cooking with beer

Stout Soaked Cherry Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

08.01.2013 27 Comments

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

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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

Buffalo Chicken Beer Cheese Dip

03.01.2013 83 Comments

This needs to be made with an IPA. The buffalo sauce (which has to be Franks, let’s just get that out of the way) needs a big kick to the face. The only beer up for that job is an IPA. read more

Chipotle Stout and Chorizo Chili Topped with Pork Rinds

04.12.2012 30 Comments

I’m so glad I can share this recipe with you. I’ve been working like a crazy person to develop and test recipes that I fall in love with but I can’t share them with you because I need to save them for the cookbook.

And, of course, I’m putting a tremendous amount of pressure on myself to make each recipe a home run.

Because once you buy the book, and actually pay for the recipes, I want them all to be amazing. This, my friend, is a huge amount of pressure on me and the limits of my culinary creativity.

But then I get these crazy ideas, like putting crushed Chicharrones on top of chili and I can’t even wait to share it. I have to post it as soon as possible, even pushing back a more "seasonally appropriate" post because I want to show you this.

And Chorizo, with its spice and fatty goodness, is perfect in chili. In fact, I pretty much raided the "C" section of my local Mexican food market (there isn’t a "C" section, by the way, but there should be) to bring you a dish with chipotle, chorizo, chicharrones, cilantro, cheddar and cumin.

And then I ate three bowls before I could even share it with anyone.

If I was planning on tailgating anytime soon, I would make this in huge vats.

And if you are a "beans in your chili" kind of guy, go ahead and throw some in, I won’t mind.

Or add some sour cream, if that’s your thing.

Chipotle Stout and Chorizo Chili Topped with Pork Rinds

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Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
½ white onion chopped (about 1 cup)
1 red bell pepper chopped, stem and seeds removed
6 oz chorizo raw, removed from casing
1 lb ground beef chuck 80/20 lean to fat
4 cloves garlic minced
1 cup Chipotle Stout
14 oz stewed diced tomatoes canned is fine
1 chipotle pepper in adobo from can, minced plus more if desired
1 tsp adobo sauce
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Toppings:

1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
½ cup cilantro chopped
2 cups Chicharrones pork rinds, lightly crushed
Makes 4-6 servings

Instructions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until onion softens but isn’t browned, about 5 minutes.
Add the chorizo and beef, cook until meat starts to brown. Add the garlic and stir.
Add the beer, diced tomatoes, one chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, smoked paprika, pepper, cumin and Worcestershire sauce. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, until thickened. Add additional chipotle peppers as desired to raise heat level.
Pour into bowls, top with cilantro, cheddar and Chicharrones.

Deep Dish Porter Pecan Pie

27.11.2012 30 Comments

The best thing happened on Thanksgiving.

Just about 18 hours prior to Turkey Tip-Off, my small gathering of 4 people more than tripled into a 14 person party that ended in cocktails, poker, and eating pie right out of the pan. How great is that?

I was happy with the idea of a small gathering, sometimes those can be the best nights. But the fact that I have such an over abundance of food in my kitchen right now and dozens of recipes to be cooked and tested, I could not have been happier about the influx of last minute hungry visitors.

And a Thanksgiving that morphed into a Poker Night, complete with impromptu costuming and teaching my friends 8-year-old how to bluff, was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had. Although I was seriously caffeine deficient the next day, and zero percent productive.

I may, or may not, have consume an entire bottle of wine by myself.

I used a chocolate porter for this recipe, and of course, a stout would work well also. BUT now that I sit here staring at these photos, I wish I’d have used something that had been aged in bourbon barrels. How great would that be?

Deep Dish Porter Pecan Pie

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbs sugar
6 tbs of butter cold, cut into cubes
2 tbs shortening
2 tbs ice cold beer high ABV works best

For the filling:

1 cup porter beer can sub stout
2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 tbs flour
3 cups chopped pecans
½ cup heavy cream
1 stick butter cold, cut into cubes
4 eggs

Instructions

In a food processor, add 1 cup of flour (reserving the other ½ cup) salt, sugar and pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and the shortening, process until combined. Add the remaining ½ cup of flour, process until well incorporated.
Transfer to a bowl, add the beer and mix until combined. Dough will be very soft. Form into a wide flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan, press into shape. Remove the excess. Freeze crust for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a pot over medium high heat, add the beer, brown sugar and corn syrup. Allow to simmer until combined and the sugar has melted. Sprinkle with flour, whisk until well combined. Remove from heat, add pecans, heavy cream and butter. Stir until well combined and the butter has melted. Allow to cool to room temperature before adding the eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs. Slowly add the pecan mixture to the eggs, whisking the eggs the entire time.
Pour filling into crust, bake at 350 for 50 minute to an hour or until the filling no longer jiggles when you shake the rack it sits on. Chill until the filling has set, about 2 hours.
*Note: This recipe is for a deep-dish pie pan. The filling is too much for a regular pie pan.

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

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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.

Creme Brulee Topped Chocolate Stout Brownies & Some Big News

13.11.2012 50 Comments

I have some news.

If you Follow me on Twitter, you probably already know the Big News.

I signed a book deal on Thursday. A publisher has actually decided to pay me to write a cookbook.

How amazing is that?

Writing a cookbook has long been on my list of goals, and as I somewhat naively and idealistically jump into this process, I am reminded that it is you I have to thank for this milestone. The ones who share my posts, tell their friends about my little blog, believe in what I’m doing here, the ones who read every silly word I write, and yes, even those of you who write creepy comments about wanting to wake up in my bed and email me about how you google stalk me on a weekly basis. I am grateful for all of you.

This isn’t just my book, it’s yours too. The ideas you give me, the way I’m inspire by your questions and humbled by being seen as a source of knowledge and beer-cooking wisdom.

I wish I could properly thank you all, over a beer and some possibly inappropriate conversation. But for now, we’ll have to settle for some Creme Brulee Brownies made with two different types of beer. Which seems to be fitting, since chocolate stout was the first beer I ever cooked with and creme brulee was the subject of my first post. It’s an homage to my beer cooking beginnings, hope you like it.

If you are at all interested in helping me with this book, as an un-paid but thoroughly appreciated, recipe tester, for which you will receive my undying love and affection, a mention in the book, a sneak peek at never-before-seen-recipes, and possibly more, stay tuned. Once we get to that place, I’ll let you know how you can be my beer cooking partner in crime.

Creme Brulee Topped Chocolate Stout Brownies

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Ingredients

For the Brownie Layer:

3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp espresso powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter
7 oz dark chocolate 60%
2/3 cup chocolate stout

For The Creme Brulee Layer

1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup low-hop pale ale beer
1 vanilla bean split and scraped or 1/4 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 eggs plus 2 yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbs corn starch
Plus 1/4 cup sugar for the brulee topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the 3 eggs, white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla on high for at least ten minutes. You need a meringue type consistency in order to create a crust on top of the brownies to insure the layers stay separate. In a separate bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and salt, stir to combine.
In a microwave safe bowl, add the butter and the chocolate. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir and repeat until melted.
While the stand mixer is on medium speed, slowly add the chocolate until mostly combined. Add the beer and stir. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour batter into dish and smooth out the top. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the top is matte and a bit cracked. Don't over bake.
Allow to cool to room temperature.
For the creme brulee layer:
In a sauce pan over medium heat, bring the cream, beer and vanilla to a slight simmer, removing from heat when bubbles start to form around the edges. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, whisk the 1/2 cup sugar, eggs and yolk, and cornstarch until well combined and slightly frothy.
While continuing to whisk the egg mixture, slowly add the cream and whisk until well combined. Make sure the cream has cool or you will just have created vanilla scrambled eggs.
Return the cream to the stove and stir over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer. Continue to whisk until thickened, between 5 and 10 minutes. The cream should leave a track when you drag the whisk through it. Allow to cool to about room temperature.
Pour over the brownies, cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill until set, about 1 hour.
Just prior to serving, cut into squares, cover with a light layer of white sugar and brulee the top with a kitchen torch until the sugar has melted and turned a dark amber color.

Beer Battered Mini Corn Dogs with Chipotle Ketchup

08.11.2012 18 Comments

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

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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.

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Beer Sauce

06.11.2012 12 Comments

Today is November 6th, Election Day.

As Americans spend the day thinking of little else, wedged firmly between Barack and a hard place, I wanted to give you a little motivation to get through this day.

We will soon find ourselves at the end of this exhausting Election Season, our feelings of separatism from those who disagree with us will fade. We will find Facebook to be a friendlier place, and those Someecards of a political nature will ebb.

Regardless of the outcome, you have a reason to grab your favorite beer. Either in celebration of your guy winning the mad race to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or as a way to console yourself over the fact that the other guy came out ahead.

Given that you may be too distracted to spend all that much time in the kitchen tonight, this meal only takes about 20 minutes.

And, I’m pretty certain it has bipartisan support.

For this recipes, I like a brown ale, a blonde, a pale or a wheat beer. Be aware that using an IPA will kick up the beer flavor considerably and may be too bitter in the end.

Chicken in Creamy Mushroom Beer Sauce

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Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbs butter
1/4 cup onions chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
5 oz wild mushrooms such as Shiitake (not dried)
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup shredded parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. Sprinkle chicken thighs on all sides with salt and pepper. Add chicken to the pan and cook on both sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan.
Add onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until mushrooms are soft and have darkened, about 5 minutes.
Add the beer, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pan.
Reduce heat to medium, add the cream and stir.
Add half of the cheese, stir until melted. Add the remaining half, stir until combined.
Add the chicken and allow to cook until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, serve over rice or pasta.

Hefeweizen Honey Rolls

30.10.2012 27 Comments

I have wandered into a complete obsession with making bread. It started slowly, and really, rather timidly. When I first started, I was afraid of yeast, and a wee bit convinced that it hated me.

I threw several mounds of fail dough in the trash after it refused to rise. I learned a few things long the way that I am more than happy to share with you and save you from the "What the EFF is wrong with this damn bread!" frustrations that I suffered.

First, check the expiration date. Yeast expires in a biblical sense, it actually dies. Yeast is a bit of a living beast, and once it reaches it’s expiration date, don’t even think about it. It’s not like that bottle of Ibuprofen in your cabinet that expired last year but is probably still going to cure your headache. If the yeast has been in your cabinet a while, throw it out.

Salt kills yeast too. Don’t let inactive yeast come in contact with salt. I learned this the hard way when adding salt to the cream before microwaving it.

Yeast will rise between 40 and 120 degrees. Any higher than 120 and it will be killed by the heat (unless you use rapid-rise which will work until about 130), stay away from the high end of the scale in case your thermometer is a bit off. If the yeast is colder than around 90, it will take a long time to rise. At 40 degrees, it will still rise, but it will take days. 110 seems to be a bit of a sweet spot, but I live in LA, and even when the East Coast is being ravaged by Frankenstrom, it was still 85 degrees yesterday. Bread rises faster when it’s warm, slower when it’s cold. Yeast types are not interchangeable without major recipe modifications. Use the yeast the recipe calls for.

Dry milk powder is a bit of a secret weapon when it comes to bread making. I discovered this in the Secret Ingredient section of King Arthur Flour, it may be to blame for my bread making fixation. Your bread will be softer, taller and more tender. Buy a bag just to keep on hand for Thanksgiving and Christmas rolls, because if you are going to all of the trouble to make homemade rolls, you should really pull out all the tricks in your bag.

Beer. Of course, the beer. Bread is my favorite thing to make with beer. Even if you aren’t a beer kind of girl, it gives your bread a lighter, slightly more leavened quality that makes it a perfect baking liquid. And because it’s bread, a wheat beer is a natural choice.

Hefeweizen Honey Rolls

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Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 envelope dry active yeast
5 cups bread flour
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup wheat beer room temperature
3 eggs
1/4 cup honey
4 tbs unsalted butter softened to room temp

To Brush On Top:

4 tbs melted butter
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp coarse salt

Makes 16 rolls

Instructions

Add the cream to a microwave safe dish. Heat for 20 seconds, test temperature and repeat until cream is about 110 degrees. Add the yeast, set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. If the yeast does not foam, it isn't good. Discard it and try again.
In the bowl of a stand mixer add the flour, salt and dry milk powder, mix until well combined.
Add the cream and the beer, mix until combined. It will look dry and shaggy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between additions.
Add the honey and butter and allow to mix until the dough forms a smooth and shiny ball that isn't sticky, about 8-10 minutes.
Coat the inside of large bowl with oil. Form the dough into a ball and add to prepared bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm room until doubled in size. This will take between 1 and 2 hours depending on the temperature of the room.
Punch the dough down, and knead lightly for about 1 minute.
Cut the dough in half, then cut each half in half. You will now have 4 equal size pieces. Cut each piece in half to create 8 equal sized pieces. Cut each of those in half to give you 16.
Roll each piece of dough into balls, place into a baking dish with a bit of space between each roll (you might need two baking pans to accommodate 16 rolls).
Cover and allow to rise until about doubled in size.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the melted butter and honey. Brush the top of the rolls with honey butter mixture, sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Chocolate Stout and Bacon Skillet Brownies

23.10.2012 29 Comments

I hope you don’t mind my excessive use of stout over the past few weeks, but to be honest I’m really not sorry. I love stouts, I’m unreasonably excited about stouts being back "in season," and we are only about 2 weeks away from International Stout Day.

I’m geting you all stocked up on stout recipes, in case you want to celebrate via beer infused baked goods.

Which, of course, I hope you do.

You can use a chocolate stout for this, and that will be perfectly fine. You can also use a smoked porter or stout, or you can use a coffee or espresso stout.

Whatever you choose, this is best served warm, in the middle of a table full of fun people, each with a spoon in one hand and a stout in the other.

Chocolate Stout and Bacon Skillet Brownies

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Ingredients

2 strips thick cut bacon
1 stick unsalted butter
3.5 oz 100g dark chocolate (60%), broken into pieces
1/2 cup stout chocolate or coffee stouts work best
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbs espresso powder
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
Preheat oven to 350.

Instructions

In a 8 or 9 inch cast iron skillet cook the bacon until done. Remove bacon from skillet. Swirl the bacon fat to coat the pan, discard the excess bacon fat.
Add the butter to the skillet, return to heat and cook until melted. Add the chocolate and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Add beer and stir.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until well combined. Sprinkle the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and espresso powder over the eggs, whisk until just combined.
Add the egg mixture to the chocolate skillet and stir until just combined. Chop bacon and sprinkle over the top.
Bake until the top has set (don't over bake) about 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove from oven, top with vanilla ice cream if desired (and I'm pretty sure you should desire) set in the middle of a table full of hungry people. Add spoons.

Chocolate Stout and Bacon Skillet Brownie6

Chocolate Mint Stout Lava Cake

18.10.2012 26 Comments

Let’s talk about mint for a second.

If you know me well, you know I have an issue with mint. Although it would be hard to tell, given that I’ve made you Chocolate Porter Brownies with Mint Frosting, Chocolate Mint Stout Ice Cream, and our neighborhood beer float hussy, The Dirty Girl Scout. You could have even assumed that I LOVE mint by all of those recipes, but the truth is that this is my culinary equililant of Exposure Therapy.

The devolution of mint in my life happened in Morocco. I was traveling though Middle Atlas a few year ago with my sister, being carted from one town to another in the back of what was surely the car of a Moroccan drug dealer (or at least drug dropper-offer-guy, *actual term). I can’t even really pinpoint which incident linked Mint with Morocco in my brain. Maybe it was the cave dweller in Middle Atlas who made me mint tea, or the three Moroccan rug makers who locked me in the back of the factory plying me with mint tea in an effort to convince me to spend $6000 on a rug, or maybe it was the mint vendors waving their wares at me in the walled maze that was the old City Medina.

To be honest, the experience wasn’t entirely bad. Terrifying and life changing, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to have gone to the other side of the world, even if it did involved running for my life through the late night streets of Fez. The rumor is that your sense of taste is more strongly linked to memories than images. Which makes sense. Because even when I see my photos from that trip, it doesn’t even come close to evoking the memories that come screaming back when I smell or taste fresh mint.

I want to like mint, it’s an incredible flavor. It’s fresh and bright, and makes me gag. But I’m working on it. Exposure therapy, one chocolate mint dessert at a time.

Months ago, when I found out about the Ken Schmidt / Iron Fist / Stone Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout I was excited that my self imposed mint affliction could extend into my love of craft beer.

This might do it. And with a bold and creamy taste, and a gentle, but not sweet, mint flavor, I have high hopes that I will someday be the cure to my mint aversion. I think I need to send Ken Schmidt a mint flavored thank you card.

Chocolate Mint Stout Lava Cake

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Ingredients

3.5 oz 100 g Dark Chocolate 70%
1 1/2 sticks butter 10 tbs
2/3 cup Chocolate Mint Stout or chocolate stout
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
3 eggs plus 3 additional yolks
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp espresso powder this will not make the dessert taste like coffee. Espresso intensifies chocolate
2 tbs dark chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425.
Butter six soufflé dishes very well. The best way to do this is to soften butter (or use vegetable shortening or margarine) and a wadded up paper towel, smear a large amount inside each dish, making sure to get into the edges.
In a saucepan over medium heat, add the chocolate and butter. Stir constantly until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add beer, and peppermint extract, stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks and powdered sugar.
Pour chocolate mixture over egg mixture, stir to combine.
Sprinkle cocoa powder, espresso powder and flour over chocolate mixture, stir until just combined.
Divide equally between souffle dishes, making sure not to fill more than 2/3 full. Press about 4 to 5 chocolate chips into the very center of each cake (can be made one day ahead, cover and chill).
Bake at 425 until the outside is set, but the center is still liquid, about 9 minute no more than 13. (Note: Glass baking dishes cook much faster then ceramic dishes. Take these out of the oven when it looks as if they "need a few more minutes," you want a very runny center.)
Run a butter knife around the edge of the cake. Place a plate on top of each ramekin, turn upside down, lift ramekin to reveal cake. Serve immediately.

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

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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.

Sweet Potato Beer Biscuits With Maple Sage Butter

11.10.2012 24 Comments

I didn’t grow up eating Sweet potatoes.

I never saw them on my Thanksgiving table or at Sunday dinner. They just didn’t exist in my world. Until one chilly afternoon in College when I stopped by the dorm room of a Souther friend of mine who had just pulled a Sweet potato, covered in butter and brown sugar out of the microwave. She was nuts. A Vegetable with sugar on it? I couldn’t get over how strange it was to enjoy a vegetable as if it was some kind of dessert. She offered me a bite, and my instinct to recoil was overtaken by my overwhelming curiosity. I was hooked.

I shocked at how much I love it. It was a comfort food, and it was a vegetable. Biscuits, made from scratch, are a bit the same. Although I didn’t grow up with anything other than a biscuit from a tube with a fear inducing opening method, those always seemed amazing to me. Another incredible comfort food.

And the beer isn’t just here for the novelty of it. Beer is a mild leavening agent, giving this biscuits a lighter, more tender texture. For this recipe, I like a Hefeweizen or a Pumpkin Ale.

Sweet Potato Beer Biscuits With Maple Sage Butter

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Ingredients

For the Biscuits:

1 large sweet potato
2/3 cup beer
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 tbs sugar
1 stick butter cold, cut into small cubes
1 tbs melted butter

For the Butter:

3 tbs butter room temperature
1 sage leaf minced
1 tsp pure maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425.
Pierce the sweet potato all over. Microwave on high until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to work with. Remove and discard skin, add sweet potato to a bowl (should be about 3/4 cup of sweet potato mash).
Add the beer to the sweet potatoes and using a potato masher, stir and mash until completely combined.
In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix to combine.
Add the butter cubes and using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub the butter into the flour until completely combined.
Add the sweet potato beer mixture and mix until just combined.
Form dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Form into a square, about 1 1/2 inches high, and about 1 foot long. Cut into square biscuits. Place on a baking sheet covered with a Silpat or parchment paper. Brush with melted butter.
Bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes.
In a small bowl, add the maple syrup ingredients and stir until combined.
Serve biscuits warm, with maple sage butter.

Stove Top Beer And Bacon Mac And Cheese

09.10.2012 52 Comments

I’m not a beer snob. To be honest, the term has always rubbed against the grain.

I’m a beer fan, a beer lover, a girl fascinated by beer, but I’m not a snob.

I spent years on the fringes of the music industry in LA, and the beer snobs I meet now echo those same phrases I heard then. And so do my responses.

If you loved The Killers when we saw them play free shows at The Spaceland, you should still love them when they win Grammys.

Good music, is good music. Regardless of how many, or how few, other people like it.

If you loved Rogue Dead Guy Ale when no one carried it, you should still love it when it has mass distribution.

Good beer, is good beer. Regardless of how many, or how few, other people like it.

At a beer event a few months ago I asked the rep from North Coast Brewing why he hadn’t brought any Scrimshaw, "The Beer Snobs would eat me alive if I poured that!" And then whispered to me that it was what he drank more than anything else.

Stop doing that.

Good beer is good beer. Don’t be afraid to drink what you like, even if everyone else likes it too.

In celebration of good beer, I give you my favorite one pot, quick and easy, make this for Thanksgiving, you will never make it from a box again, Mac & Cheese. Hope you still love it even when everyone else does too.

Stove Top Beer And Bacon Mac And Cheese

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Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni
4 strips of bacon cut in half
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2/3 cup beer pale ale, blonde, bock, and Hef work well, an IPA will give you a very strong beer flavor
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese fresh grated, pre-shreaded has additives that prevents it from melting properly
2 tbs butter
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Instructions

In a large pot of boiling water, add the noodles and cook until just before done. Don't over-cook the noodles or this will end up mushy.
Drain the pasta, return the pot to the stove and cook the bacon until crispy, remove from pot and allow to cool.
Drain off bacon grease and return drained noodles to the pot.
In a separate bowl, add the beer, egg and sour cream, beat until well combined.
Add the butter and the beer mixture to the noodles and return to medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted.
About 1/4 a cup at a time, add the cheese. Stir until cheese has melted before adding more.
Add the spices and chopped bacon, stir.

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Triple Berry Blueberry Beer Cobbler

04.10.2012 18 Comments

You inspire me. You really do. One of my favorite moments of my day is reading emails from you, those of you who read my blog and like what I’m doing.

And sometimes,the emails have a common theme. A thread that runs through out the world, across the internet, and remind me of how we are all connected, in one way or another, and more similar than we all think.

In the past month I’ve received four emails from all over the world about blueberry beer. Not so much along the avenue of, "I love this, you MUST try it!" but more in the vein of, "This is interesting, but not totally drinkable, what do I do with it?"

And to be honest, I feel the same way. At a beer event six months ago, an overly zealous beer server shoved a glass of Shipyards Smashed Blueberry into my hand. And, as one who will never let a beer go untasted, I began to drink. It was interesting. The presence of blueberry with bready, toasty notes that where really well balanced. It wanted to love it, but it just wasn’t for me. It’s a great example of a blueberry beer, one that you should go out and drink, if fruit beers are your thing, but just not for me. Even still, it stayed with me, because in my world there is a different place for cooking beers. And this was a great cooking beer. One that I believe in, in theory, a well crafted beer with great flavors, but one that I wasn’t eager to run home and drink.

So here we are, me and you, with blueberry beers that we find interesting but not necessarily ones we want to fill our glasses with.

So here is what I propose: an easy berry cobbler made with this intriguing beer. And here are some great ones to go out and try:

SLO Brewing Blueberry

Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Beer

Bluepoint Blueberry Ale

Shipyard Smashed Blueberry

Triple Berry Blueberry Beer Cobbler

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Ingredients

Six cups of berries I used 2 cups each blackberries, strawberrries, and blueberries Frozen is fine
1/2 cup brown sugar plus 2 tbs divided
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs corn starch
1 1/2 cups blueberry beer
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
12 tbs butter 1 1/2 sticks cut into small cubes
1/2 cup beer
1/4 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs beer

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450.
In a pot over medium high heat, add 4 cups berries (reserve 2 cups mixed berries for the end), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, corn starch and beer. Allow to simmer until reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, add reserved 2 cups of berries, stir to combine. Add to a deep dish pie pan.
In a bowl, add 2 tbs brown sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and stir to combine.
Add the butter, rub into the flour until well combined and resembles course meal.
Add the milk and 1/2 cup beer, stir until combined.
Gently add the flour topping, a bit at a time, to the pie pan until the berries are covered.
Bake at 450 until the topping has turned a light golden brown, about 18 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cream, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 tbs beer. Whip on high until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
Serve the cobbler topped with whipped cream.

Beer Braised Chicken and Hefeweizen Cornmeal Dumpling Soup

02.10.2012 6 Comments

Although most of you are starting to pull out those wool sweaters you neatly packed away a few months ago, here in Los Angeles we are in the throws of a record heat wave that drug us into 108 degree heat yesterday. While most of the sane people of LA stayed indoors and avoided the oven, I spent the morning interviewing ex-cons turn foodies, and then came home and made soup.

Like i’ve mentioned before, my inherent rebellion pushes me to buck tradition and even reason. I drink stouts in the summer, eat ice cream in the winter and make soup in triple digit heat.

Beer Braised Chicken and Hefeweizen Cornmeal Dumpling Soup

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Ingredients

For The Soup

4 tbs butter
4 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillets cup into bite sized peices
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup white onions chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1 cup sweet white corn kernels fresh is best, frozen is acceptable, canned is disgusting
2 cups Hefeweizen Beer
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbs flour
1/4 cup cream

For The Dumplings

1/2 cup Masa Harina corn flour used to make corn tortillas
1/2 cup fine ground corn meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbs butter cut into small cubes
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Hefeweizen beer

Instructions

In a large pot with a lid, like a dutch oven or enamel cast iron pot, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook until seared on all sides, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, onions, celery, carrots and corn, stir. Add the beer and broth, stir. Allow to simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the pot and whisk until combined. Remove from heat and slowly add the cream while stiring. Return to medium/low heat.
In a large bowl, add the masa, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary, stir to combine. Add the butter and rub into the flour with your fingers until completely combined.
Add the milk and hefeweizen and stir until combined. You don't want the dough too thin or it will fall apart during cooking, you want a biscuit like consistency.
Drop mounds of dough, about 3 tbs in size, equally spaced on top of the pot until all dough has been used. Cover the pot and cook on low heat until the tops of the dumplings are dry, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Ale Waffles & How To Roast A Pumpkin

25.09.2012 33 Comments

Although most of you are in the giddy early stages of fall, here in Los Angeles it’s still over 90 degrees. So what the rest of the country is referring to as "Fall," I am calling Pumpkin Season. And to curb my near constant urge to shove as much pumpkin into everything I consume, I have elected to only make pumpkin from scratch, no cans.

It’s only really helped a little. It’s pretty easy to roast a pumpkin and turn it into massive quantities of pumpkin treats.

If you haven’t roasted your own, don’t be intimidated, its pretty simple.

Start with a pie pumpkin. They go by various other names, but they are not Jack-o-Lantern pumpkins used for carving. They are small, about the size of a cantaloupe.

Preheat oven to 375.

Remove the stem by running a butter knife around the edges and then prying it off. The most stubborn one I removed by whacking it on the edge of the counter. Popped right off.

Cut the pumpkin in half, right through the hole left by the stem.

Scoop the seeds out with a spoon.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place pumpkins on baking sheets, cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast at 375 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until a fork can easily slide into the skin.

Allow to cool and sccop the flesh out.

For a smoother texture, process in a food processor for about 3 minutes.

See, that’s not so hard. You can totally do that.

Pumpkin Ale Waffles

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs divided
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 stick melted butter
1 cup Pumpkin Ale

(Makes 6 to 8)

Instructions

Preheat waffle iron.
Get out three bowls.
In the largest bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking power, baking soda, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon, stir until well combined.
Divide the eggs between the last two bowls, egg whites in one, yolks in the other.
In the yolks bowl, add the milk and pumpkin puree, stir until well combined. Add the melted butter and stir.
Using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined, don't over mix. Add the beer and stir until combined. Gently fold in the egg whites.
Spray waffle iron with butter flavored cooking spray. Cook waffles according to manufactures directions.