locations: Crescent Beach, a charming little beach town that felt equal parts far away destination and small town quaint. I lingered over oysters, fish & chips, and beer at Hooked Fish Bar, then spent a few hours paddling around the inlet on a stand up paddleboard. An afternoon that went by too quickly and left a beautiful sun soaked memory.

The trip ended in the perfect way, a pot of garlic beer mussels and one of my favorite beers from Four Winds Brewing at Hawthorne Beer Market, a place I could have stayed for hours. The beer list was extensive, the food was fantastic, and the service was outstanding. It’s already bookmarked for my next trip up there. And there will definitely be a next trip.

Coming home I had to recreate the recipe, full of garlic, heat and beer, it was impossible to stop thinking about.

Garlic Sriracha Beer Steamed Mussels

Servings 2 to 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 5 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha
  • 1 cup pale ale
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 1 lbs live mussels cleaned, beards removed
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • Bread for serving

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot or deep skillet add the butter and cook until melted.
  • Stir in the garlic, salt, paprika, sriracha, beer and chicken broth, stir to combine, bring to a low simmer.
  • Add the mussels, cover and allow to cook until mussels have opened, about 5 minutes.
  • Discard any that didn't open. Sprinkle the parsley over the pan.
  • Serve with crusty bread.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BC Ale Trail and Tourism New West, Discover Surrey and Tourism Delta. As always, all opinions, photos and text are mine.

Grilled Garlic Beer Butter Lobster

Grilled Garlic Beer Butter Lobster

I needed a code word, a signal that it was too much. It was devised as a way to tell me that I needed to knock it down a few pegs. When I drink, I get a little less reserved and a little (a lot) more inappropriate.

The people in my life needed a code word to let me know that I needed to pull it back. The code is: "Mississippi." Which spawned the term "Mississippied" as in: "Jackie, you got Mississippied four times last night!"

I tell you this because although I seem a bit reserved on this platform, it’s not because I don’t want to spill my guts to you. I do, but it should only take place in an arena where it’s just between us, where it won’t be immortalized in digital print.

A venue where you can Mississippi me if it gets to be too much.

Last week was a reminder to me that I can do that, if we ever do meet for pints at a pub. After a post that was uncharacteristically vulnerable, I had so many of you reach out, ask if I was OK, tell me that you’d felt the same way from time to time.

So thank you. Thank you for reading what I write, responding to it, and reaching out when you have feelings too.

As a thank you, I made you some grilled lobster, it’s one of my favorite dishes to make for friends.

Grilled Garlic Beer Butter Lobster

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 4 large cloves garlic smashed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup IPA or pale ale beer
  • 4 lobster tails thawed, if frozen

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the grill to medium high.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, salt, and beer. Turn off heat and allow to steep for ten minutes.
  • Cut the lobster tails in half, lengthwise. Clean out any vein that may still be there.
  • Place the lobster tails in the pot of butter for ten minutes, allowing to soak in the butter.
  • Remove from butter (reserve butter).
  • Place lobster tails on the grill, cut side down, close the lid. Cook until the tails turn bright red and the flesh has turned white, about five minutes. Turn the tails over, baste with the butter mixture.
  • Remove from the grill, serve immediately.

 

British Columbia Ale Trail Trip and Cheddar Rosemary Beer Scones

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BC Ale Trail and Tourism New West, Discover Surrey and Tourism Delta. All opinions and text are mine.

 

I started to fall in love when I saw they’d named their fermenters after the Golden Girls. Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sofia stood in the corner of Steel & Oak Brewing Co., protecting the beer as the yeast began to work it’s magic. The beer, most of which are traditional German lagers, is fantastic. It was my fourth stop on an out-of-the-way tour of a small section British Columbia that I’d otherwise never go to. A small part of the country, just minutes from Vancouver, that I’m glad I was able to spend a few days exploring, glad to find the hidden gems that haven’t crossed my awareness until now. Steel & Oak left an impression and gave me a reason to drive the two hours north again soon.

My suggestion: Black Lager

As an off-the-beaten-path sort of traveler, I was thrilled to discover the places otherwise left off the touristy agendas. The places you remember far after you’ve returned home, the people and experiences that weave themselves into your traveler’s soul.

My two-day journey along BC Ale Trail’s New Westminster/Delta/Surrey Ale Trail began at a brewery that’s rapidly collecting awards and taking names, a force to be reckoned with in the BC beer scene: Four Winds Brewing. As an LA girl and self-proclaimed Taco Snob, I side eyed the offerings before I was completely blown away with how outstanding the tacos actually were, and how well they paired with the well-crafted beer.

My suggestions: Prawn Mousse Tostada and a Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour.

 

From there I followed the river, past rolling fields, to end up on a delightful little farm in Delta. Westham Farms is a stones throw but a world away from the busy city center of Vancouver.

My suggestions: raw honey, and ask what produce is in season.

I spent the evening in New Westminster, a section of town that’s had an inspiring rebirth that spawned a charming river front park. Just a block away from the adorable Westminster PierRiver Front Park I wandered through Columbia StrEAT Food Truck Festival, the largest one-day food truck festival in Canada, a great place for any food lover to spend a few hours. Craft beer? Homemade ice cream? Wood fire Pizza? Curry and Naan? Yes, yes I will have all of that.

Sitting at a table along the sidelines of the festival, sipping a beer and enjoying the food truck offerings, the city seemed to meander past me. The heat of the day had died a bit, and the warm breeze became a beautiful soundtrack to one of my favorite traveler activities: wandering through a new City.

Want to know what happened on the second day? Come back next week, I have so much more to share with you.

Until then, I decided to make a scone I’d found in a little café on the second day, and make it with Steel & Oak’s Royal City Ale I’d stowed away in my suitcase.

Cheddar Rosemary Beer Scones

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • Ingredients:
  • 2 cups 240g all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon 6g salt
  • 2 teaspoons 8g baking powder
  • ¼ cup 35g shredded cheddar (plus additional for topping)
  • 1 teaspoon 3g chopped fresh rosemary (plus additional for topping)
  • 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup 72g sour cream
  • ½ cup cold blond ale I used Steel & Oak Royal City Ale

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425F.
  • Add the flour, salt, baking powder, cheddar and rosemary to a food processor, pulse to combine.
  • While the food processor is running, add the butter cubes one at a time until well combined with the flour. Add the sour cream and beer, pulse until just combined.
  • Add the dough to a floured surface (it will be soft), gently pat into a circle about 1 inch high. Cut into 8 wedges.
  • Add the wedges to a baking sheet, top with remaining cheddar and rosemary.
  • Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. Serve warm.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of BC Ale Trail and Tourism New West, Discover Surrey and Tourism Delta. All opinions and text are mine.

 

Beer and Bacon Biscuits

Beer and Bacon Biscuits, the flakiest, most addictive biscuits ever!

I know what you’re thinking.

It’s almost Cinco de Mayo and I’m posting about Beer and Bacon Biscuits. But bear with me, this makes sense. This isn’t just hangover food. It’s THE hangover food, it’s carbs, and greasy bacon, and hair of the dog, all in one. It’s like a delicious magical hangover elixir, masquerading as brunch food.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, one that always surprises people: I’m a total lightweight. I don’t drink nearly as much as people think (the beer goes into the food!), and I get drunk quicker than most. Which sparked my love affair with session IPA’s, it was out of necessity not trend.

I’m also not a party when I’m hungover, I get a bit surly. I’m like a wet cat. I will, however, make some killer biscuits, using the fold-and-roll technique I learned a decade ago. It makes the most insanely flakey and light biscuits, you’ll want to steal it and pass it off as your own. That’s fine. Just make sure to buy me a beer for showing it to you. And make me biscuits the day when I’m hungover.

Beer and Bacon Biscuits

Servings 6 biscuits

Ingredients
  

  • 3 1/2 cup 420g all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon 12g baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoon 9g baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon 3g salt
  • 2 teaspoons 12g sugar
  • 8 tablespoon 88g cold bacon fat or unsalted cold butter (114g) cut into cubes (or a combination of both)
  • 1/3 cup 80g sour cream
  • 2/3 cup 5.5oz wheat beer
  • 2 tablespoon 28g melted butter
  • 6 strips of bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425F.
  • In a processor add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
  • Pulse to combine. Add the bacon fat (cold) or the cold butter, and sour cream, process until well combined.
  • Add the beer, process until just combined.
  • Add to a well-floured flat surface, pat into a rectangle. Using a cold rolling pin gently roll into a large rectangle, about 1 inch in thickness, using as few strokes as possible.
  • Sprinkle with chopped bacon.
  • Fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter about to go into an envelope. Roll lightly, once in each direction to about 1 inch thickness, sprinkle with bacon, fold in thirds again. Gently roll into about 1 1/2 inch thickness (this will give you flakey layers).
  • Using a biscuit cutter, cut out 6 biscuits. Place in a baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Brush biscuits with melted butter, sprinkle chopped bacon.
  • Bake at 425F for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

 

BBQ Beer Tex Mex Chicken Sliders

BBQ Beer Tex Mex Chicken Sliders in just 20-minutes 

Hi, my friends. I made something for you, something that seemed a bit of a necessity this week. A repurposing of things we’ve made in order to make it new. After those Beer Pickled Jalapeños we made, and the beer BBQ sauce, it just felt like I needed something that brought it together.

Two seemingly unconnected elements making sense in a new context. For reasons I have yet to pinpoint, I feel like I need that somehow. Like this is an obscure min-sandwich-metaphor for my life right now. I know, you can eye-roll that, I won’t hold it against you. I just needed to make order out or randomness, to connect dots, to make peace with two opposing forces.

I’m getting too deep for a sliders post, I appreciate that you’ve stayed with me in the midst of that, and for your graciousness, I have a recipe for you. A 20-minute-slider-metaphor to remind you that sometimes things don’t seem to connect, until they do. And then you wonder why you never saw it before.

Make some sliders, drink some beer, and let life fall into place this weekend. And then report back, I could use a little good news right now.

For this recipe, use Beer Pickled Jalapeños, and Beer BBQ Sauce

BBQ Beer Tex Mex Chicken Sliders

Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 12 sliders

Ingredients
  

  • 6 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups barbecue sauce recipe link above
  • 1 cup pale ale
  • 1 avocado sliced
  • ¼ cup cilantro sliced
  • ½ cup pickled jalapenos recipe link above
  • 12 slider buns

Instructions
 

  • Sprinkle the chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper.
  • Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.
  • Add the chicken thighs, searing on both sides.
  • Add the barbeque sauce and beer, lower heat to maintain a simmer. Turn the chicken over periodically. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
  • Remove chicken from pan, shred using two forks, return to sauce, simmer for 5 minutes.
  • In each of the slider buns add chicken, avocado slices, cilantro and a few pickled jalapenos. Serve immediately.