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Monatsarchive: January 2013

Blood and Glory: Blood Orange Cocktail

Here it is:

Blood and Glory Blood Orange Cocktail 3

 

The first Blood Orange Cocktail dreamed up by my incredibly talented (and incredibly sexy) husband.

Chris dodd

It’s really beautiful cocktail with a citrusy sweetness that’s perfectly balanced. It’s prefect for a Ladies Night, a Dinner Party Night, or just a Netflix Night.

Blood and Glory Blood Orange Cocktail 4

I’m already starting to grieve the end of the Blood Orange season, which usually ends in March. If you can’t get your hands on these, or when the season ends, muddle some raspberries and naval orange juice in a cocktail shaker to get close to these great flavors and the amazing color.

Blood and Glory Blood Orange Cocktail_

Blood and Glory: Blood Orange Cocktail

Ingredients

  • 2 oz blood orange juice
  • 4 oz Vodka
  • 3 oz Cointreau
  • 1 oz lime juice

Yield: two servings

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well, strainer into two chilled martini glasses.

Blood and Glory Blood Orange Cocktail 5

Bleeding Mimosa: Champagne and Blood Orange Ice Cubes

I have such a huge culinary crush on blood oranges, it’s almost embarrassing. I drove all over the city looking for these things, giving Sad Eyes to all the produce guys who told me they didn’t carry them.

Blood Orange Mimossa

Then, thanks to the magic of Whole Foods, I came into ownership of about 6 pounds of these babies.

Blood Orange Mimossa5

 Last year I gave you the Hot Blooded cocktail during my fling with blood oranges, and this year I wanted to do an entire week. I got a bit of a late start this week because of a Super Secret project I was involved in that required I be sequestered without internet and phone for three days. I can’t wait to tell you all about it, but that will have to wait a few more months.

Blood Orange Mimossa3

I have some real life cocktails coming up for you that have been dreamed up by my husband, who happens to be  trained bartender (which is actually a little known fact). He is an incredible cocktail inventor and I can’t wait to show you what he came up with.

I juiced most of my 6 lbs of blood oranges for what ended up being Team Dodd’s Naptime Cocktail Hour, and froze the leftovers. The results were incredibly gorgeous cubes of ruby red orange juice that made the most amazing and beautiful pink Mimosas.

I used these square ice cubes trays, and if you love to make cocktails for guests, they are a great way to impress with very little effort.

Bleeding Mimosa: Champagne and Blood Orange Ice Cubes

Ingredients

  • 2 lb blood oranges, juiced
  • Champagne

Serves 4 to 6

Instructions

  1. Pour blood orange juice into ice cube trays.
  2. Place in freezer until frozen, at least 6 hours.
  3. Fill champagne flutes with blood orange ice cubes, fill with champagne.

Blood Orange Mimossa4

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Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

 

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice2

Can we still be friends if I tell you that I don’t really like slow cookers? I resisted getting one for years, and then, like the culinary lemming that I can often be, I caved and asked for one for Christmas.

As I kid, I hated them. I saw it only as that thing that ruined spare ribs that should rightfully be cooked on the grill.  And now, all I see is how much people lose their minds over how great these slow cooking machines are. So far, I’m not impressed. Of the "dump and cook" recipes I’ve tried, the flavors just end up muddy and I’m left feeling completely left out of the cooking process like I wasn’t invited to the party.

That’s why this recipe calls for two parts, slow cooking the beans and then finishing the dish with a conventional cooking to add more layers of flavor.

Slow cooking the beans is really the best way to go, wether it be on your stove top, or in one of these slow cooking machines I have yet to fall in love with. Much better final result than with canned beans, and I’ll admit, the slow cooker does a great job of babysitting during the long process so you can go about your life.

If you have a fantastic slow cooker recipe, PLEASE let me know. I’d love to be let in on the secret to this that I’m clearly missing out on. Leave it in the comment section (a link is fine, if you’ve got one), because maybe there’s hope for me and this slow cooker after all.

 

 

Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb small red beans or red kidney beans dry
  • 24 ounces stout or porter
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 hickory smoked ham hock
  • 1 red onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tsp sriracha
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 lb raw chicken bratwurst sliced
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 4 strips bacon sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Cooked rice for serving.

Instructions
 

  • Add red beans, porter, chicken broth, ham hock, onion, garlic and sriracha to a slow cooker. Cook on low for eight hours.
  • Once the beans are finished cooking, heat the olive oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Cook the brats, green peppers and bacon until meat has been cooked through. Stir the brats, bacon and peppers with the beans, salt and pepper to taste. serve over rice.

 Slow Cooker Stout Red Beans and Rice

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes


Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes_

Have you ever had one of those "What Would You Want Your Last Meal To Be?" conversations?

I have. Partially because I’m a touch more morbid than most, and partially because I think about food nearly constantly. Also, between food writers, food bloggers and chefs, I hang out with quite a few food people and that tends to dictate the sway of conversation.

Julia Child ate French onion soup as her last meal. James Dean had apple pie and a glass of milk at a road side dinner. JFK ate a pretty typical breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee. John Lennon had a corned beef sandwich. Ernest Hemingway had a steak and potatoes.

(*have I totally creeped you out with death talk on my potatoes post?)

Really, what that conversation comes down to is what food could you not bear never eating again. For most people, that’s comfort food, or meals that remind them of childhood. To be honest with you, I can’t really decide on an answer to the super-morbid Last Meal question. But, I can tell you I would want potatoes to be a part of the meal.

I’ve been making these potatoes for a while. Really simple, easy and always turn out great, without much effort. They also just so happen to be vegan and gluten free, how great is that?

Last meal or not, I’ll be having these again soon.

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes 3

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt, or kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375.
  2. Add olive oil to cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
  3. Add the potatoes, one of the cut sides down.
  4. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
  5. Push each piece of potato over, toggling it onto its un-browned cut side.
  6. Cook for one minute, transfer skillet to the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

 

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes 2

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

 

Beer and Buttermilk Fried ChickenP

 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 Chicken2

Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken

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

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.

    Beer and Buttermilk Fried Chicken3

     

    Mirin Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

    I’ve reached a goal of sorts, and I wanted to tell you about it. When I started this blog in 2011, it was as a direct response of having to put my 4 month old in the arms of stranger, turn around, and drive to an office.

    Tater 6 months I love my job, and I love my babysitter, she has become a part of the family. But at the time, I didn’t know her, she was just the woman who had babysat my friends daughters. If you’ve never had to leave your baby,  it might not sound that terrible, but at the time it felt like a part of my heart was being torn out.

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    Every morning when I left her I cried, and my babysitter understood. She has four grown boys of her own, and started watching babies as a way to stay home with them, "I’d worry about you if this didn’t bother you. It’s OK, everyone cries when they leave their babies," She had told me. Somehow, that made me feel better.

    I decided to try and find a way to work part time, in order to stay home with her more and maybe, when I decided to have Baby #2, I would be able to stay home longer. For some reason, a blog was my brilliant idea. It wasn’t until after I had fallen in love with blogging that I discovered that the average blogger only makes $40 a month. Although I am lucky enough to make much more than that off my ad revenue, it isn’t enough to quit my job. Even though the income isn’t what I hope, my complete love and utter obsession with food writing, blogging and recipe develop makes up for that. But I needed other ways to make money. Little by little, small job by small job, I’ve been able to nickel and dime my way to part time.

    I’m part time!

    I only have to go to an office 3 days a week. It really is amazing. One of the ways I’ve been able to do this is freelance writing. I wrote an article last year for Honest Cooking that I was so proud of, I just have to tell you about it. More than 100 food writers and bloggers pitched for only 10 slots in the new Honest Cooking iPad magazine and I was given one of those spots. I was so grateful, but once I got the green light, I froze. Could I do it? Could I really write something I was proud of, that could stand up to the work of real life food writers? Writing this article I was able to prove to myself that I am able to do this. It was a turning point for me, proof that I really can do this. I can move forward in this world I so badly want to be part of. And next time, maybe I wont have to put my infant in the arms of a stranger.

    The article I pitched was on a non-profit that I’m a bit starry eyed over. Homeboy industries helps Los Angeles gang members get out of gangs by turning them into chefs and bakers. It’s an incredible organization and for so many people, the only way out of gang life. It is the most successful gang rehabilitation program in the world.

    Homeboy3

    I spent three days interviewing ex-con, ex-gang members, visiting "urban gardens" spread across East Los Angeles, farmers markets and Homeboy Cafes. I left so inspired, by the people, their stories and the fight they fight daily to pull themselves out of the gangs they were often born into and give themselves and their children a good life.

    Homeboy11

    So, please, if you have an iPad, please download the app and read my article. It’s a free app full of great food related articles and inspiring stories.

    honest cooking

    I also have some Brussels sprouts for you! I love these vegetables, but so far, my husband isn’t a fan. I’ve tried so many methods, braising, bacon fan, roasting and yet he remains unimpressed. Until I poured some Mirin  into a cast iron skillet. It gets a bit sweet and caramelized, giving a new life to there little green guys.

    He loved these, more than even the bacon fat version. I hope you do too.

    Mirin Brussels Sprouts

    Mirin Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

    Ingredients

    • 2 tbs olive oil
    • 3 cups Brussels sprouts, quartered
    • 1/3 cup mirin
    • ½ tsp red chili flakes
    • ¼ tsp Kosher or sea salt

    Instructions

    1. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add Brussels sprouts and cook until Brussels sprouts start to brown. Add Mirin and cook, stirring occasionally, until mirin has reduced and thickened and the sprouts are fork tender. Sprinkle with chili flakes and salt, stir to combine.

     

    Mirin Brussels Sprouts3

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream

     

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili With Cashew Cream

     

    If you’re new to the Craft Beer scene, it might surprise you how many vegetarian and vegans there are here.

    While I am a meat eater (clearly, I put bacon in desserts), I did spend three years as a vegetarian. Mostly, this was a response to growing up on a farm and getting up close and personal to the butchering process as well as the jarring realization of knowing the first name of my dinner. It did, however, give me a profound respect for the food I eat and the farms that share that respect.

    I still eat vegan quite often, and there are some dishes, like lasagna, that I just think are just better in vegetarian form.

    My true and honest feeling about vegan cooking is that regardless of what your typical diet is if you can’t cook a vegan meal that you love, you just aren’t that good of a cook. Produce is amazing, you get to use all the grains, seeds and nuts that you want and by the way, for the most part beer is vegan.

    I first heard about Cashew Cream from this guy, and the idea was intriguing, given that I would have a much easier time giving up meat than sour cream and goat cheese. I like the idea of having a creamy element when I want to go non-dairy. This cashew cream was a really beautiful creamy addition to a vegan chili, when sour cream isn’t an option. I wanted to balance the sweetness so I added some acid and some spices, but feel free to experiment. This would also be a great place to add a little chipotle.

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili With Cashew Cream2

     

    Vegan Chipotle Stout Chili with IPA Cashew Cream

    Ingredients
      

    For The Cashew Cream:

    • 2 cups raw cashwes
    • 1 to 1 ½ cups almond milk
    • Additional 1/3 cup almond milk
    • 2 tbs IPA beer
    • ½ tsp onion powder
    • ½ tsp garlic
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp pepper
    • 2 tsp white wine vinegar

    For The Chili:

    • 3 tbs olive oil
    • 1 white onion chopped
    • 1 red bell pepper chopped
    • 1 cup crimini mushrooms finley diced
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 12 wt ounces Soyrizo
    • 2 cup stout
    • 2 cups veggie broth
    • ¼ cup tomato paste
    • 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1 15 oz can stewed diced tomatoes, with juice
    • 1 or 2 large chipotle peppers in adoboe minced
    • ½ cup quinoa
    • 1/3 cup bulgur wheat
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • ¼ tsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp garlic powder

    Garnishes:

    • ½ cup Cilantro chopped
    • 1 Avocado sliced
    • Tortilla Chips

    Instructions
     

    • Add the cashews to a bowl, pour almond milk over cashews until covered. Let stand for 4 hours.
    • Drain cashews and add to a food processor with 1/3 cup almond milk, IPA, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and vinegar. Process until smooth, about 5 minutes, possibly longer. Add additional almond milk or beer for a thinner consistency.
    • In a pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil, onions, red peppers and mushrooms. Cook until onions and peppers have softened and the mushrooms have darkened.
    • Add the garlic and the soyrizo, stir, breaking up the soyrizo.
    • Add the stout, broth, tomato paste, black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes and chipotle, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
    • Add the quinoa, bulgur, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and garlic powder, simmer until the quinoa has cooked, about 15 minutes. The longer chili simmers, the thicker it will be.
    • Plate on top of tortilla chips, if desired, top with cilantro, avocado, and cashew cream.

    Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

     

    Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

    I heard this theory of negative calories foods about a year ago. And while this idea would be a dream come true, I’m not actually convinced of it’s validity.

    The theory is that some food cost your body more energy in calories to consume and digest than the food actually contains.

    Take celery for instance. A stock of celery is 5 calories, but between chewing, swallowing and digesting, it takes 15 calories to actually eat a  stalk of celery, for a net loss of 10 calories. Now, if celery could just taste better, and not like, well, celery, than we’d be all set. Clearly, this theory doesn’t apply to French fries.

    On the list of "Negative Calorie Foods" are:

    -Asparagus

    -Beet Root

    -Broccoli

    -Cabbage

    -Carrot

    -Cauliflower

    -Celery

    -Chicory

    -Hot Chili

    -Cucumber

    -Watercress

    -Garlic

    -Green Beans

    -Lettuce

    -Onion

    -Radish

    -Spinach

    -Turnip

    -Zucchini

    -Apple

    -Blueberries

    -Cantaloupe

    -Cranberry

    -Grapefruit

    -Honeydew

    -Lemon/Lime

    -Mango

    -Orange

    -Papaya

    -Peach

    -Pineapple

    -Raspberry

    -Strawberry

    -Tomato

    -Tangerine

    -Turnip

    -Watermelon

     

    While this theory has been widely discredited, there is no arguing with the fact that this is an incredible list of foods. If more than half of your diet was pulled from the above list, and the rest of your diet was "sensible" you would never have to diet again and those skinny jeans would be yours.

    I did a bit of a test of my own. I made a batch of this soup and ate it for lunch every day for a week.

    I lost 2 lbs. Which is a lot for me, given that I have a BMI of 20.6.

    That doesn’t really prove anything. Other than the fact that a low calorie vegan soup is a good route to take when looking to drop those holiday pounds. Believe the theory or not, this is still a fantastic list of healthy foods.

    Even if this soup isn’t "Negative Calorie," it still only has 78 calories per serving.

    Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs chopped cauliflower (about 8 cups)
    • 1 lb fresh asparagus stalks, trimmed
    • 4 cups veggie broth
    • ½ tsp onion powder
    • ½ tsp garlic powder
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp pepper
    • pinch cayenne pepper

    yield: 6 cups

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 400.
    2. Place asparagus and cauliflower on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes or until asparagus is fork tender and the cauliflower has started to brown.
    3. Add broth to a large pot, add asparagus and cauliflower and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables have started to break down. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Add the seasonings, adjust to taste.

    Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

    Pasta Cavatelli: Homemade Pasta Without A Pasta Roller

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Machine

    I love hearing other peoples Culinary Bucket Lists. It’s always a really interesting mix of classic recipes, mastering techniques, and difficult dishes. I love that, it shows range.

    But seriously people, start crossing some of this stuff off. You can do it. Just jump right in, and do it.

    This is a great recipe for everyone that has "Make Pasta From Scratch" on your list because you don’t need any fancy equiptment. Just some flour, water and a knife.

    You’ve go this.

    I’m going to be honest with you, this is a bit labor intensive. But you can finally draw that satisfying line though the item that’s been taunting you on your bucket list for years. You can finally say things like, "This one time, while I was making pasta from scratch…" and "Well, when I make my pasta…"

    It’ll be fun.

    Homemade Cavatelli Pasta

    2 cups All Purpose flour

    1 cup Semolina flour

    ½ tsp salt

    1 cup warm water

     

    1. Add both kinds of flour and salt to a flat surface, mix to combine.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller

    2. Make a well in the middle and add the water.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller2

    3. Stir the liquid and the flour together until combined. Then knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller3

    4. Cut into 4 pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller4

    5. One at at time, take a piece of dough and form into a long log about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller5 How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller6

    6. Cut off about 1/4 inch slice and place in front of you. It should be about the size of a dime.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller7

     

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller8

    7. Place a bench knife (I use this one, I love it), or the dull side of a butter knife, on the far side of the dough circle, pull towards you smearing the dough against the counter. The dough should curl up over the knife.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller9

    8. It should look like a little canoe.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller10

    10. Place on a baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with flour until ready to use. Basically, if you mound them on top of each other, they’ll stick.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller11

    11. Cook immediately in lightly salted water until al dente or allow to dry and store in an air tight container.

    How To Make Pasta Without A Pasta Roller12

     

     

    Look at you, you homemade pasta maker.

    I’m so impressed with your mad skills.

     

     

    Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

    Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake Bars with Pretzel Crust P

    I need your help.

    I’m somewhere around halfway done with this cookbook, and I need some feedback. I have about 50 recipes ready to go, but they have never been cooked outside of my kitchen.

    I want to know if they work for you, if you like them (or didn’t), if the directions make sense. This part is important to me, it increases the chances that we can catch some of the flaws, some of the directions that may be misleading, or some factor I might have overlooked.

    This book means so much to me, and the recipes working for as many people as possible is a high priority.

    And I can’t do this on my own. If you are willing to make one (or more) of the Top Secret recipes I have in the works, keep it secret until the book goes to print, and give me your honest opinion, I need that.

    If you’re at all interested, Please, check out my Book Page for more info. Please.

     

    Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

    Ingredients
      

    • 8 oz sweetened dried cherries about 1 ½ cups
    • 2 cups stout
    • 3 cups mini pretzels twists lightly crushed (about 1 ½ cups once processed)
    • 2 tbs brown sugar
    • ½ cup melted butter
    • 24 ounces cream cheese
    • ½ cup sour cream
    • pinch salt
    • 2 tbs flour
    • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
    • 2 eggs
    • ½ tsp vanilla

    Instructions
     

    • Place dried cherries in a bowl or tall glass. Pour stout over cherries until fully submerged. Allow to sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Drain, reserving ¼ cup of the soaking liquid.
    • Preheat oven to 400.
    • In a food processor, add the pretzels and brown sugar, process until only crumbs remain, about 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly add the melted butter while the processor is running. Pour into the bottom of a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. Use the flat bottom of a heavy glass, measuring cup or mug to press the crust really well into a flat even layer.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream cheese, beat on high until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream and beat until well combined. Add the salt, flour and sugar, mix until well incorporated. Add the eggs and vanilla, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Add ¼ of the stout used to soak the cherries, mixing until just incorporated. Stir in the cherries.
    • Pour cream cheese mixture over the crust, smooth out into an even layer.
    • Place in the oven and reduce oven temp to 350. Bake at 350 for 28-32 minutes or until the cheesecake has puffed slightly and center no longer jiggles when you shake the rack it sits on. Don’t over bake, it will firm up once it chills. Remove from oven (allow to stand at room temp until slightly cooled, about 10 minutes) refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 4 hours and up to 24. Cut into squares for serving

     

     Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake Bars with Pretzel Crust2

     

     

     

    Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie

    Happy 2013.

    Anyone broken their New Years Resolutions yet?

    I love resolutions, I just don’t make those "I’m going to remove things I love from my life" kind.

    I make resolutions that are more inline with goals. As in:

    -I’m going to take a homemade pasta class

    -I’m going to read more food lit

    -I’m going to explore vegan cooking, because produce is amazing

    Someday I’ll set the "I’m going to start homebrewing this year" resolution, but I’m not there yet.

    Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie2

    It’s possible that were you live, it’s actually cold right now. And maybe you set a resolution about cooking more often, if that’s the case, I have the perfect thing for you.

    Chicken pot pie, with cornbread build right in. Oh, and some beer.

    Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie

    Ingredients
      

    Filling:

    • 4 ears of corn
    • 2 tbs butter plus 2 tbs, divided
    • 1 large shallot chopped
    • 2 large carrot peeled and sliced into rings
    • 1 cup peas
    • 2 ribs of celery chopped
    • 2 tbs oil
    • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped into bite sized pieces
    • 3 tbs flour
    • 3 cups chicken broth
    • 4 sage leaves minced (about ½ tsp)
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp pepper
    • 1/3 more, plus more chicken

    Cornbread top:

    • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
    • 3/4 cup flour
    • 1 tbs baking powder
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • ½ cup beer pilsner or low to medium hopped pale ale
    • 1 large egg
    • 3 tbs melted butter

    Yield: 6 servings

      Instructions
       

      • Preheat oven to 400.
      • Cut the corn off the ears, set aside.
      • In a large pot, melt 2 tbs butter. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, peas, and celery, cook until the vegetables have soften about an additional 5 minutes. Remove from pot, set aside.
      • Heat the olive oil. Add the chicken, cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, remove chicken from pot.
      • Add remaining 2 tbs butter, heat until melted. Spinkle flour on top, whisk until well combined. Add the chicken broth and bring to a low simmer. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pot along with the corn, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
      • Place 6 individual, oven safe bowls (about 1 ½ cup sized) on a baking sheet. Pour chicken soup into bowls until about 2/3 full.
      • Ina large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and stir until combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the beer, egg and melted butter. Stir until just combined.
      • Top the bowls with cornbread mixture (it’s OK if the batter sinks, it’ll rise during baking).
      • Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown.

       

       Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie3