Jax Molten Chocolate Cake

Sometimes it is really nice to take a break from thinking up new recipes. It is also really nice when other people send you theirs. This time around, I was asked to recreate this beautiful Molten Chocolate Cake (with a truffle center) from Chef Ricky Myers of Jax Fish House in Fort Collins and pair a few beers with it. Normally when I think of Jax Fish House, I’m craving their amazing oyster happy hour. As it turns out, they are great at cooking things other than fish, too. If you need proof, this recipe is it. Though I did manage to sneak a little beer into it, I also found that it pairs perfectly with quite a few different brews. For my dessert, I decided to go with the Imperial Java Stout by Santa Fe Brewing Company and even poured a 1/4 cup into the truffle center. This beer is named after coffee but I think it gives off more smooth chocolatey vibes rather than a bitter bite. Since the cake recipe has dark chocolate – which is on the bitter side – the beer paired with it like a match made in heaven. Other great pairings include: Dragon’s Milk by New Holland Brewing (if you want to double down on the richness), Vanilla Bean Buffalo Sweat by Tallgrass Brewing (if you want to keep things on the lighter side), and Shake Chocolate Porter  by Boulder Beer Company (if you’re addicted to chocolate).

What are you waiting for? It is almost Valentine’s Day which means you better get your butt to the grocery store so you can whip this chocolate goodness up for someone you love.

Apricot Sweet Chili Sauce : Dry Dock Brewing Collaboration

My lovely friends over at Dry Dock Brewing are preparing for the Super Bowl and they wanted to cook with beer. Luckily for me, they make so many amazing brews so it was easy to find one to incorporate into food: I went with the gold medal winning Apricot Blonde. To come up with a recipe, I figured out what a Dry Dock brewer craves for football munchies and this is what Doug Hyndman had to say:

“I certainly am a football watching fool. Wings and pizza are always a good fit with football. I’m also a big fan of bacon-wrapped jalapeños, and fried cheese curds would be sweet. Bison chile with habaneros…”

Doug, I’m sorry I won’t be cooking everything you want, but you will see some Doug-inspired recipes in the future. For now, I hope this recipe for Apricot Sweet Chili Sauce will suffice.

As for the Super Bowl, I don’t care who wins as long as its not the Patriots.

Birthday Macarons

Today the blog is one year old and as a (somewhat) gift to myself, I made macarons. This was a great gift because I love these amazing little French cookies but this gift was also a terror. After a year of cooking with beer, I’ve gained quite a bit of confidence in the kitchen although at times, it may be better labeled as hubris. For example, I told myself that I would be able to execute making macarons successfully on my first try. Ohhh no no no. I should’ve known these tiny devils were going to give me a hard time and totally mess up my kitchen. Nevertheless, I refused to give up and finally made perfect macarons on the third attempt (let’s not talk about what happened on the fourth). The end result was a chocolate filled dream.

Clearly there is a moral here and the moral is don’t give up. I want to say thank you to all my followers for not giving up on me during this year with Drink and Spoon. Like the first rounds of macarons, my first blog posts were messy and weird. The pictures were not good and half the time the recipes didn’t even include beer. Now, I can’t even belief some of the stuff I have been able to create. While there are still quite a few screw ups in the kitchen, Drink and Spoon has become something really great. Cheers to that.

Dragon’s Chili

Dragon’s Milk is a beer named after dragons. Dragons breathe fire. Fire is hot. Hot is another word for spicy. This pork green chili is spicy, therefore it must be Dragon’s Chili.

Also, the Super Bowl is coming up and it is time to get your chili game strong.

Beeracha (beer infused sriracha) Hummus

This recipe is a tagalong to my Beeracha post found here. It’s a healthy way to put this spicy condiment to use and I consider this hummus a staple item in my refrigerator. 

Ingredients: 

3 cans garbanzo beans, drained

2 lemons

2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size)

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup water

2- 5 tbsp Beeracha 

Directions: 

You only have to do one thing. Blend it all together! I started with 2 tbsp of Beeracha and it gave a nice background heat to the hummus. If you’re looking for more of a kick, you can drizzle some on top when it is finished or add a few more tablespoons into the blender. I suggest blending for 3 minutes to get a perfect creamy texture.

 

Brown Ale Marinara + Zucchini Lasagna

When one of your beautiful little angel friends comes back from abroad with a bottle of Danish beer….you cook with it. This is what I did when my good friend Meghan returned the to US with Bøgebryg Brown Ale. This beer is chock full of caramel malt flavors with a kick of smokiness, making it perfect for a marinara sauce. Since this recipe was so easy, I decided to turn it into two: Brown Ale Marinara and a zucchini lasagna that uses said marinara. Enjoy the meatiness below.

The Fast Fix: Beer Mac and Cheese Pie

This is the least homemade recipe I’ve every thrown together and I’m not ashamed. Sometimes I just don’t want to put in a ton of work, deal with it. At first, I was worried about sharing the recipe with you all but the more I thought about it, I realized that many of my followers would appreciate this easily made hunger fix. For those nights when you get home from work and just want to pig out on some comfort food, I present to you…drum roll, please….Beer Mac and Cheese Pie.

PorchDrinking.com | Religious Experience Cookies

 

Merry Christmas, y’all! Since the most celebrated religious holiday of the year is currently happening, I’ve decided to commemorate the occasion with a big batch of sweets. I don’t care if you’re spiritual or not, you’ll definitely be praying for more after you eat these Religious Experience Cookies. For this recipe, we’ve invited The Reverend by Avery Brewing to help us find salvation. With its caramel tasting malts and strong stone fruit flavors, it is the perfect way to marry two cookies into one giant sandwich. Happy holidays and enjoy your cookie feast!

For the recipe, visit the link below!

http://www.porchdrinking.com/cooking-beer-religious-experience-cookies/

Frambozen Beef Stew

Raspberry brown ale with beef ?!? Who would’ve thought those two ingredients could go together? Maybe they don’t, maybe you’ll just have to make the recipe and see…

But really, I wouldn’t dare trick you like that, nor would I trick myself. I make these recipes because I’m hungry and on this day, I was starving. As it is getting colder outside, I’ve transitioned my kitchen into a winter cooking sanctuary. This means you’ll find a Crock Pot, dutch oven, lots of baking sheets, and whatever else you need to make heaps of stews and cookies. I’ve also started to gravitate towards winter ingredients, hence the seasonal Frambozen by New Belgium and a few pounds of beef. This year’s Frambozen is slightly tangy, slightly sweet, and has just the right amount of raspberry with earthy undertones you’d expect from a brown ale. When you mix that goodness with some herbs and veggies, it creates a pretty damn delicious stew.

Chocolate Pretzel Pie | PorchDrinking.com

“As the days grow shorter and we get closer to Thanksgiving, the need for pie recipes becomes vitally important. During this glorious time of year, it becomes socially acceptable to eat pie at all times of day and as many times a day as you damn well please. So to keep with the spirit of things and kick off your pie binge early, I have brought you a Cappuccino Stout Chocolate Pie with a Pretzel Shortbread Crust. To keep it short, let’s call it the Chocolate Pretzel Pie….”

To read the rest of this article and get the recipe, head over to PorchDrinking.com