Secret Ingredient Smooth and Creamy Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce

Secret Ingredient Smooth and Creamy Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce

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

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

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

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

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

Yum

Secret Ingredient Smooth and Creamy Beer Nacho Cheese Sauce

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 3 cups

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

Notes

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

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Beer Caramel Sauce: Jalapeno IPA Caramel

Beer Caramel Sauce: Jalapeno IPA Caramel

Jalapeno Beer Caramel sauce is something you could easily side-eye. I get that. What do you even do with it?! Don’t you worry, I’ve got that covered.

Not only am I hooking you up with a super easy caramel sauce recipe, I’ve also got some really easy ideas of how you’re just dying to use it (you are, trust me).

First: Grilled Pineapple with Jalapeno Beer Caramel Sauce. Didn’t I tell you? You just oohhh-ed to yourself thinking about it. But I have some more, I’ve thought about this for a bit.

Chicken and Waffles with Jalapeno Beer Caramel Sauce
Vanilla Ice Cream with Jalapeno Beer Caramel Sauce
Mini Doughnuts with Jalapeno Beer Caramel Dipping Sauce (right?!)
Sour Apples with Jalapeno Beer Caramel Dipping Sauce

You see what I’m saying? I know that at first sight it might not seem like something you’d want to make due to lack of possible uses, but there you go. Now you not only have a recipe for a quick and memorable caramel sauce, you also have recipe ideas as well as a great reason to open a beer.

You’re welcome.

I used this amazing DIPA from Barrage Brewing Company that I loved before I even opened it because of the name, obviously. (Thanks @InkedBeerLover for sending it my way!)

Yum

Beer Caramel Sauce: Jalapeno IPA Caramel

Ingredients

1 cup (200g) sugar
½ cup (4oz) IPA beer, plus 2 tablespoons (30mL)
2 tablespoons (28g) butter, cut into cubes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 large jalapeno, sliced
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Add the sugar, and ½ cup beer to a pot over high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then don’t stir again until the end. Swirl the pan to redistribute the sugar when necessary.
Boil until dark amber in color, about 6 minutes, remove from heat.
Immediately stir in the butter, salt, jalapeno, heavy cream and remaining beer (it’s best to have this all prepped and ready to go prior to this step).
Stir until the butter has dissolved. Allow to steep for ten minutes.
Remove the jalapenos.
Add the sauce to an airtight container, store in the fridge until ready to use.

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http://thebeeroness.com/2018/08/07/beer-caramel-sauce-jalapeno-ipa-caramel/

Stout Beer Barbeque Sauce

Stout Beer Barbeque Sauce

She told me what it takes to be really lucky. To live a life that helps you slip quietly into content satisfaction once you’ve finished it.

I was alone on a train and she sits down next to me, assigned seats that are little more than a formality but beg us to behave and sit where we’re told even with a healthy sprinkling of empty seats nearby. She’s much older than me, much older than even my mom, and in a reflective state that makes me wonder if she feels like she’s nearing that quiet satisfaction.

“If you’re lucky,” she pauses to adjust the oversized bag on her small lap, “you’ll live several lifetimes before you’re done. I have.” She starts to list them, ranch kid, dressage prodigy, rebellious teen, ballet dancer, waitress, society wife…. The transitions are always accompanied by a happenstance rebirth. It makes me wonder if you always know the rebirth when it happens or only when it’s over?

I’m feeling on the brink of rebirth at the moment, for no particular reason. Things always tend to shift in my life, I’ve already had so many lives, more than someone my age should have been allowed. My stories are just a consolation from the journey.

Maybe it’s just the way you feel when spring shows up, always late to the party and overdue. Maybe it’s just because I can’t wait to shed the winter and slip into something warmer. I want to cook outdoors, slather everything in barbecue sauce, drink session IPA’s and run around barefoot. If that’s the only rebirth I have waiting for me this year, I’m OK with that. As long as it’s accompanied by this sauce. and a cold beer.

Yum

Stout Beer Barbeque Sauce

Yield: 1 ½ cups

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
6 oz tomato paste
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoon sriracha
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup Stout
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic.
Add the remaining ingredients, cooking until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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http://thebeeroness.com/2017/04/26/stout-beer-barbeque-sauce/

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

This is a game changer.

It’s the “best cranberry sauce ever” for cranberry sauce people, also for I-don’t-like-that-stuff people, and even for “don’t judge, but I like the phallic looking, ridged, gelatinous, canned version, don’t hate” people.

It’s smokey, spicy, and has a slight hint of beer. A recipe that requires you to open a beer, then “figure out” what you should do with the remaining 1/2 cup.

It’s also a make ahead, one step, one pot, fifteen minute dish that makes holiday prep easy.

We can do this. We can make it through the holidays. Although we may need much more than 1/2 cup beer to helps us get that job done.

Yum

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

12 wt oz fresh cranberries
1 cup white ale*
1 cup sugar
1 medium sized chipotle chili in adobo, minced
1 tbs adobo sauce
pinch salt

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a pot, bring to a low boil.
Boil, stirring frequently, until thickened, about fifteen minutes.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
Can be made three days in advance.

Notes

*Use a white ale, Belgian ale, Hefeweizen, or craft cider

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http://thebeeroness.com/2015/10/28/chipotle-white-ale-cranberry-sauce/

Wild Ale Blackberry Sauce

Sometimes, we have to step outside our boxes.

The ones that seem comfortable, safe, predictable. We know the boxes, and we don’t grow in there. We stagnate. The world is huge, it’s full of experiences waiting to push us past the people we’ve decided to become and into the people we can be, if we can let go for a second.

Sour beer, that might be a little bit of a let-go scenario for you. Sour beers are beers that have been infected, on purpose, by wild bacteria. I know! It sounds awful, it sounds like a problem that needs to be solved, and sometimes it is.

But this is the original beer, the way beer was first made, more for lack of options than intentionality, when beer was in its infancy. Love it or hate it, sour beers (most common are Lambics, Flanders Red Ales, goes, gueuze, wild ales, etc.) are incredibly hard to make. The balance of flavors, the wrangling of a wild strain of yeast, the way it all comes together.

So what are you in for the first time you order one of these guys? Sour. You’re shocked, I know. There is a tartness that can range from a mild funk to a glass of boozy sour patch kids. It turns out, these are also hard beers to cook with.

This, my friends, is my first sour beer recipe. I used Odell Brewing‘s Pina Agria, a sour beer with a nice pineapple flavor, because, shockingly enough, it was brewed with pineapple. It’s a great one to try if you’re into sours.

Try a sour, if you get a chance. Add one to the flight at your next taproom visit. Maybe you’ll love it, maybe you won’t, but at least you’ll know.

Yum

Sour Ale Blackberry Sauce

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

½ lbs fresh blackberries
1 cup white sugar
1 cup (plus 2 tbs) sour ale* (I used Odell Pina Agria Pineapple Sour)

Instructions

Add blackberries, sugar and 1 cup beer to a saucepan over medium high heat. Simmer until blackberries have broken down and sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons beer, stir then add additional beer to thin to desired consistency.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Will keep for two weeks.

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http://thebeeroness.com/2015/08/07/sour-ale-blackberry-sauce/

Pale Ale and Baby Kale Creamy Pesto

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. You’re 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 moments 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

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

Directions

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.

http://thebeeroness.com/2015/02/13/pale-ale-baby-kale-creamy-pesto/

Fried Buttermilk Beer Chicken Salad with Sriracha Honey Vinaigrette

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 future generations. 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.

Maybe it’s the end of a brutal year that was illuminated by the writing of my second book, a lifeline to stability, that makes me want to defend the print cookbook. Maybe it’s the ghosts of the past that seem to haunt the holidays. Maybe it was a small moment over the weekend while standing in the middle of a book store in Portland and finding a note card written 50 years ago wedged in the middle of a antique Sunday Suppers cookbook. It doesn’t matter, I have an analog soul, I like things that I feel with my hands. I love the smell of old books. As much as I love innovation and the sexiness of new technology, my heart will always belong to what I can pass down, or what I can receive from those who have gone before me. Like old cookbooks and fried chicken recipes. Somethings are just made to be shared.

Fried Buttermilk Beer Chicken Salad with Sriracha Honey Vinaigrette

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tbs kosher salt
½ sweet white onion, sliced
¾ cups buttermilk
6 ounces pale ale
2 tsp sriracha
2 cups flour
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
canola or peanut oil for frying

For the Salad:

2 heads red leaf lettuce, chopped
1 large avocado, diced
½ cup pomegranate seeds
8 wt oz Burrata Cheese (or goat cheese)

Sriracha Honey Vinaigrette

¼ cup honey
1 tsp sriracha
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbs olive oil

Directions

Arrange the chicken in an even layer in a large baking pan.
Sprinkle evenly with kosher salt, top with sliced onions.
In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, beer and sriracha, pour evenly over the chicken, cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.
In a medium sized bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne.
One at a time remove the chicken pieces, dredge in the flour mixture then gently re-dip in the buttermilk/beer marinade and recoat with the flour mixture (double coating of the flour mixture will give you a crispier chicken), set on a wire rack that has been set over a baking sheet.
Allow the coated chicken to sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200.
Add the oil to a large pot until about 6 inches deep, heat to 350 degrees using a cooking thermometer clipped to the pan, adjust heat to maintain that temperature.
Working in batches fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through (between 4 and 8 minutes each, depending on the thickness of the chicken)
Once each piece is done, place on a wire rack over a baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Slice the chicken.
In a small bowl whisk together the honey, sriracha and vinegar. While whisking vigorously, slowly add the olive oil until well combined.
Add chopped lettuce, pomegranates, and avocado to a large bowl, toss to combine.
Top with burrata cheese and sliced fried chicken, drizzle with dressing.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/12/24/fried-buttermilk-beer-chicken-salad-sriracha-honey-vinaigrette/

Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Dressing

If you’re going to make me a salad, it better be a damn good salad. After all, you’re asking me to skip carbs and satisfying fried finger foods, I might resent you if it isn’t a really good salad.

Bacon is a good start, and so is beer. Scallops are a fan favorite as well. Let’s talk about those for a second while we’re at it. Scallops will most likely come to you via a grocery store seafood counter soaking in a milky phosphate solution (yum!) that will help keep it fresh longer as well as give it an unfortunate soapy taste and an inability to sear properly. The solution to this is beer. Well, more accurately, a brine. Soaking the scallops in a brine will flush out that unappetizing liquid and give you a great taste and a great sear. Which will help that salad taste amazing. And make people forget all about the missing french fries.

But there is beer and bacon and perfect scallops, so no one should complain. If they do, take away their beer.

Beer Brined Scallops over Spinach Salad With Bacon Stout Dressing

Yield: 2 entree portions or 4 appetizer portions

Ingredients

12 ounces pale ale
2 tbs salt
1 cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
8 jumbo scallops
salt and pepper
3 thick slices bacon
¼ cup chopped shallots
¼ cup stout beer
2 tbs brown mustard
2 tbs raw honey
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 lbs asparagus
3 cups baby spinach leaves
2 wt oz crumbled goat cheese

Directions

In a large bowl stir together the pale ale, salt, water and lemon juice.
Add the scallops, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Remove the scallops from fridge and place on top of a stack of 4-5 paper towels. Add another layer of paper towels and allow to drain and dry for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper on both sides.
Cook the bacon in a pan over medium high heat until cooked through, remove from pan, chop and set aside. Add the shallots to the bacon grease, cook until shallots have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the stout beer, scraping to deglaze the pan. Add the mustard, honey and pepper, whisking to combine. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, stirring until thickened. Remove from heat.
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the scallops, flat side down, and allow to cook until a dark golden brown crust forms on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until seared on the opposite side. Remove from pan when a slight hint of translucent pink still remains at the center, don’t over cook.
Trim asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces. Cook the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for one minute, drain and allow to dry.
Plate the spinach, top with asparagus, goat cheese, and crumbled bacon, dizzle with dressing, top with scallops.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/07/25/beer-brined-scallops-spinach-salad-bacon-stout-dressing/

Creamy White Bean Beer Cheese Dip

Let’s talk for a few minutes about why this is such a great idea.

First, you can add beer. And the ability to add beer is always a plus. And let’s be honest, being able to pump out a beer infused dip in just a few minutes without turning on your oven is always a skill we want to have in our appetizer arsenal. Did I mention that you can add beer? It’s not just for you, but for those rowdy beer friends of yours. The ones that show up at the last minute and demand to be fed, you know that guy, we all know that guy. Let’s just hope that next time he shows up at your house and you’re nice enough to throw this dip together for him, he’s at least nice enough to bring some beer. And for all your “hard work” the least he can do is bring you the good stuff, because you deserve it. After all you did take five entire minutes to make him a beer infused homemade dip.

Creamy White Bean Beer Cheese Dip

Prep Time: 5 minutes

5 minutes

Ingredients

1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 large clove garlic, smashed
1 wt oz fresh grated parmesan (about 1/3 cup)
2 wt oz (1/4 cup) cream cheese
¼ cup IPA
1 (15 wt oz) can Great Northern beans
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Directions

Add all ingredients to a food processor, process until smooth, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Add to a serving bowl.
Serve with chips, bread or crudités.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/05/19/creamy-white-bean-beer-cheese-dip/

Salted Beer Caramel Sauce plus 5 More Edible Homemade Beer Gifts

‘Tis the Season.

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

1. Chocolate Pretzel Beer Toffee

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

2. Stout & Sriracha Beer BBQ Sauce

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

3. Chocolate Stout Truffles

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

4. Beer Caramel Corn

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

5. Beer Candied Pecans

Bring Beer Nuts to entirely new level.

6. Salted Beer Caramel Sauce (recipe below)

Ice cream socials will never be the same.

Salted Beer Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

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

Directions

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

Notes

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

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

Roasted Broccoli with Beer Cheese Sauce

Leave it to me to take a perfectly healthy and delicious side dish, like roasted broccoli, and pour a bunch of cheese and beer all over it, effectively negating most of the health benefits.

But really, it’s for your own good. There’s a good chance you’re sitting there planning a menu, a Turkey centric, end it with pie, If I don’t eat too much I’m doing it wrong, type of late November meal. Me too.

We’ve got the main dish down, and potatoes are all set, lots of pies (probably too many), but then those wily vegetable side dishes always come last. Is green bean casserole really enough green stuff? Should I have more?

Yes. You should have some roasted broccoli, serve it with a side of cheese sauce to match the excessive gluttony level of the rest of the table.

You wouldn’t want it to feel left out.

Roasted Broccoli with Beer Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

For the Beer Cheese Sauce

2 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
2 tbs corn starch
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup pale ale
8 wt oz cheddar cheese (not pre shredded)

For the Broccoli:

3 lbs broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces
3-4 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp kosher salt

Directions

In a pot over medium heat melt the butter.
Sprinkle with flour and cornstarch, whisk until thickened. Cook, whisking continually for three minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and the beer, stirring to make sure no lumps remain.
About ¼ cup at a time, add the cheese, whisking between addition until the cheese has completely melted. Make sure to adjust heat to make sure it does not boil.
Preheat oven to 400.
Add the broccoli to a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic and salt. Toss to coat.
Roast at 400 for 10-15 minutes until fork tender and edges have started to crisp.
Serve with cheese sauce on the side or drizzled on top.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/11/11/roasted-broccoli-beer-cheese-sauce/

Homemade Beer Mustard and Gateway Beers: Best Introductory Craft Beers

I’ve made mention of Gateway Beers before, beer that serves as an easy introduction to craft beer as well as offers a fine example of the flavor profiles available. Beer that eases the curious into the pool of craft beer flavor, while giving a preview of what’s to come once you decide to wind yourself down the labyrinth of craft beer exploration. I’ve scoured my beer drinking past to present to you my favorite, accessible, easy to drink and hard to forget craft beers.

Wheat Beer

The most readily available wheat beers will most likely have the designation of Hefeweizen or White Ale. With a smooth, mellow, drinkability, this is a great first stop on the train to full blown beer obsession. For the craft beer newbie, these are a great palce to start.

1. Allagash White. This is a beautifully balanced example of a white ale. It’s bright, crisp, fruity and citrusy. Of all the beer I recommend as Gateway Beer, this is at the top of my list. It’s also very well distributed, look for it at most major supermarkets with craft beer selections.

2. Hangar 24 Orange Wheat. This is a vibrant and clean wheat beer from a rapidly growing brewery out of Redlands California. It’s well balanced with a mild, not overly sweet, orange taste pulled from groves right in the breweries own back yard. Hangar is very well distributed on the West Coast, and with a motivated team, that distribution is growing daily. (Available in both bottles and cans)

3. Dogfish Head, Festina Peche. This is just fun beer. It packs a peach punch, and while it may be a bit on the sweet side for those lovers of bitter beer, it’s a great way to show off what beer can do to those have never ventured inside the beer world.

IPA’s and Other Pales

Although “pale ale” is a bit of a broad stroke when it comes to the spectrum of craft beer, it seems to be where most newbies want to begin. With flavors that range wildly from citrus to caramel, it’s a great place to hang out for while when exploring craft beer.

1. Eagle Rock Populist. The IPA is the corner stone of the craft beer movement, the poster child for Beer Drinkers Beer, but with high levels of intensity and bitterness, a beer style that should be approached with caution for those new to the scene. Look for an IPA that has a strong malt backbone to balance the hops and lower level IBU’s (international bitterness units). While the Populist kicks you quite a few hops, the low notes of malt and caramel give a nice smooth balance that’s rounded out with citrus and pineapple. It’s a great one for those who have a taste for craft beer, but have yet to venture into the higher hop end of the scale.

2. North Coast Scrimshaw. This is a fantastic example of a pilsner from one of my favorite breweries, North Coast. It’s the perfect beer to give to the Macro Beer Drinker in your life to show them a clean and drinkable beer that also has tons of flavor. It’s really well distributed on the West Coast, but worth seeking out if you’re farther East.

3. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Sierra Nevada deserves a lot of credit when it comes to the ground work that was laid for the current Craft Beer movement. While the macro breweries spent millions to convince the 1990’s beer drinking public that “bitter beer face” was the fate worse than death, Sierra Nevada persevered, holding tight to the beauty of a well bittered beer. Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale was the Gateway Beer for a nation, a way to open the door and pave a foundation for what is taking place now.

The Dark Beers

Those new to the beer scene are always afraid of the inky black beers, assuming that the color is an indication of harsh taste. The color comes from roasting the malt and/or barley before brewing, making these beers surprisingly smooth and mellow. Nearly all dark beers have lower hop profiles and a smooth drinkability. If you are a coffee or bourbon drinker (and especially those naughty few who like the bourbon coffee), a nice stout will be right up your alley. The two most common dark beers are Stouts and Porters, the differences are relatively minor and often debated. When cooking, stouts and porters are completely interchangeable.

1. Left Hand Milk Stout. I was lucky enough to get my grubby paws on one of these in Boston, a truly unforgettable experience for a beer lover. This is a fantastic beer to seek out for craft beer devotees as well as those new to craft beer, the velvety creamy taste will make you a believer in the dark side. Unfortunately for me (and other West Coasters), it’s biggest distribution is on the East Coast.

2. North Coast Old Rasputin. I have a weakness for this one, especially when it’s on nitro. If you know someone who loves bourbon, but claims to hate beer, seek out the Old Rasputin Bourbon Barrel Aged bottle to change their mind about what beer tastes like. It’ll turn a brown liquor drinker into a beer drinker in a second.

3. Rogue Chocolate Stout. Chocolate beer is so many guilty pleasures all in one, and few people can resist the idea of drinking their chocolate. This version is easy to recommend due to it’s wide availability and impressive distribution. I hear those who work for Rogue are smooth talking geniuses, which may be why it’s easy to find anywhere from Kentucky to Korea.

Mustard is a great way to introduce people to the flavors of craft beer in the kitchen. Because of the relatively small amount of beer called for in this recipe I like a strong IPA with low notes of malt, caramel and nuts.

Homemade Beer Mustard

Ingredients

¼ cup mustard seeds
2 tbs mustard powder
½ cup IPA
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoons salt
pinch cayenne
2 tsp cream style horseradish
½ tsp honey

Directions

Add mustard seeds, mustard powder, IPA, vinegar, salt and cayenne in a glass bowl, stir until well combined.
Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
Add to a small food processor or blender along with the horseradish and honey, process until mostly smooth but some whole seeds remain.
Transfer to an airtight container, store in the fridge.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/08/06/homemade-beer-mustard-and-gateway-beers-best-introductory-craft-beers/

Grilled Romaine Salad with IPA Caesar Dressing

In the world of salad dressing, there isn’t a more fiercely debated member than Caesar. Some swear that the only way to make it is by hand, table side, others claim blasphemy if not strictly adhering to the original recipe, invited in the 1920’s in Tijuana Mexico by Caesar Cardini, while some insist that it’s not Caesar dressing without anchovies. All of these camps, win or lose, are still people who get riled up over a sauce that goes over lettuce, therefore I can’t fully respect any of them. It’s a condiment, lighten up.

My version, by sheer inclusion of the beer, can never really be held up as a true Caesar dressing. And while anchovies aren’t in the original version, the anchovy heavy Worcestershire sauce that was use is no longer available, making them essential to grab that true taste.

The inspiration for this dish came from a guy who used to frequent the restaurant I work at in college. He would order a Caesar salad, no grilled chicken thank-you-very-much, a shot of IPA, and a chocolate milk shake made with equal parts stout and milk. He would then pour about a tablespoon of the IPA on his salad and drink the rest. At the time I thought it was really strange, but he was a good tipper and I was a good smiler (all you need when you’re 19 and bring guys beer and food) so I encouraged his habits. The more I saw him, watched his obvious excitement when his beer flavored meal arrived, the more I understood how all those flavors worked (although I’m not sure I’d pair a milk shake with a Caesar salad).

It stayed with me, this beer-salad-beer-milk-shake diet he seemed to live on, and now I’m on board. He was on to something.

Grilled Romaine Salad with IPA Caesar Dressing

Ingredients

For the Salad:

2 Romaine hearts, cut lengthwise
2 tbs olive oil
½ cup parmesan
Croutons

For the Dressing:

6 anchovies filets (packed in oil)
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 egg yolks (room temperature)
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup IPA (room temperature)
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbs parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the grill to medium high heat.
Brush the cut side of the lettuce with olive oil. Place on the grill, cut side down, until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes.
In a blender or food processor add the anchovies, garlic, egg yolks, mustard, and beer. Blend until well combined and light and frothy, about 3 minutes.
Heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking (20 seconds in a microwave is sufficient). While the food processor is running, slowly add the oil, drop by drop, until an emulsion forms. Add the salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese, pulse to combine.
Place each Romaine half on a plate, drizzle with dressing, top with remaining Parmesan and croutons. Serve with knife and fork.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/07/02/grilled-romaine-salad-with-ipa-creaser-dressing/

This is how I make homemade croutons.

Warm Duck Fat Roasted Potato Salad with IPA Mustard Vinaigrette (with vegetarian option)

The anemic looking, plastic tub dwelling potato salads of my youth put a pervasive distain in my culinary soul for the union of the words “potato” and “salad.” It wasn’t until I found a non-mayo based version that I really started to see potential. While I’ve used sour cream, blue cheese dressing and even bacon garlic aioli, the mustard vinaigrette edition is a fun twist. I also like to roast the potatoes rather than boil them, it prevents the possibility of the over cooked mush and it brings out flavors that might otherwise be washed away in boiling salted water.

For the vinaigrette I used an IPA from a brewery not to far from me, Noble Ale Works out of San Diego. A newer brewery that, rumor has it, just celebrated their second anniversary. Like most brewers I’ve been lucky enough to come across, this team seems profoundly dedicated to what they do, fiercely loyal to to their community, and in near constant pursuit of the perfect brew.

Big Whig IPA is a fine example of a West Coast IPA, with a bold hoppyness that’s balance with a pale male, citrus notes, a bit of caramel and some pine. The accessibility of this beer makes it perfect to add to your summer beer rotation and the light seasonally appropriate flavors make it perfect for a salad dressing.

Warm Duck Fat Roasted Potato Salad with IPA Mustard Vinaigrette (with vegetarian option)

Ingredients

2lbs red potatoes, cut into small cubes
2 tbs duck fat (use olive oil for vegetarian)
1 tsp salt
¼ cup chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, smashed
¼ cup stone ground mustard
1 tbs honey
¼ cup IPA
¼ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup chopped green onions
2 weight ounces crumbled Roquefort cheese (about 1/3 cup)
¼ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
½ cup shelled peas

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
Heat the duck fat (or olive oil for vegetarian) in a large oven safe skillet (cast iron preferred). Add potato cubes and 1 tsp salt, tossing to coat. Cook until potatoes start to brown, about 5 mintues. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for 20 minutes or until fork tender.
In a blender or small food processor, add the shallots, garlic, mustard, honey, IPA, smoked paprika, pepper and ½ tsp salt, process until well combined, about 2 minutes.
In a large bowl add the potatoes, mustard vinaigrette, green onions, blue cheese, parsley and peas, toss to coat. Serve warm.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/06/18/warm-potato-salad-with-ipa-mustard-vinaigrette/

I use this Duck Fat because it’s well priced and good quality. A little goes a long way so one jar will last a while. (Affiliate Link)

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Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yum

Foolproof Beer Cheese Sauce

Yield: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

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Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Beer Sauce

Today is November 6th, Election Day.

As Americans spend the day thinking of little else, wedged firmly between Barack and a hard place, I wanted to give you a little motivation to get through this day.

We will soon find ourselves at the end of this exhausting Election Season, our feelings of separatism from those who disagree with us will fade. We will find Facebook to be a friendlier place, and those Someecards of a political nature will ebb.

Regardless of the outcome, you have a reason to grab your favorite beer. Either in celebration of your guy winning the mad race to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or as a way to console yourself over the fact that the other guy came out ahead.

Given that you may be too distracted to spend all that much time in the kitchen tonight, this meal only takes about 20 minutes.

And, I’m pretty certain it has bipartisan support.

For this recipes, I like a brown ale, a blonde, a pale or a wheat beer. Be aware that using an IPA will kick up the beer flavor considerably and may be too bitter in the end.

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Beer Sauce

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbs butter
1/4 cup onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 oz wild mushrooms, such as Shiitake (not dried)
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the pan and cook on both sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan.
Add onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are soft and have darkened, about 5 minutes.
Add the beer, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan.
Reduce heat to medium, add the cream and stir.
Add half of the cheese, stir until melted. Add the remaining half, stir until combined.
Add the chicken and allow to cook until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, serve over rice or pasta.

http://thebeeroness.com/2012/11/06/chicken-in-creamy-mushroom-beer-sauce/

Beer Chicken Piccata

Here it is, just like I promised. Beer Chicken Piccata, to go with those beer noodles I made.

The first time I ever had Piccata I was a completely broke college student traveling through Italy. And it was cheap. It turned out to be one of the most memorable dishes I had on that trip, moving it to the top of my list of Italian Favorites. If I see it on a menu, especially those family run strip mall joints that I love so much, I can’t resist ordering it.

If you are familiar with this dish, you can see that this is a pretty standard Piccata with the white wine replaced with beer. You need to choose a low hop beer with notes of citrus, an IPA will overwhelm this sauce.

Beer Chicken Piccata

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
about 1/4 cup flour for coating
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbs butter, Plus an additional 3 tbs, divided
1 1/2 tbs flour
1/3 cup pale ale
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup capers

Directions

Filet each chicken breast in half horizontally, making each chicken breast thinner, not smaller. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the chicken and pound with a meat mallet or a rolling pin until about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Sprinkle on all sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour until well coated.
In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the chicken and cook on each side until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan.
In a clean pan melt the remaining butter. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tbs flour and whisk until combined. Add the beer, broth and lemon juice and cook until warmed and thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the capers and stir.
Add the chicken to a plate on top of a bed of rice or pasta. Top with sauce, serve immediately.

http://thebeeroness.com/2012/08/16/beer-chicken-piccata/

Stout Jerk Chicken

Literary Grief. This is the term I use for the moment you finish a great book and realize that it’s gone. This sort of anchor to those free moments in your life is now spent and the characters that ran behind your consciousness during the busy moments of your day, beckoning you back to the pages have run their course. You miss having more left to discover, but all mysteries have been unearthed and the plot has crescendoed. Most recently for me, that has been Blood, Bones and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton.

Inspired writing and an intriguing story peppered with mentions of thought-provoking recipes that I couldn’t help but mark for later reference.

One of those recipes was a reference to a Jerk marinade that Gabrielle still makes on a regular basis. Her only notes about it were just that it contained Stout, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, and Honey as well as the fact that the recipe’s ingredients totaled an upwards of 25.

The Stout Jerk marinade that I have created falls very short of the 25 ingredient threshold, but the inspiration to use stout, scotch bonnet and honey is from the above book. As fascinated as I am with Gabrielle, and grateful that I was able to eat at Prune years ago, I would bet all of my recipes on the hunch that she may have less than favorable opinions about lowly Food Bloggers.

After all, I’ve never slept on a pile of chefs coats between 12-hour shifts. I’ve never scraped mold out of a walk in. I’ve never reached calloused fingers into a deep fryer or worked one handed with a blood-soaked bandage covered with a finger cot slowing my progress. I worked as a waitress in the front of the house, but I always knew my place. I begged to be allowed do deep prep when we were slow, took the fall for wasted produce when the owner would hassle the over-worked line cooks, and made sure the cooks “water” cups were full when we were slammed. But I know my place even now, in the world of food and I am still, in so many ways, “front of the house” hoping one day to be in the kitchen doing more than just deep prep.

Here is a jerk marinade, inspired by Blood Bones & Butter and using Stout Beer for its flavor and its meat tenderizing properties.

Wanna see the updated grilled version? Check it out here

Print
Stout Jerk Chicken

Ingredients
1/2 cup stout beer (I used Storm King Stout, by Victory Brewing)

4 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero Peppers

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tbs ponzu sauce

3 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard powder

2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

3 tbs chopped shallots

1 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbs honey

1 tsp Kosher or Sea salt

3 lbs chicken wings, legs, thighs

Directions
Add all of the ingredients (other than the chicken) to a food processor and process until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add chicken to a large Ziplock style bag, pour marinade over the chicken and seal, removing as much air as possible.
Allow to chill and marinate in the fridge for 8-24 hours, rotating about every 3 hours to redistribute the marinate.
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Remove the chicken from the marinade and arrange on the sheet, spooning a bit of the remaining marinade over the chicken. Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Baking time will depend on the size of chicken you use. For very small chicken wings, start to check after 12 minutes.
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