“Food Rush” – Delicious Beer Inspired Recipes

During a lazy night at home watching TV, I came across a cooking show, “Food Rush,” on the Live Well Network featuring host and chef Ryan Scott. The episode showcased some yummy beer inspired dishes including Beer and Cheddar Soup, Beer Braised Pork Shoulder, Clams and Beer and a Beer Float that I just had to share! The episode begins with a visit to ThirstyBear Brewing Company in San Francisco where Ryan samples some brews to inspire for his dishes. The recipes are true to the style of beer used, easy-to-follow and manageable for the average cook. I look forward to trying these recipes soon. Click here to watch the full episode.

German Potato Salad with Beer Dressing

Memorial Day is finally here and I can’t wait to kick off the summer with family, friends, good food and most importantly good beer! I attend at least one BBQ every Memorial Day weekend and the grub is usually the same all around. I always have my fill of burgers and dogs, but it’s nice to see some other options. Mix things up this year by making German Potato Salad with Beer Dressing from Recipe 4 Living; it’s familiar yet something you won’t find in every backyard.

Ingredients:

• 10 small red potatoes
• 12 slices bacon (This seems like a lot of bacon; I’ll probably only use 6 strips when I make this).
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup beer
• 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
• 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Cooking Directions:

1. Peel and cube potatoes and boil until tender; drain.
2. Fry bacon until crisp and drain well to remove excess grease.
3. Crumble bacon, and mix with onion, celery, and salt.
4. Set aside.
5. Stir butter and flour in a small saucepan to make a roux.
6. Add mustard and sugar.
7. Slowly stir in beer and hot sauce.
8. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.
9. Pour over potato mixture.
10. Sprinkle with parsley.
11. Toss lightly and let stand 1 hour.
12. Add bacon mixture, toss gently.

Dobrou Chut’!

Beer of the Week: Long Trail Brewmaster Series Double IPA

Long Trail Brewmaster Series Double IPA (8.6 % ABV): This Imperial IPA brewed by Long Trail Brewing Company in Vermont pours a hazy burnt orange with a small, thin head. Fragrant floral hops on the nose with notes of pine and a hint of citrus. Smooth, balanced drinking experience – bitter hops at the forefront complemented by bitter-sweet grapefruit and sweet malty caramel flavors. The ABV is will hidden in this double IPA with a punch of flavor.

Brown Ale Crepes with Cranberry-Orange Lager Sauce

I’ve been obsessed with crepes lately. I was recently at one of my favorite breakfast spots and saw a crepe dish on the menu with a Cherry Kijafa (cherry wine with sugar beet alcohol from Denmark) sauce. If you can use wine for a crepe dish, why not beer? I immediately started scouring the Internet for a recipe and found Brown Ale Crepes with Cranberry-Orange Lager Sauce on New Food and Beer. Beer works well in many dough and batters, so I think this will work well. I’ll probably make the crepes without the sauce or filling the first time around to see how beer will affect delicate crepes.

Ingredients (Makes 10 crepes):

For the Crepes:

• 12 ounces brown ale
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt

For the Sauce:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 cup lager beer
• 12 ounces cranberries

For the Crepe Filling:

• 3 pounds whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest, grated
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cooking Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, make the sauce by whisking together sugar, cornstarch, orange juice and lager until blended.
2. Add cranberries.
3. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes, until sauce thickens slightly and cranberries pop.
5. If serving immediately, keep warm; or cool, cover and and refrigerate up to 4 days.
6. In a large bowl, make crepes by whisking together brown ale, milk, eggs, sugar and butter until well blended.
7. Whisk in flour and salt until batter is smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes, and let batter rest 20 minutes.
8. Preheat 8 or 9-inch non-stick crepe pan or skillet over medium heat.
9. When pan is hot, remove from heat and spray with cooking spray.
10. Add 1/4 cup batter to pan and tilt pan to spread batter into 7-inch round.
11. Return skillet to heat and lightly brown crepe about 45 seconds., or until edges start to curl.
12. Turn crepe over and cook 30 to 45 seconds, until lightly browned.
13. Transfer to plate.
14. Repeat with remaining batter to make 20 crepes. (Tip: Crepes can be made several days ahead, stacked between layer so waxed or parchment paper, covered and refrigerated.)

For the Filling

1. Combine together in a large bowl ricotta cheese, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon.
2. Stir well to blend. (Tip: Filling can be made several days ahead, covered and refrigerated.)

Assembly:

1. Preheat over to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. With cooking spray, lightly coat 2 shallow baking dishes.
3. Place 2 rounded tablespoons full of filling in the center of each crepe in a 3-inch long mound. Fold two opposite edges of crepe over the top of filling, then fold in remaining edges forming a packet.
4. Place crepes in baking dish; bake 15 minutes, or until heated throughout and slightly crisp.
5. Top with Cranberry-Orange Lager Sauce.

Dobrou Chut’!

Perfect New Years Eve Cocktail

Champagne is the go-to drink for special occasions. But, what about those of us who don’t like champagne? A Black Velvet – a combination of Guinness and champagne –  may be the perfect cocktail for you this New Years Eve any other special occasion. The combination sounds a bit odd, but is quite tasty. Link here to watch how to pour the perfect Black Velvet. Cheers!

Ingredients: 

Photo Courtesy of wwwbbcgoodfood.com

• Guinness Extra Stout
• Champagne

Directions:

1. Pour Guinness into a champagne flute until it is about half full.
2. Top up the glass with champagne so that the cocktail has a dark color with a frothy head, resembling a freshly-poured pint of Guinness.

Beer Battered Fried Olives

New Years Eve is almost here and if you’re throwing or attending a house party, you know snacks are just as important as the beer selection.  We all know the typical party snacks, but why not try something new to bring in the new year?  Elevate boring cocktail olives to a whole new level of tastiness with this recipe for Beer Battered Fried Olives from Spoon Fork Bacon to finish off 2014 with a bang.

Ingredients (Serves 6 to 10 people):

Photo Courtesy of Spoon Fork Bacon

Beer Battered Olives:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 12-16 ounces beer of your choice (Dark beer recommended)
• 2 cups pitted olives of your choice
• Vegetable oil for frying

Cumin-Yogurt  Dipping Sauce:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Pinch cinnamon
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)

Cooking Directions:

1. Fill a pot with two inches of oil and preheat to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Whisk together all the dry beer batter ingredients and set aside.
3. Place all the yogurt ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together until fully mixed and set aside until ready to use.
4. Pour beer into the flour mixture and whisk together.
5. Drop some olives into the batter. Lift them out using a slotted spoon and shake until only a thin layer of batter coats each olive.
6. Carefully drop the olives into the oil and fry for 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Drain onto paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
8. Repeat process until all olives have been fried.
9. Serve immediately with yogurt sauce.

Dobrou Chut’!

Beery Honey Mustard Chicken

I get sick of eating the same thing all the time and am always looking for new ways to spice up my go-to dinner recipes. I eat A LOT of chicken and thought this recipe would help change things up a bit. This is an easy recipe to make with little prep time. The marinade keeps the chicken super moist and flavorful. However, if I were to make this again, I think I would use a bit more mustard and a less honey; it was a bit too sweet for me.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. uncooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast (I used chicken tenders)
• 2 tbsp. honey
• ¼ cup stone ground mustard
• ¼ cup beer (I used Erdinger Oktoberfest)
• 1 tbsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 ½ tbsp. fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts.
3. Season them with sea salt and pepper and place in baking dish.
4. In a small bowl, stir together honey, mustard, beer, lemon juice, basil and smoked paprika.
5. Pour marinade over chicken and flip over to make sure it is coated well.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes, turning halfway through. (Make sure the internal temperature of you chicken is at least 165° Farenheight or slice into the thickest part of the chicken to make sure there is no pink flesh.)

Dobrou Chut’!

Homemade Chocolate-Dipped Beer Marshmallows with Crushed Pretzel Garnish

I’ve always been a fan of Halloween – from pumpkin picking and carving to spooky decorations to dressing up. The candy – ahh the candy – has always been my favorite part, though. There’s something about those fun size candy bars that just makes it taste a little better. The fact that I no longer go trick-or-treating and can buy a 10 lb. bag of mini candy at every store has taken away some of the magic of the holiday. This year, I’ve decided to get in the mood by making homemade adult beer candy. Yep…you heard me!  Chocolate-Dipped Beer Marshmallows with Crushed Pretzel Garnish from the kitchn  will help bring out my inner child and satisfy the adult in you. Halloween just got a lot more interesting!

Photo Courtesy of http://www.thekitchn.com

Ingredients (Makes 18 to 22 marshmallows, depending on how you cut them):

For the Bloom:

• 1 1/2 tbsp. (just under 1/2 ounce) unflavored gelatin
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (2.5 ounces) flat dark beer

For the Sugar Syrup:

• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) flat dark beer
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) corn syrup or sugar cane syrup
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) granulated sugar
• pinch salt

For Coating and Topping

• 10-12 ounces milk chocolate
• 2-3 teaspoons canola oil, optional – for thinning the melted chocolate
• 1/2 cup stick pretzels

Cooking Directions:

1. To flatten the beer, open the bottle and let it sit overnight. If you’re in a rush, pour it into a bowl and stir the beer with a whisk to release as much of the carbon dioxide as possible.
2. Spray one standard bread loaf pan (8.5″ x 4.5″ or close) with nonstick spray or line it with parchment paper and then spray with nonstick coating. (If using parchment, tape the flaps to the outside of the pan so the paper stays in place when you spoon in the marshmallow.

For the bloom:

1. Sprinkle the gelatin in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Mix vanilla and flattened beer, and pour this over the gelatin.
3. Whisk until no lumps remain.
4. Set the bowl back into your mixer and fit the mixer with a whisk attachment.

For the sugar syrup:

1. Combine the flattened beer, corn syrup, sugar, and salt in a 4-quart saucepan or larger.
2. Clip a candy thermometer to the side.
3. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the sugar mixture to a boil. (As the syrup heats, it will foam up to nearly fill the pan.)
4. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over.
5. When the mixture is between 225° and 230°, let it bubble for another 5 minutes and then remove it from heat. (Ideally, the syrup should reach 240° – 250°, but I couldn’t get an accurate temperature reading in the foam. If your syrup starts to edge up toward 250°, take the pan off the heat and proceed with the next step.)

Now, let’s make marshmallows!

1. With the mixer on low speed, carefully pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin bloom.
2. Turn the mixer to high once all the syrup has been added and let it whip for 8-10 minutes, until it looks like glossy meringue and is very thick.
3. Pour marshmallow into the loaf pan and let it cure, uncovered, for 10-12 hours or overnight.
4. When the marshmallows are cured, rub the top with a little powdered sugar and turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board.
5. Rub the top with more powdered sugar.
6. Cut into 18-22 squares of equal size.

For chocolate coating:

1. Melt chocolate over a double-boiler or in 30-second bursts on HIGH in the microwave, stirring between each burst until the chocolate is melted.
2. If the chocolate seems too thick, whisk in the canola oil one teaspoon at a time until the chocolate is thin enough to coat.
3. Coat each marshmallow entirely and set them on a piece of wax paper to dry.
4. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the tops of the marshmallows with crushed pretzels or any other toppings you want. (Tip: I think you could make this a bit more themed for Halloween by topping with candy corn or crushed Oreos with a gummy worm.)
5. The chocolate might have difficulty setting up if the weather is very humid; try putting the marshmallows in the fridge to help things along.

Note: Marshmallows will keep in a covered container for several weeks. In the summer, store in the refrigerator to prevent the chocolate from melting.

Dobrou Chut’!

Pumpkin Punch

Get ready for Halloween with this adult treat that will have you looking at pumpkin beer in a whole new way!

Photo Courtesy of http://www.self.com

Ingredients (Makes one cocktail):

• 2 oz. Tequila (Recipe calls for Herradura Reposado.)
• 2 oz. pumpkin ale
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 oz. agave
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Optional (for garnish):

• Star anise pod
• Large slice orange zest

Drunken Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

Autumn is in full swing and I want take advantage of all the fresh, local produce before it’s too late. I’ve been wanting to make stuffed peppers for some time and have been anxiously waiting for cool fall nights so I can use the oven. I’ve seen a ton of recipes for traditional stuffed peppers with rice and beef. But, I’ve been saving my carbs for beer, so I decided to go a different route and created my own recipe – Drunken Southwestern Stuffed Peppers. I love everything about this dish from the colorful bell peppers, tomatoes and corn to the full flavor with just the right amount of spiciness. I will definitely be adding this to my cookbook!

Ingredients (Makes 4 servings):

• 4 Bell peppers
• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1 15.5 oz. can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 10 oz. package frozen sweet corn
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp. onion, chopped
• 2/3 cup beer (I used a a Golden Ale, but you can use whatever you have on hand.)
• Taco Seasoning to taste (I used Trader Joe’s, which is a bit spicy if you add too much, but it complemented the peppers really well.)
• Salt to taste
• 3/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Optional:

• Sour cream

Cooking Directions:

1. In a large skillet brown the turkey and season with salt.
2. When the turkey is browned, add 1/3 cup beer, onion, garlic, black beans, diced tomatoes and taco seasoning .
3. Mix well, cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes.
4. Remove lid, add corn and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes or until liquid has reduced.
5. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
6. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise, removing seeds and stem. (Tip: It is much easier to remove the membrane and seeds by cutting the peppers this way instead of cutting off the tops. Plus, I think it looks nicer!)
7. Spray oven-safe baking dish with cooking spray.
8. Place peppers in dish and fill each pepper with filling.
9. Pour remaining 1/3 beer on the bottom of the dish.
10. Cover with foil and bake 45-60 minutes, or until the peppers become soft.
11. Remove foil and top each pepper with shredded cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 5 minutes.
12. Serve with a side salad.

Dobrou Chut’!