Je Mange la Ville » Beer

Not Really So Texas-Style Chili

mlb — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:05:08 +0000

I love this chili! I’ve made it twice in the past month. It’s really good…not mouth-burningly spicy (but it has a kick), very complex and if you are not from Texas, it’s perfectly appropriate to add beans, imho. Hooray! If you want your chili all meaty and Texas-like, just increase the meat to 3 pounds and loose the beans. How you prefer your chili is between you and your kitchen, that’s what I say. This is just how I like it.

The second time I made it, I actually grabbed a boneless rib eye steak from Trader Joe’s, cubed that up and used that for the meat. I think it was about $5 and I liked that better than the $12 worth of short ribs I used originally. Go figure.

Oh and this leftover chili makes EPIC NACHOS. Seriously. Just load some tortilla chips up on a baking sheet. Scatter some spoonfuls of (warmed up) chili on top, add cheese and diced red onions and stick in a 400 degree oven until the cheese melts and the chip get a little golden. Wow. Yeah. You’re welcome.

Portland-Style Chili with Beer, Coffee & Chocolate
Adapted from a recipe in Food & Wine Magazine
2 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded
About 2 cups boiling water
1-2 canned chipotles in adobo, seeded
1 cup brewed coffee (Stumptown! or in this case, Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters from Cannon Beach)
One 12-ounce bottle pale ale (Bridgeport Ebenezer Ale because it was festive!)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb boneless short ribs, cut into scant 1-inch cubes (or 1lb stew beef, or 1lb other kind of red meaty steak-like substance)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
6 cups chicken stock
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup masa harina or fine cornmeal
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Garnishes: hot sauce, Shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, sour cream, cilantro, warm corn tortillas

Heat a large skillet. Add the dried chiles (I actually stemmed/seeded after toasting) and toast over moderately low heat, turning, until lightly charred, about 4 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a heatproof bowl. Cover with the boiling water and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes.

Drain the chiles and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add the chipotles and coffee and puree until smooth.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Season the meat with salt and pepper and add the pot. Cook over moderately high heat until browned all over, about 8 minutes. If you are using 3 pounds of meat, you’ll have to brown in batches.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cloves and cook until fragrant.

Deglaze the pan with the beer. Then, add the chile mixture and the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, stirring. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until the meat is very tender and the sauce is slightly reduced, about 2 hours.

Ladle 2 cups of the sauce into a heatproof bowl and whisk in the masa harina.

Whisk the mixture into the pot and then add the beans. Simmer until the sauce thickens, 15 minutes. Stir in the chocolate.

Season the chili with salt. Serve with the garnishes. Even better the next day!

Chicken Braised in Beer (Coq à la Bière)

mlb — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:12:08 +0000

This makes a very good weekend meal. There are a lot of steps and ingredients but it is so worth it in the end (like a lot of long-cooking, multi-stepped recipes). It’s very similar to coq au vin, but with beer (duh). Use a good dark beer, Belgian-style if you’ve got it. I used half belgian, half regular dark. Four cups is about 2.5 bottles of beer, so you’ll have half a beer to drink while you start cooking. So, bonus points there.

Let’s see, what else? We had this with crusty bread but you could also add polenta or noodles to serve it over. I added garlic to this and subbed pancetta for the bacon but that’s about it. Oh yeah, I didn’t have leek leaves. Skipped that and added some rosemary sprigs to my bouquet garni instead.

This recipe is from the awesome cookbook, “French Farmhouse Cookbook,” and is the same cookbook with the walnut chicken recipe. That is pretty much my most favorite chicken recipe ever.

From the Aix-lea-Orchies villiage in France, right near the Belgian border. Hence the beer. Speaking of, a good dark beer works for well for drinking with this meal. We cracked open some Chimay Bleue.

Chicken Braised in Beer (Coq à la Bière)
Ever-so-slightly adapted from the French Farm House Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis
2 tbsp olive oil, more as needed
1 large chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds; 1 3/4 to 2 kg), cut into 8 pieces (or buy an already cut-up chicken — 2 breast pieces, 2 wings with portion of breast attached, 2 legs, 2 thighs), excess fat removed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, cut in half, then in very thin crosswise slices
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups dark beer
1 bouquet garni (5 parsley stems, 3 imported bay leaves, 2 green leek leaves, 12 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together, in cheesecloth if desired) — I skipped the leek leaves, added rosemary

For the garnishes:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
40 pearl onions, peeled
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (250 ml) chicken or roasted vegetable stock
1/2 lb bacon or pancetta
1 lb button mushrooms, brushed clean and cut into quarters
1/2 cup (loosely packed) curly parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
Thyme sprigs for garnish

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces, season them with salt and pepper, and cook on one side until the skin turns an even golden brown, about 5 minutes. (Do not crowd the pan; brown the chicken in several batches if necessary.)

Carefully regulate the heat to avoid scorching the skin. Then turn the pieces, season again with salt and pepper, and brown on that side, 5 minutes.

Remove the chicken pieces from the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, and add the sliced onions and garlic (adding more oil if needed to keep them from sticking). Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook, stirring, until the flour has absorbed much of the cooking juices and has a chance to cook, at least 2 minutes.

Then return the chicken to the skillet, add the beer and the bouquet garni, stir, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and cook, partially covered, at a lively simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce and return the sauce to a boil. Reduce it by half, until it has thickened to the consistency of thin gravy, 5 to 8 minutes.

Return the chicken to the sauce, and remove the skillet from the heat; set it aside. (The chicken can be prepared up to this point a day ahead. Refrigerate it, covered. The following day, skim off any fat that has congealed on the surface, if desired. Reheat, covered, over medium-low heat.)

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the garnish: Melt the butter in a medium-size heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pearl onions, season lightly with salt and pepper, and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, reduce the heat to medium, and cook at a lively simmer, shaking the pan occasionally so the onions cook evenly, until they are tender through and the stock has neatly evaporated, about 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Cut the bacon or pancetta into small cubes. Brown it in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon or spatula and set it aside on a plate.

Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until they begin to give up their liquid, are slightly golden, and are nearly tender through, about 5 minutes. Season generously with pepper, and remove from the heat.

Add mushrooms, the bacon, and the pearl onions, along with any juices to the chicken, and gently mix them in. Either transfer to a large warmed serving platter (one with edges, so the juice won’t run off) or serve directly from the cooking pot.

Garnish with the parsley, if desired, and serve immediately.

The Big Chicken Chili

mlb — Tue, 23 May 2006 02:31:08 +0000

Last week, I caught The Big Chili episode of Good Eats and I remembered again why I love Alton Brown so much. I laughed so hard in so many spots in this episode — and the chili looked pretty good too. It’s the best kind of Good Eats episode as well, with characters, costumes, accents and a plot! Whee!

From the episode, while buying ingredients at the store

Grumpy Gus the Cowboy (played by AB): Well, there it is, Rusty. It’s the secret ingredient of lazy chili chefs everywhere. Now you could go spending an hour slicing and dicing various vegetation. But I say why not just crack open the lid on your favorite hot salsa? This here is my favorite. It’s made in New York City, so you know it’s good.

Rusty: Imported!

Grumpy Gus: That’s right, imported.

Ha! But hey, that’s a great idea. Salsa in chili. The original recipe is here — check it out and try it sometime. Instead of making that exact recipe, though, I opted to just use just a few of AB’s ideas in my chili because, well, I kind of like to fancify my chili with beans, various vegetation and things of that nature. Sorry, Alton.

I used chicken breast instead of stew meat (so it took less time and I didn’t need a pressure cooker). I also added some canned tomatoes, I diced an onion, and added the aforementioned beans. But no tofu. Yee-haw.

Big Chicken Chili
1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
1 tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable, peanut or canola oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 white onion, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/2 bottle ale (I used a Newcastle we had in the fridge)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 chipotle pepper with 1 tsp adobo sauce
10-15 crushed tortilla chips
1 16 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup salsa — any kind you like (I used my Charred Tomato Salsa Borracho, because I had some leftover — buy hey, store-bought works fine!)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Garnishes: Cilantro, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped tomato, avocado

Add the tablespoon of oil to a heavy soup pot and brown the chicken (in batches if needed). Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the other teaspoon of oil and add the onions, bell pepper, chili powder and cumin. Sauté until the vegetables are soft and the spices are fragrant — about 3-4 minutes.

Add half a beer (“middle of the road ale”) — drink the rest. Not all at once, while you finish the chili, Rusty! Use the cooking-beer to deglaze the pot. Use the drinking-beer to refresh your parched throat. Then add the salsa, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and chipotle and adobo. Stir. Add the chicken back into the pot and crush the tortilla chips on top. Give it another good stir.

Cover and simmer your chili for about 30 minutes, stirring every so often.

Give it a taste and adjust any seasonings. Add the frozen corn kernels and the beans. Simmer for about 10 more minutes and then grab a spoon! It’s done.

As far as garnishes go, I like cilantro, cheddar cheese and sour cream. But other “possible service options” include avocado, chopped tomato and olives. Quail eggs? Not so much.

Lamb Stew with Guinness & Roasted Vegetables

mlb — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 15:27:19 +0000

It was the day before Saint Patrick’s Day and I was hunting for a good recipe to make for dinner. Something timely. Something festive. Something with beer! I’d never made lamb stew before but I wanted to try it. I came across this recipe at the Food Network site and it looked very interesting, as I love roasted vegetables. Oh and Guinness? Well, okay then!

For this recipe lamb shoulder is the best. When I went to Zupan’s, they didn’t have any of this. The meat guy said that lamb leg meat would work for a stew and, while I browsed the aisles looking at the tasty things, he cut a pound of it up into 1-inch cubes for me. I have no idea if he was actually knowledgeable about what a good substitution for the lamb shoulder would be but I believed him. So, I guess, try to find lamb shoulder and if that fails, ask the person behind the meat counter what to use instead.

I halved the recipe, so as listed below it will feed 3-4 people. Double it up for double the servings.

Lamb Stew with Guinness & Roasted Vegetables
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound lamb shoulder, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (or lamb leg meat)
Salt
2 leeks, cleaned and sliced
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup flour
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup Guinness stout
1.5 cups beef stock
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 1/2 lb)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (about a 1/2 lb)
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (about 1 lb)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, plus 2 tsp chopped
1/2 cup peas, (fresh or frozen)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Salt and pepper the lamb lightly and when the oil is hot, add the lamb and brown evenly.

Remove the lamb from the pot and set aside. Add the leeks and mushrooms — sauté until soft. Add the butter and melt. Add the flour to make a roux. Turn the heat down to low, and cook the roux until it is evenly brown, about 10-15 minutes.

Whisk in the beer and stock. Add the tomatoes and the reserved lamb, bring to a simmer, and cover. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. I stirred the stew occasionally and in doing so got a face full of steam. It smelled really, really good.

While the lamb mixture is simmering, combine the parsnips, carrots, potatoes and garlic in a large bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper and rosemary sprigs. Place the vegetables in a roasting pan and roast in a 400-degree oven for 45 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, turn the vegetables over and shake the pan a bit. When done, set aside, discarding rosemary sprigs. Some of the leaves will fall of the stem, that’s fine — just leave those with the vegetables.

After the stew’s 1 1/2 hours of simmering is done, add the roasted vegetables and the peas to the lamb mixture.

Cook for 10 minutes, then add the chopped rosemary. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with buttered and parsley-ed noodles. I used the no-yolk variety — proceed as you wish. If you can get your hands on some fresh noodles or pappardelle well, that’d work just fine.

To set a mood, perhaps put on some U2 or some Pogues or a little Damien Rice. Then, dish your stew into a bowl, on top of whatever noodle you can procure and enjoy.

jwa and I both enjoyed this and the sauce that all the beer and stock and lamb fat made was just delicious. Mmmmm…lamb fat.

Stout Brasied Maple & Rosemary Skirt Steak

mlb — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 16:16:33 +0000

Holy hell in a humongous handbag this was good. And it really started as an accident. See, I went to New Seasons to pick up some tuna for dinner. They had none. As I perused the meat/poultry/seafood area in search of something tasty, my eye caught the word “rosemary”.

Now, I love rosemary, so I continued reading — Maple Rosemary Skirt Steak the sign said. Whaaaaaaa? Maple and rosemary? Together? Well, okay then.

I made my purchase and brought two of the skirt steaks home.

They were rolled up and secured with a skewer, drizzlets of marinade clinging to the meat. I stored them in the fridge and then tried to find out what in the world to do with skirt steak, ie: how to cook it. After some Internet sleuthing, I discovered that grilling and braising are the best ways to cook skirt steak. Of the two methods, the braising seemed the most appealing, as the steaks were already rolled up in these cute ittle rounds, I hadn’t done a lot of braising before and it just seemed….well…fun.

My next decision was what to braise in. Wine or beer seemed to be the most popular choices by far. Works for me. Because of the maple in the marinade, which seemed like it might clash with the wine, I chose beer. And one of the best things about cooking with beer? The leftovers.

If you are lucky to live near a New Seasons or some other market that sells maple and rosemary marinated skirt steak rounds, there you go. If not, I found this marinade recipe online that sounded kind of interesting.

Marinade:
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Combine all ingredients in a zip lock bag. Add rolled up and secured skirt steak and marinade overnight. Remove steaks from bag and discard remaining marinade. Now we can all start on the same page.

Stout Braised Maple & Rosemary Skirt Steak
2 maple-rosemary marinated skirt steaks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bottle of stout
1/4 cup beef stock
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start by heating an oven proof pan over high heat. Add a little olive oil, salt and pepper the steaks lightly (there’s soy in the marinade which is pretty salty, remember) and sear the steaks 2 minutes or so on one side. Flip over and add the mushrooms and garlic cloves to the pot. Let steaks sear on second side for about 2 minutes as well. Remove pan from heat.

Pour stout in the pan until almost halfway up the steaks. Drink leftover beer. Add the stock next and then place the rosemary sprig on top. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. At this point, I took the pot out, turned the steaks over, recovered and baked for 45 more minutes. Now, I’m not sure if I was supposed to uncover and flip, but it seemed like a good idea. Perhaps, that just let heat escape and hurt my braise. I don’t know but in the end, it worked out just fine.

After a total of about 1 1/2 hours cooking time, remove the meat to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Discard rosemary twig. Place pot of stout on the stove top and bring to a boil. Let it reduce and make a sauce, until it thickens enough to leave a nice trail from whatever you are stirring with.

Serve each steak topped with the mushroom-stout sauce and perhaps some rice pilaf and asparagus. This bears repeating — it was so good. I’m especially pleased as I completely just winged that whole thing. I know hardly nothing about cooking red meat and I had never really braised anything before. This could easily have been a complete disaster. So, I’m considering this a happy, delicious accident. The meat was all tender and moist inside and the sauce was just amazing. I think the garlic cloves actually melted into the sauce.

Stout. Is there anything it can’t do?