Sweet Potato Stout Shepard’s Pie (Meatless)

Sweet Potato Stout Shepard’s Pie (Meatless). Vegan, full of warm deliciousness, and freezer friendly.

Some days just making it to dinner feels like an accomplishment. After rage-cleaning your house because you spent too much time reading the news. After seriously considering faking an illness to stay in bed. After realizing that the hint of gray that’s peeking through the windows at noon is all the sun you’re gonna get today, and maybe for quite a while longer.

Baking helps, I promise. You get to feel like you did something, made something, provided something. You get to lose yourself in the task of it and force those other rage-inducing thoughts to the back of the shelf for a bit.

You also get to eat, and that’s always a win.

Today I decided to beer-ify a childhood favorite, that just seemed to be appropriate. I decided to make it vegan, because if I have beer, sweet potatoes, and caramelized leeks I don’t need much else. Also, it makes me feel healthy and that makes me less likely to want to stay in bed all day tomorrow.

This also freezes well, so that you can make a double batch and maybe bring it to someone who may need a little warm, beerified comfort. Because we’re all in this together.

Yum

Sweet Potato Stout Shepard’s Pie (Meatless)

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the topping:

3 lbs sweet potatoes
¼ cup almond milk (or sour cream of choice)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder

For the filling:

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 large leeks, sliced (white and light green parts only
1 large carrot, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 lbs (16 oz) sliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons sage leaf, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup stout beer
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup vegetable broth

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into chunks, add to a large pot of salted boiling water. Cook until fork tender, drain and return to pot.
Add the almond milk, salt, and garlic powder. Mash until well combined.
Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the leeks, carrots and celery, cooking until softened.
Add the mushrooms, cook until darkened and softened.
Stir in the sage, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Sprinkle with flour, stir until the flour has been moistened. Pour in the beer, scraping to deglaze the pan.
Stir in the corn and vegetable broth. Simmer until thickened.
Pour into am 8x8 pan. Spread the sweet potatoes over the top of the pan.
Bake until filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes.
Serve warm.

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Punk in Drublic Beer Battered Buffalo Cauliflower (vegan)

Punk in Drublic Beer Battered Buffalo Cauliflower (vegan)

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

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

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

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

Yum

Punk in Drublic Beer Battered Buffalo Cauliflower (vegan)

Ingredients

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

Instructions

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

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This post was a paid partnership with Stone Brewing. Partnerships with The Beeroness and outside companies only occur when the company’s products are ones I use and enjoy myself. All ideas and opinions are my own

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (dairy + egg free)

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (dairy + egg free)

I can’t stay.

I’m in a hotel in Copenhagen and I just found an open-air farmers market nearby and although it’s been about 22 hours since I’ve slept, I have to go see it. But I wanted to give this recipe to you first and tell you what I was doing 5-years ago today.

5-years ago today I was a social worker. It was good work, work I liked and, for the most part, was good at. Inexplicably, it also made me breathtakingly unhappy. My life, although I fought to pretend otherwise, made me miserable.

5-years ago I sat at a desk, thinking about how much I wanted to be a photographer, a writer. How much I wanted to have a job that involved being creative and also necessitated travel. I sat at a desk and thought “Who am I to want that?” I figured everyone wanted that, who was I?

Then one day, I stopped that shit. I stopped thinking “Who am I to want that?” and I started thinking, “Why not me?” If other people got to do it, why not me, too?

So then I fought, 80-hours a week doing both the social work thing that paid the bills and the photography-beer-cooking-writing thing that filled my soul and gave me hope. When I was told “no,” I just heard, “Some day I’ll wish I’d said yes to you,” and I kept going.

Two years later it was my full time gig.

So here I am, in a hotel in Denmark fresh off a red eye from the other side of the world, and I’m telling you the same thing about that dream you’ve always had: Why not you?

Yum

Coconut Porter Tres Leche Cake (dairy + egg free)

Serving Size: 9 servings

Ingredients

2 cans (400mL each) full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
2 cups (240g) flour
1 cup (200g) sugar
½ tsp (2g) baking soda
1 tsp (4g) baking powder
1 tsp (6g) salt
¾ cup(175mL) almond milk, plus one cup (240mL), divided
½ cup (4 wt oz) coconut porter beer, plus ½ cup, divided
1 tsp (3g) vanilla extract
¼ cup (56g) coconut oil, melted
2 teaspoons (6g) apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.
Carefully remove the cans from the fridge without shaking. Open carefully and remove the top layer of fat that has collected at the top, taking care not to include any of the liquid that is at the bottom, placing the coconut fat in a small bowl and reserving the liquid in the cans.
Cover the bowl of coconut fat and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
in a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in 3/4 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut porter beer, vanilla extract, coconut oil and apple cider vinegar until just combined.
Grease and flour a 9x13 pan, pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 for 22-25 minutes of until the top springs back when lightly touched.
Allow to cool completely.
Once cooled, poke the cake all over with a fork, skewer or the handle of a wooden spoon.
In a small bowl stir together the remaining one cup almond milk, 1/2 cup of coconut porter and 1 cup of the remaining liquid form the coconut milk cans. Pour over the cake (it will look like too much milk, but it will absorb into the cake).
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 3 hours.
Retrieve the chilled coconut fat, beat with a hand mixer until light, fluffy and well combined. Beat in the powdered sugar.
Top cake with coconut whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve, cake should be served cold.

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Coconut whipped cream can only be made with full fat cans of coconut milk that have been chilled for at least 24 hours (store in the fridge for ease of use). For a tutorial, see: Coconut Whipped Cream, Gimmme Some Oven.

Trader Joe’s sells coconut cream that will work perfectly for the whipped cream as well.

Grilled Garlic Beer Flatbread

Grilled Garlic Beer Flatbread

It’s stopped raining for two days. So, obviously, the grill needs to come to life. There is something beautifully primal about cooking over open flames, even if those open flames are produced by propane our ancestors didn’t have access to. The fire, smoke, heat much higher than your oven is able to compete with, grilling isn’t just another way to cook food, it’s often a better way to cook food. That glorious char is worth braving the possibilities of spiders under the grill cover.

A few tips for grillin’ like a pro:

Preheat. You want the grates hot enough to sear on contact and the space under the grill hood to be hot as well.
Marinate your meat. There is a lot of heat in there and it’s easy to overcook meat, especially poultry. Marinating meat, like these chicken skewers, gives you a little wiggle room and allows even over-cooked meat to stay juicy.
Oil for flavor not for sticking. Contrary to popular belief, your meat and veggies will release from the grill when the char marks appear. No need to oil so the meat won’t stick. But it can add a little extra flavor, especially olive oil. But you’re better off oiling the food in most cases.
Thermometer. If you want to get the perfect level of doneness, don’t leave it to chance. Get an inexpensive thermometer and take your meat off the grill when it’s 5 degrees below the temp you want, it will continue to cook even after you remove it from the grill.
Grill. It. All. Not just burgers and dogs, vegetables, fruit, dessert and bread are all awesome with a little love from the grill. Pizza is one of my favorite grilled foods and a great way to feed picky eaters and people who don’t like meat.
Skewers + Water. If you won’t have metal skewers and want to make a few meat or veggie sticks, soak bamboo skewers for at least 30 minutes to prevent them from scorching or catching on fire. Put them on a baking sheet or in a baking dish, fill with water and place a heavy plate on top keep them submerged.
Session beer. Ok, this isn’t a grilling tip but more of a reminder. If you’re going to spend the day drinking and hanging with friends (friends who may need to drive later), skip the high ABV beers and fill your beer tub with tasty, lower alcohol craft beers. Here are some of my favorite session beers for spring and summer.

Yum

Grilled Garlic Beer Flatbread

Yield: 8 pieces

Ingredients

For the bread:

2 ¼ cups (300g) bread flour
1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp or 7g) rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp (2g) garlic powder
3/4 cup (226g) beer
3 tbs (40g) olive oil
1 tsp (6g) salt

For the butter

2 tbs unsalted butter, melted (olive or for vegan)
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Mix until combined.
In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, add olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt while the mixer is still running.
Turn speed to high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface. Knead several times, cut into 8 equal sized pieces.
One at a time form the dough into 6 inch circles.
Preheat a grill to medium high. Combine the melted butter, remaining garlic powder and salt.
Place circles on the grill until the dough releases and the underside has grill marks, about 2 minutes. Brush with the top with the melted butter. Grill until dough is cooked through, about 2 additional minutes.
Remove from grill, serve warm.

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Crispy Sweet Potato Street Tacos

There is a nexus of food and beer that few people see.

A commonality that’s shared in a small subset of people devoted to either one or the other, and in even fewer cases, both. At their pinnacles both worlds hold a labyrinth of information that any geek can’t help but get lost in.

The same people who will sit for hours in a conference room learning the molecular difference between Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus, furiously scribbling notes in their tattered Moleskin just for a slightly better sour ale are the same strain of humans that will obsessively research the starch content in various types of potatoes and how that starch is affected by sodium.

Yeah, so that’s us. In an almost embarrassing way we can’t just enjoy our food and beer, the questions just spontaneously form like wild fermentation in our brains. What yeast is this? How did they get the malt sweetness upfront and the hop bitterness at the end? Could you lager this? What about matcha, can I brew with matcha? How did the chef get this sauce so thick but still so creamy? How were these vegetables cut? Where does the smoke flavor come in, the salt or the corn?

Most people, most normal people, just want to consume. They know what food they like and what beer they like and they want more of those things. But not us. Even when we know we will absolutely hate a beer or a food, we want to try it if it’s interesting. Even voluntarily signing up for an abusive sip or bite is worth it for the information we now hold about how it tastes.

These tacos are a small slice of that. The beer and salt soak will disrupt the starch in the potatoes leaving you with a fluffy middle and a crispy exterior. I won’t continue, you have tacos to eat and more normal things to think about. But for now, just know that the secret to crispy oven fries is a salt brine.

Enjoy your tacos and I hope you have a much more normal person than myself to engage in dinner conversation.

Yum

Crispy Sweet Potato Tacos

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 large garnet sweet potatoes
1 tbs, plus 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
12 ounces wheat beer
2 tbs olive oil
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
12 homemade corn tortillas
1 cup corn kernels, warmed
1 avocado, diced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup white onion, chopped
hot sauce

Instructions

Slice the sweet potatoes into wedges about ½ inch thick. Place in a large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt, cover with beer. Add water to the bowl to bring the level of liquid above the potato wedges.
Cover and chill for at least 3 hours and up to 12.
Move the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven, place a rimed metal baking sheet on the rack (this will preheat the baking sheet helping to crisp your potatoes). Preheat oven to 425.
Drain the potatoes and rinse well. Place on a stack of paper towels and pat dry. Add to a large bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and remaining 1 teaspoon salt, toss to coat.
Add the potatoes to the pre-heated baking sheet, distribute in an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes, flip the potato wedges over and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the other side of the potato is golden brown. Remove from the oven, add to a stack of paper towels.
Add two to three sweet potato wedges to a tortilla, top with corn, avocado, cilantro, onion and hot sauce.

Notes

The salt brine will help the exterior crisp and the center of the potato to stay fluffy.

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I use this homemade corn tortilla recipe, so easy and totally worth it.

Mushroom Stout Skillet Chicken Pot Pie (with Vegan Option)

Mushroom Stout Skillet Chicken Pot Pie (with vegan option). One pot, thirty minutes, lick-the-pan-good.

What I Learned Last Year

If you lower your rates to accommodate someones budget they won’t appreciate you, they will devalue you. You’ll automatically be a bargain item, you’ll be on sale and worth less to them.
I learned how to brew on a commercial brewing system. My main life lesson takeaways were: listen to the guy who went before you, trust your gut, take great notes.
If someone tells you they are an asshole, believe them the first time. They will inevitably prove it to you and you’ll be on the losing end of that lesson. If you’re a person who dates the bad boy or the bitchy girl, figure out how to break that. It’s worth it.
Broken down cardboard boxes make better drop cloths than those thin plastic sheets from Home Depot. Also, painting sucks and I hate it. But I’ll do it again, probably within the next six months.
There are “have stuff” people and there are “do stuff” people. You’ll inevitably prioritize one over the other, general budgeting requires it. I’m a “do stuff person,” the new couch can wait when there is a passport that needs stamping.
Immersion blenders fix broken sauces. I’ve known this about cheese sauce, but I’ve also found that when you’re trying to bourbon up a chocolate sauce and it seizes, the stick blender can turn it back into velvet.
I love Galaxy and Mosaic hops the most. Especially with fresh hop beers. Don’t get mad, hops aren’t children, you’re allowed to have favorites.
If you’re not happy now, you never will be. Circumstance doesn’t make you happy, it’s a choice. Feed the right wolf, the wrong one will eat you alive.
Making bread from scratch is worth it, making sausage from scratch isn’t. Just buy the sausage, it’s an art that takes years to perfect. Make bread from scratch at least once a month, the smell alone is worth it.
Michael Pollan was right: plant food is the best food. “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” —Michael Pollan. Although I’ll always eat meat and dairy, I find myself eating more and more vegan food and loving it. I seek it out, and eat plants with more frequency than ever before. Plants are amazing.

Yum

Mushroom Stout Skillet Chicken Pot Pie (with Vegan Option)

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tbs (26g)olive oil
½ cup (63g) sweet white onion, diced
2 ribs celery (52g), chopped
1 large carrot (63g), peeled and chopped
8 wt oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
½ cup (70g) corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes (for vegan, see note)
½ tsp (.5g) rosemary, minced
4 sage leaves, minced
1 tsp (6g) salt
1 tsp (3g) black pepper
¼ cup (32g) flour
½ cup (118mL) stout
½ cup (118mL) chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegan)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
egg wash (1 large egg, 1 tablespoon water, beaten) (for vegan, see note)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Heat the olive oil in a 9-inch cast iron skillet. Add the onions, celery, and carrots, cooking until vegetables are softened and the onions have started to brown, about ten minutes.
Add the mushrooms, cooking until dark and softened.
Stir in the corn, cook until warmed.
Move the vegetables to the side, add the chicken (or potatoes for vegan). Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, salt and pepper, cooking until chicken is mostly cooked through (or potatoes are fork tender.)
Sprinkle with flour. Add the stout, scraping the bottom to de-glaze the pan. Add in the chicken broth, allow to simmer until slightly thickened. Remove from heat.
Roll the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface, transfer to the skillet, making sure the entire top is covered and the pastry is hanging over the sides.
Brush with egg wash. Slit a few holes in the top with a sharp knife. Bake until puff pastry is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve warm.

Notes

—For vegan pot pie: omit the chicken, double the mushrooms and corn, add 1 russet potato, peeled and small diced. —In place of an egg wash, use 1 part (about 2 tablespoons) almond milk plus one part maple or agave syrup. —Not all stouts are vegan, some use animal products in processing. To check if your beer is vegan, visit barnivore.com

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Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup

A few weeks ago I stopped a radio interview, mid-conversation, to correct the interviewer.

I don’t ever do this. I love talking to people who don’t know beer, who want to ask questions. People who have genuine interest in learning about a subject they have only scratched the surface of. Sometimes I get someone who just pretends to know about beer. It makes things awkward. I’ll let a few things slide, like the radio guy I adore who keeps referring to all beer as “lagers” even when he’s actually talking about ales. We’ll just move forward, no need to correct. But then sometimes it’s just too much and I have to shut things down for a 30 second beer-geek rant. It started a bit like this:

Interviewer: “So this is a big season for beer people, right?! I mean harvest beer! I love harvest beer, you know, because I can’t get enough pumpkin. I love anything that tastes like pumpkins!”

So we stopped to talk about harvest beers. The fact that “harvest” actually refers to hop harvest and beers made with freshly harvested hops. Hops are only harvested once a year making the beer made that special time of year—that small window of time when you can use freshly harvested hops—incredibly rare and sought after. But only if your brewery is within driving distance of the farm, hops start to go bad fairly quickly. The rest of the year you can only use dried hops in one form or another. Harvest is a big deal for us. No matter where we are, it’s the first beer we want to try if we see it on tap. After all, it’s only a matter of time before all the wet hopped kegs are dry and the moment has passed.

The good news is that I got to talk about hop harvest and what a huge deal it is, especially in the Pacific Northwest where 80% of the hops in the USA are grown. I also got to talk about how beer people will push a case of pumpkin beer down the stairs just to get to a fresh hop beer. I was nice, because we’ve all been there. We’ve all been in a situation when we though we knew what we were talking about, but really had no idea. I thanked the interviewer for letting me talk about fresh hop beers, they are my favorite right now. And I hope fresh hop beer sales went up just a tick in that broadcast network. Even if it meant that pumpkin beer sales went down.

Yum

Slow Cooker Gojuchang Stout Black Bean Soup

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 lbs dried black beans
½ sweet white onion, diced
1 large carrot, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
2 tbs tomato paste
12 ounces smoked stout or porter
4 cups broth (vegetable or beef)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbs Gochujang Korean hot sauce*
1 large avocado, diced
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Add the beans, onions, carrots, bell pepper, tomato paste, beer, broth, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika and hot sauce to a slow cooker, stir to combine.
Cook on low for 10 hours or high for 6 hours, stir occasionally if possible.
Ladle into bowls, top with avocado and cilantro before serving.

Notes

--Gojuchang is a Korean hot sauce that is easy to find in the Asian section of most major super markets, even Target. It's sweet, spicy and smokey. --You don't need to pre soak the beans, the beer does a great job of breaking them down and making them creamy inside. -- If you have time, sautéing the onions, carrots and bell peppers for 10 minutes before adding to the slow cooker will improve the final flavor.

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I use this slow cooker (affiliate link).

Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce

Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce

Let’s say you had someone coming over for dinner.

This is a person you like, a person that happened to be vegan. But for you, that’s not a big deal. You’ve got this. Except you don’t. Because salad is boring, and pasta is predictable. You don’t want anything complicated, you want the “this old thing?” version of a meal.

But then you freeze up. It’s a simple dinner, a “I hardly have more than 20 minutes to throw this together” meal, but it still has to be great. So you go back to your childhood comfort foods. And although what your mom made was less “enchiladas” and more of a “burrito casserole,” it was still one of your favorites.

Tortillas are vegan. So is corn and beans and avocados. Beer is vegan, for the most part. And even though you still put cotija cheese on half of it, it’s still a damn good meal, vegan or not. Because produce is amazing and celebrating it in a big ‘ol pan of spicy sauce will a malty stout should be something that everyone does more often.

Because plants are awesome.

This is how I make corn tortillas, once you start, you’ll never go back to store bought.

Yum

Corn and Black Bean Enchiladas with Chipotle Stout Red Sauce

Yield: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

Sauce:

2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs tomato paste
½ cup tomato sauce
1 chipotle chili in adobo, finely minced
2 tbs adobo sauce
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cumin
¾ cup stout

Enchiladas:

2 large avocados
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
8-10 homemade or good quality corn tortillas
1 can (425g) black beans, rinsed and drained
kernels from one ear of corn
¼ cup cotija cheese (optional. Omit for vegan)
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425.
Add the cornstarch, tomato paste and tomato sauce to a pot, whisk until well combined. Add to medium heat, stir in the chipotles, adobo sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cumin and stout.
Allow to simmer until slightly thickened, about five minutes.
In a small bowl mash together the avocados, salt and pepper.
Heat the tortillas slightly to make them more pliable.
One at a time spread tortillas with avocado, fill with black beans and corn, roll tightly.
Place into an 8X8 pan in a tight row.
Pour the sauce evenly over the pan.
Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until warm and bubbly.
Top with remaining ingredients, serve warm.

Notes

*For an 9x13 pan, double the recipe

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Chocolate Stout Peanut Butter Cups

Chocolate Stout Peanut Butter Cups. Three Ingredients, crazy good.

Let’s agree to make stuff this year. Because you and I, we like that. We like getting our hands and our kitchens dirty, ignoring the dishes that are starting to pile up as the vision we have for our edible creation taking shape. We like that sort of thing.

Of course we know that we can buy stuff at the store, but that isn’t the point. We want to make it ourselves, fill it with beer, and hand it over with a big stupid smile on our face. It’s almost Valentines day, which I loath for reasons I’ll keep to myself, but if I was going to get all gifty, I’d make something. And I’d probably fill it with beer.

My first Valentines Day post ever was my most controversial yet, and the one that has earned me the most hate mail. I suppose that if you compare and contrast blow jobs and shoe shopping, that happens. I stand by every word, now more than ever. This year, I’m too weary to be quite so feisty, I’ll just settle for filling chocolate cups with beer infused peanut butter.

I know what you’re thinking, you want to use a peanut butter stout. I can see where you’d think that, but I’m going to ask you to reconsider. The flavors are too similar and will end up getting lost. Pick a contrasting flavor that will stand out, like a smoked porter or an espresso stout. I chose the latter. This gorgeous Survival Stout by Hopworks was perfect, rich roasty flavors and sexy espresso finish. You’ll be glad you have so much leftover once you beer up a bowl of peanut butter.

Yum

Chocolate Stout Peanut Butter Cups

Yield: about 24

Ingredients

8 wt oz (about 1 ½ cups) dark chocolate (60% cocoa content)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup stout or porter (espresso or smoked work best)

Instructions

Add the chocolate to a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted.
Line a mini muffin tin with mini muffin papers.
Add about 2 teaspoons of chocolate to the muffin papers (about 1/3 full). Use the back of a spoon to “paint” the sides of the mini muffin papers, making sure to cover the entire paper, but keep the walls thin,leaving more room for filling.
Chill until the chocolate has set, about ten minutes.
In a small bowl stir together the peanut butter and stout until well combined.
Fill the chocolate cups with peanut butter mixture until just below the top.
Add a small amount of melted chocolate to the top of the peanut butter, making sure to cover the entire mound of peanut butter, smoothing to make a flat top.
Chill until set, about ten minutes. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

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Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette

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 drinking bad coffee with a woman who was closer to my Grandmothers age than my own and she told me about praying with MLK Jr. in a tent the night before the big human rights rally. I was captivated. I looked at her hands, gripping a white paper cup and I imagined them gripping his. Facing each other, his hands tightly folded into hers, eyes closed, praying for the day to come, possibly wondering if they would both make it through alive. I felt like I was in the presence of Royalty. “One of the best things he ever said to me was to collect compliments, and disregard insults.” I smiled, apparently she had picked up on the fact that I tend to disregard compliments and collect insults. “I’ll give you one, one that I hope you collect. Here it is: you get it. Most white people don’t, but you do. You get it. For as much as someone who has never been a minority can get it, you do.”

To this day, it’s one of my favorites. More than Carlos Santana telling me I was pretty, or Tommy Lee saying I beautiful. It was a compliment that mattered from a woman I was intimidated by. It beat out Evan Kleiman saying my recipes are smart and even a woman I adored saying “you’re the kind of girl I hope my son marries.” But all of these compliments I’m keeping. I’m saving them up and pulling them out when I feel beaten down. You should too. Collect the compliments, disregard the insults. After all, if someone wants to throw a nasty comment your way, it says more about them than it does about you.

Rosemary Potato Brown Ale Galette

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
4 lbs russet potatoes, sliced into ¼ inch slices
1/3 cup brown ale

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
In a small bowl stir together olive oil, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, allow to steep for five minutes (you can also add this to a small pan and bring to a boil on the stove top).
Place a layer of potatoes in an overlapping circle in the bottom on a 9-inch spring form pan.
Brush potatoes circles with olive oil mixture. Add a second layer of potatoes, brushing with oil, repeat until all potatoes are used. You should have three or four layers of potatoes, each layer brushed with the herbed olive oil. Once all potatoes have been used, pour 1/3 cup brown ale gently over the top.
Cover spring form pan with aluminum foil, bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Place potatoes under the broiler for 3 minutes or until the top is slightly crisp and golden brown. Press down firmly on the top of the galette with a spoon or fork. Allow to cool. Remove the sides of the spring form pan, cut galette into wedges.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/10/29/rosemary-potato-brown-ale-galette/

This recipe is crazy delicious and just so happens to be vegan. It’s a beautiful way to serve a side dish to a diverse crowd at Thangsiving. It can even be gluten free if you use GF beer and it’s relatively healthy. Want a delicious and different breakfast offering? Put an egg on it.

Want to know how I made these incredibly delicious beer battered grilled cheese bites? You’ll love them. Check them out on the Harry & David blog.

Frozen Beer Soaked Watermelon

Summer beers have arrive, filling the shelves of our bottle shops with pale ambiguous summer refreshment. If you’re new to beer, these labels can be a bit confusing due to the comprehensive lack of cohesion with the title: summer ale. Some have a beautiful bitter hop bite, some have a nice malty flavor, some are mild and clean. I’m an advocate for an open mind and full beer cart, but if you’re a bit more leery and want a specific flavor profile when looking for beer, here are a few things to keep in mind.

“American” in front of any beer title (i.e. American Summer Ale, American Pale Ale…) means that beer will be hoppier than it’s non-patriotic counterparts.

Summer ales and summer release aren’t the same thing, but close. Summer release just means a beer that is only released that season, but can be any style. Summer ales are generally a pale ale with notes of citrus, light to medium bodies, some hops but not overwhelming, but brewers are free to run wild within a very broad definition so many summer ales taste vastly different.

Saisons are made to be served in the summer, they are often mild, fruity, generally have a bit more sweetness to them and very low hops. Sometimes these are made with wheat, but not always. This is a great style to seek out if you’re new to craft beer or looking to introduce people to craft beer.

Kolsch is a mild crisp beer, it’ll give you a bit more hops than a saison, but not as much as a pale ale. It’s a great summer beer to pair with your barbaque, it’s mild enough for the watermelon and bold enough to stand up to salsa and has a great carbonation to wash down that burger.

Session IPA‘s are just IPA’s with a low alcohol content, letting you drink more without embarrassing yourself. You’ll still get a great bite of hops, but without becoming an intended YouTube sensation.

To booze up these watermelon cubes, I used the summer release beer Hell or High Watermelon by 21st Amendment brewery. It’s a wheat beer made with fresh watermelons, crisp and dry and perfect for summer.

It was the obvious choice.

Frozen Beer Soaked Watermelonsicles

Ingredients

2 lbs watermelon, cut into cubes
12 ounces beer (pale ale, wheat beer or IPA)

Directions

Place watermelon in a bowl. Pour beer over the watermelon. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
Remove from beer, skewer with 6 inch wooden skewers.
Place on a large plate, cover and freeze for 1 to 2 hours.
Serve frozen.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/06/20/beer-soaked-watermelon/

Grilled Beer Soaked Rosemary Potatoes (with a grill or without)

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 while cooking.

And let’s talk about that cooking. For well over a year I’ve been taunting you with grill recipes, like grilled Beer & Buttermilk Sriracha Chicken, and Beer Marinated Steak with Porter Gorgonzola Butter, but what if you don’t have a grill? First, you should buy one, but if you can’t swing it, a grill pan is a great alternative. I went nearly two years without a grill and I used my grill pan weekly as a substitute.

Because no matter what life throws your way, there is something about grilled food and cold beer that makes it seem like all is right in the world again.

Grilled Beer Soaked Rosemary Potatoes

Ingredients

12 ounces pale ale
1 tbs kosher or sea salt
2 lbs russet potatoes, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp white sugar
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

In a large bowl stir together the salt and beer. Add the potato rounds and add enough water until potatoes are fully covered.
Chill for at least 2 hours and up to 12.
Remove from the brine and allow to dry completely on a stack of paper towels.
Add the potatoes to a bowl or baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with spices, toss until well coated.
Preheat the grill (or a grill pan) to medium high.
Place the potatoes on the grill (working in batches if necessary), until grill marks appear, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until fork tender, about 3 additional minutes.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/05/07/grilled-beer-soaked-rosemary-potatoes/

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

People have irrational culinary fears, I get it. Some people avoid recipes using yeast like they are circus clowns in a dark alley. Some people can’t wrap their brains around the idea of plunging food into hot oil without a spotter. I have an irrational fear of mall Santas so I get it, there are just some things we tend to avoid.

Although I assure you, you’d be just fine if you wanted to fry these suckers in hot oil. I also assure you that if you bought a deep fryer your football parties will never be the same. But if you aren’t there yet, I get it.

I spent most of the summer cooking everything I ate on my backyard grill, taunting the grill-less into Sad Face reactions. One of my go-to sides was grilled french fries. I cut them large enough as not to slip through the grates and I learned that soaking them in a salt brine gave you that creamy middle and crispy outside that you really want in your french fries.

Now that most the grills in America are covered in the unsavory film of winter, I’ve switched to the oven method. The salt water soak is still the way to go when you want that creamy/crispy combo, and letting the baking sheet heat up in the oven will give you more of that golden brown outside that you’d get from that scary vat of hot oil.

Although I do promise that if you do decide to deep fry your potatoes, you’ll be fine. It’s not that scary, not like, say a grown man in a red suit that lurks near a Hollister.

Beer Soaked Oven Fries

Ingredients

1.5 lbs russet potatoes
12 ounces pale ale
1 tbs kosher salt
water
¼ cup canola oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sugar

Directions

Cut the potatoes into ½ inch strips.
In a large bowl add the beer and 1 tbs kosher salt. Add the potatoes to the beer, add just enough water that the potatoes are fully submerged, about 1 to 2 cups.
Cover and chill for at least 3 hours and up to 12.
Move the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven, place a rimed metal baking sheet on the rack. Preheat oven to 425.
Drain the potatoes and rinse well. Place on a stack of paper towels and pat dry. Add to a large bowl, drizzle with canola oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sea salt, black pepper and sugar. Toss until well coated.
Pour the potatoes onto the baking sheet in an even layer.
Bake for 20 minutes. Turn with a spatula and bake until golden brown, an additional 15-20 minutes.

http://thebeeroness.com/2014/01/13/beer-soaked-oven-fries/

Mushroom Quinoa Porter Chili & Is Beer Vegan?

Is Beer Vegan?

From an outsiders perspective, the question might seems silly. Beer, after all, is made from plants and water. At its most basic, the ingredients to make beer are simple: water, malt, hops, yeast; all of which are clearly non-animal. And while brewmasters have a way of working everything from bacon to whole chickens into their beer, the biggest culprits are more subtle.

Sometimes, the de-veganized beers are easy to spot, a milk stout that uses lactose, or a honey kolsch, but more often than not, our veggie loving beer friends are in the dark as to whether an animal part has made its way into their pints. Since the CDC, the TTB, the FDA and all the other acronym loving agencies that have their grubby paws in what we consume do not require anyone to disclose the use of animal byproducts in the processing of food or beverages, it often gets left off the label (in fact, almost always).

The biggest offenders are what brewers use to clarify beer. While the need for clarifying is often done with non animal ingredients, or replaced with a centrifuge machine, it’s still common for breweries to use ingredients like gelatin or fish bladders as clarifying agents rendering beer not only non-vegan but non-vegetarian. There is also the foam control issue, and I’m not talking about the frothing of the mouth that occurs when your favorite stout is on Nitro, but the desire brewers have to give you that perfect level of foam head on your pints. To gain control on that lovely can’t-you-settle-yet-I-need-a-drink-now head on your beer, brewers have been known to use pepsin (made from pigs) or albium (made from animal blood) to give you the perfect pour.

But if you are one of the growing numbers of craft beer loving veggie devotees, don’t despair. Many, many breweries are hip to your vibe, vegan beer is a concern for many. When it comes to finding out if your beer is sans-beasts, google is your friend. Also, websites like Barnivore give a great and growing list of vegan friendly breweries and beers.

For this recipe I used Sierra Nevada Porter, a vegan beer. In fact, as a company, Sierra Nevada is 100% vegan friendly.

As an addendum to this, it needs to be mentioned that there is nothing wrong with the use of animal products in beer. Milk stout is a favorite of mine, and a good honey kolsch is great to pair with a summer cook out. However, disclosure is key and giving people the information they need to keep the diet they choose is a way to keep us all friends in this craft beer community.

Mushroom Quinoa Porter Chili

Ingredients

3 tbs olive oil
8 ounces crimini mushrooms, minced
½ cup onions, chopped
½ cup diced carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups broth
1 cup porter or stout beer, divided
½ cup red quinoa, dry
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, chopped
½ cup corn kernels
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp garlic powder
1 jalapeno, diced
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp Sriracha (or other red chili sauce)
1 avocado, diced
½ cup green onion, chopped
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat, add the mushroom, sauté until darkened and softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the onions and carrots and cook until softened about 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic then add the broth and ½ cup beer. Stir in the dry quinoa, allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until quinoa is cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Add the beans, bell pepper, corn, smoked paprika, pepper, salt, cumin and garlic powder, allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining beer, jalapenos, tomatoes, and sriracha, simmer for 10 minutes or until slightly thickened and reduced.
Ladle into bowls, top with avocado, green onion and cilantro.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/10/29/mushroom-quinoa-porter-chili-beer-vegan/

Beer Battered Avocado Tacos with Fresh Corn Salsa

Nothing in life should be qualified by what is left out. You shouldn’t stand in the warm, golden, tropical, sun, toes digging into the sand, asking where the snow is.

You shouldn’t visit Machu Picchu and think, “It’s pretty good for a place that doesn’t have a mall.”

Lazy Sunday afternoons spent reading Down and Out in Paris and London while gently swaying in a hammock aren’t known as That Day I Didn’t Go To A Rock Show.

Unfortunately for us all, we tend to filter everything though a check list of our own normality, fact checked by what we’re used to. Food shouldn’t be though of by what isn’t in it, but by what is. Vegan food shouldn’t be thought of meatless food, but food that celebrates produce.

Even though I am a meat-loving bacon-devotee, I love the challenge that produce- celebrating-food presents. Because I never want to serve food that’s described as “good for [vegan, parve, gluten free, healthy, etc.]” I want it to be damn awesome regardless of what’s put in or left out.

These tacos were every bit the shockingly fantastic bites that I wanted them to be. It just so happens that I didn’t need any meat or dairy to accomplish this feat.

I can’t take all the credit, you could beer batter anything and wrap it in a beer corn tortilla and you pretty much have a winner on your hands.

For the love of God, make your own tortillas. Once you realize that corn tortillas take about 5 minutes and three ingredients to make, not to mention taste a thousand times better than store-bought (plus cost only pennies), you’ll never go back.

Beer Battered Avocado Tacos with Fresh Corn Salsa

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Yield: 12 tacos

Ingredients

For the Tortillas:

2 cups masa harina
½ tsp salt
1 1/3 cup warm IPA

For the Avocados:

Canola oil for frying
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
12 ounces IPA
3 avocados, ripe but still firm

For the Corn Salsa:

1 ear of fresh sweet corn, kernels cut off
1 jalapeno, stem and seeds removed, chopped
¼ cup red onions, diced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 tbs chopped scallions
juice from one lime
¼ cup chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Make the tortillas:In a large bowl, add the Masa and the salt, stir to combine. Add the beer and 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 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, press again.
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 Avocados:Add about 4 inches of oil to a saucepan, clip a deep-fry thermometer onto the side (make sure the needle is not touching the bottom of the pot. Bring to 375-400 degrees (adjust heat to maintain that temperature).
In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Add the beer and stir until combined (should have the consistency of pancake batter).
Cut the avocados into thick slices (about 4-5 per half) making sure the skin and seed is removed.
Dip the avocado slices into the batter and fry for about 1 minutes, flip and fry until golden brown, about an additional 2 minutes. Remove from fryer and allow to drain on a stack of paper towels. (only fry 2-3 slices at a time or the oil temp will drop and batter will become overly oily).
Make the salsa: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir to combine.
Assemble tacos and serve.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/06/11/beer-battered-avocado-tacos-with-fresh-corn-salsa/

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Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

I brûléed some avocados, which, let me be honest, is sort of strange. But it gave this soup a campfirey, smoky flavor that I loved so I’m standing behind the decisions. A decision that was largely based on the fact that I’ve had this brulee torch for over two months and haven’t used it yet.

Now I’m sort of hooked on the idea of wielding a kitchen torch this powerful, it completely smokes (pun intended) the one I previously owned that I now see as fairly pathetic. The new one is beast, I think it might belong in the tool shed out back (I don’t actually have a tool shed, so I guess it’ll stay in the kitchen).

But you really don’t HAVE to brulee avocados, just cutting them up and adding them to the soup like a normal person is just fine.

About this soup, it’s vegan, which clearly I am not. But I love vegan food because it puts the emphasis on produce, which I adore. Corn is just coming into the season, and so are the avocados I abused, but the weather in most parts of the country is still soup worthy. But you have to remember that I’m also the girl that likes to drink stout and eat soup in August.

I also prefer to eat ice cream in December. Which all may add up to my rampant non-normalness that forced me to take a kitchen torch to those perfectly lovely avocados.

Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

Yield: Yield: 4 side dish servings or 2 entree servings

Ingredients

3 large ears sweet corn
2 tbs olive oil
½ white onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2/3 cup pale ale
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 cups vegetable broth (chicken will work as well)
1 can (13.5 ounces) full fat coconut milk
2 tsp red curry paste
pinch cayenne
5 large leaves basil, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, roasted
1 large avocado (ripe but firm, too soft will not work)
1 lemon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400.
Trim off any silk that is sticking out of the husk of the corn ears.
Place on a baking sheet, roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels off the corn, set aside.
In a sauce pan over medium high heat, sauté the onions in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Add the beer, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry paste, corn kernels, and cayenne. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.
Stir in the basil and the red pepper.
To brûlée the avocados, slice into ¼ inch slices, sprinkle with lemon juice. Place on a heat proof surface like a baking sheet. brûlée with a kitchen torch until browned, use tongs to flip over and brûlée the other side.
Pour soup into bowls, top with avocados.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/05/10/roasted-corn-and-coconut-curry-chowder-with-bruleed-avocados/

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Homemade Garlic Beer Pita Bread

Do you remember when I told you that once I discovered that homemade corn tortillas where so good it made me realize that I didn’t acctually hate corn tortillas, I just hated those sad cardboard disks they sell at the store?

Pita bread is an even bigger revelaiton. It’s not as quick as those 10 minute homemade tortillas, but it’s so soft and addictingly amazing, it’s worth the time. It’s about 15 minutes of active time and another 45 to 60 minutes of rise time. About an hour all in. An hour well spent. Pita bread was the first yeast bread I ever made which helped me to conquer my fear of yeast and made me wonder what I was so scared of.

For this, and for most bread recipes, I like a wheat beer, especially an unfiltered wheat beer. The bready notes and the yeast in the beer give a great texture with a hint of beer on the back end.

So, what do you do with this beautiful bread once you’ve decided to make it? If you can resist eating it right out of the pan, it makes amazing wraps and sandwiches, but don’t be afraid to make mini pizzas or even large chicken tacos with this too. Or just eat it right out of the pan with some melted butter. And a cold beer.

Homemade Garlic Beer Pita Bread

Ingredients

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 envelope rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup beer
1 tsp salt

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast and garlic powder. Mix until combined.
In a microwave safe bowl add the beer. Microwave on high for 20 seconds, test temperature with a cooking thermometer and repeat until temperature reaches between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Add the beer to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed. Once most of the dough has been moistened, sprinkle with the salt while the mixer is still running.
Turn speed to high and beat until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, tightly wrap with plastic wrap. Allow to sit in a warm room until doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Remove from bowl and add to a lightly floured surface. Knead several times, cut into 8 equal sized pieces.
One at a time roll the dough into 6 inch circles.
Lightly oil a cast iron skillet and heat over high heat until very hot. Add one dough circle to the pan, cook until the underside has browned and the top starts to bubble, about 2 minutes, flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the pita bread is cooked through. Adjust the heat if the pan becomes too hot and the bread burns too quickly.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/04/12/homemade-garlic-beer-pita-bread/

Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream

If you’re new to the Craft Beer scene, it might surprise you how many vegetarian and vegans there are here.

While I am a meat eater (clearly, I put bacon in desserts), I did spend three years as a vegetarian. Mostly, this was a response to growing up on a farm and getting up close and person to the butchering process as well as the jarring realization of knowing the first name of my dinner. It did, however, give me a profound respect for the food I eat and the farms that share that respect.

I still eat vegan quite often, and there are some dishes, like lasagna, that I just think are just better in vegetarian form.

My true and honest feeling about vegan cooking is that regardless of what your typical diet is, if you can’t cook a vegan meal that you love, you just aren’t that good of cook. Produce is amazing, you get to use all the grains, seeds and nuts that you want and by the way, for the most part beer is vegan.

I first heard about Cashew Cream from this guy, and the idea was intriguing, given that I would have a much easier time giving up meat than sour cream and goat cheese. I like the idea of having a creamy element when I want to go non-dairy. This cashew cream was a really beautiful creamy addition to a vegan chili, when sour cream isn’t an option. I wanted to balance the sweetness so I added some acid and some spices, but feel free to experiment. This would also be a great place to add a little chipotle.

Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream

Ingredients

For The Cashew Cream:

2 cups raw cashwes,
1 to 1 ½ cups almond milk
Additional 1/3 cup almond milk
2 tbs IPA beer
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tsp white wine vinegar

For The Chili:

3 tbs olive oil
1 white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup crimini mushrooms, finley diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 wt ounces Soyrizo
2 cup stout
2 cups veggie broth
¼ cup tomato paste
1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can stewed diced tomatoes, with juice
1 or 2 large chipotle peppers in adoboe, minced
½ cup quinoa
1/3 cup bulgur wheat
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder

Garnishes:

½ cup Cilantro, chopped
1 Avocado, sliced
Tortilla Chips

Directions

Add the cashews to a bowl, pour almond milk over cashews until covered. Let stand for 4 hours.
Drain cashews and add to a food processor with 1/3 cup almond milk, IPA, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and vinegar. Process until smooth, about 5 minutes, possibly longer. Add additional almond milk or beer for a thinner consistency.
In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onions, red peppers and mushrooms. Cook until onions and peppers have softened and the mushrooms have darkened.
Add the garlic and the soyrizo, stir, breaking up the soyrizo.
Add the stout, broth, tomato paste, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes and chipotle, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add the quinoa, bulgur, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and garlic powder, simmer until the quinoa has cooked, about 15 minutes. The longer chili simmers, the thicker it will be.
Plate on top of tortilla chips, if desired, top with cilantro, avocado, and cashew cream.

http://thebeeroness.com/2013/01/16/vegan-chipotle-stout-chili-with-ipa-cashew-cream/