Pilsner/Pale Ale

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

25.11.2015 3 Comments

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

The next day is always better.

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

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

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

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

Either way, you’ll look brilliant.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipe: Black Friday Empanadas

Print Recipe

Servings 10 -12 empanadas

Ingredients

For the dough:

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

Filling:

Roasted turkey chopped
Mashed potatoes
Corn
Cheddar cheese

Instructions

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

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

18.11.2015 12 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sriracha Beer Mac N Cheese

Print Recipe

Total Time 15

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Notes

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

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup

23.09.2015 10 Comments

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup

You don’t have to make a decision.

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

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

10-Minute Tater Tot Beer Cheese and Chives Soup

Print Recipe

Total Time 10

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Notes

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

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating

11.09.2015 8 Comments

I grill pizza more often than I grill anything else. Unless you have a pizza oven in your backyard, it’s likely your best option when it comes to at home pizza cooking. Or, in this case, parking-lot-back-of-a-truck-with-a-portable-grill cooking. You get those lovely grilled char marks that you want when open flames are cooking your food, and it’s easy to modify to your guest eating persuasions.

Tailgate Pizza Tips:

Prep as much as you can ahead of time. If you’re making more than one pizza, write down the toppings you want for each, prep them all and store them in small containers to take with you. The dough can, and should, be made in advance. Just make sure to punch down the dough every 12 hours (literally just punch the middle of it to deflate, you can also grab the sides and pull to deflate). Pizza dough is best if it’s able to cold ferment in the fridge for a few days.

Don’t forget to bring a surface to roll out the dough. Some people like to use a rolling pin, while others think hand shaping the dough is the only way to go, it’s your call.

Brush the grates with olive oil to keep the dough from sticking. I sometimes oil the dough and flip it onto the grill like a giant pancake, but that’s just me.

You only want to grill the underside until it holds shape. It’s going back on the grill to heat the toppings and melt the cheese, undercooking it the first time will prevent overcooking it the second time.

Pizzas take about 8 minutes to cook, so they are easy to make as-needed. Plus they don’t take up too much room in the cooler, leaving you way more space for beer. Which, really, is the most important part.

I used Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce

BBQ Beer Brat Tailgate Pizza & How To Prep A Grilled Pizza For Tailgating

Print Recipe

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

For the Pizza Dough:

3 cups 360g bread flour
1 packet 2 ¼ tsp, or 21g rapid rise yeast
2 tsp 8g sugar
1 cup 226g wheat beer
3 tbs 42g whole milk
1 tbs 14g olive oil, plus 2 tbs (28g), divided
1/2 2g tsp salt

Toppings:

2 to 3 large beer brats raw
24 ounces beer wheat, pale ale, or brown ale
Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce link above
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 roasted red bell pepper chopped (from a jar is OK)
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
Oil for the grill

Instructions

Directions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the bread flour, yeast, and sugar, stir until well combined. In a microwave safe bowl, add the beer. Heat until 120F. Add the beer to the flour and stir until incorporated. Add the milk, salt and 1 tablespoon oil, stir with the dough hook until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Allow to rise in a warm room until doubles in size, about one hour. You can bake the dough at this point, but it’s best to punch down the dough, cover and allow it to rise again in the fridge from 12-18 hours.
Make the beer brats. In a pan with a lid add the brats and the beer, cover and simmer until the brats are cooked through, remove from pan.
Preheat the grill to medium high. Grill the brats until grill marks appear on all sides, about 3 minutes. Remove and slice.
Brush the grates with oil to prevent sticking . Place the dough on the grill (a pizza peel coated in flour or cornmeal will help) until grill marks start to appear. Flip the dough and very lightly grill on the underside, just until the dough holds shape. Remove from the grill, place on a work surface with the lightly grilled side down. Spread an even layer of BBQ sauce over the crust, top evenly with cheese, add sliced brats and red pepper.
Return to the grill, close the lid and cook until the cheese has melted, 3-5 minutes. Remove from grill, sprinkle with parsley (or cilantro), slice and serve.

Notes

Pre-prep (tailgating tips):
• Make the dough the night before, let it do a second rise in the fridge. You’ll have to have a space to roll it out when you get to the venue, so bring a large cutting board if needed. It’ll be best if you let it come to room temp before trying to roll out. 10 minutes in a car with the heater on should be fine.
• Boil the brats ahead of time, pack them in the cooler, grill and slice them on site.
• Have all your ingredients prepped and stored in small containers, ready to go when you need them, it’ll help make the process much easier.

Hot Beer Fried Chicken and Pepper Biscuits

24.07.2015 5 Comments

It’s a hectic Wednesday morning and I’m trying to get it all straight in my head. I have emails to answer, deliverables to finishes, calls to make. It makes me want to shut down. I’m not organized, that side of this slightly insane job that I’ve chosen for myself makes me want to crawl under a pile of coats, shut my eyes and pretend like it doesn’t exist. So I do what I do when I’m stressed out, I bake. Fortunately for my skinny jeans, I’m not a stress eater, I’m just a stress baker. I just want to make it, the process calms me down. It’s a small win for me when other things in my life have weighted me down, this tips the boat back upright, even if just for a few minutes.

Chicken and biscuits do it every time. Nothing soothes like an emotional salve the way the comfort food miracle cure of fried chicken does. Of course biscuits have been my go-to for years, just about 8 minutes and the smell of homemade biscuits starts to solve minor emotional problems. You can keep the lavender bath salts and the vanilla scented candles, I’ll take the smell of fried chicken, hot biscuits and a hoppy beer. Someone needs to make bath salts that smell like that. It’s way better than pumpkin spice.

Hot Beer Fried Chicken and Pepper Biscuits

Print Recipe

Servings 8 biscuits

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
8 tbs unsalted cold butter cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup wheat beer
2 tbs melted butter
¼ tsp course sea salt

For the chicken

1 cup pale ale
2 cups whole milk
1 tbs hot pepper sauce I used Chipotle Tabasco
1 lbs boneless skinless chicken, cut into 2 inch strips
2 cups flour
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
Honey optional

Instructions

Make the biscuits:

Preheat oven to 425F.
In a processor add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper and sugar.
Pulse to combine. Add the cold butter, process until well combined. Add to a large bowl.
Add the buttermilk and beer. Mix with a fork until just combined.
Add to a well-floured flat surface, pat into a rectangle. Using a cold rolling pin (preferably marble) gently roll into a large rectangle, about 1 inch in thickness, using as few strokes as possible.
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, 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 to 8 biscuits. Place in a baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Brush biscuits with melted butter, sprinkle salt.
Bake at 425 for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Make the chicken:

Add the pale ale, milk and Tabasco to a bowl. Add the chicken, cover with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and allow to chill for at least one hour and up to over night.
Add 3 to 4 inches of vegetable oil to a pot, clip a deep fry thermometer onto the side, heat oil to 375. Adjust heat to maintain that temperature.
In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder and salt.
One at a time remove the chicken from the marinade. Add to the flour bowl, tossing to coat, place it back into the milk bowl until covered with milk, then back into the flour bowl until well coated with flour.
Add chicken to a wire rack that has been placed over a baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the chicken pieces. Then add to the fryer. Fryer until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes.Return to the wire rack (this will kip it cripsy on all sides, Placing on a paper towel will make the under side soggy. Place in a 175F oven for up to 2 hours to make ahead.)
Split the biscuits adding one chicken per biscuit, drizzle chicken with honey (if desired) before adding top biscuit. .

Crispy Beer Battered Steak House Onion Rings

05.06.2015 7 Comments

Crispy Beer Battered Steak House Onion Rings

I was on a southbound flight a few weeks ago, the guy sitting next to me not picking up on my "I don’t talk to strangers on airplanes" vibes. He asked me what I did for a living, which is always a bit of a strange conversation when the answer is something along the lines of "I cook with craft beer, and then take pictures of it."

He rolls his eyes. "I hate that." I didn’t engage, I didn’t care what he hates or why he hates it. If he left me alone, I was fine with that.

After a few minutes of my not biting on his gem of a response to my chosen career, he gave up. "I mean….why does YOUR beer get to craft and other people’s isn’t? It seems so elitist."

Ahh…one of those guys. In his Brooks Brothers khakis and late 90’s briefcase he has decided what I’m allowed to call beer.

"What do you do?" I ask.

"I import. From China and Japan, teas mostly."

"Why? There is plenty of tea over here. Why not just use some grown in the US?"

He’s borderline outraged at the suggestion. "It’s not the same! The techniques people use, the old world skill, the attention to detail and process. People over there have a love for it, they consider it…."

"..a craft?"

Tense silence.

"So, are you saying that your tea is craft tea and maybe Lipton, isn’t?"

"…..oh. Um. Oh…"

I put my headphones in and ignore any more of his attempts to engage. The truth is craft breweries put quality above profit. They will sacrifice the amount they make on a beer in favor of using the best ingredients, but they won’t do it the other way around. There is a love and a respect for the product that can be felt in the industry. There is craft in every industry, with beer it’s just more obvious, more celebrated.

Now let’s talk food for a second. When making onion rings, the onion selection makes a big difference. Peel back those layers and all onions bring something different to your table. When selecting the best onion for your rings, you want a thick ring, lots of sweetness and a mellow flavor. Red onions don’t have the sweetness or the thickness you’re looking for. White onions are crisp and thick, but much too harsh and sharp in flavor. Yellow onions have more sweetness than white or red, but the layers tend to be fairly thin and the overall flavor can often be a bit sharper than is ideal. Your best bet is what’s known as a sweet onion.

Sweet onions have thick slices and a sweet flavor without giving you that sharp onion flavor that turns some away. The most common varieties are Walla Walla sweets, Maui, and Vidalia onions, all are the perfect choice for a thick batter and a quick deep fry and won’t leave you overpowered with a sharp onion taste.

For the beer, pick one that has some great carbonation and big flavor, those onion rings can take it. I like a pale ale or an IPA to get the job done.

Happy frying.

Crispy Beer Battered Steak House Onion Rings

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 large sweet onions
1 ½ cups buttermilk
2 cups flour divided in half
2 tbs cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp chili powder
1 tbs brown sugar
1 cup IPA beer
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
canola or peanut oil for frying

Instructions

Slice the onion into ½ inch slices, separate the rings. Place in a large bowl, cover with buttermilk. Refrigerate for 1 hour and up to overnight.
In a large bowl add 1 cup flour (reserve the other cup), cornstarch, baking soda, chili powder, brown sugar, stir to combine. Stir in the beer to make a smooth batter.
Add the remaining flour to a small bowl. Stir together the salt and panko in a separate bowl.
Heat three inches of oil in a pot over medium high heat. Use a deep fry thermometer to maintain 350 degrees.
One at a time remove the onion slices from the milk, dredge in flour until well coated, dip in the batter, then add to the panko to gently coat (if panko bowl becomes too saturated with the dip, toss it and fill the bowl with fresh panko). Fry on both sides until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
Remove from oil, place on a wire rack to cool.

Strawberry Jalapeno Beer Popsicles + A Craft Beer Whitewater Adventure

21.05.2015 10 Comments

I’m in the middle of class 4 rapids, the yellow raft I’m in is pinned on the right side to a giant boulder, the impossibly fast current is rushing over the left side of the boat and the raft is quickly submerged. Seven of us are waist deep in cold water, trying desperately to free ourselves, knowing if the boat flips, or if any of us are tossed out, it could be fatal.

“LEFT SIDE! BACK! BACK!” Our guide, known only to us as Iowa, is screaming directions at us. As the man in charge of getting us safely down the Tuolumne River, we do everything he says without thinking, hoping it works.

Jake, the firefighter from Ventura, jumps to the back of the boat, at the same time pushing hard against the boulder in an attempt to free the submerged raft. It works. With a sickening scrape, we feel the raft free itself. We slide backward down the rapids, pinging off several boulders before finding calm water and we all start to breathe again.

“Awesome job team, awesome job!” The smile has returned to Iowa’s face. “You guys are awesome.”

One mile down, seventeen to go. Let’s do this.

8 miles and dozens of rapids later we stop to set up camp on a remote river beach tucked away in the woods of Northern California, a short distance from Yosemite. I’m joined on this two day adventure by two guys from Sierra Nevada brewing, a mother and her two children on a memorial trip to honor the Patriarch of the family who passed away exactly one year earlier, a bachelor party of 7 guys up from Ventura California and two chefs from one of Northern California’s hidden gems, The Arnold Pantry. In so many ways, the perfect mix of people. Friendly, laid back, and all with their own story to tell. The ice chest with cold beer is opened up and two of the four kegs packed onto the gear boat by the Sierra Nevada crew are tapped and we all start to loosen up. It’s beer that has been hard-earned and tastes fantastic.

I jump in the make-shift kitchen, set up with a little more than a camp stove under the trees, to give Chip and Jeff a hand. While I’m immersed in cooking tasks, slicing bacon Chip spent three months making and peeling black garlic, the guides have set up a beautiful dinner scene, complete with candles and tablecloth covered portable camp tables. It’s gorgeous. The sunset is throwing silvery shards of light down a calm stretch of river bent around the beach we’ve claimed as camp for the night.

After the appetizer of house-cured bacon, black garlic and yellow tomato jam on turmeric avocado toast, our dinner is served to us by raft guides turned wait staff. Crispy pork belly over risotto and pickled asparagus, with a side salad of compressed watermelon and cucumber with feta and candied pecans. For dessert, there is a biscuit bread pudding with hand-whipped cream and sweet pickled cherries. Even if you were expecting more than hotdogs and store-bought marshmallows, you’d have been blown away. Even if you hadn’t spent an adrenaline packed day dodging boulders and trying to stay afloat, it still would be one of the best meals you’ve had all year. Add in the events of the day, the keg of beer just a few feet away, the gorgeous moonlight and the sound of the river, and it becomes magical. That’s the word for it: magical. We spent the rest of the night by the campfire, trading stories and failing in our attempt to drain the kegs.

By the time daylight rose over the mountains and we were served French toast with orange cream sauce, fresh berries and hot coffee, we felt like a small gang. Ready to tackle what the river had to serve us. Ready for another day of thrills, rapids, and laughing. And when that day finally came to an end, it felt too soon. It felt like we needed another keg, more spectacular food and more conversation.

I’m ready to go back.

For more information about the craft beer rafting trips, contact OARS. I highly recommend it.

Strawberry Jalapeno Beer Popsicles

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1.5 lbs strawberries
1 large or two small jalapenos, sliced
¼ cup sugar
12 ounces pale summer ale or Pilsner (I used Sierra Nevada Summerfest)

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth, allow the mixture to settle until the bubbles go down, about 15 minutes.
Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze until set, about 3 hours.

I was not compensated for this post, I was given a free trip without expectation or obligation. All opinions are my own.

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

08.05.2015 7 Comments

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

Sometimes I just need a second.

A second to take a breath. Of course I love the tumbling-forward-faster-than-I-can-keep-up-with pace that my life takes, but I need a second. Spring is the season to pause. The season to sit on the porch, long conversations with friends, favorites rediscovered, season. Maybe it isn’t a season to find out what new things you haven’t heard of yet, it’s a season to remember the things you already love and not even care why you love them.

It’s a vanilla cake, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, grilled chicken, favorite sunglasses, faded jeans kind of season. Sure, I love the new stuff constantly being thrown into my consciousness, but the old favorites have earned their space.

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Bluberry Filling-1

This is my season to take a breath and rediscover my favorites. Not justify why I like them, but to just sit and enjoy. In the spirit of this take a breath and remember to enjoy what you like, and to like what you like because you like it, here are my old favorites, the beers that have been with me since the beginning of this craft beer journey, the ones that will still be there when the dust settles on all the new trends. These are the craft beer equivalent of the guy who drives you to the airport at 5am and shows up to help you move.

Allgash // White

Deschutes // Black Butte Porter

Sierra Nevada // Pale Ale

Ballast Point // Sculpin

North Coast // Old Rasputin

Rogue Ales // Shakespeare Stout

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Bluberry Filling-2

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Blueberry Filling

Print Recipe

Servings 12 -18

Ingredients

Cake

½ cup unsalted butter softened
1 cups white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbs canola oil
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup pale ale or wheat beer
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbs corn starch
¼ cup pale ale or wheat beer or blueberry beer
¾ cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325.
Add the butter and both kinds of sugar to a stand mixer. Mix on high until well creamed, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs and vanilla, stopping several times to scrape the bottom to insure everything is well combined.
Add the oil, cream and beer, mixing until well combined.
Stop the mixer, sprinkle with flour, baking powder and salt, stir until just combined.
Pour into a 9X13 baking pan that has been greased and floured.
Bake until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly touched, 23-26 minutes.
While the cake bakes, make the blueberry filling. In a pot over medium high heat add the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and beer. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until thickened. About 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
Allow cake to cool completely, transfer to a flat surface. Using a 1 to 2 inch cookie cutter, cut out 12-18 shapes.
IN a stand mixer add the heavy cream, vanilla and powdered sugar. Beat on high until medium peaks form.
Slice the shapes in half, like splitting a hamburger bun (alternately you can use one shape for the top and another for the bottom).
Fill the shapes with blueberry filling and whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve.

Vanilla Beer Cake Bites with Bluberry Filling-3

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce & How to Stock A Summer Beer Tub

15.04.2015 No Comments

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce

A summer evening dinner party on the patio, the perfect guest list, beautiful food, the right playlist, and of course, the right offerings in the beer tub. Stocking a beer tub for a party is as important as planning the food. It’s as much about offering your friends their favorites as it is about introducing them to new ones.

When planning the brew menu keep in mind the types of drinkers you’ve invited as well as how far you want to push their palates. Use it as an opportunity to show your friends how great beer is, not to use your preference for craft beer to alienate people and act like an asshole. It can be a fine line, but remember, if someone shows up at your door with a case of Stella, just smile and thank them and remember that you are socially obligated to add it to the beer tub. If you feel the urge to launch into a diatribe about green bottles, imported mass produced lagers or the importance of supporting local beer, just stop talking. Don’t be that guy.

Wheat beer.: Recommended: Hangar 24 // Orange Wheat, Allagash // White, Bell’s // Oberon Ale, Dogfish head // Namaste

Pilsners: Recommended: North Coast // Scrimshaw, Oskar Blues // Mama’s Little Yella Pils, Victory // Prima Pils

Session IPA’s: Recommended: Founders // All Day IPA, Firestone Walker // Easy Jack IPA, Lagunitas // DayTime,

Classic Pale Ales: Recommended: Sierra Nevada // Pale Ale, Stone // Pale Ale, Oskar Blues // Dales Pale Ale

A Little Something Different. For the guy who only drinks Newcastle, grab a Big Sky // Moose Drool. For your friend that only drinks sweet white wines, grab a Dogfish Head // Festina Peche. For your friend who refuses beer in all forms, try a Finn River // Black Current Cider. For your friend who always wants something new and is up for trying anything, Victory // Kirsch Gose

When filling the beer tub you want to offer beer that’s accessible to your guest but with a slight push to try something new. My last party had the following: Allagash white, Moose Drool, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Scrimshaw and a bomber of Rogue Sriracha Stout for the brave souls.

I served it with this homemade beer flatbread. SO good.

Moroccan Beer Chicken with Herb Yogurt Sauce

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Chicken:

½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp paprika
1 cup pale ale
2 tbs olive oil divided
1 lbs chicken thighs boneless and skinless, chopped into bite sized cubes

Yogurt sauce & Tomatoes:

1 cup grape tomatoes
½ red onion chopped
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
2 cups Greek yogurt
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
½ tsp garlic powder
Rice for serving

Instructions

In a large bowl stir together the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, nutmeg, paprika, 1 tablespoon olive oil and beer. Add the chicken cubes. Cover and allow to marinate for 2 hours and up to 12.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Add the grape tomatoes and onions to a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Roast for 10-12 minutes or until blistered.
Remove chicken from the marinade, pat dry.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
Add the chicken, cooking on all sides until cooked through.
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter, top with tomatoes and onions.
In a small bowl stir together the yogurt, lemon juice, cilantro, mint, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Serve yogurt sauce along side chicken and tomatoes.

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

10.04.2015 16 Comments

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

The start of grillin' season also ushers in the start of session beer season. A session beer, for those new to the brew, is a beer with lower alcohol content. Most session beers range between 3% and 5% ABV, making them easy to consume over a long drinking session, hence the name.

Session beers, especially session IPA’s are exactly what you want to fill that beer tub with this summer. Don’t try to assert your manhood with a galvanized bucket full of 11% monsters, it doesn’t impress anyone. A beautifully balanced, crispy and well-hopped session IPA is exactly what you need to devote most of that beer tub space too. You want your guests, as well as your grill-tending self, to be able to enjoy beer all afternoon without becoming a cautionary tale. Session beers let you drink more and still have full control of exactly how obnoxious you truly want to be.

I recently got my hands on a 21st Amendment Down to Earth session IPA. It’s citrusy, tropical, crispy, refreshing, and the perfect level of hops for a session beer. Not a giant hop bomb, but beautiful and bold hop flavors. It’s insanely drinkable and will make a regular rotation in my beer tub this summer.

Have a favorite summer beer? Let me know about it, I’m always on the prowl for a new summer beer.

Beer Brined Pork and Pineapple Skewers with Apricot Chili Glaze

Print Recipe

Servings 10 to 12 skewers

Ingredients

1 ½ cups hot water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs brown sugar
12 ounces chilled pale ale
¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
1.5 lbs boneless country style pork ribs* cut into bite sized cubes
2 cups pineapple cubed
1 cup 11 wt oz apricot preserves
1 tbs Sriracha chili sauce
¼ cup pale ale or IPA beer

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the hot water, salt and sugar, stir until dissolved. Add the beer and soy sauce, stir to combine, allow to cool to room temperate.
Skewer the pork and the pineapple, alternating between the two. Add to a baking pan, pour the brine over the skewers, cover and chill for 1 to 6 hours.
In a small bowl combine the apricot, chili sauce, and ¼ cup beer, stir until well combined.
Preheat the grill to medium high.
Remove the skewers from brine, pat dry. Brush with glaze.
Add skewers to the grill, turn and brush with glaze every one to two minutes. Grill until pork is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Notes

*If you can’t find country style pork ribs, lean towards a fattier cut of pork. Leaner cuts, like the loin and the chops, are much more likely to be dry and flavorless.

Chili Con Queso Cerveza Crostini + Huge Cookbook Giveaway

16.03.2015 88 Comments

On a tall shelf in my kitchen sits my grandmothers copy of The Joy of Cooking. A thick, vintage, hard backed book with a faded red ribbon that marks the Candied Sweet Potatoes recipe on page 325 that she made every Thanksgiving. Flipping through the yellowed pages, reading her notes scrawled in the margin, I get to connect with her years after she’s left us. I get to cook with her in a way I never did when she was alive. Her note about adding sage to the stuffing, or freezing her pie crust for ten minutes before baking it, are conversations we were never able to have. If there is one type of book that I will always want in the print version, it’s a cookbook. I want to feel the pages, make my own notes, and someday pass it down to my future grandchildren. It becomes a conversation between decades, an engagement among generations, that connects people in a way that nothing other than food has the ability to do.

I’ve joined a group of fantastic bloggers to giveaway a dozen beautiful cookbooks. I own about half of these, some of my favorite cookbooks ever written. How to Cook Everything is essential, Bouchon Bakery is so beautiful it can double as a coffee table book, and the Cooks Illustrated Cookbook is a must own. One winner will win all twelve, a full cookbook library that will bring years of fantastic meals and unforgettable memories. Make the recipes, make your own notes, and keep them for generations.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Open to USA and Canada only)

Chili Con Queso Cerveza Crostini

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 tbs butter
1 jalapeno stemmed seeded and chopped
1 poblano stemmed seeded and chopped
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded jack cheese
2/3 cup IPA
8 ounces cream cheese
3 tbs corn starch
2 french baugettes sliced into ½ inch slices
1/3 cup cilantro minced
2 large avocados sliced
1 large tomato diced

Instructions

Preheat broiler.
In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Add both types of chopped
peppers cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
In a food processor add the cheddar, jack cheese, beer, cream cheese and
cornstarch. Puree until smooth, about 5 minutes. Add to the pot with the peppers,
stirring constantly until thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet. Place under broiler until lightly
browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Flip each slice and brown on the opposite side under
broiler, about an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
Spread each toasted baguette slice with a generous amount of chili queso dip.
Sprinkle with cilantro, top with tomato and avocado, Serve immediately.

Visit the other blogs that are participating:

savorysimple.net
bakeaholicmama.com
foodnessgracious.com
tasteloveandnourish.com
alldayidreamaboutfood.com
lifesambrosia.com
unegaminedanslacuisine.com
abrowntable.com
veryculinary.com
cookingwithbooks.net
cravingsofalunatic.com

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

13.03.2015 13 Comments

Irish Apple Beer Cake with boozy whipped cream

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)

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

Print Recipe

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
1 tablespoon of Whiskey or 2 tablespoons beer

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.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Pomegranate Guacamole

06.03.2015 2 Comments

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Pomegranate Guacamole

The first time I had fish tacos I was somewhere off the coast of Mexico. I was 17, sunburned and a little confused. After a few crumbled pesos changed hands I was hastily pushed onto a boat, clung to an orange vest for about twenty minutes and gratefully exited the floating death trap onto the beach of what looked like an uninhabited country.

A small woman with sun-leathered featured stood watch near a metal grate set over a hole in the ground. From the beach I could see the flames jumping up to lick the shrimp she was tending. I didn’t say a word, hunger pushing towards the wooden bench in the designated eating area. The other castaways that had ended up on the boat with me followed suit.

The "tour" guide shoved a Corona into one of my hands, not bothering to inquire if I wanted it, and motioned to a bowl of pickled radishes and carrots on the table. A few minutes later a wooden plated piled high with grilled shrimp was set in the middle of the rickety plastic table, along with a stack of homemade corn tortillas, a bowl of diced onions, a bit of cilantro and modified ketchup bottled that had been reused as a homemade hot sauce dispenser.

I didn’t care that the health department in the US would have had a heart attack looking at this place, I didn’t care that there was clearly no running water, gloves or hand washing options. I didn’t care that I had no idea where the shrimp came from. I was starving.

I chugged my sub-par beer, and ate my weight in beer battered fish tacos.. They were amazing. The hot sauce was the best I’ve ever had, and the tortillas were perfect. Since then, I want my tacos simple. Homemade tortillas, some diced onions, maybe some hot sauce or guacamole. No lettuce. No cheese. No sour cream. No ground beef.

But I’ll put pomegranate on anything and beer, beer is always a must.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos with Pomegranate Guacamole

Print Recipe

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

For the tortillas:

2 cup masa harina corn flour
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup room temperature beer

For the Guacamole:

2 large avocados
juice from one lime
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
¼ cup cilantro chopped (plus additional for tacos)
¼ cup red onion chopped (plus additional for tacos)

For the fish:

1 cup flour
¼ tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup pale ale
Oil for frying
1 pound cod cut into 3 inch strips

Instructions

Make the tortillas:

In a large bowl, add the masa and the salt, stir to combine.
Add the beer and oil, stir to combine. If the dough is too dry to hold together, add additional beer or water. If it is too wet, add more Masa. (It should be the consistency of soft Play-Doh)
Form into balls a bit larger than golf balls.
Prepare a tortillas press by wrapping in plastic wrap or covering with parchment paper (you can place tortilla ball between two sheets of parchment and use a rolling pin). Place one ball in the center.
Press, rotate and press again until thin.
Heat a griddle (or cast iron skillet) to a medium high heat (about 350 for electric griddles).
Cook until slightly brown on the bottom (about 30 seconds to a minute) flip and cook on the other side. Don’t overcook.

Make the guacamole:

Add the flesh of the avocado, lime juice, garlic powder, chili powder and salt to a bowl, smash until well combined. Stir in the pomegranate seeds, cilantro and red onions.

Make the fish:

In a medium bowl add the flour and salt. Make a well in the center, add the egg and beer. Stir with a fork until just combined.
Heat about 2 to 3inches of oil in a pot over medium high heat. Bring to 350 degrees using a deep fry thermometer, adjust heat to maintain that temperature.
One at a time dip the fish strips into the batter until well coated. Add to the oil, fry until golden brown on all sides.
Fill the tortillas with fish, guacamole and sprinkle with onions and cilantro.

Maple Bacon Beer Waffles

04.03.2015 11 Comments

Maple Bacon Beer Waffles. Win at breakfast.

Every day you have a flight. A flight of meals that starts with breakfast. Maybe it’s a hastily consumed piece of toast as your rush out the door, or a Grande cup of caffeine, or maybe you miss out in favor of a few extra minutes of sleep.

Then there are those days when you invite over those few special people you know that are worthy of a meal eaten around your table just past dawn. Maybe it’s overnight guests, maybe it’s out of towners, maybe it’s brunch for people that you don’t see nearly enough. Breakfast people, these are the special ones.

Let’s say we started to categorize meals according to how much we like people we are willing to share them with. At the bottom of the pyramid would be the mid-day coffee meet up, then slightly more important people get a lunch date, we are more inclined to share evening drinks with people we like a bit more than the lunch set, then we have those that earn the time we can linger over dinner, but it’s the ones we share breakfast with that are the most important. Because I’ll pretty much have coffee or a beer with anyone, but if you can get me out of bed in the morning to make you breakfast, then you’re really important. But you better buy me a beer later for my trouble.

Maple Bacon Beer Waffles

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

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 tablespoons 28g real maple syrup
2 teaspoon 4g vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups 400g all-purpose flour
3 tablespoon 27g cornstarch
1 ½ teaspoon 5g baking powder
1 teaspoon 5g baking soda
1 teaspoon 6g salt
1/4 cup 50g sugar, plus 2 tablespoon for egg whites
4 strips bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions

Set out three medium mixing bowls.
Add the egg whites to one bowl, yolks to another.
Add the beer, milk, melted butter, maple syrup, 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, bacon, and ¼ 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).

Sriracha Lime Beer Corn Fritters

25.02.2015 11 Comments

Sriracha Lime Beer Corn Fritters. Perfect appetizer in just 15 minutes.

It’s been a year.

One year since I packed a moving truck full of my Los Angeles life, threw my bulldog in my car, and headed north. 12 months since I drove the length of Highway 1 through Big Sur, up into Oregon and onto a new life in Seattle. Four seasons, a comprehensive life change, a second book, several personal tragedies, two magazine award nominations, and one hop harvest season.

Hand over my heart, I can swear to you that I love it. I love Seattle more than I expected, more than I even wanted to. The SoCal girl in me was terrified of the winter, which made it even more shocking that I found it gorgeous and mild. I don’t mind the rain, and it comes much less often than I’d prepared myself for. The beer is fantastic. The produce is world class.

The people are fascinating. They’re recyclers, runners, coffee drinkers, friendly but reluctant to make friends, well traveled homebodies, locavores and craft-everything lovers. It’s a culture I feel comfortable in.

And the beer is even better than I’d hoped and the scene is expanding in a way that I can’t even keep up with. I’ll never be bored here, I’ll never run out of new breweries to visit or beers to sample. There will always be people to meet, beer to drink, dishes to cook. I’ve made my home here, I’ve found a space, and I can’t wait for more of all of it.

Sriracha Lime Beer Corn Fritters

Print Recipe

Servings 24 fritters

Ingredients

¾ cup flour
¼ cup corn meal
½ tsp baking powder
2 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup corn kernels thawed if frozen
¼ cup sour cream
1 tbs sriracha
1/3 cup pale ale
1 tbs lime juice about 1 large lime
2 tbs chopped cilantro
Canola oil for frying

Instructions

In a large bowl add the flour, corn meal, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, and corn kernels, stir until well combined.
Make a well in the center, add the sour cream, sriracha, pale ale, lime juice, and cilantro, stir until well combined.
Heat about 1 inch of oil in a pan over medium high heat.
Add about ½ tablespoon of batter to the oil (a small mellon baller works well), adding 6 to 8 small scoops of batter at a time. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.

Notes

If fritters cook too quickly on the outside and the inside is still raw, either the oil is too hot or the fritters are too large. Try to first reduce the heat of the oil, then reduce the size of the fritters to fix the problem.

Glazed Doughnut Beer Cake

20.02.2015 13 Comments

Glazed Doughnut Beer Cake. A cake that tastes like a big doughnut.

I made you a cake.

It tastes like a doughnut. I knew you’d like that, which is why I made it for you before I sit here and ask you for a favor.

I’m much more comfortable when things are the other way around. When you ask me for things, like dessert recipes, or beer recommendations or ideas on how to use up a batch of particularly bitter blueberry Kolsch you have no idea what to do with. Today, that isn’t our arrangement. Sure, I’m still here for that. I’ll still help you figure out what to make for your boyfriends parents when they come for dinner. But today, I’m asking you for a few clicks in my favor.

The Beeroness was chosen by the editors of Better Homes & Gardens as one of the top ten cooking blogs on the entire internet, and now they are letting real life humans vote.

Here’s that favor I was talking about, it’s just a few clicks to vote for The Beeroness.

1. Visit the BGH Blogger Awards.

2. Click "Skip This Category" (or vote) until you get to Every Day Eats category.

3. Click "Select" under The Beeroness, which is on the right side of the middle row.

Thank you, I owe you one.

Here’s a cake that tastes like a giant doughnut, I hope you like it.

Glazed Doughnut Beer Cake

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Cake:

2 tbs unsalted butter softened
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup pale ale
½ cup buttermilk
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbs buttermilk
2 tbs pale ale
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter, vegetable oil and both kinds of sugar. Beat until well combined, light and fluffy, about 6 minutes.
One at a time add the eggs, beating until well combined between additions.
Add the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt and vanilla, beat until well combined, light and fluffy.
Turn the mixer on low, stir in the pale ale and buttermilk.
Sprinkle with flour, stir until just combined.
Grease a large loaf pan, pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
Stir together the powdered sugar, buttermilk, pale ale, and vanilla until smooth. Pour glaze over cake before serving.

Pale Ale and Baby Kale Creamy Pesto

13.02.2015 4 Comments

Pale Ale and Baby Kale Creamy Pesto, this five-minute sauce is a game-changer.

If you’ve ever waited tables, you’ve had this nightmare.

You’re slammed. Every table in your section has been sat all at once, plus the section you’re covering for the guy who was cut early. You have 17 four tops. The computer is broken and the cooks aren’t making your food. The bar isn’t making your drinks and the runner is on a smoke break. Your heart is pounding. For some reason, you also can’t move as fast as you want, as if you’re trudging through waist-high mud. You’re being yelled at by every customer.

I’ve worked with gang members in South Central Los Angeles but the only job that ever gave me nightmares was waitressing. The pathetically over reaching people pleaser in me fills with anxiety at the thought of letting people down. Which is one (of the many) reasons I always have beer in my house, liquor in my bar, and even though I don’t drink it, white wine in my fridge. This fear has also implanted in me the need to be ready to entertain at a moment’s notice. What if people come over! What if the FedEx guy is hungry! I’m like an Italian grandma, I just want to feed you. Until I figured out how easy it is to make pesto, I used to keep it stashed in my fridge for people feeding emergencies. Add it to potatoes, noodles, make a creamy pesto dip, even put it in some melted butter and serve with cocktail shrimp. It’s a got-to. It’s the most impressive thing you can make in five minutes. Unless of course, you’re too busy with serving 17 parties of 4 all at once.

Pale Ale and Baby Kale Creamy Pesto

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups packed baby kale
½ cup basil leaves
¼ cup pecans
1 clove garlic smashed
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
3 tbs pale ale
3 tbs olive oil
½ cup sour cream

Instructions

Add the kale, basil, pecans, garlic, salt, pepper, and beer to a food processor. Process until well combined.
Add the olive oil in a slow steady stream until well combined.
Add the sour cream, pulse to combine.
Use immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

How to Make The Creamiest Baked Mac N Cheese: Gouda Cheddar Beer Mac

26.01.2015 13 Comments

How to Make The Creamiest Baked Mac N Cheese: Gouda CheddThe Creamiest Baked Mac N Cheesear Beer Mac. Perfectly cheesy and creamy every time!

For something so seemingly simple, it’s easy to get this wrong. It’s easy to end up with dried up pan of overcooked noodles in a curdled sauce. It’s easy to spend too much time and too much money on something that you just want to toss in the trash. I’ve devised a plan, a set of rules to make sure you don’t have to endure that tragedy again. I’ve got your back.

1. Cheese choice. Expensive cheese is great, it’s my spirit animal. But it’s best eaten in it’s natural state. Save the cheese, and your money, and go with cheddar. White cheddar melts better than the yellow/orange versions giving you a creamier sauce. I also use a bit of gouda, not crazy expensive, and melts beautifully. I also dig a smoked version for a little kick.

2. Roux + cornstarch = a must. You can’t get a creamy sauce without a solid roux backbone. The flour expands in your sauce to hold it together and gives it weight and thickness. The cornstarch holds the beer in place and keeps it creamy and prevents it from separating.

3. Cook dry noodles in the cheese sauce. Don’t boil them first. Just drop your dry noodles into your sauce. The starch from the noodles with thicken the sauce and the cheese will inject flavor into the noodles. But only cook them about half way, they will continue to cook in the oven.

4. Undercook. Twice. First, undercook the noodles on the stove top. You’ll be cooking them again in the oven so you just want to give them a small head start. Second, don’t over bake in the oven or you’ll dry out the sauce.

You don’t really have anything to cook, you’re just browning the panko. Some recipes will tell you to bake for 45 minutes, all this does is turn the cheese to a solid and dry your sauce. Some people like that. Some people want to be able to cut a square of mac n cheese and place it on the plate beside the BBQ’d ribs.

If you don’t want that, if you want scoopable mac n cheese, don’t bake it too long. Just brown the panko and take it out of the oven.

5. Size matters. Look for large elbow macaroni, not those little guys. The big ones are better at trapping that creamy sauce.

You’re ready. You can do this. You’ll have the best mac n cheese on the block and it’s up to you if you want to share your secrets. Or just make them wonder how you do it.

Creamy Baked Gouda Cheddar Beer Mac

Print Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter
3 tbs flour
2 tbs corn starch
3 cups whole milk
12 ounces beer pale ale, pilsner, wheat beer
1 tsp mustard powder
½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 lbs about 6 cups white cheddar, shredded
7 wt oz about 3 ½ cups gouda, shredded
4 cups large elbow macaroni
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
3 tbs melted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter. Sprinkle with flour and cornstarch, whisk until a paste forms.
Add milk and beer and bring to a simmer.
Sprinkle with mustard powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.
Slowly add the cheese in, about ¼ cup at a time, whisking until well combined before adding more. Reserve about 1 cup of cheese for the topping (a mixture of both cheeses).
Add the dry noodles to the cheese sauce, allowing to cook until just before al dente, not cooked through, stirring occasionally. This will take about 8 minutes.
Pour into a 4 qt baking dish in an even layer.
Top with remaining cheese. Toss panko with melted butter until well coated. Sprinkle panko evenly on the top of the macaroni.
Bake at 400 until panko has browned, about 15 minutes.