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baking with beer

Beer & Bacon Pecan Bars

06.09.2012 56 Comments

 

 

Clearly, I’m ready for fall. And in Los Angeles, that just means that Dodgers games are starting to end and I get to wear a light sweater. If I feel like it. Oh, and fall produce. If I haven’t mentioned to you before my favorite part of living in Southern California, its this: Farmers Markets.

This Golden State that I live in grows half of all the produce grown in the United States (that’s a lot) and we get to have Farmers Markets nearly every day of the year. And although mid-rant I realize that this post doesn’t even contain any produce, it does contain those fabulous flavors of fall. With bacon. And beer. And fall farmers markets are my favorite. No matter what day of the week, somewhere in Los Angeles there is a Farmers Market in which I can unnecessarily bundle up and walk from stall to stall with a cup of coffee buying local vegetables in the "chilly" mid 60 degree weather.

Pecan pie will always remind me of fall and for nearly a year I’ve wondered what it would be like to add bacon. And of course, beer.

Turns out, these are the best damn pecan pie bars I’ve ever had.

 

Beer & Bacon Pecan Bars

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

For The Crust:

  • 1 stick plus 2 tbs 10 tbs unsalted butter
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbs water

For the Filling

  • 1 cup stout
  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 cups chopped pecan
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 5 strips of bacon cooked and chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • In a food processor add the flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and salt, pulse to combine. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the food processor. Process until butter is incorporated into the flour mixture. Add the water and process to combine. Add additional water, 1 tsp at a time if there is flour that still hasn't been dampened.
  • line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper (this will make it easier to remove from the pan) and dump the shortbread into the pan. Press into the bottom of the baking pan in one even layer.
  • Bake at 350 for 12 minutes of until a light golden brown. Allow to cool before adding the filling or the crust and filling will mesh together.
  • In a pot over medium high heat, add the stout, cook until reduced by half. Add the butter and stir until melted, remove from heat. Add the sugar, pecans, cream, corn syrup and stir until melted. Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, add the eggs and stir until combined.
  • Pour the filling over the crust, sprinkle with cooked bacon and bake at 350 until the filling no longer jiggles when you gently shake the pan, about 25-30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Chip, Stout & Beer Nut Cookies

28.08.2012 18 Comments

 

If you live in the Los Angeles area, I’m going to need you to do me a favor. I’ve somehow been booked on CBS, Los Angeles mid-day news with a cooking segment this Friday, August 31st. They want me to do a quick Cooking With Beer segment on the news at noon. People will be hungry, naturally, it is lunch time, and my hope is that this will persuade them to ignore any brief moments of nervousness that I have.

But If you could tune in, and support me, that would be great. I’m not really nervous, I keep waiting for that to set in, but it hasn’t yet. When it does, I would love to know that people who have been visiting me here on this little blog for the past year are out there cheering me on.

That would be great.

In the meantime we’re going to make some cookies. These call for the classic Beer Nuts, which I found myself in possession of after a particularly round night of cards at my house. Several bags of Beer Nuts left by an anonymous donor.  And I can’t just leave them in my pantry, I need to find a use for them.

We are also going to revisit that crazy idea I have of making beer extract. Because vanilla is just too…well, vanilla.

 

Chocolate Chip, Stout & Beer Nut Cookies

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup stout beer
  • 1 cup cake flour
  • 3/4 cup bread flour
  • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips 60%
  • 3 oz bag Beer Nuts

(Makes 10-12 cookies)

    Instructions
     

    • In a pot over medium high heat add the beer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 tbs.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and both types of sugar, beat until well creamed. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Add the 1 tbs of beer extract and beat until well combined, scraping the bottom to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
    • In a sperate bowl, add both types of flour (these two types of flour are very important to the end result of your cookies, regular all purpose flour will not give you the same results), cornstarch, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add dry ingredients to the stand mixer and mix on medium/low speed until just barely combined, don't over mix. Add the chocolate chips and Beer Nuts, and stir until incorporated.
    • Resting the dough is an important step in this recipe. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, scoop golfball sized scoops of dough, roll them into round balls and place on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.
    • Preheat oven to 350.
    • Bake for 20-22 minutes or until light golden brown, don't over bake. (If you don't chill the dough, or if you make smaller sized cookies, the cooking time will be much shorter. Start to keep an eye on your cookies after about 14 minutes).

     

    Brown Butter Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwich

    23.08.2012 27 Comments

    There are some great elements in this world we live in that we beg the universe to some how bring together.

    Like a Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series

    Or an episode of The Office directed by Christopher Guest

    Or Trey Parker have complete creative control over The White House Holiday Card

    Or a reality show hybrid of The Bachelor and Fear Factor

    Even though I have to come to terms with the fact that those things will sadly never exist, I can meld brown butter and beer cheese into the greatest of all grilled cheese sandwiches. It won’t have the cultural repercussions of any of the above unions, but it is the best sandwich I’ve had in a long time. Too bad I didn’t have the forethought, or the consumptive restraint, to create a beer tomato soup to go along for the journey.

    Brown Butter Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwich

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 6 oz cream cheese
    • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
    • 1 tsp cornstarch
    • 1/4 cup Pale Ale
    • 4 oz cheddar
    • 8 slices bread
    • 4 tbs butter

    Instructions
     

    • In a blender or food processor add the cream cheese, mozzarella, cornstarch and beer. Blend until smooth, about 3 minutes. Spread the beer cheese generously onto 4 slices of bread. Top with about 2 tbs of cheddar and then top with a clean slice of bread.
    • In a skillet with a lid melt the butter over medium heat (don't allow the butter to get too hot or it will burn) until just starting to turn a golden brown. Carefully add the sandwiches, and replace the lid allowing the sandwiches to steam in the pan until the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the sandwiches, replace the lid and allow to cook until the other side is a light golden brown and the cheese is melted, about 3 additional minutes.

     You can also use the pre-oven beer cheese from my Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Beer Cheese Dip.

     

    IPA Ceviche

    21.08.2012 14 Comments

     

    As summer nears it’s inevitable end, it’s not the weather that I’ll miss the most. In fact the leather boots and chunky sweaters of colder days are starting to beckon. The produce, back yard grills, the smell of life and food floating on a late afternoon breeze will be lost in the dawning of fall.

    This isn’t a recipe about avoiding the oven, or  grumbles of triple digit heat, it’s about enjoying August produce, paired with those Summer release beers and spending as much time as you can in the open air before we’re all forced to head inside, cook with squash, and drink stouts. Which I am already looking forward to.

    IPA Ceviche

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon
    • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
    • 1 1/2 lb raw shrimp shell & tail removed, chopped
    • 1/2 cup IPA Beer
    • 1 yellow onion diced
    • 3 cups tomatoes diced
    • 1 large jalapeno diced, stem and seeds removed
    • 1/2 cup cilantro
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp red pepper sauce such as Sriracha

    Instructions
     

    • Add the lemon/lime juice and raw shrimp to a small bowl. (Shrimp will "cook" in the juice as it marinates.)
    • Mix beer, onion, tomato, and jalapeño in a large bowl, allow to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour.
    • Drain the vegetables and return to large bowl.
    • Once the shrimp have "cooked," drain and add them to the large bowl along with the salt and pepper sauce, toss to combine.
    • Serve cold with corn chips.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Beer Chicken Piccata

    16.08.2012 14 Comments

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

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

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

     

    Beer Chicken Piccata

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

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

    Instructions
     

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

     

     

     

    Homemade Beer Pasta

    14.08.2012 15 Comments

     

     This is something everyone should do in their lives.

    Like cliff jumping in Greece, restaurant week in New York City, and watching the sun rise over the Mediterranean. Although making pasta from scratch doesn’t require a passport.

    Pasta isn’t as hard to make as you think and I have complete faith in your ability to pull this off. And impress your friends.

    Plus this leaves you open to a wide variety of sauces. Not just my Beer Marianna, but can someone please make me a beer Alfredo sauce?

    I’ll have a Beer Chicken Piccata for you later.  But in the meantime, someone needs to make me this stout bolognese. I’ll bring the noodles.

    Homemade Beer Pasta

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1/4 cup wheat beer
    • 1 tbs olive oil

    Instructions
     

    • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the flour and the salt and mix well. Form a well in the center, add the eggs and the beer. Mix on a low speed until the dough, eggs and beer are incorporated, about 6 minutes. Remove from the mixer and kneed on a well floured surface until smooth and elastic, at least 10 minutes to remove all air pockets. Form a ball and brush with olive oil. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
    • Cut the dough into two equal halves. Cut each half into equal thirds to give you 6 equal sized pieces. Keep all dough covered that you are not working with.
    • Flatten each dough section into a long oval. Pass through the pasta roller at the widest setting. Close the pasta roller one notch and pass through again. Close the pasta roller again pass the pasta through again. Add flour to the pasta with each each pass through the pasta roller. Continue to do this until the pasta is thin. I used the Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller Attachment with the narrowest setting at 4.
    • Switch to the fettuccinie cutter pasta roller and cut each flattened pasta section into fettuccinie ribbons.
    • Allow to dry on a pasta drying rack or laid flat on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes.
    • Add pasta to a pot of lightly salted boiling water until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Beer Steamed Stuffed Artichokes & How to Stuff an Artichoke

    06.08.2012 11 Comments

     

    Here’s my artichoke. We’re going to gut him and stuff him with bacon.

    And then cook him in beer.

     

     

    The first step is to trim. Start with peeling off a few layers of the outside leaves They’re tough and not very good, don’t feel bad about getting rid of them.

    And if your artichoke has a long stem, trim it so that it can stand upright, with its leaves pointed at the sky. That will come in handy later.

    Then you are going to cut off the pointed tip of the artichoke.

     

    Then use a pair a kitchen sheers, (or, lets be honest regular scissors will be fine) to trim the pointed tips off of all of the leaves.

     

    Starting at the outside and working towards the inside, pull the leaves outward.

     

    Once you get to the inside leaves that are yellow and purple, you are going to want to remove these. There is a lot of waste with stuffed artichokes, just accept it and move on.

    This part isn’t easy. If you are having a hard time, that’s normal. The best way to do it is to dig at it with a melon baller. And swear at it a few times to put it in it’s place.

    Feel the inside to make sure it’s smooth and none of that hairy choke is left behind. If it still feels fuzzy, keep digging. And swearing, if it helps.

    Squeeze half a lemon into the cavity of the artichoke.

     Next you want to make the filling (recipe below).

    Stuff the filling inside the middle of the artichoke. Starting at the outside, spread the leaves out and press the filling inside the leaves, work your way in until all the leaves are full.

    Place in an oven safe pot, standing upright. Pour 1 1/2 cup citrusy wheat beer into the bottom of the pot.

    Cover with a lid or tin foil and bake at 375 for 40-60 minutes or until the outer leaves come away easily.

    Beer Steamed Stuffed Artichokes

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 4 large artichokes prepared as above
    • 1 large lemon
    • 4 strips of bacon
    • 1/3 cup chopped shallots
    • 4 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 cup mushrooms chopped
    • 1 cups bread crumbs
    • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
    • 1/2 cup mozzarella
    • 2 tbs olive oil
    • 1 1/2 cups citrusy wheat beer

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 375
    • Prepare artichokes as instructed above, squeeze 1/4 lemon into the cavity of each artichoke.
    • In a pan over medium high heat, cook the bacon until browned. Remove from pan, and chop. Drain off most of the bacon grease, leaving about 2 tbs in the pan. Add the shallots and cook until soft. Add the garlic and stir. Add the mushrooms and cook until dark brown. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients as well as the chopped bacon (other than the beer), stir until well combined.
    • Stuff the artichokes as instructed above.
    • Place artichokes upright in the pot, fill with 1 cup beer.
    • Cover and cook until outer leaves come away easily, about 40-60 minutes.


    Jalapeno IPA Hummus

    19.07.2012 23 Comments

     

    This recipe has been in my brain for a while.

    For weeks it’s been taunting me, begging to be flushed out, poured into my food processor and immortalized in internet print.

    And this weekend three failed attempts to make IPA lemon bars that never really gave me the results I was hoping for coupled with this tweet:

    gave this hummus it’s shot.

    And I’m so glad that the stars didn’t align and the beer cooking God’s didn’t smile upon the IPA lemon bars (which have become my culinary nemesis, mocking me with vague imperfections) because this hummus was exactly what I wanted on a hot day. It didn’t last long.

    For this recipe, I used one of my favorite IPA’s, Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA. A beautiful example of an IPA, even if this one was sans Habaneros.

     

    Jalapeno IPA Hummus

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 fresh jalapenos stemmed, seeded and chopped (about 1/4 cup)
    • 3 tbs tahini
    • 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans drained
    • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
    • 1 tbs olive oil
    • 1 lime juiced (about 1 tbs)
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/3 cup IPA Beer plus additional if needed

    Instructions
     

    • Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth. Add additional IPA for a thinner dip. Serve with pita or chips.
    • *Note: most of the heat from Jalapenos are in the seeds. If you want a hotter hummus, you can leave the seeds in. If the finished dip is too mild, add 1/4 tsp chili powder for a spicier dip

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    Stout Jerk Chicken

    12.07.2012 11 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Wanna see the updated grilled version? Check it out here

     

    Stout Jerk Chicken

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    • 1/2 cup stout beer I used Storm King Stout, by Victory Brewing
    • 4 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero Peppers
    • 6 cloves of garlic peeled
    • 3 tbs ponzu sauce
    • 3 tbs brown sugar
    • 1 tsp dry mustard powder
    • 2 tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder
    • 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
    • 3 tbs chopped shallots
    • 1 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice
    • 2 tbs honey
    • 1 tsp Kosher or Sea salt
    • 3 lbs chicken wings legs, thighs

    Instructions
     

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

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    Oven Roasted BBQ Ribs With Stout Barbecue Sauce

    10.07.2012 11 Comments

    I hate to break it to you but you have probably never barbecued in your life. How dare I say such blasphemous things, you toss burgers and steaks on the grill every weekend?!

    That’s not Barbecue, it’s grill. And I would never take away from the fantastic results we can get with a backyard grill, and the amazing flavors that can work their way into your food, but it’s not barbecue.

    Barbecue is long, slow and low and the temperature is usually between 240 and 270 degrees. Grill is short, fast and hot, a nice char with a juicy middle.

    I wanted to see if I could use my oven to get close the flavors of true barbecue, and while I was missing the smokey flavor, these were some of the best homemade ribs I have ever had. The trick is long, slow and low.

    Meat choice is important as well, I used Choice ribs. You know that cute little sticker that sits beside the label on your steak packages, baffling you to some degree with the designation of Prime, Choice or Select, as to why they can’t just be honest and say, "Great," or "Pretty Good," and, "Not that great, but it’s cheap!"

    Here are the Cliffs Notes:

    Prime: The best and most expensive

    Choice: Still great, not as good or as expensive as Prime

    Select: Not good, don’t bother

    Unlabeled: Bad, didn’t even earn the lowly title of Select.

    Inspected By The USDA: Don’t be fooled, all meat is inspected by the USDA. Some stores use this to distract you from the fact that it is an ungraded piece of meat, and therefore not any good. Prime is obviously the best, but also the most expensive. When I experiment with a recipe, I usually go with Choice because it is a good cut of meat, but if the recipe doesn’t turn out well I didn’t waste $50 on the venture.

    Oven Roasted BBQ Ribs With Stout Beer Barbecue Sauce

    4 lbs Bone In Baby Back Beef Ribs (Choice or Prime)

    1 tsp salt

    1 batch Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce

    Preheat oven to 250.

    Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place ribs on top. Sprinkle ribs with salt on all sides. Brush with BBQ sauce and roast in the oven at 250, turning ribs and brushing with BBQ sauce every 30-45 minutes until fork tender, about 4 hours.

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    Chocolate Porter Strawberry Shortcakes With Beer Whipped Cream

    05.07.2012 7 Comments

    (Chocolate Porter Strawberry Shortcakes With Beer Whipped Cream)

    I’m taking a huge risk here.

    You may have taken one look at this post and decided that I’ve lost my magic. Chocolate beer cake is as common as Nascar sweatpants in Walmart. But unlike motor sports fashion blunders in public, I loved this dessert.

    I’m combining a past evoking childhood treat with my beer loving present tense self, and topping it with beer whipped cream. Strawberry shortcakes were one of my favorite desserts as a kid, but growing up I never had them from scratch. I was raised in a very prepackaged, frozen food section, shelf-stable house, with a mom who was trying to feed all of her 8 daughters (yes, that isn’t a typo, I have 7 sisters) with no time for any culinary adventure beyond reheating and assembling. Completely understandable.

    Making my childhood memory of strawberry shortcakes those pre-packaged round sponge cakes, with Cool Whip and chopped strawberries.

    So this is the "I cook from scratch and add beer" version of that. Although not a traditional "shortcake," I hope once I top it with drunken whipped cream and fresh berries you’ll forgive the misstep in terminology.

    Chocolate Porter Strawberry Shortcakes With Beer Whipped Cream

    For the cake:

    3 cups cake flour

    2 tsp baking soda

    1 tsp baking powder

    3/4 cup cocoa powder

    1 tsp salt

    2 sticks butter (softened)

    2 cups sugar

    5 eggs

    1 tbs vegetable oil

    12 oz Porter beer

    For the strawberries:

    4 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped

    1/2 cup sugar

    For the whipped cream:

    2 cups heavy cream

    1/2 cup powdered sugar

    2 tbs porter beer

    (makes 10)

     Preheat oven to 350.

    In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.

    In the bowl of the stand mixer cream the butter and sugar. One at a time add the eggs, beating well and scraping the bowl between each addition, then add the oil. Alternating between the beer and the dry ingredients, add both a bit at a time, starting and ending with the dry ingredients, stir until just barely combined.

    Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.

    Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

    Invert the cake pan onto a flat surface. Using a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out 5 circles from each cake round (you can also use a large knife to cut them into squares).

    Place chopped strawberries in a bowl with sugar, stir to combine. Allow to sit at room temperature for ten minutes.

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream, powdered sugar and 2 tbs beer. Whip on high until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes.

    Place one cake round on a plate, top with strawberries and then with whipped cream.

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    Beer Tortillas

    21.06.2012 16 Comments

     

    Tortillas are one of those glorious foods that I have found myself continuing to make from scratch. It wasn’t an epiphany that wakened me from my supermarket tortilla grabbing slumber, it was a gradual process. Tortillas are easy, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen already. And the end product will finally convince you that you no longer need that plastic bag full or pre-made taco vessels.

    So why the beer? Beer is a leavening agent, mild in a way that is the perfect strength to lightly leaven a tortilla. And a beer with bread, wheat of notes of crackers will add a fuller flavor then the typical baking powder that is called for in most homemade tortilla recipes.

    You only need a few ingredients to make these, so you need to choose carefully. Most people use lard, and this tends to give the best results. After I cook bacon (a weekly occurrence) I pour the rendered fat into an air tight container and store it in the fridge. Once it cools and solidifies, I use this to make tortillas with. If you are vegetarian or vegan, vegetable shorting makes a great stand in.

    The beer you choose needs to be carefully considers as well. Because it has a slight cracker like taste, I use Hair Of The Dog’s Ruth. Choose a beer that has notes of yeast, bread or crackers. A wheat beer would also work well.

    Beer Tortillas

    Print Recipe
    Servings 6 to 8 tortillas

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 1/2 cups flour
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1/2 cup fat lard, vegetable shortening, rendered and cooled bacon fat
    • 3/4 cup warm beer Plus 3 additional tbs

    Instructions
     

    • In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the fat and rub it into the flour with your hands until it forms course crumbs and all the fat has been distributed.
    • Addr 3/4 of a cup warm beer into the flour mixture, mixing with a fork until all of the flour has been moistened (adding the additional 3 tbs if needed). Knead for about 3-5 minutes or until the dough becomes shiny and slightly stiff but not firm.
    • Pull off pieces of the dough just smaller than a golf ball. Roll into balls and place on a plate, continue for the remaining dough. Cover the plate with a towel and allow to rest for about 30 minutes.
    • Heat a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
    • Roll the tortillas out until they are thin enough to see through. On a lightly floured surface, flatten a ball of dough with the rolling pin, then roll forward and back across it; rotate a sixth of a turn and roll forward and back again; continue rotating and rolling until you reach a very thin consistency. Alternately, you can use a tortilla press.
    • Throw onto the griddle and allow to cook until lightly brown, about 1 minute per side. Don't over cook or your tortillas will be crispy.

    Make a batch of Chipotle Stout Braised Beef and make Tacos.

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    Beer Soaked Chocolate Covered Cherries

    19.06.2012 17 Comments

    Last week I was able to sit down with a guy, who in just two years went from a home brewer who was opening the doors to his first bar, to owning three bars and the fastest growing craft brewery in California.

    If you live in Los Angeles, and you’re a craft beer fan, I’m certain you have heard of Tony Yanow of Golden Road. If you haven’t you are going to want to acquaint yourself with him and what he’s building. Here is my article for your craft beer research indulgence.

    He is also the man who helped create one of my favorite IPA’s. Golden Roads, Point The Way IPA.

    As I’ve hammered into you several times before, IPA’s make terrible cooking subject, which is why I rarely use them. This is a recipe that doesn’t require cooking, and the tart hoppiness of the IPA is a great compliment to the cherries.

    And, as a salute to my fellow beer lovers who happen to be vegan (more vegan beer fans exist than one would expect) this is an easy recipe to veganize.

    IPA Soaked Chocolate Covered Cherries (vegan option)

    2 cups fresh Bing cherries, pitted

    1 cup IPA

    8 oz Dark Chocolate (60%) (For vegan, use vegan chocolate. Most higher end brands are vegan at 60%, but make sure to check if you want to make sure)

    Pit the cherries and add them to a loaf pan in one tight layer. Pour the IPA over the cherries and allow to soak at room temperature for 2 hours and up to 6. Drain and allow to dry for about 20 minutes (they need to be dry before chocolate gets involved).

    To temper the chocolate: (*Note. Tempering chocolate makes it shiny and gives it a nice snap. If you don’t care so much about that, you can just add the chocolate to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted)

    In a double boiler melt the chocolate over medium heat. If you don’t have a double boiler, add a metal bowl over a pot of water, making sure the bottom of the metal bowl does not come in contact with the water in the pot.

    Chop the chocolate into chunks and add about half to the top of the double boiler. Heat the chocolate to 115 degrees (use a clip-on candy thermometer to do this). Add the rest of the chocolate and stir until all of the chocolate has melted and is now down to about 90 degrees.

    A few at a time, add the cherries to the chocolate with a fork, roll around until coated, remove with the fork and allow to drain a bit, then place on a piece of parchment paper to harden. Repeat for all cherries. Chill until ready to serve.

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    Homemade Beer Marinara From Scratch

    14.06.2012 12 Comments

     

    The first time I made marinara was a complete accident.

    Just a few months after I nearly accidentally graduated college, I got a job working with teenage gang members in South Central Los Angeles. You are free to laugh at the idea of a very white girl, who grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington, working in South Central. With gang kids.

    I sat on one side of a light oak dining table in a small Group Home, a transitional respite for kids who had been released from jail but who were still on probation, to talk with Dominick. He was from a rough area of Compton, and had found his way to the seat across from me via a GTA charge and a hot temper. But to me, he was a baby faced 14-year-old who secretly liked Whitney Houston. This was our first meeting, and part of my job was to compile a list of his "Triggers." Anything that made him angry enough to lash out, to do something that could land his ass back in jail. We both had the same goal: get him back home. Most kids, in my short 4 months of experience all had a very similar trigger. This usually centered around someone "talking shit" about them, their mom, or their crew. Maybe a handful of other miscellaneous and understandable offenses.

    When I asked Dominick what triggered him, what drove him to a rage that welled up in him a feeling of violence that once caused him to send a chair on a journey through a class room window, his face fell flat.

    "What?" I was so curious, "What makes you that mad?"

    He took a deep breath and lowered his voice, "When those mother fuckin' girls make human pyramids."

    I laughed so hard I felt bad about it. His young face broke open into a sweet smile, "Jackie, I’m not gonna lie.." He started to giggle, "Pisses me the fuck off, I have no idea why. I want to push those chicks right over."

    Fair enough. My job was to teach him how to deal with his anger, no matter what triggered it.

    He wanted to learn how to cook, and he wanted to make Spaghetti. He thought that cooking might help him channel his anger. We didn’t have any sauce, but his group home staff had just come into ownership of 10 pounds of tomatoes, so we made do.

    Because of Dominick, and his human pyramid hating ways, I will always love a good, homemade, can free, marinara.

    Homemade Beer Marinara From Scratch

    3 lbs tomatoes

    1 large head of garlic

    1 tbs olive oil, plus 2 additional tbs, divided

    1 large white onion, chopped

    1 large carrot, peeled and diced

    16 ounces wheat beer (Golden Road Hefeweizen is a great choice)

    1/3 cup chopped basil leaves

    1 tsp salt

    1 tsp pepper

    Preheat oven to 400.

    Rub the head of garlic until about half of the papery white skin comes off. Cut a small amount of the tip off the head of the garlic, just enough to expose all of the cloves. Place on a small piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with about 1 tbs of olive oil. Fold the foil tightly around the garlic, place on a baking sheet. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and place them on the baking sheet along with the garlic packet.

    Roast the tomatoes and the garlic at 400 for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and the skin starts to peel back from the flesh. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

    The skin of the tomatoes should be very easy to remove at this point, peel the skin off the tomatoes and discard. Place a fine mesh sieve or strainer over a bowl. Scoop the seeds into the strainer and place the remaining part of the peeled and seeded tomato into a bowl, repeat until all of the tomatoes have been seeded. Allow the seeds to continue to drain while you make the rest of the sauce.

    In a pot over medium high heat, add 2 tbs olive oil. Add the onions and carrots, sauté until carrots are soft and onions are translucent. Add the beer, seeded and peeled tomatoes and whatever juice has accumulated in the bowl beneath the tomato seeds. Discard the seeds. Remove the head of garlic from the foil packet and squeeze the soft head until the cloves comes out and into the sauce. Add the salt, pepper and basil.

    Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer, allow to cook and reduce until thickened, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

    If you want a smoother sauce, add to a food processor and process until smooth.

    Use this with my Homemade Beer Ricotta to make a beer infused Lasagna or stuffed Rigatoni.

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    Drunken Strawberry Tart with Beer Lemon Curd

    12.06.2012 13 Comments

    Being wrapped in a world filled with food people, the lovers, academics and fanatics, I’ve often lost my footing. Forgotten the simple pleasures of small, honest meals for the sake of a journey towards the creation of an epic recipe. While surrounding myself with people who strive to reinvent the world of food as we know,  I’ve been so entranced that I’ve stepped away from the core of who I am and the food I fell in love with.

    I am not a moderist cook.

    I am not a chef.

    I may never create an epic recipe.

    I am OK with that.

    It was through a process, not of self discovery but of self remembrance, that stumbled upon a memory that I had almost lost within my catalogue of food experiences. Under the thousand dollar dinners, PR events, celebrity chefs, and world renowned restaurants was a small Italian city, and a home cooked meal.

    Years ago, on what turned out to be a 16 hour layover, I was stuck in Pescara Italy. A girl about my age, just past 21, took pity on a broke and confused American in her tiny local airport and asked if she could show her town to me. It began with a home cooked meal, from her own mothers hands on a rickety folding table in her living room, the only place in the small apartment that would accommodate us all. Homemade bread, a small green salad, smashed peas and a roasted chicken.

    For dessert was a lemon tart. Simple, beautiful and tangy, made by the hands of a woman who didn’t speak a word of English, but who took time to cook for me even though we would never have the ability to have a conversation, and I could never properly thank her. This is the food that I fell in love with, and I am reminding myself to stay true to that.

    I’ve done my best to make the beer infused version of the tart that was made for me in Pescara, and chose a beer that is nearly as fascinating to me. Cooney Island Lager has flavors that remind me a great meal made in spring, orange, citrus, bread and apples.

    If you can’t find this beer, look for a low hop beer with notes of citrus, tropical fruits and bread.

    Drunken Strawberry Tart with Beer Lemon Curd

    Print Recipe

    Ingredients
      

    For the tart crust:

    • 1 1/4 cups of flour
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1 stick of unsalted butter cut into small cubes
    • 3-5 tbs ice cold water

    For the curd:

    • 1 tbs lemon zest
    • 2 whole eggs plus six yolks
    • 1 1/4 cup white sugar
    • 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice about 6 large lemons
    • ½ cup beer
    • 2 tbs corn starch
    • 1 stick unsalted butter cut into cubes

    For the Strawberries

    • 3 cups strawberries
    • ½ cup beer
    • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

    For the Whipped Cream

    • 1 cup heavy cream
    • 2 tbs beer
    • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

    Instructions
     

    • In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the cubes of butter and process until combined, about 1-2 minutes. Your dough should resemble course meal.
    • Start with 3 tbs of water, pulse until combined. If the crust doesn’t hold together add more water, a bit at a time, until it does.
    • Dump the dough into a 4 inch deep, 9 inch wide tart pan with a remove-able bottom (you can also use a pie pan). Starting with the sides, form the crust inside the pan, trying your best to make it all as even as possible. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a least 3 hours.
    • Preheat oven to 375.
    • Place a sheet of parchment paper inside your tart and fill with pie weights. If you don’t have any, dried beans work great.
    • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until your tart is a light golden brown. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly. remove pie weights.
    • Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, beer, sugar, corn starch, whole eggs and yolks to a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the lemon mixture to a pan over medium/low heat along with the butter. Whisk until thickened, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
    • Add the curd to the crust and chill until set, about 4 hours.
    • Just prior to serving add the berries to a shallow bowl of pie pan and cover with 1/2 cup beer. Allow to stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Drain and return to bowl with the sugar, stir to combine.
    • Add all of the whipped cream ingredients to a stand mixer and mix on high until soft peaks form, about 4 minutes.
    • Top tart with berries and whipped cream just prior to serving.

    IPA Marinated Citrus Pork Chops With Peach Poblano Salsa

    07.06.2012 14 Comments

    A really well crafted IPA is a beautiful thing,but this is the style that is most often poorly done. The art of balancing a  hop forward beer delicately with its subtle back notes is an art that only a few persistent pros seem to be able to manage. The well crafted, well balanced IPA is an incredible art, that takes the dedication of a thoughtful and persistent brewer to really ace.

     I present to you Stone Ruination. It is a Masters level education on how to do the IPA right. Seek it out if you adore the Indian Pale Ale, or even if you tend to avoid it. That’s how you make an IPA.

    IPA Marinated Citrus Pork Chops With Peach Poblano Salsa

    For the Pork Chops:

    1 cup IPA (Stone Ruination Preferred)

    1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

    1 tsp salt

    3 cloves garlic, minced

    1 tsp agave

    1/2 tsp Sriracha

    4 bone-in pork chops (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)

    3 tbs olive oil (plus additional if needed)

    For the Salsa:

    1 cup chopped fresh yellow peaches (about 1 large peach)

    1 cup chopped red bell peppers, stem and seeds removed (about 1 medium sided pepper)

    2/3 cup chopped poblano pepper, stem and seeds removed (about 1 large pepper)

    2/3 cup chopped red onion (about 1/2 of 1 large onion)

    1/4 cup chopped green onion

    1/2 tsp salt

    2 tbs IPA

    1/4 tsp chili powder (add more for a spicier salsa)

     

    In a large bowl or baking dish, combine the IPA, lemon juice, salt, agave, garlic and srirach, stir to combine. Add the pork chops, turning to coat. Place the bowl (or baking dish) in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

    Add all of the salsa ingredients to a bowl and toss to combine.

    In a pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil and allow to get hot but not smoking. Add the pork chops, cooking one or two at a time, don’t crowd the pan. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes. You want them to still have a slight hint of pink still in the center, pork chops go from undercooked to overcooked really quickly, so keep a close eye on them.

    Plate, and top with salsa. You will have more than enough salsa for the chops, serve the excess in a bowl with chips.

    Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins

    31.05.2012 8 Comments

    I’ve noticed something about you.

    You seem to have no interest in healthy beer recipes. You want your beer recipes to be a flagrant indulgence of full-flavored stimulation. You want chocolate and bacon and sugar and whatever else I can manage to squeeze into your meal.

    I like that about you.

    No "semi-homemade" or "skinny" versions will do for your beer baking, you want it to be bold and extravagant, diet repercussions be damned. You also have no problem with my recipes that take hours, making Bacon Beer Jam with delighted voracity.

    So it is by pure accident that I offer to you a recipe that only takes 5 minutes to throw together and less than 20 to bake, allowing you to get a fully flavored beer muffin on your table in less than a half an hour.

    Although I know you would have been more than willing to spend much longer. I appreciate your tenacity.

    For these Beer Bread Muffins, I used Lagunitas Red, a special release that’s just so fun to drink.

    Beer Bread Muffins

    Cheddar Beer Bread Muffins

    Print Recipe
    Servings 8 muffins

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 1/2 cups flour
    • 1 tbs sugar
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus additional for topping, if desired
    • 2 tbs chopped green onions
    • 1/4 cup melted butter plus 2 additional tbs, divided
    • 3/4 cup beer

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
    • In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese and onions, stir until well combined. Pour in 1/4 a cup of melted butter plus the 6 oz of beer, stir until just combined.
    • Pour batter into muffin tins until each well is about 1/2 full. Pour remaining 2 tbs of butter onto the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between each muffin. Top with additional cheese, if desired.
    • Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until the muffins have puffed and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Serve immediately, these are best right out of the oven.

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