IPA’s make difficult cooking subjects. The bitterness is high maintenance. But then a beer comes along that is just so worth the effort of figutring out how to work those flavors into my food.
Like Le Freak, by Green Flash Brewing out of San Diego.
It’s a non traditional American IPA meets Belgium style IPA. Not your run of the mill hoppy beer. I love this. LOVED it so much, I drank it mid-morning as I was cooking up this little dish for you all. And, it turns out, sweet potatoes are an amazing vessel for hops. Or maybe the other way around.
IPA Sweet Potato Mash
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)
2 tbs butter, 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
1/2 cup Green Flash by Le Freak
Preheat oven to 400.
Place your chopped yams in a large loaf pan, sprinkle the top with cubes of butter. Drizzle with the maple syrup, then the beer 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). Sprinkle with nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt then mash with a potato masher until creamy, add the pecans and stir.
Napa SmithWheat is a perfect baking beer. It has crisp, clean flavors, sweetness and bold tones that hold up to the oven. A smooth wheat beer with citrus and peach notes.
I enjoyed this beer, the baking, the drinking, the flavors. It was an easy beer to enjoy and gave me a sense of the brewery. Relaxed, comfortable and welcoming. I’ve lived in California most of my life, and traveled all over the world and I have a firm believe that Napa is a place that needs to be experienced, a beautiful escape from the rest of reality. Winding along the back roads of Napa county, meeting locals, sampling the local food, drinks, produce…You’ll feel like you are living in a distant land far away from the life you know. In Napa, people love to eat, drink and cook with only local ingredients. It’s charming, as if Napa could exist all on it’s own. A little bubble, a snow globe of a world, swirling around itself filled with fresh-baked bread, handmade pies and locally sourced beer.
Salted Hefeweizen Brioche Rolls
1/2 cup room temperature Hefeweizen Beer (Napa Smith Wheat Preferred)
1 envelope of dry active yeast (1/4 oz)
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons sea salt,
3 large eggs
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
Topping:
1 tbs melted butter
1 tbs sea salt
Add the beer to a microwave safe container heat in the microwave for 10 seconds, test the temperature (you want it between 105 and 110) and repeat until the desired temperature is reached. Put the beer in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to get foamy, about 5 minutes.
Add the flour, salt and sugar and mix on low with the dough hook attachment until shaggy, flaky lumps form (about 1 1/2 minutes).
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined.
Add the softened butter (softened is important), beat until the dough gathers around the hook and is smooth and shiny.
Coat the inside of a bowl with olive oil and place the dough ball in inside.
Wrap with plastic wrap leave in a warm place until it’s double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Grab the dough at the sides until it has deflated.
Allow to rise a second time at room temperature, until it has doubled in size, deflating every 15 minutes by grabbing the sides, about 45 minutes.
Remove from the bowl and place on a floured surface, shape into a long log, about 4 inches wide and 1 foot long.
Using a sharp knife, cut in 3 equal sized pieces.
Then cut each of those pieces in half (you will now have 6 pieces.)
Now cut each of those pieces in half and you will have 12 equal sized pieces.
Each of these pieces will be a roll, but you have to make some more cuts first.
Cut each slice into 3 equal sized pieces, rolling each into a ball and placing all three into the same well of a greased muffin tin. Repeat for each slice.
Cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and allow to double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle generously with sea salt. This is when you break out the fanciest salt you have. Or buy some just for the occasion.
Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown.
This is the ultimate comfort food, combining three great comfort food players: Beer, Cheese, Warm Soup. Add to that a flaky pastry crust and you pretty much have pot pie perfection. I use Mission Street Blonde Ale for this, from the Mission Brewery out of San Diego.
A really beautiful blend with the mild cheddar I used. It cooks really well, leaving a mild lemony flavor with traces of wheat. The hops are subtle and blend well with the rest of the recipe.
Beer cheese has started to climb out of frat boy myths into actual culinary acceptance of the past decade. This recipe isn’t a traditional Beer Cheese recipe, but the idea is captured and transformed into a hearty soup and a filling entrée. A great recipe to have in your beer cooking arsenal.
Beer Cheese Chicken Pot Pie
For the Crust:
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
5 tbs butter cold, cut into cubes
1/4 cup shortening
2 tbs vodka
2 tbs cold water
For the Filling:
1 tbs olive oil
½ cup sliced leeks (white and very light green portion only)
3 large cloves garlic, minced
5 strips of bacon, chopped
3 cups mushrooms, chopped
3 cups raw chicken, cut into cubes
2/3 cup chicken broth
1 1/3 cup Mission Street Blonde Ale
¼ cup flour
½ cup corn kernels
½ cup peas
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
¼ cup melted butter
1. Combine 1 cups of flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor, pulse a few times until its combined. Add the butter and the shortening and process until it forms a ball around the blade, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the remaining flour and process until well incorporated, about 1 minute.
3. Move to a bowl and add the water and the vodka, combine with a spatula or wooden spoon.
4. Form the dough into a disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and chill until very firm, about two hours.
5. Preheat oven to 400.
6. In a pan over medium, high heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the leeks and the garlic, sauté until leeks are soft.
7. Add the bacon and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft and darkened.
9. Add the chicken and sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
10. In a separate bowl, add 2/3 cup of broth and the flour, stir until combined. Pour mixture into the pan through a small mesh strainer to remove any lumps.
11. Add the beer to the pan and stir to combine. Add the peas, corn, cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted and is well combined with the broth.
12. Pour into small, portion sized, oven safe ceramic dishes. Makes about 4.
There is nothing new about braising with beer. In fact, it should be the standard. Beer, as with all alcohol, is a natural meat tenderizer but it’s the flavors of the beer that make for braise meat that has a truly special taste. Craft brews are known for more intense flavor profiles and will always produce a vastly superior product when cooking than a macro brew. Craft beer is truly that, a craft. I have had a soft spot for Rogue brewery for years. Rogue is beer lovers beer, and dedicated to the art of the craft. Actual real life people making really good beer. If you live on the West Coast, this Portland Oregon brewery’s beer is probably at your local grocery store. It’s one of the few great craft beers that I have a very easy time getting my hands on.
What does braising mean? What a good question. Braising just means to sear meat at a very high heat and then cook it slowly at a low heat until cooked through. I used another amazing craft beer for this recipe. Rogue’s Chipolte Ale:
3.5lbPork buttIt’s acctually the pigs shoulder, and sometimes called that. The actual butt is called Ham.
6clovesof garlicpeeled
1/4cupolive oil
3cupsChipotle aleor smoked porter (I used Rogue’s Chipotle Ale)
Instructions
In a small bowl stir together the salt, brown sugar onion powder, chili powder, cumin, pepper, smoked paprika and mustard powder together until combined, set aside.
Take out your pork and stab 6, 2 inch deep holes fairly evenly spaced through the meat. Push a clove of garlic into each hole until no longer visible.
Rub the entire surface of the meat with the spice mixture, using it all.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until very hot. Sear all surfaces of the meat, even the sides, until browned. The entire process will probably take about 10-15 minutes.Pour the beer over the meat, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, turning the meat over about every 30 minutes, until the meat is tender and falling apart.
Once the meat is finished, remove from the pot and allow to cool. Use two forks to shred into pieces. Return to the braising liquid and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and discard the liquid.
I used this meat in three ways, on italian bread as a delicious sandwich, over rice and beans, and in a burrito. Other ideas for pulled pork include:
Pulled pork nachos
Pulled pork sliders
Pulled pork tacos
Pulled pork enchiladas
Pulled pork flatbread pizza
Pulled pork hand pies
Seriously, you could go all Bubba Gump about this and it would be endless. There is no shortage of uses for Pulled Pork.
My favorite thing about pulled pork is that it takes a long time. You didn’t read that wrong, I LIKE that it takes hours. Probably because I tend to over-committ myself, double book myself, take on too much, then feel guilty that I am not able to give 100% to everything and I need to remember to slow down. I work full time, I have this blog that I love more that anyone will know, I write for Honest Cooking, and for the Glendale Examiner, AND I am a mom. When I have decided to make a recipe like pulled pork I HAVE to stay home, play in the backyard with Tater, ignore my phone and listen to excessive amounts of Led Zeppelin. I need to make pulled pork more often.
What does braising mean? What a good question. Braising just means to sear meat at a very high heat and then cook it slowly at a low heat until cooked through. I used another amazing craft beer for this recipe. Rouge’s Chipolte Ale:
I have had a soft spot for Rouge brewery for years. Rouge is beer lovers beer, and dedicated to the art of the craft. Actual real life people making really good beer. If you live on the West Coast, this Portland Oregon brewery’s beer is probably at your local grocery store. It’s one of the few great craft beers that I have a fairly easy time getting my hands on. In fact, the very first time I decided to cook with beer (I made a chocolate beer cake), I used Rouge’s Chocolate Stout. I do believe that I owe Rouge for my fascination with cooking with beer.
Thank you Rouge, you’re Pulled Pork thank you card is in the mail.
I used this meat in three ways, on italian bread as a delicious sandwich, over rice and beans, and in a burrito. Other ideas for pulled pork include:
Pulled pork nachos
Pulled pork sliders
Pulled pork tacos
Pulled pork enchiladas
Pulled pork flatbread pizza
Pulled pork hand pies
Seriously, you could go all Bubba Gump about this and it would be endless. There is no shortage of uses for Pulled Pork.
My message of the day is this:
Slow down, eat good SLOW food, Drink great beer and don’t forget to play in the back yard with your daughter while listening to Over The Hills an Far Away (OK, maybe that last one was just for me).
Germany is goregous. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit this amazing Country a few years ago. I even took a 7 hour train ride across the contry side on a beautiful day in September. And although tourist are flocking to Munich by the millions this month, and no offense to the Capitol City, my favorite place was Idar Oberstein. I like to travel off the beaten path, although the Festival in Munich does sound like a helluva good time.
For this recipe, which I loved SO much, I used another incredible local craft beer, this one came from Bison Brewing. Honey Basil Beer. It’s local (to those of us in California), it’s organic and the flavors are amazing.
Oktoberfest started this past Saturday, September 17th, marking the 201st anniversary of this high holiday devoted to beer. In honor of the German festivities, I am declaring this week "Beer Week" on Domestic Fits.
I have a love and a passion for really fantastic craft beer that started while working as a waitress at a micro brewery when I was in college. I was able to get a tour of the brewery and a crash course in beer making from two very excited, self proclaimed "Beer Geeks." Up until this point the idea of a "Beer Guy" conjured up images of frat boys playing beer pong, but the Geeks changed all that for me. They were excited about the beer, the flavors, the process of it and the difference between an Ale and a Lager (FYI: there are several differences but the main difference is a Lager is brewed longer). I was hooked and a world of flavors opened up. Lucky for me, the West Coast has a fantastic, seemingly endless, supply of craft beers. If you are ever so lucky to visit us, and you love the art of beer, take a tour of a microbrewery. Beer guys are the nicest breed.
Although the true Oktoberfest celebrations won’t allow any beer to be served at the festival that aren’t brewed within the Munich City limits, I decided against using German beer. I love German beer, its lovely, but the locavore spirit of using what is close by is what I wanted to capture. For this recipe I used a Orange Wheat beer from Hanger 24, a Southern California based brewery. The beer was beautiful and the flavors where fantastic for these biscuits
I also used Kerrygold cheese, although this has nothing to do with Oktoberfest, it’s just really great cheddar. The flavors are perfect for this recipe.
These cupcakes are now for sale to the highest bidder, 4 dozen of them. You pick the beer (or no beer is fine too) and I will deliver them anywhere within Los Angeles County, or you can pick them up. Why? Because, you see, there is this woman, a brave food writer, a mom, who is now a grieving widow.
Do I know her? No, just through her posts and writings. But I know her girls, in a way. I was one of her girls once. I was once a little girl, who’s dad died suddenly. I was a girl with a grieving mom who couldn’t get out of bed. I was a girl who’s big sister taught her to make cereal on the kitchen floor because we wanted mom to sleep, because she didn’t do that too often anymore. I was a girl who didn’t go to the father daughter dance. I was a girl who walked down the isle on her wedding day alone. But Jen, if you read this, I want you to know that I am also a girl who is OK, I grew up to be happy, married a good man, have a little girl of my own and so did that sister who taught me to make breakfast early in the morning on a linoleum floor. Your girls will be OK too. They will cry, they will laugh, they will grieve and they will be OK.
Me and Daddy:
The last thing you should have to worry about when the love of your life dies, when you are parenting grieving children, is money. Here is a bit about what Jen and her family are facing right now, financially:
Written by her friend Shauna:
“As you can imagine, Jennie is overwhelmed not only by her grief, and the sudden responsibility of raising two children by herself, but she is also struggling with this financially. She just learned that she cannot collect widow’s benefits from Social Security because she earns too much money each year. The health insurance for her and her kids runs out in December and she just learned that the total she will have to pay [for health insurance] will be even more than her mortgage. It’s possible she’ll have to pay off the entire mortgage in one lump sum because the apartment was in his name alone.
And more than anything, Mikey wanted Jennie to continue living her dream of being a food writer. And he wanted to make sure his kids were taken care of well. That’s why he worked as hard as he did."
Here is a link to Jen Perillo’s website and a bit about her story:
Click on the BWOB badge on my home page (right side) and just give a few bucks
Cupcake auction rules:
Claim your prize wtihin 6 months
Give 1 week advanced notice for order
Enjoy your warm fuzzy feeling that goes along with charitable giving
Auction ends September 5th at high noon
Perfect for an upcoming party!
On to my original post about these cupcakes:
I love beer. I love cupcakes. It’s only natural that I put these too together. If you don’t like beer, this recipe can be made without and I have to say that brown sugar buttercream is amazing. SO amazing that I even called my sister to tell her about how much I love it and how I want to make a huge vat of it and swim around in it. If you want to make this without the beer, just use 1/2 cup of really hot water, add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved, then follow the rest of the recipe.
Chocolate Cake with Beer Brown Sugar Buttercream
For the Cupcakes:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 coffee
1/2 cup oil
For the Frosting:
1 cup of ale or blonde style beer
1 cup of brown sugar
3 sticks of butter softened
1 tsp salt
2 cup powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350.
In the bowl of stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar, and cream until combine. Add the eggs one at a time, blending well after each egg. Add the vanilla and mix again. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. in another bowl, combine the milk, coffee and the oil. With the mixer on low, add the dry and wet ingredients a bit at a time alternating between the two. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers and fill each one with about 3/4 of the way full (about 1/4 a cup of batter).
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back when touched. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, put the beer in a sauce pan over high heat and allow to boil until reduced by half. I used a Firestone Pale Ale, microbrews are great for this recipe but IPA’s may be too hoppy and "light/lite" beers won’t have enough flavor. While the beer is still very hot, add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature. Again, for the non beer version, just add the brown sugar to 1/2 cup of super hot water and stir until dissolved. Microwave it if you need to.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, salt and powdered sugar until combined. Add the beer/sugar mixture and mix slowly until mostly combined, then turn the mixer on high and then whip until the frosting is fluffy and well combined.
Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
I prefer these at room temperature, but they are still pretty great chilled.
I have this fascinating friend named Mike. He’s done quite a few interesting things in his life: bass player for a Grammy winning artist, handy man extraordinaire, one-true-love to a 96 year old Cuban woman. His next interesting venture: moving to Nebraska.
Why Nebraska? You ask.
He must have a job offer out there? Nope.
Well, then family? Not one.
Then….why is he moving to Nebraska? The better question, I say, is: Why not Nebraska? It’s a perfectly wonderful place to live.
I do predict that Mike and his super adorable wife are going to love the mid-west. They will “Win” at Nebraska. And those two California natives will freeze. Their. Asses. Off.
Obviously this cake is in the shape of Nebraska, but there is a little more of that corn husker state in there than meets the eye. I made it with Nebraska’s own Black Betty Imperial Stout. Black Betty is still a smaller craft brew so if you aren’t able to find it, use a dark beer or a chocolate stout.
Cake:
3 cup flour
1 tbs baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 sticks (16 tbs) unsalted butter
2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup (2 3.5 oz bars) 72% dark chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cup dark stout beer
1 cup of brewed coffee, cooled
Ganache:
2 cups of dark chocolate chips
2 cups of dark beer
Crust:
9 graham crackers
2 tsp salt
1 tbs brown sugar
Frosting:
4 cups cream cheese room temperature
2 cups butter, room temperature
8 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cake:
First, preheat the oven to 350, and then combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and the cocoa powder in a bowl and whisk until well combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and sugar and cream until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. In a microwave safe bowl, put the 72% chocolate. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove and stir. Repeat until the chocolate is melted. Add the melted chocolate to the sugar/egg mixture and blend well. While the mixer is on a medium-low setting, add the stout and then the coffee, continue to combine until well mixed, then add the flour mixture a little at a time until well combined. Grease and flour the cake pans that you are using. I used two 9×13 inch sheet pans. Bake for between 25 and 35 minutes (depending on your cake pan size) or until the cake is set in the center. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Ganache:
Place chocolate chips in a heat safe bowl. In a pot on the stove, add the 2 cups of beer and cook over medium heat until reduced by half, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Pour the beer, that you have reduced to 1 cup, over the chocolate chips and stir until well combined. Place in the fridge and allow to cool completely about 30 minutes.
Cream cheese frosting:
Place all the icing ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high until well combined and creamy. You really, really need softened butter and softened cream cheese. If either of those are cold, your frosting will have lumps in it.
Crust:
I used this on the outside of the cake, but it’s optional. Just place all the crust ingredients in your food processor and process until all combined.
Assembly. This will be the easiest if everything is cold. Also, I like to use a piping bag to help with the first layer of frosting (I always do 2 layers of frosting). Put about half of your frosting in a piping bag with a large opening tip. You can also use a large zip lock bag with the corner cut off, like this:
[singlepic id=378 w=520 h=440 float=]
works great.
On your bottom layer of cake, put a rim of frosting around the edge, that’ll make it easier to keep the ganache in the center.
[singlepic id=438 w=520 h=440 float=]
Add the ganache to the center of your frosting ring and allow to spread out evenly over the layer. If your ganache was warm at all, it would be a good idea to place the cake in the fridge at this point to allow to cool before proceeding. Top with the second cake layer, then add the first layer of frosting to your cake with the piping bag and smooth out with an off set spatula. Some people call this a crumb coat, because crumbs will invade this layer. I call it the dirty ice, because it sounds more fun. Place the cake in the fridge and allow the first ice to set, about 1 hour. Once you are ready for your final icing, use an off-set spatula and try to make it as smooth as possible. Before the final frosting layer has set, add the crust to just the sides with your hands, using as much as will stick to the sides. Allow the final ice to set before decorating as you wish.
