A Manly, But Pretty Meal

I was looking for something a little different for dinner, I had some peppers to use up, and I've had this starred in my Google Reader for a while now. We loved this dish - it was easy, full of flavor, and tasted great the next day. But anything with mashed potatoes, beer & sausage is good in Jamie's book!

I made a couple of changes, mainly that I added more beer (yeah!!!) to make more sauce...I'll definitely be making this again, I'll probably try substituting with chicken or turkey sausage.



Ale-Braised Sausage and Peppers
Good Things Catered, adapted from Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 lb. cooked sausages, such as kielbasa, sliced
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced I used 1-2 yellow & green peppers
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided1
1/2 c. ale I used 1 bottle of Budweiser's American Ale
1 1/2 c. low sodium chicken stock
3 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped I used 2-3 tsp of dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped I used 1 tsp of dried parsley which I added when adding the thyme
Mashed potatoes for serving

Directions:

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sausages and cook, stirring and turning often, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and sauté until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp flour and cook, stirring, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the ale until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Add the thyme and broth, whisking to blend, and bring to a simmer.

Return the sausages to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the flavors are blended, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the sausage, peppers, and onions and place on a serving platter. With the Dutch oven over medium high heat, whisk in 1 heaping Tbsp of flour, whisking constantly until thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

Pour thickened sauce over sausages and serve immediately with mashed potatoes.

Serves 4 to 6.

Beer + Cheese = Delicious!

I normally serve garlic bread with chili....but I wanted to try something different. I saw this recipe for cheesy beer bread, it looked wonderful & would go perfectly with my chili. Even though I stole one of Jamie's Sam Adams Octoberfest beers to make this, he wasn't complaining!

Also, this was my first time making bread that wasn't banana, although I was a little nervous, it turned out perfectly and definitely deserves the "easy" part in it's title.

Easy Cheesy Beer Bread
Good Things Catered

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour I used all white flour, I didn't have whole wheat
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
12 oz. bottle of lager or stout (I used Sam Adams Oktoberfest)
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan for baking.

-In large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder.

-Whisk to combine well.-Add cheese and whisk to combine.

-Slowly add beer to dry ingredients and stir lightly until combined.

-Knead dough lightly until it just comes together.

-Place into prepared loaf pan and pour melted butter over top.

-Place in oven to bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

Everything Is Better With Cheddar...& Beer

This past weekend, we held the Third Annual Ultimate Michigan tailgate party in Ann Arbor before the University of Michigan vs Illinois game. Unfortunately, the Wolverines lost, but there were plenty of food, drinks and wild times.

Amongst the great food, was this cheddar ale spread. It was packed with flavor, and was rich and creamy. I had some technical difficulties making it - I was out of town and forgot to pack my food processor (how could I have forgotten that??), so I tried to make it with a friend's smoothie maker, not a good idea, it kept draining the beer out - then a mini chopper which was far too small. In between switching the mixture back and forth between the appliances, I finally made it work. Although I had to use more beer than the recipe called for to make it blend, it was a hit, and besides, you would never hear from Canadians that there is too much beer! In honor of the guests, I used Labatt's Honey Brown lager, even though the recipe called for ale.

I served it with carrots (as depicted in the action shot below), pretzels, celery sticks and tortilla chips. It makes a lot, so if it's for a small gathering, I would cut the recipe in half.

Cheddar Ale Spread

adapted from Brown Eyed Baker and Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

8 oz. cream cheese
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard I used 1.5 tbsp Dijon
2½ cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese I used Canadian old cheddar
2 tablespoons heavy cream I used half & half cream
¼ teaspoon salt I used 1/2 tsp freshly ground red, white and black peppercorns
¼ cup beer (pretty much anything but a light beer) I used about 3/4 of a bottle of Labatt's Honey Brown Lager but that may be too much if you are blending it properly
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley I used 3 tbsp

I added 2 cloves garlic

Combine the cream cheese, mustard, cheddar cheese, cream, and salt in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, add the beer, and continue processing until very smooth. Pulse in the parsley until just dispersed.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You will want to take it out an hour before serving if you do refrigerate.

The Beer Can Goes Where????

Jamie had this idea a few years back (I'm sure people have been doing it for years, we had just never heard of it) - he likes chicken, beer and grilling - so why not combine them? So I used to simply take a tall can of beer and stick it up the chicken's rear! The chicken was well - pretty tipsy - it's not fun trying to get the chicken upright after falling and then having to use yet another beer for the chicken instead of my personal use! Since then, beer can chicken stands, grilling trays with liquid reservoirs or other devices are pretty popular, so of course I bought one, and use it all the time.

With my grilling stand/tray, it has a tall cup-like center, so I didn't actually have to use the beer can. I tried a few new things, and it was so juicy and flavorful. With my stand, there's also room around it, so I tossed some potatoes and vegetables around the chicken, creating a complete meal.

Sorry for the dark picture, we ate around 8:30 at night....cheers!

In The Rear Chicken With Beer

4.5 lb whole chicken
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
few sprigs of fresh parsley for potatoes if desired
1 bottle or large can of beer (I used Sam Adams Honey Brown, but I like Heineken too)
1/2 onion, peeled
About 1/2-3/4 cup of BBQ Sauce - I used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ
3 cloves of garlic, smashed

Rub:
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp Montreal seasoning
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper


Preheat the grill on medium-high heat.

Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Rub the extra virgin olive oil and rub mix all over the chicken, don't forget to add some in the cavity and under the breast skin.

If using a beer can, drink about half the beer, add a garlic clove and some rub mix to the beer. Then carefully stand the chicken on top, using the legs to balance. If using a stand, put about half the beer in the middle liquid holder, and add 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, 1 clove of garlic & stir. Place chicken on top. Put the onion and remaining cloves of garlic in the top cavity of the chicken, just so it peeks out, don't shove it all the way.

My BBQ has three burners, I shut off the middle burner and put the chicken over that one, and cooked on indirect heat.

Toss the potatoes in some EVOO, garlic salt and pepper. Add to the grill (I had the tray area around the chicken that I used, but you could also slice them thinner and wrap in a foil packet and grill for 20-25 minutes)

Baste the chicken every 25 minutes or so with reserved BBQ sauce/beer - I mixed the remaining beer with about another 1/4 BBQ sauce. Turn the potatoes when basting the chicken.

Add some veggies (I used some red and green pepper, cherry tomatoes and red onions), I tossed in the same ingredients as the potatoes. You could also skewer them and put them over the direct heat, which should only take a few minutes.

With a few minutes remaining, I added some freshly chopped parsley to the potatoes.

Cook chicken till it reaches 180 degrees, about 1.5- 2 hours or so. Carefully remove the chicken, let sit for a few minutes, carve & enjoy!