Favorite Recipes Using Beer

It's Craft Beer Week here in Minnesota so while Matt and I are enjoying some of our favorites, Fulton, Harriet, Lift Bridge, Surly, oh we could go on and on... I thought I'd share some of our favorite recipes that have beer as an ingredient. Chose your favorite local brew and make it beer week at your house too.

The classic - Cheddar and Beer Cheese Soup

                             
                                                       Kriek Caramel Sauce and Caramel Rolls
                            
                                   Crock Pot Ribs or Beef - Both slow cooked in beer and bbq sauce.

Oatmeal Stout and Heath Bar Ice Cream

Three B's Soup - Beans, Beer and Bacon!

Ahh Beer!

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Sahlab - Egyptian Hot Vanilla Drink

Have you ever been reading a book where a food or drink is mentioned that you've never heard of but, sounds so interesting you end up investigating it? Recently, I was reading Rick Riordan's The Red Pyramidand it mentioned a drink called Sahlab. It is described as a hot, sweet vanilla drink with hints of cinnamon and coconut. It sounded so good I had to see it if was real. What do you know it was. The next step, of course, was to make some.

Traditionally, sahlab is made with salep flour or powder which is made by grinding the roots of a particular orchid. Ok, I didn't have that on hand but, a lot of recipes used cornstarch as a thickener instead. It seems there are a lot of ways to flavor it, rose or orange water, pistachios or walnuts but I wanted the flavors mentioned in the book, vanilla, cinnamon and coconut. The end result was surprisingly good with a flavor that reminded both Matt and I of vanilla pudding. The coconut flakes were a little odd in it, a drink you can chew, but, added good flavor.

Sahlab
(I used this recipe and made the measurements more specific)

2 c milk
1/2 c water
2 T cornstarch
1 t vanilla
2 T sugar
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of coconut flakes (I used sweetened but you could use unsweetened too)

Put the milk in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk the water and cornstarch together and add to the milk. Add the vanilla and sugar. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring the whole time. Let boil while stirring for 2 minutes, it should thicken slightly.

Divide between 2 mugs. Sprinkle cinnamon & coconut on top.

2 Servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Moroccan Chicken and Olives

Oh, I wish the picture of this dish looked as good as it tasted but, you know, brown sauce just doesn't have that beauty factor.

Trust me though, this is an easy, flavorful dish. There is just something I really love about cinnamon in savory applications. Then add the briny olives and sweet raisins and you've got a winning blend of tastes.

We served it over a blend of Israeli couscous, yellow split peas, quinoa and a few other things I can't remember. It was a blend I picked up in the bulk section on a whim as an alternative to rice. It had such great variety of texture. This dish though, would be good over rice or regular couscous too.

Moroccan Chicken and Olives

1/2 T olive oil
10 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1 t coriander
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t cumin
pinch cayenne
1 heaping T all-purpose flour
1/2 T tomato paste
2 c chicken stock
12 green olives, cut in half
1/2 T olive brine
2 T golden raisins

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pan over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the hot oil and sauté until cooked on the outside, about 3 - 5 minutes. Add the coriander, cinnamon, cumin and cayenne. Sauté for one more minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and sauté for 1 more minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken stock, olives, olive brine and raisins. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until reduced by at least half and thickened, about 20 minutes. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed.

Serve over hot rice or couscous.

2 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Weekly Menu 5/16 - 5/21/11

Oh my gosh, last week was just a total blur but, it was all good things. Our "nephew" Lucas got a hit at his first baseball game, the first day of our garage sale was really successful (thought day two got rained out) and the MN Food Bloggers Bake Sale for Share Our Strength surpassed its goal.

Now, to make things even better we actually have five days of sun in the forecast! It's been six months since that happened, six months people! At least all the spring rain we've had up until now has sent our perennial garden high gear.


We've turned most of our gardens (that aren't vegetables) into perennials gardens in the last two years. One is filled with a lot of natives and wildflowers and it's such fun to see them come back this year.

Yesterday, we got to take a break from everything going on and head out to the MN Landscape Arboretum to see the yearly tulip display and walk through their wildflower garden.

The Arboretum is such an amazing place. If you live in the Twin Cities area and have never visited, get out there!

On to Menu Planning Monday...

Grilled Teriyaki Brats and Pineapple

Chicken Fajitas

Indian Salmon Wraps - Yes, again. They were that good.

Thursday night out

Perogies

Burgers (rain cancelled our BBQ last weekend)

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski

Quick Sausage and Olive Pasta

I love the idea of cooking up a big Sunday roast dinner but, Sunday seems to be the day we end up running all our errands and by the time we get home we just aren't up to making the big meal. This Sunday was no different. We are in the midst of having the front of our house re-stuccoed which means we can finally replace the ugly brass house numbers glued on right now and the porch light. I can't believe how hard it is to find nice numbers! We drove from one end of town to the other and found nothing. Luckily we did find a nice light on clearance. Anyway, back to the food. By the time we did that and the grocery shopped, cooking was not high on our list, making it a perfect night for a simple pasta like this one.

The olives, and the way their brininess infuses the sauce, are what really make this dish something more than pasta with meat sauce. You'll want to serve it with some crusty bread to get all the sauce you can.


Quick Sausage and Olive Pasta

(I don't like my pasta to be overly saucy, if you prefer more double the amount of tomato sauce in this recipe.)

4 oz dried pasta
1/2 T olive oil
1/2 lb Italian Sausage (mild or spicy, your choice)
1/2 a red onion, sliced thin
1 c tomato sauce
1 T tomato paste
1/2 - 3/4 c green olives (halved)
pinch crushed red pepper flakes
kosher salt
grated Parmesan

Cook the past according to the directions. When done drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and red onion. Cook until the sausage is cooked through breaking the sausage up as you go. Add in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, olives and red pepper flakes. Heat through. Taste and add salt is needed (you might not need any with the olives already adding salt). Stir in the drained pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan on top.

2 servings.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted. © 2007-2011 Kathy Lewinski