Cooking with Beer Wednesday - Beer Braised Irish stew w/ Colcannon

Beer Braised Beef - always a good start!Cooking with beer.  Just makes you feel good to hear those words to start a post doesn’t it?  This week I turned to AllRecipes.com for inspiration, and found a new go-to dish.  I modified this recipe to make it gluten-free by using a gluten-free beer from 10Barrels brewing, and using an all-purpose gluten free flour mix from Bob’s Red mill.  The only other change I made was to use red potatoes instead of russets.  

Recipe is here for you to give it a try!  The beef was as tender as anything I’ve ever made, it almost melts in your mouth. The Colcannon was what made this meal interesting.  The little bit of crunch and slight bite from the cabbage and the richness of the bacon really kicked up the mashed potatoes.  I had never heard of Colcannon before, but even the kids agreed it was great.  I may never make mashed potatoes any other way again.  

A nice big plate of Fat Boy Heaven right here!

Bacon, Bourbon, and Beef - It's Bacon night!

OK, as I said earlier today, I have decided that Thursday will be Bacon night from now on.  So to kick it off, I went all out today.

Bacon and Beef Meatloaf

Bacon and Burger Meatloaf

2 lbs. 85/15 Ground Beef

1 lb Bacon (roughly cut)

1 medium onion, diced

3 tbs. Worshtishire Sauce

1 tbs. minced garlic

1 cup Oatmeal

2 eggs

 

1.  Start by cooking the bacon in a saute pan untill cooked to desired color.  Set Bacon aside to cool.

2.  Saute the onion in the bacon grease, then remove, draining the fat.

3.  Mix all the ingredients together and put into loaf pan.

4.  Cook at 350 for 60-70 minutes until internal temp exceeds 170

 

Candied Bacon Yams

Candied Bacon Yams

Ingredients:

5 large yams

1 lb Thick sliced bacon

1/4 cup Brown sugar

1/2 stick butter

1.  OK, the first step here is to candy the bacon.  Lay the slices on a cookie sheet, then sprinkle with the brown sugar.  Bake at 350 until bacon is a golden brown (20-25 minutes).

2.  Let bacon cool, and then crumble.

3.  Peel the yams and cut into medium sized chunks

4.  Boil yams until fork tender

5.  Drain

6.  return to heat, adding bacon and butter

Gluten-Free Bacon Bourbon BowniesGluten-Free Bacon Bourbon Brownies

Ingredients:

1 pkg Betty Crocker Gluten Free fudge brownie mix

1/2 lb. Bacon

4 tbs. Bourbon

1 egg

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Fry bacon and then crumble.

3.  Add bacon crumbles (with grease), Brownie Mix, and all other ingredients to bowl and mix well.

4. Spread (mixture will be pretty thick) mixture into 9x9 pan.

5. Bake for 23-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean from the center.

 

Cooking with Beer: 15 Bean Cajun soup with Ham Shanks

A nice soup on a cold wintery day can be just the thing.  One of my favorites is a nice thick 15 Bean soup. Hurst’s Hambeens Cajun 15 Bean Soup can be found with the other beans and legumes at most grocery stores.  I love their flavor, and the great mix of beans they provide.  I also found when I first started cooking that their recipes on the back were great for making sure the soup came out perfect every time.

I started today by soaking the beans in water for 7 hours.  The longer you let them soak, the better and faster they cook.  Keep this in mind if you want to cook them in the crock-pot.  Leaving them to soak overnight before turning on the crock-pot in the morning will give you perfect beans every time.

Once I had drained the water from off of the beans (trust me, never use the liquid you soaked them in to cook them), I added them to the pot.  At this point the standard recipe and I diverge in the wood.  Hambeens recipe calls for just 2 quarts of water.  I prefer a thicker, more flavorful soup, so I used 2 bottles of Henry Winehard’s India Pale Ale, and 2 cups of beef stock.

To this I add the included seasoning packet, 3 tbs. of Garlic Powder, 2 tsp. black pepper, and 2 tsp. Lowery’s Seasoning Salt.

I then add 2 Large Ham shanks.  I prefer the shank to the hock as it has more meat, and seems to have less salt.  You could also brown some cajun sausage links or the like here for different flavor profiles.

Bring the soup to a rapid boil for 3-5 minutes, then turn to low and let it cook.  After about 2 hours, here is what it looks like:

Enjoy!

Sausage and Polenta Pie

I saw a great recipe for Sausage and Polenta Pie in a rundown of the best gluten-free winter recipes yesterday, and we thought we’d give it a try.

The classic combination of Sausage and Peppers never loses it’s appeal. However, the twist of adding polenta to the top I find much better than the typical bread it is paired with in typical sandwiches.  The creamy and cheesy polenta makes a great counter-point to the spice and earthiness of the sausage and peppers.  A great meal, all in one dish.

Give this one a try the next time you are looking for a healthy alternative to a classic.

Drunken Plum Pudding - Just like Grandma's!

Merry Christmas everyone! First out of the oven today, Drunken Plum Pudding, just like Grandma Shute made me every year for Christmas.

Here's how you do it:

12 tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. stewed plums or prunes (stew in 1 c. American Whiskey until liquid is absorbed)

1 1/2 c. buttermilk baking mix
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 lg. egg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 x 1 1/2-inch round pan melt 6 tbs. butter in oven. Sprinkle the brown sugar in butter to dissolve. Spread the plums in the mixture. If the plums seem dry, add 1 to 3 tablespoons of the liquor.

Beat the remaining ingredients on low speed for 30 seconds, while scraping the bowl. Then beat on medium for 4 minutes. Pour carefully over the fruit, without displacing the fruit.

Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a wooden pick comes out of the center clean. Immediately invert onto heatproof serving plate, while leaving pan in place for 3-5 minutes. Remove pan before it gets cool so that the caramelized topping won't stick to the pan, just like you would an upside-down cake.