Thanksgiving

Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

24.11.2020 No Comments

Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls, using potato flakes instead of mashed potatoes make these super easy, light and fluff! My favorite dinner rolls!

THESE! They are new favorite dinner rolls ever. So super soft, melt in your mouth, you HAVE to make these. And this year is the perfect year since it’ll be smaller than normal. Which means more for you, and I promise you’re gonna be glad you don’t have to share too many.

I have to admit that I resist making potato rolls because I’m kinda lazy. This is a fact. Unless I already have leftover mashed potatoes on hand, I don’t want to take that extra step. So my laziness has brought us all the idea of using potato flakes, which is not only easier, it’s more consistent. Mashed potatoes have varying levels of moisture and dairy, flakes are always consistent (as long as you always buy the same brand). See, look at how good I am at justifying my laziness and finding legitimate reasons to continue to indulge it, if you need any help with this I am at your service. Just don’t expect me to get back to you right away.

Beer Butter and Potato Dinner Rolls

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Ingredients

½ cup (114g) butter
½ cup (114g) whole milk
½ cup (114g) wheat beer
3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
1 packet 2 ¼ teaspoonsRapid Rise yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
⅓ cup (40g) potato flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg room temperature
Egg wash 1 egg, 1 tablespoon water, beaten
Flakey sea salt

Instructions

Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add the milk and beer. Heat until 120°-130°F (if your yeast packet mentions a different temperature, use that temperature instead).
In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar and potato flakes.
Add the beer mixture, stirring on medium speed until most of the flour has been moistened. Add the salt and egg, stir until well combined and the dough gathers around the blade.
Oil a large bowl. Using wet hands, move the dough to the bowl. The dough will be very soft and sticky.
Cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
On a well-floured surface add the dough. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces.
Roll into tight balls, add to a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
Cover and allow to rest until doubled in size.
Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with salt.
Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Serve warm.

Wild Mushroom Gruyere Asparagus Beer Casserole With Fried Shallots

21.10.2020 2 Comments

Wild Mushroom Gruyere Asparagus Beer Casserole With Fried Shallots, your new favorite side dish!

No offense to turkey, but it’s not the star of Thanksgiving, that honor goes to the side dishes. Fight me. Because if I had to choose between a plate full of turkey and a plate of any one side dish, the turkey would get shoved to the side, especially if I could also include a buttery dinner roll on my side-dish-only plate.

THESE ARE THE THINGS I THINK OF NOW! Thanks, 2020. But we finally have something to look forward to, right? Thanksgiving is coming up, and even if that means only a few people this year at your table (and a LOT of food), we need it. We need something to look forward to. I will be focusing on a menu plan because it’s better than stress eating spoonfuls of peanut butter and trying to escape the news.

This Wild Mushroom Gruyere Asparagus Beer Casserole With Fried Shallots is worth stress eating, though. It’s sort of like that green bean thing with the crispy fake onions, but only vastly superior. You also get an excuse to open a beer, so that brings it to a level above Vastly Superior, whatever that is. And your mom will be happy that you’re eating vegetables, so that’s another win. So drink a beer, eat your veggies and avoid anything that stressed you out, even if just for a day.

Wild Mushroom Gruyere Asparagus Beer Casserole With Fried Shallots

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Ingredients

For the topping:

¼ cup (30g) flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 large shallot bulb sliced into rings
Oil for frying
1 cup panko bread crumbs
¼ cup (23g) shredded gruyere cheese
2 tablespoon melted butter

For the casserole:

2 tablespoons (28g) olive oil plus additional as needed
1 shallot blub chopped (about ¼ cup)
1 lb. wild mushrooms, chopped*
½ lb. asparagus chopped (ends removed)
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup (4oz) beer Brown ale, porter
½ cup (45g) shredded gruyere cheese, packed
¼ cup (2oz) cream cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a small bowl stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the shallot rings, toss to coat. Remove the shallots from the flour (a small strainer or slotted spoon works well).
Heat 1 inch of oil in a skillet over medium high heat.
Add the shallots to the oil, cooking on both sides until golden. Remove from oil, allow to drain, and dry on paper towels.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped shallot and mushrooms, cook until the mushrooms have softened, and let off their water and the shallots have browned. If the pan dries too much, add additional oil a teaspoon at a time.
Add the asparagus, cook until slightly softened (it will soften further in the oven).
Stir in the salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Sprinkle with flour, stir until the flour has turned brown. Stir in the beer, simmer until thickened.
Add the cream cheese, stirring until it has melted and is well combined.
Stir in ½ cup gruyere cheese.
Spray an 8x8 baking dish cooking spray. Add the mushroom mixture in an even layer.
In a small bowl stir together the panko, ¼ cup gruyere cheese, and melted butter.
Add the panko mixture to the top of the pan in an even layer.
Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the panko has browned and the casserole is bubbly.
Top with fried shallots, serve warm.

Notes

I used golden chanterelle mushrooms, but feel free to use what's available near you, including a mix of different types of mushrooms.

Beer Bacon Cranberry And Cream Cheese Bites

25.11.2019 2 Comments

Beer Bacon Cranberry And Cream Cheese Bites, the perfect Thanksgiving appetizer!

You guys, you have to give me a break. I just got back from here and now I’m having a hard time functioning in the rain with my residual mild sunburn. I know, I know, you don’t feel bad for me AT ALL. I don’t blame you. But it’s jarring to jump from a nearly deserted island into Thanksgiving prep in rainy Seattle, it’s a hard transition. I’m hosting this year and I’m probably more excited about it than I should be, I never get to host so I may be going a tad bit overboard. What? me? SHOCKING! I already have turkey legs confited (confit-ing?) in the fridge and I’m making this and these.

As for the appetizer, I’m making these little bites. Because I can double the bacon cranberry sauce to serve with the meal, as well as make these cute little appetizers. Yes, they’re cute, that’s important.

I’m also putting out a big bowl of pitted black olives because is it even Thanksgiving if no one puts olives on all of their fingers?

Wanna make your own puff pastry? Check out my 10 Minute Pale Ale Puff Pastry

Beer Bacon Cranberry And Cream Cheese Bites

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

4 slices thick-cut bacon chopped
½ cup (115g) holiday ale
1 ½ cups (173g) fresh cranberries
¾ cup (150g) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
2 sheets puff pastry thawed
8 oz cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped chives

Instructions

Add the bacon to a pot over medium-high heat, cook until crispy and the fat has rendered. Pour off most of the fat.
Return the pot to heat, add the beer, stirring to deglaze the pan. Add the cranberries, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened, about 10-minutes.
Heat the oven to 400°F.
Roll the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface. Cut each sheet into 12 squares.
Lightly spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
Press the puff pastry squares into the wells of the muffin tin.
Cut the block of cream cheese into 24 squares, add one square to each well. Top with a spoonful of cranberry mixture.
Bake until the puff pastry has turned golden brown, 12-15 minutes.
Remove from oven, plate, and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Spinach Artichoke Dip Stuffed Beer Steamed Mushrooms

26.09.2019 8 Comments

Spinach Artichoke Dip Stuffed Beer Steamed Mushrooms (perfect appetizer for thanksgiving or vegetarian main!)

You guys, it’s here. IT. IS. HERE!!

After two years of working and waiting I finally have an actual, real-life, physical copy of my book LUSH in my grubby little paws. It’s gorgeous and by far my favorite book I’ve ever written, I hope you love it as much as I do.

Wanna get a beer with me and celebrate? The answer is yes. YES, YOU DO! Are you going to be in Seattle or New York in October? Then you have no excuses, not one.

To entice you into joining me I’ve made you some stuffed mushrooms. I will, however, eat all of them before either event so don’t be counting on eating any, they’re all mine. But you should make them for yourself. Especially as an appetizer for Thanksgiving. Or a Halloween party. Or just a Tuesday because you feel like it.

Stuffed mushrooms was one of the first recipes I ever developed on my own and I still love them. Do you have a veg-head coming over for Thanksgiving and are at a loss for what to serve them as a main? Just swap the 24 cremini mushrooms with 8 portobello mushrooms and they will have more than enough food to be as stuffed as the rest of us.

So there you have it. A perfect appetizer that doubles as a vegetarian main dish, and you’ve already decided to come out and have a beer with me next month. Not a bad Thursday.

Spinach Artichoke Dip Stuffed Beer Steamed Mushrooms

5 from 1 vote

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Ingredients

24 cremini mushrooms baby bellas
2 tablespoons (28g) olive oil
1 cup chopped white onions
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon (6g) salt
1 teaspoon black pepper 3g
1 cup (50g) chopped fresh spinach, packed
½ cup (120g) marinated artichokes, chopped
¼ cup (2oz) plus 1 cup beer (8oz) Oktoberfest, Marzen, brown ale, divided
4 oz cream cheese
½ cup (56g) shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon (14g) butter, melted
1/3 cup (30g) Italian bread crumbs

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Wash the mushrooms well, removing the stems. Chop the stems, set aside. Add the mushroom caps, hole side up, to a baking dish (or dishes).
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushroom stems and onions, cooking until onions and mushroom pieces have softened. Stir in the salt and pepper.
Stir in the garlic, then add the spinach, cooking until the spinach has softened and wilted, stir in ¼ cup beer and the artichokes.
Add the cream cheese, stirring until it has melted and combined with the rest of the filling ingredients. Stir in the cheese until melted.
Add heaping spoonfuls into the holes in the mushrooms.
Stir together the melted butter and breadcrumbs. Add a teaspoon or so to the top of each mushroom.
Add the beer to the pan around the mushrooms (if using two pans, divide the beer between the pans).
Cover the pan and bake for 18 minutes, remove the cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the top has browned.

Notes

To make this entree-sized portions, substitute the cremini mushrooms for 8 portobello mushrooms.
To make in advance, stop at step seven (right before you pour the beer into the pan, just drink it instead!), cover and refrigerate for up to 36 hours.

Super Soft Butter and Beer 1 hour Dinner Rolls

14.11.2018 10 Comments

Are you ready? Take a deep breath because you don’t have a choice, the holidays and all that goes with them, are upon us. Let’s take a second to inventory this upcoming Q4 on a personal level, shall we? Of course we should, we like doing things like this.

Bacon and Beer Bread Stuffing + Craft Beers to Drink on Thanksgiving

09.11.2016 6 Comments

Bacon and Beer Bread Stuffing

As biased as I am, I can pretty solidly affirm that beer needs to be your adult beverage of choice for Thanksgiving. The flavors of your fall Holiday table will run around much better with the malt, spices, and carbonation that beer has to offer than any other alcoholic concoction. I have a few tips to get you started as you begin your thanksgiving-beer-offering search.

I know you love hops, but let them rest for today. Choose a malty beer.
Don’t forget the carbonation. It will aid in palate cleansing between courses.
You have enough to do, don’t worry about pairing to each dish. Just pick a beer that plays nice with everything.
Don’t be afraid of a higher ABV, these beers can be the best fit (and please, if you’re driving splurge on an Uber)

A few style suggestions:

Witbier (or white ale): These are the crowd pleaser, the beers that are hard to argue with. They have a low IBU’s (low bitterness), a nice carbonation and flavors of orange peel, coriander and cloves that go well with everything on the Thanksgiving table. Even Grandmas Jell-O salad. A few to seek out: White // Allagash Brewing, White Rascal // Avery, Witte // Ommegang

Belgian Abbey Ales (Belgian Dubbel): These are rich, malty beers with enough hops to keep them from being overly-sweet but not enough to linger. They have rich flavors of dark fruits, caramel, nuts and an active carbonation to help you cleanse the palate between bites. A few to seek out: Abbey Ale // Ommegang, Lost & Found Abbey Ale // The Lost Abbey, Prior 8 // St Bernardus

Seasonal Ales: Most of the time, these are beers that are brewed to feel like the season. With ingredients that are starting to show up in the farmer’s markets and on our tables, making these a great choice to pair with your holiday meal. Just make sure to choose something with low hop bitterness to compliment, rather than compete with, the food you are about the share. A few to seek out: Autumn Maple // The Bruery, Christmas Ale // Schlafly, Sleigh’r // Ninkasi

Bacon and Beer Bread Stuffing

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Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

For the beer bread:

3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
¼ cup honey
12 ounces beer summer ale, wheat beer, saison, pilsner
¼ cup melted butter

For the Stuffing:

½ lbs bacon chopped
2 tablespoons butter
½ sweet white onion chopped
1 celery rib chopped
1 large carrot chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt more if you used unsalted broth
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups chicken broth
½ cup dried cherries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375.
In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
Pour in the beer and the honey, stir until just combined.
Pour into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Pour melted butter over the batter.
Bake for 50 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Allow to cool, remove from pan (this can be done a day in advance).
Cut the bread into cubes. Reduce oven to 350F.
Add the chopped bacon to a pan off heat. Add to medium heat and cook until the bacon is crispy and the fat has rendered (this method of starting bacon in a cold pan and cooking on a lower heat is the most effective way to render fat and crisp the bacon).
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, reserving the pan and the bacon grease.
Turn the heat to medium high and add the bread cubes. Cook until the bread is lightly toasted. (If your pan is too small to accommodate, place bread cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with bacon fat, and bake at 350F until toasted, about 10 minutes).
Add the bread cubes to a 4-quart (or 9x13) baking dish along with the bacon and the dried cherries.
Melt the butter in the pan, add the onion, celery, and carrots, cooking until softened. Add the sage, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and garlic powder stirring to combined.
Add the chicken broth, simmering for 3 minutes.
Pour the broth, vegetables and herbs over the bread cubes. Toss gently to combine.
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Serve warm.

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

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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.

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

28.10.2015 7 Comments

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.

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

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Servings 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

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

07.01.2015 8 Comments

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

There are always these things that I keep coming back to. Faded destroyed jeans, vintage rock t-shirts, Van Morrison, Old Rasputin, the first Back to the Future movie, apple pie. It was one of those recipes that always felt perfect, even when it wasn’t. Even when the edges of the crusts were brunt, or the filling was runny, or the apples turned mushy, it was still apple pie.

The tartness, the sugar, the cinnamon, the flaky crust, it was all there reminding me that it has been there all along. Through my lust for a complicated soufflé, my affair with Crème brûlée, that summer I was obsessed with pavlovas, apple pie has always been there. Always perfect, even when it’s not. Classic but never boring. Just as perfect at 8am as it is at midnight.

Perfect with a cold beer, and even better made with one. Or both. Always both.

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

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Servings 1 pie

Ingredients

Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups 12 ½ wt oz all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tbs cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
8 tbs vegetable shortening
1/3 cup ice cold pale ale
2 tbs melted butter

Filling

1 ¼ lbs 2-3 large Honey Crisp (or Fuji) apples peeled and sliced
1 ¼ lbs 2-3 large Granny Smith apples peeled and sliced
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup flour
1 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs pale ale
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce

Cream

8 wt ounces mascarpone
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pale ale

Instructions

Make the crust:

Add 1 ½ cups of flour, salt and sugar to a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the butter and shortening, process until well combined and dough gathers around the blade.
Add the remaining flour and pulse 6-8 times or until all the flour has been coated.
Transfer to a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the beer until completely incorporated into the dough (don’t add the beer in the food processor or your dough will turn into a cracker). Dough will be very soft.
Lay two long sheets of plastic wrap on a flat surface.
Divide the dough evenly between the two sheets, Form into flat disks.
Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap, chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Make the filling:

Add the apples (about 8 cups total) to a large bowl. Sprinkle with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon beer and apple sauce, toss until coated.
Roll out one of the pastry disks out on a lightly floured surface, line a 9-inch pie pan, trim off the excess.
Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
Roll out the remaining pie dough, cut with a small cookie cutter, layering the shapes over the filling. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar.
Place pie in the freezer for ten minutes while the oven preheats.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bake the pie at 350 for 40 minutes or until the pie is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least an hour before cutting.
In a small bowl combine the mascarpone, powdered sugar, vanilla and pale ale until well combined. Top the pie with cream prior to serving.

Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad

01.12.2014 6 Comments

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 by the stir-crazy-work-from-home madness that’s set in, a fall that’s actually cold, or the life I’m living that looks almost nothing like it did a year ago, but beer in a salad made everything seem right. I needed a little familiarity in my world, and all of my favorite salads contain pomegranate seeds and goat cheese. You can even forget the fact that this salad is red, green, gold and white, making it more festive than it should be allowed to be for a holiday salad. This is a season for indulgences: barrel aged beers, cakes, fudge, cookies, and pie. With all of these perfectly fantastic holiday foods, I give you a salad. But rest assured it’s a damn good salad, and with beer infused grains, it definitely made the naughty list.

Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad

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Ingredients

1 cup whole farro
12 ounces pumpkin ale
½ cup chicken broth
1 lbs asparagus tripped and chopped into 1 inch sections
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
½ cup pomegranate seeds
1 cup baby arugula
3 wt oz goat cheese

Instructions

Add the farro, beer, and broth to a pot over medium high heat. Bring to a low simmer. Simmer until farro is tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Drain off any remaining liquid.
Preheat oven to 400.
Add the asparagus to a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat.
Roast asparagus at 400 until fork tender, about 8-10 minutes (less for thin asparagus, you still want some firmness, it’s best to under cook rather than overcook).
Add the farro, asparagus, remaining ingredients to a bowl, toss to combine. Serve at room temperature.

Blueberry Cider Skillet Pie with Lime Basil Whipped Cream

14.03.2014 12 Comments

I’ve learned a few things in the handful of days I’ve lived in Seattle.

People here drive like nice, sane, humans. Unfortunately, I’ve been conditioned by the LA freeways to drive like a pissed off asshole. I’ve been driving in LA since I was a teenager. I need to learn to drive like a sane human.

People here are just nice, in and out of the car. They even smile and say hi as they walk past. And when you email them, tell them you’re new in town and want to be friends, they buy you lunch. Or a beer.

You can also drink the tap water here, unlike the last place I lived it does not taste like smog. It’s actually pretty great.

It’s not even very cold here. It rains often, but really, it’s not that cold. And on that note, running in the rain beats running in the sweltering heat. So, that’s a win for the rainy land.

Beer is a bit different here too, it has a bit of an old soul. I’ll always have a big place in my Craft Beer Heart for California beer, and the burgeoning LA beer scene that is still cutting its baby teeth. The Seattle beer scene is established, it has an old soul’s wisdom with the freshness of youth. It’s exciting in a way that new things often are, but with the comfort of years of experience to guild the way.

Cider is a new venture for me when it comes to cooking. This is the first recipe that’s crossed that boundary into cider cookin' territory. Like craft beer, craft cider is beautiful and thoughtful and insanely drinkable. Washington has given me no shortage of ciders to sample and Finnriver has some beautiful bottles. I used Finnriver Black Currant Cider, which will probably be served with dessert at my next dinner party, it’s beautiful and bold but with a dryness that doesn’t let it get overly sweet. It’s perfect with a tart pie.

So that’s what I made.

A pie with Washington blueberries and Washington cider.

I hope this is an adequate apology for my driving. I’m working on it.

Blueberry Cider Skillet Pie with Lime Basil Whipped Cream

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Ingredients

For the Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
1/3 cup ice cold pale ale the higher the ABV the better
milk or cream for brushing

For the filling:

1/3 cup cornstarch
1 ¼ cup sugar
½ cup cider
5 cups blueberries fresh or frozen

For the Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream chilled
¼ cup powdered sugar
1 tbs lime zest
1 tsp basil minced

Instructions

Add 1 ½ cups of flour, salt and sugar to a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the butter, process until well combined and dough gathers around the blade.
Add the remaining flour and pulse 6-8 times or until all the flour has been coated.
Transfer to a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the beer until completely incorporated into the dough (don’t add the beer in the food processor or your dough will turn into a cracker). Dough will be very soft.
Lay two long sheets of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Divide the dough evenly between the two sheets, Form into flat disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Roll disk out on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a 9 inch cast iron skillet. Place in the freezer while you prepare the fillng.
In a large bowl whisk together the cornstarch, sugar and cider. Add the blueberries, toss to coat.
Pour the blueberries into the cast iron skillet.
Roll out the second disk. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter (I used a star shape), layer the shapes onto the top of the pie. Brush with milk or cream.
Bake at 350 for 60 to 75 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown. Allow to sit at room temperature until the filling has set, about 2 hours.
Just prior to serving add all the whipped cream ingredients to a stand mixer. Beat on high until soft peaks form.

This is a GREAT cast iron skillet. It’s a splurge, but it will last for the rest of your life. You can even pass it down to your kids (affiliate link).

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

15.11.2013 5 Comments

I know what you’re thinking.

You think that I put a Pumpkin Ale in that pie. It’s a fair assumption, and not a bad route to take when beerifying (that’s a word) a pumpkin pie. Sure, you can use that. Go ahead, be my beer-cookin' guest, it’s not a bad choice. But for this I wanted to play up those brown sugar flavors with a nice barrel aged brown ale. So that’s exactly what I did.

Brown ales don’t get enough air time. They are often forgotten in the beer-of-the-moment hype. Browns are the George Harrison’s of the beer world. The Willem Dafoe’s of the beer world.

But brown ales have a lot of potential, a lot of great flavors, a lot of depth. Especially when they’ve been aged in a bourbon barrel. Like this Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head which has unleashed that underrated brown ale potential in a way that will remind the Beer Snobs that it’s here to play. Or make pies. Or maybe both.

I used this Kitchen torch, because it’s amazing, easily one of my favorite kitchen tools. (affiliate link)

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

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Ingredients

1 Pale ale pie crust
¾ cup heavy cream
2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
5 large egg yolks
¾ cup brown ale preferably a barrel aged brown ale
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of pumpkin purée
1 tbs cornstarch
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
White sugar for brulee topping about 3 tbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
Roll the pie dough out on a lightly floured surface and line a 9-inch pie pan. Place in the fridge to chill until the filling is ready.
In a pot over medium heat, add the cream. Heat until the cream starts to bubble around the edges.
In a large bowl whisk together the white sugar, brown sugar and egg yolks. Whisking continually, slowly pour the hot cream into the eggs. Whisk until well combined.
Add the remaining ingredients (other than the brulee sugar), whisk until well combined.
Pour into the prepared pie pan.
Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes or until the filling puffs slightly and has set around the edges (the center will still be wobbly). Chill until set, at least 4 hours.
Just prior to serving, sprinkle the remaining white sugar over the top of the pie in an even layer. Using a culinary torch brulee the sugar until melted and turned a dark amber color.

For this recipe I use The Pale Ale Pie Dough

Beer Brined Turkey

Beer Brined Turkey will give you the juiciest, tastiest bird you’ve ever had! This recipe also tells you how to also get a crispy skin. You’ll never make it another way again!