Let’s pretend this didn’t happen. Like I didn’t put beer in your soup again. Like I didn’t just take this soup that I love so much, change up a few ingredients and pretend like it’s an entirely new guy. Let’s pretend like I’m more creative than that. Shall we? Even though this is a closely… Read More
French Onion Soup was Julia Child’s last meal. Seems fitting for a woman known for French classics. And who wants to mess with a classic dish that America’s Culinary Grandma chose as her last meal? Me. That’s who. Although I do like to stick to classic methods when it comes to cooking this warm bowl… Read More
Slow Cooker Beer and Brown Sugar Pulled Chicken Sliders. Perfect for a football game! For all of the FanBoy love that seems to be sent to the Slow Cooker, it’s my least favorite way to produce a meal. Flavors tend to muddy, its hard to develop layers of flavor, and this culinary contraption seems to… Read More
Is Beer Vegan? From an outsiders perspective, the question might seems silly. Beer, after all, is made from plants and water. At its most basic, the ingredients to make beer are simple: water, malt, hops, yeast; all of which are clearly non-animal. And while brewmasters have a way of working everything from bacon to whole… 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
Mile High Chocolate Stout Pie This past Sunday, as I stood at a podium in the middle of a convention center talking about the glorious interplay of beer & chocolate and how to pair the two, I was asked which chocolate stout I recommend. All I could think of was this Rogue Chocolate Stout that… Read More
Moroccan food will always feel a bit dangerous to me because I almost died in Morocco. At least that’s how it felt. A few years ago, after a plane ride, several trains, and a multi-hour bus ride through the back woods of Morocco, I found myself in the middle of the city of Fez with… Read More
If you want to watch a culinary sports crowd get rilled up, ask what the “right way to make chili” really is. Just meat? Beans? No beans? Pork, vegetables, beef? Tomatoes? Because if you do it “wrong” you might was well be at Morton’s and ask for ketchup with your steak. Or waltz yourself in… 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
I want to put a beer cooking trick up your sleeve. A secret skill to help maneuver the beer cooking universe with deft dexterity. I like to call this a Beer Extract, made by reducing that bottle of beer to a small but mighty beer syrup that fits nicely into a recipe that wants some beer… Read More
We could never manage to get ourselves through an entire conversation about cooking with beer without talking about meat. Sure, the magical leavening powers of beer give bread that awesome texture, and after making a chocolate stout cake none of my cakes will ever be sober again, but meat is where it all begins. There… Read More
Epic Chocolate Stout Cake Although I may be shattering illusion with this admission, I don’t always cook with beer. I often create very sober meals with teetotaling side dishes, not a whisper of booze in sight. However, over the years of carving out a niche in this corner of Craft Beer Land, I have found… Read More
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… Read More
Dark beers, with their inky good looks and sinister darkness have a way of scaring away those new to the brew. But what is a stout? and what makes it so dark? Don’t let the color fool you, these gentle giants offer a smooth, malty, drinkability with much lower hop bitterness than their lighter counterpoints.… Read More
While flavor may be a great go-to reason to cook with beer, don’t overlook the more practical applications of beer cooking. One of the cornerstones of Practical Beer Cooking is the inherent meat tenderizing properties of beer, making it the perfect brining liquid. While infusing the meat with flavor and uping the juiciness factor,… Read More
Falling into the world of craft beer, I lacked a full grasp of the type of people this obsession attracts. Over the years I never cease to be amazed at the warmth and heart that exists in the gatherings of the Craft Beer Enthusiasts, the salt of the earth types that dwell here. It’s hard… Read More
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… Read More
There are a few buzz words that seem to grab peoples attention and promote a recipe to Social Media Sharing Gangbusters status. These words include: Skinny, Quick, Easy, No Bake, Only 3 Ingredients, You’ll Never Guess The Secret Ingredient! None of these phrases are the type to attract my attention on their own. I like… Read More