chicken

Street Fair Grilled Beer Chicken

05.08.2016 3 Comments

Street Fair Grilled Beer Chicken

There is a street fair in LA that I used to frequent, with chicken the smells so incredible it will haunt your dreams. I’d rush past the booths of produce, handmade ceramic mugs, the guy trying to get me to vote for his City Council pick, the face painting lady, just to be near to the lady grilling the chicken.

Sophia was always with me, as polite and charming as a bulldog could possibly be. She wasn’t the kind to bark (even when she probably should have), and she never once jumped up where she wasn’t supposed to. She’d run up to her intended target, sit her chubby body down right in front, and lift a paw to get attention. It was a genius move. Whatever she wanted she got. Head pets, food scraps, lavish praise. But the chicken lady was her crowd, and she worked it. She’d run up to the booth, sit down right in the front, and gently scratch the vinyl sign covering the bottom of the booth. Chicken Lady would squeal that "her dog" was back. She’d load up a plate of chicken (probably too full), and rush to feed Sophia and pet her head.

I, of course, had to order some. I’d convince myself it was as a way to thank her for feeding my dog better food than most the world eats, but really it was because I’d jones like an addict for what she was peddling.

Lately, I’ve been consumed with puppy fever. Sophia’s been gone a while, and I need another furry, fat, beast in my life. So I decided to make our chicken and stalk all the bulldog rescue sites in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a legit way to spend the afternoon. At least until I can find another buddy to visit street fairs with me and beg for chicken.

Street Fair Grilled Beer Chicken

Print Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken thighs boneless, skinless
2 tbs kosher salt
12 ounces wheat beer
1 3g teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon 3g onion powder
1 teaspoon 3g garlic powder
½ teaspoon 0.5g dried thyme
1 teaspoon 6gsalt
½ teaspoon 3g black pepper
½ teaspoon 2g chili powder
1 ½ teaspoon 6g brown sugar

Instructions

Add the chicken to a bowl or baking dish. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons salt. Pour the beer over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for two hours and up to 12 hours.
Preheat the grill.
Remove the chicken from the brine. Rinse and pat dry.
Add to a plate, sprinkle on all sides with the spice mixture.
Grill over medium high heat until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits

01.10.2014 9 Comments

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 gap.

Life was a constant opportunity to make people laugh, and he took full advantage of it.

When he moved to Los Angeles in the 1940’s to get his pneumonia stricken daughters out of the frigid East Coast winters, he was without money, without a job, and without an education. He walked in to a Taxi company headquarters and asked for a job. He had a fantastic driving record and a winning smile, in his book, that’s the only resume he needed. As soon as the hiring manager found out that he had only lived on the West Coast of a week, knew nothing about Los Angeles freeways, and had never driven a cab, he shut down the interview.

“If you don’t know how to get from LAX to the Roosevelt Hotel, how are you going to get the client there??”

Jack responded with this famous smile, “Well if you don’t give me the cab, it’s gonna take a whole lot longer!”

He got the job.

Jack worked as a cab driver, running tourist from the Airport to Hollywood for over 30 years. He was also the very first Employee of the Month for the cab company, and to date, the recipient of the most complimentary letters ever sent to the cab company about any one of their employees.

As I sat with him only a few months before his 101’s birthday, eating biscuits that his nurse had made us, I asked him if he had any regrets.

“Not really. The secret to living 100 years old and not regretting anything is this: Do your best. Don’t hurt anyone. Make friends with anyone who will let you.”

When my job moved me farther from his apartment in the valley, I wasn’t able to visit as often as I used to so I wrote letters, postmarked from my Santa Monica office. One day I got a return letter, addressed to me with flowery handwriting. It was from his 76 year old daughter:

"Jackie,

I’m not sure what it was that formed a friendship between you and my Dad, but I wanted you to know how much he valued you. Your visits brightened his day, even his week. If there was a highlight from his last decade of life, it was the time he spent with you. He spoke of you often, and although my sister and I were at first skeptical of a friendship between him and a girl in her 20’s, it quickly became clear that there was a special bond between you two. I’m so sorry to tell you that he passed away, just a week shy of his 101’s birthday. I do want you to know that we appreciate the time you spent with him in his last year. Thank you."

I cried. And ate biscuits in his honor, his favorite breakfast. To this day, "Do your best. Don’t hurt anyone. Make friends with anyone who will let you” is some of best advice I’ve gotten.

Stout Mushroom Gravy and Chicken with Beer Biscuits

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Ingredients

For the Biscuits:

3 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
8 tbs unsalted cold butter cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup Belgian ale or wheat beer
2 tbs melted butter
¼ tsp course sea salt

For the Chicken and Gravy:

3 tbs butter
2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
8 wt oz chopped crimini mushrooms
¼ cup flour
1 cup beef stock
¾ cup stout beer
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tbs honey
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400.
In a processor add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
Pulse to combine. Add the cold butter, process until well combined. Add to a large bowl.
Add the buttermilk and beer. Mix with a fork until just combined.
Add to a well-floured flat surface, pat into a rectangle. Using a cold rolling pin (preferably marble) gently roll into a large rectangle, about 1 inch in thickness, using as few strokes as possible.
Fold the dough into thirds as you would a letter about to go into an envelope. Roll lightly, once in each direction to about 1 inch thickness, fold in thirds again. Gently roll into about 1 1/2 inch thickness (this will give you the flakey layers).
Using a biscuit cutter cut out 6 to 8 biscuits. Place in a baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Brush biscuits with melted butter, sprinkle salt.
Bake at 425 for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
While the biscuits bake, make the gravy.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat.
Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Sear on each side until golden brown, remove from the pan, chop (they do not need to be cooked through).
Add the onions, cook until softened, about five minutes. Add the mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are dark brown and soft.
Sprinkle with flour, cook until the flour has turned brown, about 2 minutes.
Add the beef stock and stout. Simmer until thickened. Add the chicken cubes back into the pan, simmer until cooked through.
Add the cream, honey, stir until well combined.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Split the biscuits, fill with gravy.

Honey Mustard Mushroom Stout Chicken

17.09.2014 13 Comments

Honey Mustard Mushroom Stout Chicken: 30 minute, one pot chicken dinner.

A few years ago I was stuck in a small town in south Italy on a 22 hour layover.

While trying to figure out if sleeping in the tiny terminal was feasible, I met an Italian girl about my age. Her English was good, she was stunning, and she was about half way to earning her pilots license, I was instantly enamored with her. She asked if I’d like to stay with her for the night, in the small apartment she shared with her mom. I quickly agreed, jumping in a cab with her to head to a crowded part of town.

She’d planed to drag me around Pescara, first with her boyfriend, then later with a much older man she referred to as her lover, but before then we were obligated to sit down at a small dining table with her mom, who’d been cooking all afternoon. After an incredible meal of homemade bread, a small green salad, smashed peas and a roasted chicken, I’d offered to do the dishes. Half way through the clean up, Chiara came into the small kitchen dressed in tight jeans, shiny black heels that made her well over 6 feet tall and tight, tiny tube top. She leaned against the counter as I finished drying the larger platter and asked me about my life in LA and the celebrities I’d met. As I talked, she lit a cigarette she had buried in her purse. A few drags in, she froze as we heard her mom coming around the corner, she shove the cigarette into my hand and took a big step back. Her mom gasped as she saw the American girl in her kitchen with a lit cigarette, smoke wafting towards her hanging plants. I froze.

Her mom screamed at me in Italian, shooing us out the door. As soon as we were safely on our way to the bar where her boyfriend was eagerly awaiting our arrival, she thanked me. "She doesn’t know I smoke, and she won’t care if you do. You know, because you’re American." After a long night of following Chiara around Pescara, meeting the throngs of men that where throwing themselves at her, we finally returned home to a dark apartment.

Her mom had left a note on her table for us. Chiara translated it for me, her mom had left some bread for me to eat in the morning, she knew I had a really early flight. She had also packed up some of the chicken for me to take with me on my flight. I was touched. "That’s good," I said, "She must not hate me."

"Oh no," Chiara responded, "Even if she does she would still feed you. No one will ever go hungry in my moms house, friend or enemy."

To this day I have no idea if there is an older Italian woman on the East Coast of Italy that abhors the thought of me, but either way, her chicken is fantastic.

Honey Mustard Mushroom Stout Chicken

Print Recipe

Total Time 30

Servings 4 -6 servings

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken thighs
1 tbs salt
1 tbs pepper
2 tbs butter
¼ cup chopped shallots
4 cloves garlic minced
8 wt oz mushrooms shitake, crimini, oyster. Fresh not dried
1 cup stout beer
½ cup beef broth
simmer until reduced by about half
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbs raw honey
1 tbs whole grain mustard
¼ cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
rice for serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add the chicken, skin side down, cook until skin is browned and crispy, flip the chicken, cooking on the other side until slightly browned. Remove from pan (chicken will not be cooked through).
Add the shallots, reduce heat to medium, cooking until slightly browned. Add the garlic and mushrooms, cooking until the mushrooms have softened, about five minutes. Add the beer, scraping to deglaze the pan. Simmer until reduced by half. Add the broth, thyme, rosemary, honey, and mustard, simmer for about five minutes. Add the cream, simmer until slightly thickened.
Add the chicken back into the pan, place the pan in the oven (make sure this pan is oven safe, if not everything can be transferred to a baking dish instead) roast at 425 for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked to 170F degrees.
Serve over rice with sauce.

Notes

Note: if the skin is no longer crispy after roasting, place pan under a preheated broiler for about 2 minutes or until skin has crisped.

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads

18.06.2014 9 Comments

Let’s say you and I get into it over pizza. We hash it out over the best pizza we’ve ever had. We talk about Naples, and LA, and both agree that New York beats Chicago, unless you want a casserole, then Chicago pizza will do.

And then I tell you that the best Ray’s pizza in New York is the one at 4th and Houston, to which (if you’re a New Yorker) you recoiler in horror that I’ve chosen said Ray’s instead of one of the 147 other Ray’s in Manhattan.

We finally just agree to get a beer and pizza and call it a day. Nowhere in our spirited conversation do we mention Seattle. Because the thing about Seattle is that beer is world class, so is the coffee and the produce can’t be beat, but the pizza…

We’ll just talk about the beer and the coffee and the produce and leave talk of the pizza out of it shall we? Similar to a discussion of the best people in the world named Joe wouldn’t include talk of either Buttafuoco or Francis. Let’s just stick to the good stuff.

Of course I have a theory about this. The same water that makes the beer fantastic and coffee legendary isn’t so kind with the pizza dough. But here is the thing about baking your pizza dough with beer, wherever you go in the world, your dough will be the same.

Water is for the weak, switch to beer and your pizza dough will become the stuff of folklore.

It might even be brought up in the New York vs Chicago debate.

Grilled BBQ Beer Chicken and Apricot Flatbreads

Print Recipe

Servings 4 (6-inch) flatbreads

Ingredients

Crust:

1 ½ cups flour
1 1/8 tsp rapid rise yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ cup wheat beer or pale ale
2 tbs oil
½ tsp salt

Chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 cup wheat beer or pale ale
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp chili powder
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt
oil for the grill

Topping:

Stout and Sriracha BBQ Sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ tsp cilantro chopped
2 apricots thinly sliced
¼ cup red onion chopped

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the flour, yeast and sugar. 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 the oil and 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 4 equal sized pieces. Form each piece into 6 inch circles.
While the dough is rising, make the chicken. Place the chicken in a bowl, cover with 1 cup beer. Chill for 30 to 60 minutes. Remove from beer, rinse and pat dry.
Preheat the grill.
In a small bowl combine the onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin and salt.
Sprinkle chicken on all sides with spice mixture.
Grill chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
Remove from grill, slice.
Oil the grill (alternately, you can oil the flatbreads). Grill one side of the flatbread until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes, flip and very lightly grill the other side, about 30 seconds, remove from grill. Place the flatbreads on a flat surface with the well grilled side facing up. Top with barbeque sauce, cheese, chicken, sliced apricots, cilantro, and onions. Place back on the grill, close over, cook until cheese has melted.

My recipe for Stout & Sriracha BBQ Sauce, you have to make it.

Honey Chili Beer Chicken

27.12.2013 33 Comments

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 just one guy searching for me eight thousand times. If that was you, thank you and you’re creepy.

Sometimes those keywords don’t make sense, like the person that found my blog while searching, "fun recipes for toddlers" or all those people looking for "healthy quick meals." I am not the top pick for either of those catagories. But it’s post holidays, and we are in that ill fitting week between Christmas and New Years that feels like the calendar equivalent of the end of a loaf of bread and you all seem to want something at least semi healthy.

Me too, I did eat three cinnamon rolls yesterday in about 5 minutes. I could use a little not-as-bad-for-me one pot meal.

So here it is. One pot. Not completely unhealthy. Quick and easy. But for the "fun for toddlers" part you’re on your own.

Honey Chili Beer Chicken

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 tbs olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken thigh filets
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1-2 tbs flour
½ cup sliced sweet white onions
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup brown ale divided in half
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs honey
½ tsp red chili sauce such as Sriracha plus additional if desired

Instructions

In a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil.
Sprinkle the chicken thighs on all sides with salt, pepper and flour.
Cook the chicken thighs until browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove, and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-low, add the onions and caramelize over medium heat until golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Stir in the garlic then add ½ cup brown ale, balsamic vinegar, honey and chili sauce. Simmer until reduced and thickened. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the remaining ½ cup brown ale.
Cover loosely with a lid, lower heat to maintain a simmer and allow to cook until chicken is cooked through, about an additional 10 minutes. Turning once during cooking.

I highly recommend this cast iron skillet. I use my almost every day (affiliate link).

Skillet Sour Cream Chicken

21.08.2013 22 Comments

I started this blog with the idea that I’d blog my dinner, which turned into cooking for the blog which turned into freelance work and somewhere around starting an LLC and registering trademarks I realized that I rarely or never blogged my dinner.

I did an interview recently and the interviewer asked for links to my "go to week night meal," and I was more than embarrassed to say that I’d never really blogged it. This is just one version of my 15 minute chicken that seems to make it into regular rotation.

I always use boneless skinless chicken thighs, the flavor is worlds above the chicken breast and it is almost impossible to dry out. I love to cook them in a cast iron skillet because of the awesome crust it gives the chicken. The sour cream version was a big hit, so I’m sure it will make it into my busy weeknight menu again.

Skillet Sour Cream Chicken

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs minced basil (about 3 large leaves)
2 tbs Dijon mustard
½ cup sour cream
1 tbs lemon juice (about ½ medium sized lemo)
1 tsp honey
1 tbs vinegar (apple cider or rice wine)
rice, pasta, potatoes or quinoa for serving

Instructions

sprinkle the chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet until hot and almost smoking.
Add the chicken thighs and sear on both sides until browned.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients, pour over chicken. Lower heat to medium-low, cover loosely and allow to gently simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Serve with sauce over starch of choice.

Hoisin Stout Chicken Legs & What Are Hops?

15.08.2013 10 Comments

Chances are, if you’ve spent anytime within stumbling distance of a Craft Beer Lover, you’ve heard the word "hops" thrown around like a rag doll. You may have been leery asking the "What are hops?" question for fear that you’ll be subjected to the mad beer-geek ramblings of your semi-inebriated friend. So, here I am to save you from the possibility of a lecture on beta, delta, and gamma resins whist trying to hide your shell shocked expression, with a quick and dirty introduction to this essential beer ingredient.

Hops are a flower that comes from a plant in the marijuana family. It’s believed that they were originally added as a preservative when trying to make water safe to drink, but due to their uniquely bitter flavor, the use became more about taste than preservation.

Hops have a very specific taste that comes from the oil and gives beer it’s bitterness. These levels of bitterness are measured along a scale called the International Bitterness (or bittering) Units, that we just refer to as a beers "IBU’s." Generally, the higher the IBU’s, the more bitter the beer. That bitterness is used to counter the sweetness in the sugars used to feed the yeast, and it’s that balance that dictates how "hoppy" or bitter a beer tastes, more so than the amount of hops used. For instance, most stouts have a very malty taste (malt, essentially, is the opposite taste of hops), but can have a very high IBU rating. Think of this like weather, the same temperature feels much colder with the wind chill factor. Beer tastes much more bitter without a malty balance. IBU’s are only one indicator of what’s in store for you, bitterness wise, but isn’t always a linear expression of experience.

Hops can be added at various phases of the brewing process and are often added more than once while the beer is being made. If you hear the term "dry hopping" it really has nothing to do with the hops being actually dry, it means that the hops were added at the end of the brewing process and steeped like tea, giving a bright floral taste to the beer, rather than a strictly cooked hop flavor. Most likely, the hops were also added previously in that brewing process and the dry hopping was purely for that bright hop flavor and an extra kick of bitterness.

Hops can be used in the flower state, but are commonly used after being compressed into a pellet that looks like food for a small furry pet. The highest concentration of US hops are grown in the Pacific Northwest. If you’re driving through Oregon and see long green vines strung up on tall wires, you are probably looking at the makings of beer’s most notable ingredient.

Oh, and hey, I have some food for you. Thank you for indulging my need to Beer Geek Out for a few paragraphs. Because I’m so nice, I gave you both the oven and grill methods as not to taunt the grill-less causing Sad Face reactions across the world.

This chicken was great from the oven, but I have a huge crush on my grill right now so the win goes to grilled.

Hoisin Stout Chicken Legs

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Ingredients

2 cups buttermilk
12 ounces pale ale
2 tbs salt
3 lbs chicken legs
2 tbs sesame oil
2 cloves garlic grated with a microplane (or minced)
2/3 cup stout beer
1/3 cup soy sauce
3 tbs honey
7.4 ounce jar Hoisin sauce about ¾ cup
¼ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp sriracha hot sauce
2 tbs olive oil

Instructions

In a large bowl whisk together the buttermilk, 12 ounces pale ale and salt. Add chicken, cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (if all ingredients are cold from the fridge, this is not long enough from any foodborne pathogens to form). Alternately, chicken can also be allowed to soak in the fridge for 3 to 6 hours.
Rinse chicken well with cold water, pat dry.
While the chicken is soaking, make the glaze. Add the sesame oil to a pot over medium high heat, add the garlic, stir. Add the stout, soy sauce, honey, hoisin, smoked paprika and sriracha, bring to a boil, stirring frequently until thickened, about 8 minutes.

Oven method:

Preheat oven to 425.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add the chicken (working in batches if necessary) and sear on all sides until browned, transfer to a baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper or aluminum foil. (note: browning the chicken before the oven will help you to avoid rubbery, chewy, skin on your chicken).
Brush the chicken on all sides with glaze. Cook for thirty minutes, removing chicken from the oven and re-glazing every ten minutes. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165.

Grill method:

Preheat grill to medium high.
Brush the grates with olive oil.
Brush chicken on all sides with glaze.
Place on hot grill, close the lid.
Turn and brush with glaze every 2 minutes until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Skewers

24.07.2013 17 Comments

My grill could replace my oven at this point. I love the smokey char, the quick cooking time, and the way that food just tastes transformed. This is a really quick and easy recipe that’s perfect for weeknights, but fit for weekend parties.

I would absolutely recommend chicken thighs for this. The flavor is so much bigger and the high heat of the grill is really drying on chicken breasts. If you’ve never cooked with chicken thighs, give them a try, I really think it’ll be your new go-to cut of chicken. Most stores sell boneless, skinless, chicken thigh filets, making it a really easy cut to use. I switched over about two years ago and haven’t even thought about going back, the flavor is just so much better, plus they are often much cheaper than chicken breasts. More flavor, less money, that’s just a big win all the way around.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Skewers

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
8 slices bacon

Instructions

Whisk together the honey, vinegar and smoked paprika in a pot over medium high heat. Allow to simmer until thickened, about 8 minutes.
Preheat the grill to medium high.
Cut each slice of bacon into thirds.
Cut chicken thighs into cubes.
One at a time place a chicken cube onto a small slice of bacon. Wrap the bacon around the chicken cube and skewer onto a grill skewer.
Brush all sides of the chicken with honey glaze.
Place on a hot grill. Turn every two minutes, re-brushing with glaze, until cooked through about 8 minutes.

Notes

If using wooden skewers, place them on a rimmed baking sheet, cover with water, place a heavy plate on top to submerge for 30 minutes.

Honey Porter Glazed Chicken Skewers

12.07.2013 87 Comments

I have two very distinct sides to my personality, dueling forces that pull me in opposing directions with near cartoon ideation. Although Devil and Angel would be easier to deal with, mine are more Old Lady and Free Spirited Gypsy.

As much as I would like to tell you that Gypsy wins the battles, it’s Old Lady that tends to run the show.

A few years ago Gypsy got ahold of the controls and decided to buy a motorcycle. Paying penance to Old Lady, I signed up for a Motorcycle Riders Training Course. It was a three-day crash course (pun intended) in how to ride a motorcycle without killing yourself.

I also allowed the Old Lady side of me to buy the safest helmet and motorcycle jacket with armor I could find.

The first day of class I was equal parts nervous and intimidated, as I noticed I was the only novice in the group and one of the youngest. Most were crotch rocket guys wanting to "blast the Crest" as soon as possible. The only other girl was a woman who wanted to learn to ride so she could bike cross-country with her partner for their 20 year anniversary.

No one talked to me. Really, no one talked. We were all a bit insular trying to figure out how to learn not to kill ourselves, drowning in the Dead People Smeared On The Road stories told by the ex-bike-cop who taught the class.

On the final day of class we met early in the morning in a parking lot in Long Beach just as it started to rain. A little drizzle that scares the crap out of most of Los Angeles. We were given the opportunity to come back on a non-rainy day but collectively decided, with a series of sideways glances and nods, that we would all stay and ride like Bad Ass SoCal People in the very light drizzle.

The final segment of the day was an obstacle course through the gigantic empty parking lot. Trying to make sure I was at least in the top half of the pack, time-wise, I set out a bit faster than I should have.

As I rounded the first curve, set over a large white arrow painted on the pavement of the parking lot, my bike slipped out from under me and began to skid along the wet ground as I tumbled in the opposite direction.

Ex-bike-cop was visibly relieved to see that I was fine and address the issue with the group by saying, "I think now is a really good time to tell everyone that paint on the pavement gets really slippery when it rains."

To which I responded, "No, ten minutes ago would have been a really good time to say that. At this point, it’s pretty obvious."

Sometimes, when you are so immeshed in an activity, you don’t think to state what’s really obvious to you, like ex-bike-cop and the paint. For me, it’s this chicken. Maybe you’ve noticed that I tend to lean away from that popular Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast that we all grew up with. Mostly because it’s so often dry and flavorless.

If you favor that cut, try the boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets, so much more flavor and they can take some serious heat before they dry out. Chicken thighs are a bit of secret ingredient when it comes to chicken dishes, making your favorite chicken breast recipe taste at least 30 percent better if you use the thighs instead. They do take a bit longer to cook, but it’s completely worth it.

And that was the only time I ever dumped a bike. At least so far.

Honey Porter Glazed Chicken Skewers

Print Recipe

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic grated with a microplane (or minced)
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup porter or stout beer
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbs olive oil
¼ cup chopped shallots about 1 medium shallot
6 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets cut into cubes
oil for the grill
Chopped cilantro for garnish optional

Instructions

In a small bowl whisk together the garlic, honey, porter, red pepper flakes, mustard, soy sauce and pepper. Add the chicken cubes, refrigerate for 1 hour and up to overnight.
Remove the chicken from marinade (reserve the marinade) thread the chicken through wooden skewers.
In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil and shallots. Sautee until shallots have softened, about 5 minutes. Add marinade and boil, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 8 minutes.

Grill directions:

Preheat grill to medium high.
Brush the grill lightly with oil.
Brush the chicken with the glaze, place on the grill. Brush with glaze and turn every 2-4 minutes until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro prior to serving.

Oven directions:

Preheat the oven to 400. Place chicken on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Brush liberally with glaze. Roast at 400 for 30-40 minutes, brushing with glaze every 8-10 minutes until cooked through.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro prior to serving.

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Mirin Stout Glazed Roast Chicken with Maple Sweet Potatoes topped with Caramelized Shallots and Balsamic Glaze

26.04.2013 20 Comments

When I first got into food blogging I had this idea that I would just take pictures of my dinner and post the recipe online. Somewhere between installing Google Analytics and starting an LLC, I realized that I was cooking in order to develop content rather than just posting what I was eating.

I guess that’s inevitable when I started to earn an income and see my website as a small business. I also realized that although I often stray from who I am as a cook in order to cultivate blog hits, I love cooking, I love food and I got in this business because of those things. When the recipes you love get ignored and the ones you don’t have strong feelings about go viral, it’s hard not to just continue to post those Pandering to the Masses recipes that go viral, but I know that I am the most happy when I cook the food I want to cook and hope that you love it, too.

I loved the way this came out, even though I know it wont go viral. It’s how I like to eat, and how I like to spend my time in the kitchen, hope you don’t mind too much.

Mirin Stout Glazed Roast Chicken with Maple Sweet Potatoes topped with Caramelized Shallots and Balsamic Glaze

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the Brine:

2 cups water
3 tbs kosher salt
12 ounces brown ale
2 cups ice
4 chicken leg quarters or 1 whole roasting chicken, cut into quarters

For the Glaze:

1 cup stout
2/3 cup mirin
¼ cup soy sauce
½ tsp chili powder
1 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs honey

For the Sweet Potatoes:

2 large shallots sliced (2/3 cup)
2 tbs butter plus 4 tbs divided
1 tbs oil
3 large sweet potatoes peeled and sliced
2 tbs real maple syrup
2 tbs heavy cream
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans
3 tbs balsamic gaze

Instructions

In a pot over medium high heat, add the water and the salt. Stir until salt has dissolved, remove from heat, add the beer and ice. Stir until ice has dissolved and brine is at room temperature or below.
Add the chicken quarters to a large bowl. Pour the brine over the chicken, cover loosely with plastic wrap, refrigerate for 3 hours and up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Add the stout, mirin, soy, chili powder, cornstarch and honey, whisk to combine. Add sauce pan to high heat, allow to boil until slightly reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place a wire rack over the foil lined baking sheet.
Remove chicken from brine, discard the brine. Rinse the chicken well and pat dry. Place chicken on the wire rack.
Brush liberally with the glaze.
Roast at 425F for 45 to 55 minutes, brush with glaze every 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven when the internal temperature reaches 175F.
While the chicken is cooking make the sweet potatoes. In a saucepan, melt the butter with the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat until caramelized, about 20 minutes.
Boil the potatoes in a pot of lightly salted water until fork tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain, return sweet potatoes to the dry pot. Add 4 tbs butter, cream, maple syrup, salt, and nutmeg, mash with a potato masher until well combined and potatoes are well mashed, transfer to a serving dish. Top with caramelized shallots, chopped pecans and drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Notes

Balsamic glaze can be bought at the store, often by the balsamic vinegar, or you can make it by reducing 1 cup balsamic and 1 tbs white sugar or honey in a saucepan until reduced and thickened.

Maple Chipotle Chicken Wings

22.02.2013 30 Comments

I have to admit, I did think about adding blood orange juice to this. I have a thing for blood oranges. But, I refrained, I was afraid I’d lose all of you who aren’t as into those guys as I am.

But I did fall back on my love of chipotle. We all have these "go to" flavors, don’t we? Even though we want to broaden our culinary horizons, we seem to be drawn back to that same section of the pantry. That’s ok, isn’t it?

I’m a chipotle, smoked paprika, roasted garlic, fresh basil, sriracha, kinda girl. I also love with burrata cheese, masa harina and almost bitterly dark chocolate.

Just once I’d like to walk into the kitchen and have Ted Allen hand me a "basket of mystery ingredients" just so that I can figure out how to use them in a delightful way without any of my usual culinary crutches.

But for now, here are some chicken wings, beautifully balances with sweet and heat.

Maple Chipotle Chicken Wings

Ingredients

1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 chipotle peppers plus tsp adobo
2 lbs chicken wings
salt and pepper
½ cup flour
½ tsp brown sugar
pinch cayenne
Olive oil spray

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450.
Add maple, balsamic and chipotle to a food processor, process until smooth and well combined. Set aside.
Rinse the wings in cold water and pat dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper on all sides.
In a large bowl add the flour, brown sugar, pinch cayenne. Toss the chicken wings in the flour until completely coated.
Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray.
Add chicken to the baking sheet in an evenly spaced layer. Lightly spray with olive oil.
Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, brush with glaze, return to oven for 10 more minutes, turn over, brush with glaze. Repeat. After 30 minutes (3 rounds) turn the oven to 500 and cook chicken until cooked through, about 10 to 15 additional minutes. Remove from oven, brush with remaining glaze.

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

22.01.2013 35 Comments

I’ve been wanting to make you some beer fried chicken for a while now, but it’s a bit intimidating.

The best fried chicken comes from the south, it’s a fact of sorts. As is the fact that, other than a few weeks in Atlanta, I haven’t spent much time in the Southern states. And, let’s be honest, a white girl from Washington State isn’t exactly your go-to when you want the worlds best fried chicken.

But I have some confidence in this recipes because it isn’t really mine. I’ve added a few things, but the heart and soul of it belongs to a woman who’s chicken was so incredible, Ruth Reichl spent weeks, and copious amounts of beer, extracting the recipe from her. Even 40 years after plying Claritha with enough beer to obtain said recpe, Ruth not only remembers it, she writes about it in Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table.

Like any great recipe, it travels. How I hope my recipes become your recipes. My Chocolate Stout Cake becomes your Chocolate Stout Cake, the one your boyfriend begs you to make him for his birthday and tells his friends, "My girl makes the best cake." Because once your hands have cut the butter, stirred the batter and frosted the cake, it’s not my recipe any more, it’s yours. As it should be.

So, from Claritha, to Ruth to Random House to me and finally to you, is the best fried chicken I’ve ever made. I hope it becomes your fried chicken too.

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Adapted from Claritha's Fried Chicken, Ruth Reichl, Tender at the Bone

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken drumsticks
1 to 2 cups kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups blonde ale
1 onion sliced
1 cup flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 tsp packed dark brown sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup butter

Yield: 4servings

Instructions

Place chicken in a wide bowl. Cover with salt, place uncovered in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Remove chicken from the bowl.
Rinse the chicken well and clean the bowl to remove all the salt. Add buttermilk, beer and onion slices to the bowl, stir to combine. Add the chicken back in the bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 20 hours.
Add the flour, salt, cayenne, brown sugar, and pepper to a bag, shake to combine. Drain the chicken. add chicken to the bag, shake until the chicken is well coated. Place chicken on wax paper or parchment paper. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1/2 hour.
In a large skillet melt the vegetable shortening and butter over high heat. Add chicken (working in batches if necessary), cover and lower heat to just above medium. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, turn and cook on the opposite side for about 8 additional minutes or until cooked through.

Buffalo Chicken Beer Cheese Dip

03.01.2013 83 Comments

This needs to be made with an IPA. The buffalo sauce (which has to be Franks, let’s just get that out of the way) needs a big kick to the face. The only beer up for that job is an IPA. read more

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Beer Sauce

06.11.2012 12 Comments

Today is November 6th, Election Day.

As Americans spend the day thinking of little else, wedged firmly between Barack and a hard place, I wanted to give you a little motivation to get through this day.

We will soon find ourselves at the end of this exhausting Election Season, our feelings of separatism from those who disagree with us will fade. We will find Facebook to be a friendlier place, and those Someecards of a political nature will ebb.

Regardless of the outcome, you have a reason to grab your favorite beer. Either in celebration of your guy winning the mad race to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or as a way to console yourself over the fact that the other guy came out ahead.

Given that you may be too distracted to spend all that much time in the kitchen tonight, this meal only takes about 20 minutes.

And, I’m pretty certain it has bipartisan support.

For this recipes, I like a brown ale, a blonde, a pale or a wheat beer. Be aware that using an IPA will kick up the beer flavor considerably and may be too bitter in the end.

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Beer Sauce

Print Recipe

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbs butter
1/4 cup onions chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
5 oz wild mushrooms such as Shiitake (not dried)
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the pan and cook on both sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan.
Add onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are soft and have darkened, about 5 minutes.
Add the beer, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan.
Reduce heat to medium, add the cream and stir.
Add half of the cheese, stir until melted. Add the remaining half, stir until combined.
Add the chicken and allow to cook until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, serve over rice or pasta.

Beer Braised Chicken and Hefeweizen Cornmeal Dumpling Soup

02.10.2012 6 Comments

Although most of you are starting to pull out those wool sweaters you neatly packed away a few months ago, here in Los Angeles we are in the throws of a record heat wave that drug us into 108 degree heat yesterday. While most of the sane people of LA stayed indoors and avoided the oven, I spent the morning interviewing ex-cons turn foodies, and then came home and made soup.

Like i’ve mentioned before, my inherent rebellion pushes me to buck tradition and even reason. I drink stouts in the summer, eat ice cream in the winter and make soup in triple digit heat.

Beer Braised Chicken and Hefeweizen Cornmeal Dumpling Soup

Print Recipe

Ingredients

For The Soup

4 tbs butter
4 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets cup into bite sized peices
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup white onions chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1 cup sweet white corn kernels fresh is best, frozen is acceptable, canned is disgusting
2 cups Hefeweizen Beer
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbs flour
1/4 cup cream

For The Dumplings

1/2 cup Masa Harina corn flour used to make corn tortillas
1/2 cup fine ground corn meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbs butter cut into small cubes
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Hefeweizen beer

Instructions

In a large pot with a lid, like a dutch oven or enamel cast iron pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook until seared on all sides, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, onions, celery, carrots and corn, stir. Add the beer and broth, stir. Allow to simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the pot and whisk until combined. Remove from heat and slowly add the cream while stiring. Return to medium/low heat.
In a large bowl, add the masa, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary, stir to combine. Add the butter and rub into the flour with your fingers until completely combined.
Add the milk and hefeweizen and stir until combined. You don't want the dough too thin or it will fall apart during cooking, you want a biscuit like consistency.
Drop mounds of dough, about 3 tbs in size, equally spaced on top of the pot until all dough has been used. Cover the pot and cook on low heat until the tops of the dumplings are dry, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Chili Beer Chicken Wings

04.09.2012 39 Comments

Last Friday I was able to visit the Los Angeles CBS studios. They even let me do a cooking segment. Originally slotted for 4 to 5 minutes, the loved me so much, they let me run to 6 1/2 minutes. Aren’t they great?

A few questions threw me off, "Were you in a sorority?" and "What IS craft beer?"

The first, I’m ok with dismissing, but the second left me to wonder. If you have to define Craft Beer in one sentence to someone who knows nothing about beer beyond the college Greek System drinking games, how would you do that? It seems like everyone has different definitions, some focusing on the size of the brewery, or the quality of the ingredients or the breweries funding source or even if the company is publicly trader. But what about the beer? What makes if truly craft? You could write entire books trying to answer that one question.

What is "craft beer"?

If you have a quick, one sentence answer for me, I’d love to hear it.

But in the meantime, I’m going to introduce you to a beer that was perfect for my sort of sweet, fairly spicy, beer infused chicken wings that are sort of perfect for the beginning of football season.

Dogfish Head, Festina Peche is brewed with peaches (not an extract) that feeds the yeast so the peach flavors are pervasive. Not a beer for everyone, it tends to be a bit polarizing, but an excellent example of a well done Berliner Weisse fermented with peaches. It is also an excellent beer for this recipe.

Chili Beer Chicken Wings

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs chicken wings and drumsticks
1/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup beer
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbs honey
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red chili flake
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs rice wine vinegar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and dry well.
Sprinkle chicken on all sides with cornstarch and rub to coat.
In a separate bowl, add the beer, soy, honey, chili powder, garlic powder, red chili flake, salt, and vinegar, stirring well to combine. Add the chicken, toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for ten to twenty minutes.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Remove the chicken from marinade and arrange wings on the baking sheet and bake at 425 for ten minutes.
While the chicken is baking, add the remaining marinade to a pot over medium high heat, stiring frequently, reduce until thickened and syrupy, about 8-10 minutes.
Once the marinade has reduced, remove the chicken from the oven and brush with the thickened marinade, turn them over, brush with marinade on the other side.
Return to the oven and allow to cook for an additional ten minutes, basting again.
Allow chicken to bake until cooked through, an additional 10-15 minutes.
(Note: the total cooking time for the chicken will be approximately 25-35 minutes, requiring basting every ten minutes)

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.

Mojito Chicken Wings With Wasabi Mint Cream Sauce & Free Tickets to the Cook-Off

13.08.2012 28 Comments

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might have taken one look at this title and wondered if I had flashbacks to the Moroccan Mint Experience. The answer, of course, is yes.

And I’m going to bet that my sister who accompanied me on the guided tour of Middle Atlas headed by a man who was surely a Moroccan drug dealer, had a similar flashback, and possibly a shudder, just reading the title of this post.

But I still really want to like mint. It’s an amazingly fresh and bright flavor that I want to enjoy. I want to be able to drink a Mojito if I ever make it to Cuba, and when I someday go to The Kentucky Derby, I am most certainly going to order a mint Julip and enjoy it under my huge hat. And if I ever find myself in the "living room" of another hospitable cave dweller on the other side of the world, I want to be able to drink his tea with a smile.

So I’m subjecting myself to some Exposure Therapy. And I am enjoying it immensely. Other than the involuntary gagging when I chopped the mint (I know, that totally makes you want to run right out and make this chicken), I am completely in love with the end result of this dish. Even the Wasabi Mint Cream Sauce. It was a fantastic balance of flavors that I enjoyed much more that I had imagined. And I can now say that I am well on my way to recovery. I see more mint in my future.

Speaking of chicken, I have some great news. As I’m getting all the details for my participation in the 3rd Annual Foster Farms Fresh Cooking Contest all in order, the wonderful people over at Foster Farms have given me 5 pairs of tickets to the event to give away to my readers. I’m so excited about that. This is an invite only event, and tickets are very limited. I would love for some of you to go with me.

Mojito Chicken Wings With Wasabi Mint Cream Sauce

Ingredients

12 Foster Farms Party Wings
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
¼ cup cornstarch
2/3 cup ponzu sauce
2 tbs honey
¼ cup white rum
1 tsp red chili sauce (such as sriracha)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbs sesame seeds
6 oz Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp wasabi powder
1 tbs cilantro, minced
2 fresh mint leaves, minced
1 tbs lime juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and dry well.
Sprinkle chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cornstarch and rub to coat.
In a separate bowl, add the ponzu, honey, rum, chili sauce, garlic powder and sesame seeds, stirring well to combine. Add the chicken, toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for ten minutes.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Arrange the chicken wings on the baking sheet and bake at 425 for ten minutes.
While the chicken is baking, add the remaining marinade to a pot over medium high heat,stiring frequently, reduce until thickened and syrupy, about 8-10 minutes.
Once the marinade has reduced, remove the chicken from the oven and brush with the thickened marinade, turn them over, brush with marinade on the other side.
Return to the oven and allow to cook for an additional ten minutes, basting again.
Allow chicken to bake until cooked through, an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
To make the sauce, add the Greek yogurt, wasabi, cilantro, mint, and lime juice to a bowl and mix to combine. Serve the sauce along side the wings as a dipping sauce.

(Note: the total cooking time for the chicken will be approximately 25-35 minutes, requiring basting every ten minutes)