thanksgiving

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

15.11.2013 5 Comments

I know what you’re thinking.

You think that I put a Pumpkin Ale in that pie. It’s a fair assumption, and not a bad route to take when beerifying (that’s a word) a pumpkin pie. Sure, you can use that. Go ahead, be my beer-cookin' guest, it’s not a bad choice. But for this I wanted to play up those brown sugar flavors with a nice barrel aged brown ale. So that’s exactly what I did.

Brown ales don’t get enough air time. They are often forgotten in the beer-of-the-moment hype. Browns are the George Harrison’s of the beer world. The Willem Dafoe’s of the beer world.

But brown ales have a lot of potential, a lot of great flavors, a lot of depth. Especially when they’ve been aged in a bourbon barrel. Like this Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head which has unleashed that underrated brown ale potential in a way that will remind the Beer Snobs that it’s here to play. Or make pies. Or maybe both.

I used this Kitchen torch, because it’s amazing, easily one of my favorite kitchen tools. (affiliate link)

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 Pale ale pie crust
¾ cup heavy cream
2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
5 large egg yolks
¾ cup brown ale preferably a barrel aged brown ale
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of pumpkin purée
1 tbs cornstarch
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
White sugar for brulee topping about 3 tbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
Roll the pie dough out on a lightly floured surface and line a 9-inch pie pan. Place in the fridge to chill until the filling is ready.
In a pot over medium heat, add the cream. Heat until the cream starts to bubble around the edges.
In a large bowl whisk together the white sugar, brown sugar and egg yolks. Whisking continually, slowly pour the hot cream into the eggs. Whisk until well combined.
Add the remaining ingredients (other than the brulee sugar), whisk until well combined.
Pour into the prepared pie pan.
Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes or until the filling puffs slightly and has set around the edges (the center will still be wobbly). Chill until set, at least 4 hours.
Just prior to serving, sprinkle the remaining white sugar over the top of the pie in an even layer. Using a culinary torch brulee the sugar until melted and turned a dark amber color.

For this recipe I use The Pale Ale Pie Dough

Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread & How To Throw a Craft Beer Thanksgiving

07.11.2013 11 Comments

As we fly through the fall, hurdling towards the holiday season, our first major stop will be the festival of glutton that I love so much. While many of you will show up to your respective Thanksgiving feasts bearing bottles of wine, craft beer has earned a spot in America’s Favorite Meal. But there is a bit of a dilemma when it comes to pairing beer with such a huge spread, since very (very) few gatherings this large will allow the opportunity to pair a different beer with each dish, you need to pick beers that play well with many others.

Pick three separate beers for the meal progressoin. The first to pair with the appetizers that you’ve set out as your guests arrive, the second beer to pair with the poultry centric main attraction, and the third for the dessert round.

The Appetizer Beer should be like the food, a warm up for whats to come. Nothing overwhelming, you don’t want to wreck you guest palates before the meals have even begun. Look for something refreshing, clean and bright to get people ready for the onslaught of flavors that are about to come their way. My picks:

Ommegang Witte

Rogue Good Chit Pilsner

Drakes Blonde Ale

The Main Event Beer has to pair with everything from turkey to jello salad (don’t pretend like you don’t have an aunt that always brings that) so it has to be versatile. Look for a beer thats earthy, malty, moderately carbonated and low(ish) hops, you want the beer to highlight the food, not fight with it. My picks:

Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale

The Bruery Saison Rue

Schlafly Bière De Garde

Dessert Beer will give you a bit more flexibility. You will probably have an assortment of pies ranging from fruit to chocolate, so you’ll need a beer that can mesh well with what you have. Since this is the final offering, it’s OK to go off the rails a bit and mix it up. I love to end a big meal with a malty, big, barrel aged beer, or a strong barleywine beer, it’s a dessert all on it’s own. My picks:

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Southern Tier Backburner

North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin

So now that you’ve got the beer down, it’s time to think about the menu.

Until the end of time there are two beerified offerings that will always grace my late November Holiday Table:

Beer Brined Turkey

Hefeweizen Honey Dinner Rolls

But you might need more than just turkey and rolls, although those do happen to be the cornerstones of the leftover sandwiches. Here are a few more beerified offerings for your holiday table:

Beer Cheese Skillet Potatoes

Stove Top Beer & Bacon Mac n Cheese

Pumpkin Ale Farro Roasted Asparagus Pomegranate and Goat Cheese Salad

IPA Sweet Potato Mash

Chipotle White Ale Cranberry Sauce

Porter Pecan Pie

Bruleed Pumpkin Beer Pie

Apple Pie with Pale Ale Mascarpone Cream and Beer Pie Dough

Mile High Chocolate Stout Pie

And for that Black Friday Pick me Up: Sriracha Bloody Beer with Chili Sugar Bacon

And don’t forget about this Midwestern treat that I appropriately beerified, the corn soufflé that goes by many names and usually includes a box of Jiffy mix. Today we skip the mixes in favor of some real life cheese, beer and all kinds of deliciousness.

Beer Cheese Corn Spoon Bread

Print Recipe

Ingredients

6 tbs butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup pale ale beer
8 wt oz cheddar grated
3 cups corn kernels fresh or frozen, not canned
2/3 cup cornmeal
¼ cup sour cream
3 large eggs separated
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
pinch cayenne

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375.
In a pot over medium heat melt the butter.
Sprinkle with flour, whisk until thickened and light brown in color, about 2 minutes.
Stir in the milk and beer until well combined.
About ¼ cup a time, stir in the cheese, stirring until completely incorporated between additions. Stir in the corn kernels and cornmeal, remove from heat.
In a small bowl whish together the egg yolks (reserve the whites), sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cayenne. Stir the egg yolk mixture into the corn mixture.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Stir the egg whites into the corn mixture.
Pour the mixture into a greased 2qt baking dish.
Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until the edges start to turn light golden brown.

Leftover Turkey Frittata Recipe

06.11.2013 12 Comments

Thanksgiving leftovers are a funny beast.

We spend weeks crafting a menu, days of prep, countless hours of cooking and then freak out about what to do with it all the next day. I do that same thing, even though leftovers on their own are fantastic. Maybe it’s because, even after hours and days and weeks of prep, we still feel "lazy" just reheating the tupperware containers and setting it out on the table.

Even though I will chow down on cold beer brined turkey and left over dinner rolls in those post dawn hours, it’s still not hyper socially expectable to serve mashed potatoes and leftover turkey for breakfast. But throw some chopped up rolls and a few handfuls of turkey into a skillet with some eggs and you’ve got brunch.

And you should serve it with a mimosa, you’ve earned it

Leftover Turkey Frittata Recipe

Ingredients

3 tbs butter
2 cups bread cut into cubes (leftover dinner rolls work well)
1 cup turkey, cut into cubes
½ red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
6 eggs
¼ cup sour cream
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup green onion, chopped
Instructions

Preheat oven 400.
Melt the butter in a 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
Add the bell peppers, cook until softened.
Add the bread cubes, cooking until browned.
Add the turkey, toss to coat.
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sour cream, salt and pepper.
Pour into the skillet, sprinkle with green onions.
Cook undisturbed until the sides have set, about 5 minutes.
Bake at 400 until until center has set, about 12 minutes.

Five Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes

21.11.2012 14 Comments

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and I am already thinking about the leftovers.

I will not be participating in Black Friday. Unless it takes place in my refrigerator, I will be staying far, far away from any post-thanksgiving debauchery. Besides, I plan to make most of my Christmas gifts, but more on that later.

Here are my favorite uses for Thanksgiving leftovers:

1. Empanadas. A simple dough (or even store bough pie dough) can transform your leftover food into adorable and portable mini savory pies. Also handy to take along on those epic shopping ventures, for those of you who participate in that sort of thing.

My favorite combos: Turkey & Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Candied Yam, Stuffing & Cranberry

More directions on making Thanksgiving Leftover Empanadas Here.

2. Turkey Galette. Use a standard dough, or a store bought pie crust. Roll it out, add your leftovers, fold the edges in and bake at 400 until the dough is cooked, about 35 minutes. Top with some fresh greens and you are good to go.

3. Salad. Seriously, we all need some detox right about now.

Cook 1 cup quinoa (use these directions to cook the quinoa, the package directions make it soggy)

Add 2 cups chopped kale

1/2 cup chopped cooked turkey

2 tbs dried cranberries

2 tbs chopped black olives

1 chopped yam, cooked

3 tbs balsamic & 1 tbs honey, mixed together

Toss everything in a bowl. Makes about 4 servings.

4. Turkey Grilled Cheese.

Not a lot to explain here. Just load some bread up with turkey, lots of cheese and pan fry until gooey, melty and amazing.

5. Turkey Sliders

Split open on of those left over rolls (or maybe the biscuits from breakfast) load it up with left overs and you just made yourself a cute little sandwich.

Or toss some leftover turkey in some BBQ sauce, fill a dinner roll and it’s like a brand new food.

Vanilla Bourbon Cranberry Sauce & 3 Ways to Use the Leftovers

23.11.2011 6 Comments

Of all the Thanksgiving foods that I am asking you to make from scratch, and not out of a can, cranberry sauce is by far the fastest and easiest. It takes almost as much time to try and slop that phallic shaped, hideously ridges gelatinous mass onto a crystal serving dish as it does to throw a few ingredients in a pot and let it simmer. You have no excuse. Put down your reservations, and your can opener and give it a try. You can do it. I believe in you.

As for those leftovers, that best part of that Black Friday, you have so many options. Cranberry sauce is the one thing that freezes super well, so you can put it in tupperware and save it for a week when you aren’t so double stuffed. Maybe there is a Christmas/Hanukkah party coming up and you signed up to bring the cupcakes? You are in luck. Freeze the leftover sauce, make the Cranberry Cream Cheese frosting below and you will have a cupcake hit on your hands.

First, we’ll start with the recipe that gets us to these fine leftovers fit for transformations.

Vanilla Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

1/2 vanilla bean

4 cups of fresh cranberries

3/4 cup of water

2 tbs bourbon (good quality)

1 tsp real vanilla extract

1 cup of sugar

Slice the vanilla bean down the center the long way and scrape out the insides with the back of a knife. Place the vanilla scrapings, and the rest of the ingredients in a pot over medium/high heat. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until thickened. The longer you allow the sauce to cook, the thicker it will become.

*all the alcohol burns off once heated, so this is safe to serve to minors.

As I said before, cranberry sauce freezes well. You can save your leftovers for future use.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 3/4 cups cream cheese (softened)

1 1/4 cups butter (softened)

1/2 cup cranberry sauce

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Cream cheese frosting is super, super easy to make and about a billion times better than that crap in a plastic can, as long as you follow the rules. Seriously, if you try to cheat this you will end up with a mixing bowl full of lumps that give your frosting the consistency of ground beef. The biggest rule: everything needs to be room temperature. Sounds wrong, but it’s true. Leave your butter and cream cheese on the counter for a few hours to let them soften. Here are a few acceptable shortcuts to get your ingredients to room temperature, since you may have patience issues, or lack of time issues, like I do.

1. If you are baking and the oven is on, place your sticks of butter and cream cheese (still wrapped) on top of the warm oven. That is, if you have an oven that gets warm. Turn them every 8-10 minutes to warm all sides. In about 30 minutes, they should be softened.

2. Microwave. The problem with this is that you really don’t want anything melted, and since cream cheese is almost always wrapped in foil, this just works for butter. Put your wrapped butter on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 8 seconds. Turn one quarter turn and then repeat. do this until it is softened, but not melted.

3. Cut everything into cubes and leave at room temp for about 30 minutes, should do the trick, unless your house is freezing cold.

Put your softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high for about 3 minutes. This will allow it to blend with the butter better and prevent any clumps. Add the softened butter and beat on high until well combined. Add the cranberry sauce and mix again until well combined. Turn off the mixer and add the powdered sugar. I don’t like my frosting super sweet, but if you do, add more powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until the powdered sugar is mixed into the cream cheese mixture.

Cranberry Walnut Muffins

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sour cream

1 cup cranberry sauce

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Makes 12

Preheat oven to 400.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla; mix well between each addition. While the mixer is on low, add the sour cream and then the cranberry sauce, mixing until well combined. In a separate bowl, Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. With the mixer still on a low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the cranberry mixture. Mix until just combined, don’t over beat. Stir in the walnuts. Add cupcake papers to a muffin tins. Fill each paper until about 2/3 full.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched.

Allow to cool.

Cranberry Pancake Syrup

1 cup cranberry sauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

Put both in a bowl, stir well, heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. Serve over pancakes.

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How To Use Thanksgiving Leftovers: Candied Yam Empanadas

21.11.2011 13 Comments

Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday because gratefulness is such an underrated personality trait. I wish people admired that quality in others like they admire shoes and jewelry and waist size.

"She is SO grateful! I wish I had that."

We should start the day that like. Before we ever get out of bed, list the things you are thankful for.

If you aren’t feelin' in a Thankful kinda mood right now, this’ll do it:

I’ve know quite a few survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. Most of whom are in their 90’s now. I know a man who was in Auschwitz concentration camp and went to the gas chamber. Twice. Both times, something was broken, and the entire chamber full of terrified, naked, sobbing Jewish men, women and children where told to go back to their cells. To this day, when something goes wrong, a toilet breaks, his phone service is down, his car needs work, he will always say, "Thank God for things that break! Broken pipes saved my life!" Nothing like a concentration camp story to put your life in perspective, right?!

No matter what you are facing, what is wrong, or what is hard to deal with. Take some time to think about what is right in your world. Hold the good closer than you hold the bad. I have so much to be thankful for, and I hope a day never comes that I stop thinking that.

Every Thursday, not just the 4th Thursday in November, we should take some time and to list the things we are thankful for, no matter how long or short that list is.

Oh, yeah, food. That’s why you’re here. These little guys are pretty fantastic. Plus, you don’t just have to limit them to your leftover candied yams, fill these with what ever you have. Other great empanada combos:

Turkey (chopped), mashed potatoes & gravy

Stuffing & cranberry sauce

Mac & Cheese

But, even if you didn’t make yams, or you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving and want to make these, I’ll give you an easy candied yam mash recipe that will be perfect for the filling.

Thanksgiving Leftover Empanadas: Candied Yams

For The Dough:

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

10 tbs butter, cold, cut into cubes

1 egg

1/3 cup ice water

For the Filling:

2 cups leftover candied yams, Mashed

2 large yams, peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)

1/2 stick butter (4 tbs), chopped into cubes

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup pecans

Topping:

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp salt

Put 1 1/2 cups of flour and the salt in a food processor, pulse for a second to combine. Add the butter and process until combined. Add the remaining flour and process again. Move to a bowl. In a small bowl, beat the egg and water together until well combined then add the egg/water to the dough with a wooden spoon. If you add the water and egg with the food processor, your dough will turn out crispy and cracker like.

Form into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400.

If you are using leftovers you can skip this next paragraph.

Place your chopped yams in a large loaf pan, sprinkle the top with cubes of butter. Drizzle with the maple syrup and then top with the brown sugar.

Bake, uncovered at 400 for about 40 minutes or until the yams are fork tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit. Drain off most of the liquid (leaving about 2 tbs in the bottom of the pan). Mash with a potato masher until mixture until creamy, add the pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and stir.

Once your dough is chilled, roll it out to an even thickness on a flowered surface. Cut out 4 inch circles. I don’t have a 4 inch circle cutter, so I used a margarita glass.

Brush the edges of each circle with water. Put about 2 tbs of filling in the middle, leaving the sides clear. Fold the circle over and press the edges together well to make a secure seal. Put three small slits on the top of the empanadas to allow steam to escape. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray (or covered with parchment paper). Brush the top with maple syrup, sprinkle with a small amount of salt.

Bake at 400 for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Eat, smile, be thankful.

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