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Beer Cheese Ball

12.12.2013 8 Comments

 

Beer Cheese Ball

I was a lifeguard for three years in college. Mostly at summer camps, poorly run water slide parks and a bad summer on floating dock in the middle of a dirty lake.

Late one night at a summer camp in Western Canada the guys who ran the camp decided to let the pre-teen campers, hopped up on Sysco ice cream and fudge sauce, jump into the pool. For about two hours I watched as they seemed to instinctively go from one side of the pool to the other, cheering, waving their hands, jumping up and down. When that got boring, they just did it all on the other side of the pool.

The following week, after Ice Cream Social Night, the pool was opened again, and the same thing happened again with a completely different group of adolescents doped up on saccharine. Every week after was the same routine. "WE LOVE THIS SIDE OF THE POOL!" they all seemed to be cheering, and a few minutes later, "NO THIS SIDE OF THE POOL IS THE BEST!"

We don’t grow out of that by the way, we just find more adult ways of shifting from one side of the pool to the other, "WE LIKE MINI SKIRTS!"  no, wait, "WE LOVE MAXI SKIRTS!" And as cool as we think we are in the beer community, we do it too. "WE LOVE HOPS A LOT!" but, wait, "MALTY BELGIANS ARE THE BEST EVER!" While hops and malt, opposing forces that could never live without each other, will always be held in equal regard when it comes to importance in the beer making process, the "in beer" seems to favor one or the other. We have made a bit of a shift in the past year, from the Hop The Crap Out Of This Quadruple IPA to the Malty Sweetness Deep And Roasty Belgian ales. To celebrate this shift, I used a red ale that has tons of malt but didn’t forget the hops. A common ground in the middle of that Hops vs Malt pool.

I’m up for either, as long as you don’t trash talk the other side of the pool, you know you’re going to be back there in a few minutes.

Beer Cheese Ball2

Beer Cheese Ball

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 5 wt oz cream cheese
  • 2 wt oz goat cheese about ¼ cup
  • 4 wt oz shredded Asiago cheese about 1 cup
  • 4 wt oz shredded parmesan cheese about 1 cup
  • 1/3 cup red ale
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ cup chopped chives
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions
 

  • Add the cream cheese, goat cheese, Asiago cheese, parmesan cheese, beer, and garlic powder to the food processor, process until well combined. Add the chives and pulse until just combined.
  • Place on a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a ball, wrapping with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours and up to 24 (flavors develop overnight, don’t be afraid to make this a day ahead of time).
  • Remove from the plastic wrap, gently roll in chopped walnuts until coated.
  • Serve with pretzels or crackers.

Beer Cheese Ball3

Spinach Artichoke Beer Cheese Crostini

27.11.2013 13 Comments

Spinach Artichoke Beer Cheese Crostini P

This is necessary.

Putting dip on bread. Serving it on a silver platter. Acting fancy.

It’s the same amalgamation of ingredients as that dip you serve in that Pyrex bowl surrounded by bread slices, relatively similar process, but the result is the ability to use the Italian word for "little toast" whilst talking about beer cheese dip.

It also allows for your unruly party guests to grab a portable portion of dip and move along, avoiding a traffic jam around the dip section and promoting harmonious party mingling.

Or you could just serve it in a bowl surrounded by bread like a normal person.  But you’ll miss out on being able to say Italian words like a boss.

Spinach Artichoke Beer Cheese Crostini_

 

Spinach Artichoke Beer Cheese Crostini

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 French baguette sliced into 1 inch slices
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 3 wt oz parmesan about 1 cup
  • 3 wt oz mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup) divide in half
  • 5 wt oz frozen chopped spinach about 1 cup, thawed & wrung dry
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • ½ cup IPA beer
  • 1 tsp red chili sauce such as sriracha
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • 14 wt oz quartered artichoke hearts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Bake for ten minutes. Turn slices over, bake for ten more minutes or until golden brown.
  • While the bread cooks, make the cheese dip.
  • Add the cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, half the mozzarella, spinach, cornstarch, beer, chili sauce and garlic powder, process until well combined.
  • Add to a saucepan over medium heat along with the artichoke hearts. Cook, stirring frequently, until hot and bubbly.
  • Spoon cheese dip onto the toasted bread, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
  • Serve warm.

Spinach Artichoke Beer Cheese Crostini 3

Citrus Cooked Scallops with Smoky IPA Parsnip Puree and Beer Pickled Jalapenos

02.05.2013 59 Comments

Citrus Cooked Scallops with IPA Parsnip Puree and Beer Pickled Jalapenos2

I’ve finally found some clarity when it comes to this struggle that’s been twisting around inside me over the past few weeks.

I told you about that feeling of creative stagnation, and the realization that I’ve been pandering to the masses rather than cooking what I love.

Both of these feelings, that I figured were separate, came into sharp focus this past weekend as originating from the same issue.

Citrus Cooked Scallops with IPA Parsnip Puree and Beer Pickled Jalapenos3

A very dynamic woman, a catalyst of inspiration, stood in front of me saying, "But what do you want? But what do YOU want?"

What do I want? Looking around at people who inspire me, who make incredible, insightful, layered and important food, thoughts began to form. I want to write things that matter. I want to make food that feels compelling and substantial. And in the midst of this realization, someone mentioned my Cheesecake Fudgesicles, and I cringed.

Citrus Cooked Scallops with IPA Parsnip Puree and Beer Pickled Jalapenos

I want to stop making stupid food.

The issue is that stupid food gets shared, pinned, and trafficked. Smart food is scary, intimidating and gets ignored.

But what do I want? I want to be taken seriously, I want to be respected and I want to grow as a cook.

I have to stop making stupid food.

The conflict is that I need to pay my bills, and stupid gets noticed. This is just how the world works, in almost every area. InBev makes billions more than Russian River, Carly Rae Jepsen sells more records than Delta Spirit and Oreo Funfeti Cake Batter Fudge will get more traffic than homemade Duck Confit Raviolis with Stout Cherry Sauce.

Although I can eat nachos like a champ, and I’ll never pass up a good brownie, when it comes to building a food resume I need to ask myself: what do I want?

Beer Pickled Jalapenos

I want to make smart food, I want write things that matter.

Taking a step back from the trenches of Google Analytics and the Traffic Trap of caring more about numbers than content, I thought about what I love when it comes to writing and food.

Writing: The piece I wrote on Homeboy Industries for Honest Cooking iPad magazine is the best thing I’ve ever written and possibly the only thing I’ve ever written that is truly important.

Food: Even though a food blog may never really matter in any real way, I used to cook food that a friend once described as “with food.” He said I could never just make a cake, it had to be a Chocolate Stout Cake with Orange Mascarpone Filling and Smoky Chocolate Ganache, everything I made had a “with” somewhere in the middle of the tittle. Layers, flavors, thought, and time spent on the food I really love somehow got replaced with Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes and Green Beer Cheese Soup.

Beer Pickled Jalapenos2

Everything I’ve made for the blog is delicious; the issue isn’t really with the recipes, but with me. Cupcakes are fine, so are Beer Cheese Nachos and Oreo Funfetti Slutty Nutella Red Velvet Brownie Cake Pops, especially if that is what you want to make, then do that. It’s not about “right” food and “wrong” food, it’s about finding what I want, and figuring out how to get there.

There is a magnetism to the S’mOreo Cake Pop posts, because it brings in readers, and seems to make people happy, things that I care more about than I should when it comes to what do I want?.

I’ll lose traffic, I can guarantee that. I can promise that my numbers will go down.

But I can also promise that nothing that I post will be difficult. Maybe you want to come on this journey with me and make layered “with” food, even if it doesn’t sounds as sparkly as those Red Velvet M&M S’mores Krispy Treats.

I just need to have faith in what I want, faith that the Universe will conspire in my favor, faith that this will lead to path in which traffic won’t matter, faith that seeking the answer to what do I want? will lead me down the right rabbit hole.

 

Beer Pickled Jalapenos

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs salt
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • 2 tbs water
  • 1 cup beer I used an IPA
  • 6 large jalapenos thinly sliced

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the sugar, salt, vinegar and water. Stir just until the salt and sugar have dissolved, remove from heat. Stir in the beer, pour into a jar.
  • Refrigerate until cold, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the jalapenos to the jar, replace the lid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
  • Jalapenos will last for several weeks.

 

Beer Pickled Jalapenos

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs salt
  • ½ cup vinegar
  • 2 tbs water
  • 1 cup beer I used an IPA
  • 6 large jalapenos thinly sliced

Instructions
 

  • In a saucepan over medium high heat, add the sugar, salt, vinegar and water. Stir just until the salt and sugar have dissolved, remove from heat. Stir in the beer, pour into a jar.
  • Refrigerate until cold, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the jalapenos to the jar, replace the lid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
  • Jalapenos will last for several weeks.

Citrus Cooked Scallops with IPA Parsnip Puree and Beer Pickled Jalapenos-1

Beer Cheese Wontons

20.11.2012 17 Comments

 

This recipe has nothing to do with Thanksgiving.

I love Thanksgiving, really. It’s my favorite holiday, due in no small part to the fact that it is a day devoted to a gluttonous love of food. And no presents are exchanged. I’m not sure what it is about those present exchanging holidays that makes me nervous. I’ve never been a girl who is comfortable with receiving gifts. I love to give them, completely love it. But having someone watch me open a gift, I can’t help but feel completely self conscious about my reaction which I assume to be sub-par.

I know. If you haven’t noticed, I tend to over think things.

Which makes my love for Thanksgiving FAR exceed any feelings I have for Christmas. I get to make significantly more food than will ever be consumed, and no one will be attempting to decipher my reaction as I peel away the wrapping of a hand selected present.

Starting sometime in the next 36 hours, I will start preparations for the following dishes: This turkey, These rolls, this Mac n Cheese, something similar to this pie, and this pie too. As well as about 6 other dishes that will create a disgusting surplus of food.

 

And then, we will all be back to making football food, like portable beer cheese dip.

 

 

Beer Cheese Wontons

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbs corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 cup beer
  • 1/2 tsp sriracha
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 24 wonton wrappers
  • 2 tbs green onions chopped
  • 1/4 cup canola oil

Instructions
 

  • In a food processor combine the first 9 ingredients (everything except the wonton wrappers, green onions and the oil), process until well combined.
  • One at a time, place the wonton wrappers on a flat surface. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, wet the edges or the wrappers with water.
  • Place about 1 tbs of filling in the center of the wrapper. Sprinkle green onions on top (about 1/4 tsp).
  • Fold wrapper over to create a triangle, press the edges together until very well sealed. Brush the bottom of the triangle with water and fold the corners into the center and press into shape.
  • Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Adjust heat to make sure it does not get to the smoking point, or the wontons will burn.
  • Carefully add wontons to the hot oil, cooking until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
  • Serve immediately, wontons will get soggy if they sit.

 

Beer Battered Mini Corn Dogs with Chipotle Ketchup

08.11.2012 18 Comments

Beer Battered Mini Corn Dogs with Chipotle Ketchup

 

This my friends, is how you do Football Food.

It meets all of the requirements to earn a spot on the Football Food Table.

These vague and unenforceable requirements include qualities like: fun, as high calorie as possible, no utensils or plates needed, ability to sit at room temperature for hours, AND there are always bonus points for including beer.

 I also want to tell you a little bit about Chipotle Ketchup. Corn dogs need to be dipped, and if we are all willing to adhere to the good 'ole American tradition of dunking fried stuff in ketchup, I want to doctor it up a bit. Although you can make ketchup from scratch, and don’t think I haven’t filed that idea away in my mental recipe stockpile, I just used store bought. Chipotle is a lovely flavor, one of my favorites.

The smokiness is beautiful. If you just want smoke and no heat, just add 1 tsp of smoked paprika to 1 cup of ketchup and stir to make yourself a little smokey ketchup to go along with your fancied up deep-fried treats.

Beer Battered Mini Corn Dogs with Chipotle Ketchup

Print Recipe
Servings 24 mini corndogs

Ingredients
  

  • canola or peanut oil for frying
  • 1 cup flour plus 1/4 cup, divided
  • 2/3 cup corn meal
  • 1 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbs beer I used an IPA
  • 24 mini hot dogs
  • 24, 4 inch wooden skewers or toothpicks

For the Ketchup

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1 chipotle peper in adobo sauce
  • 1 tsp adobo sauce

Instructions
 

  • Pour oil into a pot, about 3-4 inches deep. Clip a cooking thermometer onto the side. Heat over medium high heat until the oil reaches between 350 and 375, adjust heat to stay in this temperature range.
  • In a bowl, combine 1 cup flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, stir to combine. Add the egg and the beer, stir until combined.
  • Pour the batter into a tall coffee mug, this will make dipping the corn dogs easier.
  • Skewer all of the mini corn dogs with wooden skewers. Put remaining 1/4 cup flour in a bowl. Roll the hot dogs in the flour, then brush off any excess flour.
  • Holding the skewer, dip the hot dog into the batter until submerged and coated. Slowly place the battered hot dog into the oil. Allow to fry in the oil until a dark brown, about 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a stack of paper towels to drain.
  • To make the ketchup, place all ketchup ingredients in a small food processor or blender and process until smooth.

I used these bamboo skewers.

Chipotle Stout Sloppy Joe’s Sliders

16.10.2012 27 Comments

 

I spent a few days up in Napa last month. While I was hanging out at Bear Republic those guys were nice enough to show me around and even let me jump behind the bar. While I was behind the bar, most likely annoyingly in his way, the bar manager asked me what my favorite style of beer was. To be honest, I didn’t have an answer. I wanted to try his special release stuff, those beer that never make it into bottles. And the Peter Brown Tribute that I had heard about but hadn’t been able to taste yet, but I still am not sure if I could pick one all-time favorite.

It depends on what I’m eating.

I do tend to favor lower alcohol beers, because I live in LA and we like to drive here.

I like a dry hopped IPA.

Or a circusy White.

And I will always stand in line for a spicy beer.

But, if I had to choose only one style of beer to cook with, that would be easy. Stouts are by far my favorite beer to cook with. They work well with beef and fabulously with chocolate. Spicy stouts are always intriguing, and although the go-to recipes for those seems to be a meat product, I  also want to figure out a really great chili chocolate cake recipe made with a spiced stout.

Lucky for us, more and more breweries are making beer with spices so check out your local beer store and ask around. Here are some of my favorites:

Stone Smoked Porter W/ Chipotle Peppers

Mikkeller Texas Ranger 

Bootlegger Black Phoneix Chipotle Coffee Stout

I really encourage you to find a great beer for a brewery close to home. Stop in some day and see what they suggest. Maybe there is even a brewery close to you that won at last weeks Great American Beer Festival. Take look, make  some notes on what you want to try, but don’t forget to drink what you love, because you love it, regardless of how many or how few prizes it has under it’s belt.

 

 

 

Chipotle Stout Sloppy Joe’s Sliders

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbs oil
  • 1 lb 80%/20% premium ground beef
  • 1/2 white onion chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 1 1/4 cup Chipotle Stout or Porter
  • 1 small chipotle pepper from can in adobo sauce
  • 1 tsp adobo sauce from can
  • 4 oz tomato paste
  • 1 tbs mollasas
  • 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 14-16 slider buns warmed

Instructions
 

  • In a pan over medium high heat, add the oil and ground beef, cook until browned, stirring and breaking up meat. Using a slotted spoon, remove meat from pan.
  • In pan with residual oils, cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir.
  • Add the beer, stir to combine.
  • Remove a small chipotle pepper from the can. Using a sharp knife and fork, chop very well until nearly reduced to a paste like substance. Add chipotle to the pan along with tomato paste, adobo sauce, molasses, cumin, paprika, salt, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Allow to cook until well combined and slightly thickened.
  • Add meat to the sauce pan, stir until well combined.
  • Fill slider buns with meat, serve warm.

 

 

 

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

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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)

 

 

Brown Butter Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwich

23.08.2012 27 Comments

There are some great elements in this world we live in that we beg the universe to some how bring together.

Like a Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series

Or an episode of The Office directed by Christopher Guest

Or Trey Parker have complete creative control over The White House Holiday Card

Or a reality show hybrid of The Bachelor and Fear Factor

Even though I have to come to terms with the fact that those things will sadly never exist, I can meld brown butter and beer cheese into the greatest of all grilled cheese sandwiches. It won’t have the cultural repercussions of any of the above unions, but it is the best sandwich I’ve had in a long time. Too bad I didn’t have the forethought, or the consumptive restraint, to create a beer tomato soup to go along for the journey.

Brown Butter Grilled Beer Cheese Sandwich

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 6 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup Pale Ale
  • 4 oz cheddar
  • 8 slices bread
  • 4 tbs butter

Instructions
 

  • In a blender or food processor add the cream cheese, mozzarella, cornstarch and beer. Blend until smooth, about 3 minutes. Spread the beer cheese generously onto 4 slices of bread. Top with about 2 tbs of cheddar and then top with a clean slice of bread.
  • In a skillet with a lid melt the butter over medium heat (don't allow the butter to get too hot or it will burn) until just starting to turn a golden brown. Carefully add the sandwiches, and replace the lid allowing the sandwiches to steam in the pan until the underside is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the sandwiches, replace the lid and allow to cook until the other side is a light golden brown and the cheese is melted, about 3 additional minutes.

 You can also use the pre-oven beer cheese from my Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Beer Cheese Dip.

 

IPA Ceviche

21.08.2012 14 Comments

 

As summer nears it’s inevitable end, it’s not the weather that I’ll miss the most. In fact the leather boots and chunky sweaters of colder days are starting to beckon. The produce, back yard grills, the smell of life and food floating on a late afternoon breeze will be lost in the dawning of fall.

This isn’t a recipe about avoiding the oven, or  grumbles of triple digit heat, it’s about enjoying August produce, paired with those Summer release beers and spending as much time as you can in the open air before we’re all forced to head inside, cook with squash, and drink stouts. Which I am already looking forward to.

IPA Ceviche

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 1/2 lb raw shrimp shell & tail removed, chopped
  • 1/2 cup IPA Beer
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 3 cups tomatoes diced
  • 1 large jalapeno diced, stem and seeds removed
  • 1/2 cup cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp red pepper sauce such as Sriracha

Instructions
 

  • Add the lemon/lime juice and raw shrimp to a small bowl. (Shrimp will "cook" in the juice as it marinates.)
  • Mix beer, onion, tomato, and jalapeño in a large bowl, allow to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour.
  • Drain the vegetables and return to large bowl.
  • Once the shrimp have "cooked," drain and add them to the large bowl along with the salt and pepper sauce, toss to combine.
  • Serve cold with corn chips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jalapeno IPA Hummus

19.07.2012 23 Comments

 

This recipe has been in my brain for a while.

For weeks it’s been taunting me, begging to be flushed out, poured into my food processor and immortalized in internet print.

And this weekend three failed attempts to make IPA lemon bars that never really gave me the results I was hoping for coupled with this tweet:

gave this hummus it’s shot.

And I’m so glad that the stars didn’t align and the beer cooking God’s didn’t smile upon the IPA lemon bars (which have become my culinary nemesis, mocking me with vague imperfections) because this hummus was exactly what I wanted on a hot day. It didn’t last long.

For this recipe, I used one of my favorite IPA’s, Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA. A beautiful example of an IPA, even if this one was sans Habaneros.

 

Jalapeno IPA Hummus

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Ingredients
  

  • 2 fresh jalapenos stemmed, seeded and chopped (about 1/4 cup)
  • 3 tbs tahini
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans drained
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 lime juiced (about 1 tbs)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup IPA Beer plus additional if needed

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth. Add additional IPA for a thinner dip. Serve with pita or chips.
  • *Note: most of the heat from Jalapenos are in the seeds. If you want a hotter hummus, you can leave the seeds in. If the finished dip is too mild, add 1/4 tsp chili powder for a spicier dip

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Roasted Garlic Beer Butter Shrimp

24.05.2012 9 Comments

Remember the Beer Cooking Scale I told you about last month, the one I want to invent? The one that would let you know the approximate level of Beeryness the final product has? This recipe is at both ends of that yet-to-be-invented scale’s spectrum. The beer butter has a kick you in the mouth beer flavor that will be heartily enjoyed by beer enthusiast, and the shrimp has a subtle note of beer in it’s finish. If you are a Kick You In The Mouth kinda person, cooking for a Maybe Just A Touch kind of person, this will satisfy you both. You get a butter full of intense beer flavor to slather onto whatever you so choose, and your little friend gets a plate of shrimp with slight notes of beer. Harmony between the two of you once again.

For this recipe I used a Saison brewed with sage, giving really great herb notes to the finished product. This is  a special release beer from Epic Brewing called  Utah Saison Sage #2.

If you can’t find this beer, look for a Saison with herb or citrus notes.

Roasted Garlic Beer Butter

1 head of garlic

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup Saison beer

1 stick of butter, softened

Preheat oven to 425. Rub several layers of the white papery skin off the head of garlic, leaving a light layer still in tact to keep the bulb together. Cut off the top point of the head, exposing the cloves inside.

Place on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil and fold the foil tightly around the garlic. Place in a baking dish and roast in a 425 degree oven until the cloves are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

While the garlic is roasting, add the beer to a pot on the stove. Cook until reduced to 3 tbs, about 10 minutes. (To lower the level of beer flavor in the butter, reduce 1/4 cup of beer by half.)

In a food processor, add the softened butter and the beer. Squeeze the head of garlic until the cloves push out, adding just the cloves to the food processor and discarding the papery skin.

Process the butter until smooth. Add to an air tight container and store in the fridge.

Roasted Garlic Beer Butter Shrimp, two methods

 3 tbs beer butter

10 shrimp

pinch of salt and pepper

Metohd one: Grilling

Preheat grill. Melt the beer butter in a microwave safe dish. Skewer the shrimp with a heat safe skewers(or water soaked wooden skewers). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, brush liberally with melted butter. Grill until pink and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Brush occasionally with butter while cooking.

Method two: Stove Top

In a pan over medium high heat, add the butter and stir until melted. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and pepper, add to the pan and saute until cooked through about 5 minutes.

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Beer and Bacon Jam

22.05.2012 53 Comments

Beer and bacon in a spreadable form, this may be the best thing to ever come out of my kitchen. It is a simple food, a few ingredients that over time become large with flavor and possibilities.  A conversation piece, something your guest won’t forget, or a handmade gift for those carnivorous beer lovers in your life. Although the cooking time is long, your active time is relatively short.

This is the perfect way to spend a lazy sunday afternoon: The smell of bacon welling up around you in a sun soaked kitchen with Delta Spirit rising from the speakers and the rest of the demanding world no longer existing. Just you, music and the transformation of ingredients happening on your stove. Cooking, creating, lingering in my kitchen gives a very grounded feeling to my over extend life. A reminder that I need to slow down and enjoy, just be. A recipe that ask little of me other that the time it takes to simply simmer is a reminder of that, just be.


Beer & Bacon Jam

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz thick sliced bacon 8-10 thick strips
  • 4 cloves of garlic smashed
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
  • 1 1/4 cups amber ale or imperial stout divided
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot or dutch oven, cook the bacon, working in batches if neccessary. Remove the bacon from the pan and allow to cool and then roughly chop. Drain off the bacon grease from the pot, leaving only about 1 tbs bacon drippings in the bottom of the pot. Return the pot to heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup beer and both vinegars, scraping to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add the brown sugar and the bacon, reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Place the lid on the pot at an angle, allowing to vent the steam. Cook until reduced to a thick and syrupy consistency, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a food processor along with remaining 1/4 cup beer and pulse until most of the large pieces have been chopped.
  • Serve at room temperature.

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