When I was hardly out of my teens I sat down at a white formica table in a prominent Jewish deli in New York. Just after I placed my order, pastrami on rye, obviously, the waitress set down a plate of pickles. I hesitated, I hated pickled. The only run ins I’d had with those… Read More
Drunken Winter Farro Blood Orange Salad with Stout Balsamic Glaze Winter citrus is like a promise. A reminder that spring is almost here. It’s not the standard beige winter produce, it’s bright and bold and completely unlike anything else that grows this time of year. For the few weeks that blood oranges gift us with… Read More
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,… Read More
How to Make Flaky Biscuits, step by step with photos, & Sour Cream Cheddar Beer Biscuits Biscuits, the glorious tender flaky beast that they are become the subject of massive levels of debate for something with so few ingredients. Ask a Southern grandma what she thinks and she’ll tell you you’re doing it… Read More
Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad Somehow I ended up being the girl who brought salad to Thanksgiving. Not my usual holiday offering. Spending the holidays in an unfamiliar city and not being the host for the first time in forever drove me to beer up a salad. Maybe it’s caused… Read More
Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette. Vegan, healthy and insanely delicious. Perfect side dish for Thanksgiving! I once knew a woman who had marched on Washington with Martin Luther King. She was fascinating and captivating and no matter how many interesting stories I can tell you, she had me beat on all levels. I sat at a small formica table… Read More
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.… Read More
I took a conference call yesterday with a research firm that’s spending considerable effort studying the trends of craft beer and food. An honest look at craft beer from an outsider is an interesting pool to swim in. They asked the standard questions, thoughtful and curious, and it almost always turns in the same… Read More
Let’s talk for a second about last meals. We’ve talk about this before while discussing Julia Childs last meal and how I defiled it with a stout. Many discussions have been had over what entrée and dessert we’d all have if we were afforded the choice. Would it be Grandmas pot roast? Sushi? A burrito from… Read More
I was once invited to leave The Viper Room when the guy I’d been chatting with escalated past douche bag right up into unignorably obnoxious territory and I was sweep up in his wake. I not so subtly parted ways with him to cross the street towards The Roxy when he escalated further,”You’re leaving?!… Read More
Before my gypsy soul led me to Los Angeles, I spent a few years growing up on a pig farm. With seven sisters. Eight girls, startling close in age, running around like ferrel children on endless acres of farmland. Although I learned to drive a tractor before I could drive a car, maneuver a 300… Read More
I’m writing this from a hotel room 26 floors above the Las Vegas strip. I’m nearing the end of the second day of the Saveur Magazine Best Food Blog Awards party and the feeling of gratefulness is still growing. The fact that such an important food magazine recognized what I’m doing as Best of the… Read More
Cowboys and brewers aren’t that different. I grew up on a farm, surrounded by cowboys and farms and it didn’t take long to notice how different their “job” was from those 9 to 5’s that other people had. There were no days off, and this had nothing to do with the fact that ranches and… Read More
I’m not crazy. There is an actually practical reason to soak your potatoes in a beer brine before they hit the grill. Potatoes are mostly water, held in by the starch. Using the water extracting powder of salt you can help remove the water and give your potatoes a crispier outside with a creamy middle… Read More
When I first got into cooking, I was terrified of pronunciation. There is this huge gap between reading a word, knowing it, being able to cook the crap out of it and being about to say it out loud. To other humans. Who have ears. I spent an entire summer making Galettes. Look at these!… Read More
There is one thing I can’t stop doing every time I travel. And not just when I get to leave the country, but even when I just leave the state. I just need to wander around a market. A locals only place, stocked with whatever people who live in the neighboring streets like to eat.… Read More
I’m living in a maze of boxes that seem to push up from the ground like stalagmites in a mid century modern cave. The move is just a week away, starting with a meandering drive up Highway 1 with my fat lazy bulldog. And still, it doesn’t seem real. The 78 degree days, don’t feel like… Read More
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… Read More