Tag Archives: recipes

Mark Your Calendar For Allagash The Cookbook Signing At Whole Foods Februrary

Allagash Cookbook1Talk about jaw dropping moments.  I had no idea Allagash had even made a cookbook.  I mean you know how much I love, love, love to cook with beer.  Imagine my surprise to see the picture above with this text from  Whole Foods:

February 6th at Whole Foods. Author James Simpkins will be on hand to sign the book. RARE Allagash drafts on tap and dishes from the book prepared by WF. Details as always to come!

I think my heart stopped for just a split second.   I know you want to rush off and buy the book now just as I do, but as with most book signings I’m guessing buying the book from the venue, Whole Foods in this case, will be required.  I hope you have saved the date on your calendar just as I have.

Don’t Let FrankenStorm Ruin Your Plans, Have Beer Brunch At Home

Hurricane Sandy AKA Frankenstorm has upended a lot of events that were planned for this weekend.  With Secco’s Beer Brunch and GRAZE on Grace both postponed, it’d be easy to let the abysmal weather ruin  any potential fun.

While you’re out shopping for essentials, don’t forget the beer.  To replicate Secco’s plans, I’d look for Founder’s Breakfast Stout but porters or even a good pumpkin beer would work well.

Now that you have the beer, it’s time to get on with brunch.  I can’t plan your entire meal but I can at least get you started with a few waffle recipes.  Grab a pumpkin beer and try my pumpkin beer waffles; using a stout or porter in the recipe could be interesting as well.  Or maybe you remember these Hardywood Mocha Belgique Waffles; Breakfast Stout would be great in these as well.

Now for a bit of a remix of the two recipes. I’m calling these my FrankenBeer Waffles. Give them a try.

FrankenBeer Waffles

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup porter/stout beer
1/2 cup pumpkin beer
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Sift dry ingredients except sugar into large bowl.  Whisk sugar into sifted flour mixture.

Combine wet ingredients including pumpkin into small bowl.

Add wet to dry ingredients and whisk to combine but do not over mix.

Heat waffle iron.  Cook waffles according to iron instruction.

Yield: 4 Belgian waffles.

Watermelon Beer Granita

The 29th Annual Watermelon Festival is tomorrow Sunday August 5th.  As is tradition, it is bound to be a hot one; it always is.  Whether you walked the streets of Carytown or decided to stay indoors, this recipe is for you.  I first discovered this concept of putting beer in a frozen dessert from Megan Powell’s Watermelon Beer Popsicles.  Desiring something that I could store more longterm, I attempted to adapt her recipe into a sorbet but it turned out to be more of a granita.

Watermelon Beer Granita

Ingredients

1 cup Agave Nectar
1/4 cup chopped mint
1 lime, zested & juiced
1/2 seedless watermelon, crushed
12oz can 21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon Wheat

Directions

In a small saucepan, bring Agave Nectar and chopped mint to a boil over medium-high heat.  Remove from heat and let come back to room temp.

Crush watermelon into large bowl. Puree with a stick blender until the watermelon is an even consistency.

Add agave mixture, lime juice and zest to watermelon followed by the beer.  Mix well.

Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator overnight.

Mix in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.  It took my Cuisinart about 20 minutes.  Your granita will be ready to eat at this point or you can transfer to a airtight container an freeze for a firmer texture.

Yield: 2 – 4 quarts

Hardywood Park Singel Reuben Sandwich

What can I say about Cassie Keene? She is the beer goddess that has greeted me at every beer tasting at The Empress. She has been featured in Richmond.com’s 5Qs with a Foodie where we learned about her love of kimchi.  On heels of announcing her upcoming restaurant, GinkgoRVA, I also learned that she will be having a kimchi and beer pairing at Kitchen Thyme on June 10th.  Fast forward a few days when Cassie tweets:

Lucky for you, she agreed to share her recipe and boy did she deliver.  Cassie proves once again that beer is what’s for dinner.

Enjoy!

PS. Today is also Cassie’s birthday so if you see her thank her for this tasty recipe.

Hardywood Park Singel Braised Corned Beef
Ingredients
2.5 – 3 lb. corned beef brisket flat
2 garlic cloves
2 medium shallots, peeled and chopped
24 oz Hardywood Singel
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Put the corned beef fat side down, into a large dutch oven.  Add the garlic, shallots, pickling spice, and Singel.  Cover and place in oven.  Braise this for 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Turn the meat.  Braise for another 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Turn meat again and add carrots.  Cover again and place back in the over for another 2 hours.  After 2 hours, check the brisket for doneness.  You should be able to puncture the roast easily with a fork.  Put it back in the oven for 30 minutes if it needs more time.  Remove the brisket from the pot and loosely wrap in foil.  I refrigerated mine overnight and then sliced it for Reuben sandwiches the next day.  It is much easier to slice thinly when it’s cold.

You can speed up this recipe by braising on the stove.  Braise on low heat for 90 minutes.  Add carrots and braise for another hour and a half.

I’m sure there’s a way to do this in a slow cooker.

*enjoy eating the beer infused carrots

Hardywood Park Singel Braised Sauerkraut

Ingredients
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1 dash dried thyme
1 lb fresh sauerkraut
6 oz Hardywood Singel
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions
In a large pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add a 1/2 cup thinly sliced onions, season with salt and cook until the onions have turned golden brown. Add 1 clove minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon chopped rosemary, dash of dried thyme, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir continuously for another minute. Add 1/2 lb fresh sauerkraut and 6 oz Hardywood Park Singel.  Simmer at medium-low temperature until all the liquid has reduced.

Hardywood Park Singel Reuben Sandwich 

Ingredients
Rye bread
Thinly sliced Singel Braised corned beef
Swiss cheese
Singel Braised Sauerkraut
Thousand Island Dressing
Butter

Directions
Heat grill pan over medium heat. Assemble sandwiches. Butter both sides of the sandwich and grill each side until it’s golden brown and the cheese has melted

Hardywood Mocha Belgique Waffles

Happy Easter weekend everyone.  I hope you’re having a relaxing time of it.  If you’re still planning for brunch tomorrow, you may want to add these chocolate beer waffles to your menu.  Of course, I am using Hardywood Mocha Belgique but feel free to use your favorite porter or stout instead.

Hardywood Mocha Belgique Waffles

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (optional)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup porter beer
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Sift dry ingredients except sugar into large bowl.  Whisk sugar into the sifted flour mixture

Combine wet ingredients into small bowl.

Add wet to dry ingredients and whisk to combine but do not over mix.

Heat Waffle iron.  Cook waffles according to iron instruction.

Yield: 4 Belgian waffles

You can still get Mocha Belgique at Hardywood’s tasting room.  Go fill a growler today and you will be very happy tomorrow.

Pumpkin Beer Waffles

image

Friday night, I attended the Heavy Seas tasting at Once Upon A Vine South. Heavy Seas founder, Hugh Sission was even in attendance had brought a special firkin of Winter Storm filled with Maryland grown Chinook hops. Both Storms were delicious and I even got a signed poster!  A bonus at the tasting were the snacks made using Heavy Seas different beers; you can find a few of those recipes here. It’s only fitting that when I had my first taste of Great Pumpkin, I knew it was destined for the beer waffles I was planning for a scary movie party. Of course, feel free to use your favorite pumpkin beer. Don’t have a favorite yet then there’s still time to get some pumpkin beer at The Camel. In the meantime, here is my recipe for Pumpkin Beer Waffles. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Beer Waffles

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups  pumpkin beer — (12 fluid ounce)
3/4 cup  unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons  honey
1 tablespoon  vanilla extract
1/4 cup  dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons  cornstarch
4 teaspoons  baking powder
1 teaspoon  salt
1/4 teaspoon  baking soda
1/4 teaspoon  cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon  ginger
1/8 teaspoon  cloves
1/4 teaspoon  freshly grated nutmeg*
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

Directions

Lightly oil the waffle iron with vegetable oil, and set it to the desired temperature.

Sift dry ingredients except for brown sugar into large bowl.  Add brown sugar and whisk to combine.

Separate eggs: yolks go in a medium sized bowl and whites get set aside in a smaller bowl.

Add pumpkin, beer, honey, vanilla, and milk to the egg yolks. Whisk to blend and set aside.

Whip egg whites with a hand mixer on high until stiff peaks form – about 1 – 2 minutes. Set aside.

Pour melted butter into the pumpkin beer mixture. As you pour, whisk to combine.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, and mix them together until just combined. A little lumpiness is fine. That will smooth out when the egg whites are added.

Slide the whipped egg whites out of the bowl and onto the mixture you just prepared. Gently fold them in until no white bits are obvious.

Once the waffle iron is heated, you’re ready to pour the batter. Cook waffles according to iron instruction.

Yield: 6 Belgian waffles

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