Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits I was once friends with a man who was 100 years old. We had a bit of an unlikely friendship, since he had reached retirement age long before I was even born. He was smart, funny, and seems to have no concept of the age… Read More
Pumpkin things are upon us. Of course we have those pumpkin spice lattes that the weather is far too warm to warrant, and the overly orange plastic pumpkins that Target is trying to push on us, but it’s the beer that gets me most excited. It can be a triple digit August afternoon when a… Read More
I get a little itchy if I don’t get to cook. The way musicians get when you keep them away from a stage, or an athlete when you take the ball away or how a runner will start to chew on the curtains if he can’t get out on the road. Even on the tail end… Read More
It’s seems a cruel twist of fate that beer-drinking-burgers-dogs-dips-eating season and bikini season line up perfectly. The same time that we load our paper plates with baked beans, slow roasted ribs, chips and creamy dips, is the same part of the year that we shed our clothes and romp in the sunshine in… Read More
When I was a kid I thought you grew up, picked a life and that’s were you sat. You stayed in this grown-up place, and that was it. You’d found your grown-up life and you were done. But my grown-up life seems to go through a comprehensive metamorphosis every few years. New city, new job, new… Read More
Photos in this post were taken in Seattle with vintage Polaroid cameras by my incredibly talented sister Kim van Groos Check out her Flickr, it’s very impressive. I told you last week that I’m in the process of saying goodbye to Los Angeles. A process made easier by the fact that it will… Read More
There is this way that I make food that I can only really see in retrospect as a mirror to how I’m feeling. Messy food means that I’ve wandered into internal chaos. It’s OK, there are much less healthy ways of dealing with emotions than the culinary mood ring that my kitchen becomes. There are… Read More
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… Read More
These aren’t just muffins. They are two forms of quiet rebellion. First, it’s beer for breakfast. And unless you’re having a brunch mimosa or in the general vicinity of Las Vegas, breakfast booze is generally frowned upon. Second, lets be honest, muffins are basically just cupcakes. But you and me, we’re different. We aren’t… Read More
I see how you get here. The keyword searches that bring you to this little blog of mine. Most of these keyword searches make sense, like “Beer recipes,” “Cooking with beer,” and even “The Beeroness.” This past year nearly 8,000 people came to my blog with the keyword “The Beeroness,” or it could have been… Read More
Why beer? I’ve been asked a lot of questions about why I’ve tried so feverishly to squeeze myself into this world. After all, there are a lot of ingredients that make great culinary obsessions. So, why beer? To explain that, we’ll have to talk about collaboration. Craft beer is the only major market that does… Read More
My book tour kicks off in a few days and one of my first stops is at Bear Republic, one of my favorite California breweries. On October 10th, from 6:30 to 8:30 I’ll be at the pub in Healdsburg hanging out, signing books, hoping to meet some of you and gleefully consuming… Read More
Today is the day. Today, September 18th, the book I spent months creating, turning myself into a figurative nightmare, pouring blood, sweat, tears and beer into each recipe, hits mailboxes and store shelves across the land. While I should be feeling excessively accomplished now that I can officially slap a Publish Author tittle after my… Read More
Before we jump in to my treasure trove of beer and food pairing tips, we need to dispel one myth: there are no rules. Drink what you prefer and eat likewise. If YOU like it, it’s a good pairing, there are no hard and fast rules, just considerations and principles to keep in mind.… Read More
We tend to feminize or masculinize food. Beer is man food, as is bacon, grilled red meat and bourbon. While tea, lavender, scones and blueberries tend to been feminine. Chocolate seems to be neutral go-between, grabbing it’s gender label once the final product is presented. Chocolate Stout Cake with Maple Bacon Frosting: Man Cake. Chocolate… Read More
If you follow me on twitter, you may have seen my announcement that I shot a TV show for Lifetime back in January. The premise of the show was to take people with interesting ideas for food products and develop those ideas into product lines that end up on grocery store shelves. There is a… Read More
I want to thank you for how supportive and encouraging you were with the manifesto I posted last week. To be honest, I care more about what you think than I probably should and I’m grateful that so many people are excited about layered and thoughtful food. I started to think about dishes that have… Read More
Let’s talk about chocolate stouts for a minute. If you aren’t aquatinted with these Dark Knights, you might be under the impression that your beer will be like a tall glass of malty chocolate milk. For the most part, that isn’t the case. While I was at Hanger 24, those awesome guys let me… Read More