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.

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.

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 

 

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Stout Cheesecake

 Dark chocolate cream cheese + raspberry filling + caramelized ginger snap crust + Feast of Fools by Magic Hat Brewing = YUM

I recently received a bottle of Feast of Fools from the ever so gracious Magic Hat Brewing. Although I was tempted to immediately drink the entire bottle of the raspberry stout, I knew I was supposed to be cooking with it. Of course, if you send beer I will cook with it but if you send a raspberry stout, it is truly hard to resist drinking too much. Luckily, I was able to suppress my urges until I came up with this cheesecake recipe. To be honest, this is literally the first cheesecake I have ever made. It might also be the last cheesecake I ever make since it is so damn good. How could something cooked with a raspberry stout not be good? It has a caramelized ginger snap crust and a raspberry filling to balance out the richness of the dark chocolate cream cheese. I’ll let you be the judge but I’m thinking this is a total WIN! Thanks Magic Hat for creating something so delicious as Feast of Fools!

 

 

Saison Stuffing

This creation lies somewhere in the realm between stuffing and bread pudding. With a heaping amount of eggplant and pancetta, it surely can be served as a main dish. If you’re beginning to look for a side dish for Thanksgiving, it will work for that too. Whatever the situation is, you have to make this recipe, especially if you’re obsessed with saisons like me. The zesty and peppery flavors of Saison #4 are the perfect addition to marry the rest of the ingredients together. The Saison Stuffing is one of my favorite recipes that I have come up with so far and will definitely become a regular meal in the Drink and Spoon household.

Passionate Risotto|PorchDrinking.com

“I haven’t cooked with beer in a while which is why all of my built up creativity exploded into this one recipe. Luckily, I didn’t spend my night slaving away in the kitchen for nothing – this meal turned out to be delightful. The Passionfruit Sour Ale by Breakside Brewing imparted a tangy flavor into the grains that integrated beautifully with the apples and goat cheese. The addition of blackberries and green onions took this dish to the next level. If you didn’t pick up on it from the name, this ‘passionate risotto’ is anything but boring.”

Find the rest of the recipe here: http://www.porchdrinking.com/cooking-beer-passionate-risotto/

 

 

Walnut Butter Cookies topped with Xocoveza Chocolate

As soon as the temperature outside starts getting cooler, my oven starts to warm up! Fall marks the beginning of cookie season and what better way to kick it off than with my new favorite beer by Stone Brewing Company, Xocoveza. This brew is a chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, chile pepper and coffee-infused milk stout. If this is hard to wrap your head around, just think about drinking a glass of chocolate gold. It really is that amazing. I’ve had other chocoloate-chile beers but none that compare to Xocoveza. I think the trick is that there isn’t an overpowering spiciness but rather just the wonderful flavors of the chiles minus the kick. Go find yourself a bottle to see what I’m talking about. If you can spare a little bit to cook with, try out these Walnut Butter Cookies that are topped with a Xocoveza Chocolate sauce. Please, don’t limit yourself to just topping cookies with this chocolate goodness – it would be great on ice cream, muffins, cupcakes, etc. You can thank me later.