With IPA Day coming August 2nd, I thought I’d re-share one of Goran’s recipes that uses an IPA as a base. Be sure to follow him and his blog on twitter: @cookingwthgormo
–Luis

Hello,
As we continue to embark on a journey with beer recipes, I thought about combining another favorite ingredient that I love to cook with (Bacon). In this post, we will be making a Bacon and IPA Spaghetti sauce. Many of you will wonder what the actual taste will be. I will give you a little hint: it will all depend on what kind of beer you will be using while making the sauce. Think of the beer as the foundation for the sauce. If you start with a not so good flavored beer, do not expect any miracles in the end. You have been warned. The beer I choose today is coming from the Tenaya Creek Brewery. The name of the beer is Monsoon IPA. The beer is light amber in color, full bodied and well hopped. Perfect for this recipe!

On to the cooking now!

Yield: 2 QT

Ingredients:

• 4 ea slices of Bacon
• 4 ea medium Onions, chopped
• 2 ea cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 lb Beef, ground
• 1 c Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 6 oz Mushroom, sliced from a can
• 12 oz Monsoon IPA Tenaya Creek Brewery
• 6 oz Tomato Paste
• 1 t Salt
• 1/2 t Tabasco Sauce
• 1 1/3 c Tomato Puree

Preparation:

1. Fry Bacon until crisp; drain. Remove Bacon from the skillet.
2. To the Bacon fat add Onions and Garlic. Sauté until golden. Add ground Beef and Cheese. Stir often. Cook until the meat is brown.
3. Add Beer and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the Tomato Paste, Salt, Tabasco, Worcestershire, Oregano and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add Tomato Puree, Mushrooms and Bacon.
6. Continue cooking until thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

Note:

Please keep in mind, as I have stated in my previous post, when it comes to the beer recipes, I will try to keep the recipe as straightforward and as simple as possible. You can add additional flavor to the sauce by adding Basil and Parsley to the recipe. I also recommend adding just a pinch of Sugar when making any kind of Tomato sauce. It helps fight the acidity of the tomato.

The finished product should look like this:

When someone tastes the dish I prepare and when I educate them that there is alcohol in the dish, people usually just shrug it off and say “It’s alcohol, it has evaporated.” Well, that is true up to a certain point. You see, depending on the cooking method and for how long you cook a dish, it will greatly impact the remaining percentage of the alcohol. With that being said, it does not mean that you will get drunk if you consume a dish that has been prepared with alcohol.

This is very important to know, especially if you are dealing with people who have allergies or have just recently stopped drinking due to health issues.

Let’s look at this chart which will explain what exactly I am trying to explain here:

When looking at the chart, what does this mean? It’s very simple. Cooking methods that include short and quick cooking, obviously retains the most alcohol. The common misconception that I have seen among people is that if you flambé something, most of the alcohol is gone.

If you are not familiar with the term flambé allow me to explain it. It is a cooking procedure which involves a hot pan and high proof alcohol. Once you combine the two you create a burst of flames. Flambé is usually done at table sides in a restaurant for the wow effect and also for additional flavor. Flambéing can infuse a dish with additional aroma and flavor, while burning off some of the alcohol content. Granted this cannot be accomplished with beer.

So what about beer? What happens if you make that stew with beer? How does that affect the overall taste?

Stew is a combination of solid ingredients that have been cooked in a liquid and the overall dish is served with the cooking liquid. There are many ingredients that stew can include (vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood), and also the cooking liquid does not have to include water, necessarily. Some of the acceptable ingredients are wine, stock and also beer. While the stews are cooked on a low temperature for a long time, this allows the flavors to become richer. Do not forget that also less percentage of the alcohol will be retained in the final dish.

Every once in a while I make a beer ice cream. What about that? how does the alcohol affect the taste of the ice cream?

Granted the beer is cooked for about 10 minutes on a medium heat on the stove, but if you look at the chart, that means that approximately 40% of the alcohol content remained in the final product.

Since I can keep on rambling about this subject all day long, let me conclude this post for now. What am I trying to say in the end? Inform your guests of the ingredients you have used in your dishes, just in case someone is allergenic to something. Just because you have “cooked” the alcohol, it does not mean that it is all gone. Help spread the word and when someone tells you next time that the alcohol is evaporated, please correct them. There are lots of misconceptions about food going around. Especially when you combine alcohol!

Hello,

Today we will be Tiramisu with a twist. Instead of using Rum and Espresso we will be using Beer Geek Breakfast. You can find the review on the beer in the previous post on HookedOnHops.com

On to Cooking!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c Cold Heavy Cream
• 2 ea Eggs
• 1 c Confectioner’s Sugar
• 2 1/2 t Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 ea (8 oz) Tubs Mascarpone Cheese at toom temperature.
• 2 c Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
• 40 ea Ladyfinger Cookies
• 1/2 c Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Preparation:

1. In a chilled bowl, whip the Cream until stiff peaks form, making sure not to overbeat. Cover the bowl when done and set it aside in the refrigerator.
2. In another bowl, beat Eggs and Salt until the volume doubles and the color lightens. Add the Sugar, Vanilla and Mascarpone. Mix gently until incorporated.
3. Fold in the whipped cream and then set aside in the refrigerator.
4. In a shallow dish quickly dunk both sides of the Ladyfingers. Arrange them in a single layer in an 8 inch square dish.
5. Spread the layer of Mascarpone mixture over the Ladyfingers. Sprinkle on a liberal amount of cocoa using a fine mesh sieve. Repeat the layers, using all the Ladyfingers and Mascarpone mixture, and generously dusting with Cocoa again.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes:

Beeramisu will keep covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

The final product will look like this:

Hello,

Today we continue with our journey of beer pairing with food. For today’s edition we are making a delicious soup which just screams for attention. Once you have a spoonful, I guarantee you, you will be back for more.

With that in mind, let us begin!

Ingredients:

• 2 T Butter
• 2 T Olive Oil
• 4 ea Large Red Onions, sliced
• 2 ea Garlic cloves, chopped
• 2-3 ea Sage Leaves, torn plus extra for garnish
• 2 ea Thyme Sprigs, leaves from it
• 1 c Draught Guinness
• 4 c Chicken Stock
• 2 t Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 T Brown Sugar
• 6 ea Sourdough Bread, slices
• 1 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a heavy saucepan. Add the Onions, Garlic and Herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over a low heat for 40 minutes until the onions are silky and translucent.
2. Stir in the Guinness, Stock, Worcestershire sauce, and Sugar. Bring in to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes until the soup has reduced slightly and developed a rich, deep flavor.
3. Meanwhile, toast the bread slices lightly on both sides under a preheated medium broiler. Cut the bread in desired shape. Pile each one with some cheese, then return to the broiler and cook until the cheese has melted.
4. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, float the toasted cheese bread on top, and garnish with a few sage leaves.

The finished product will look like this (depending on how you garnish it!):

Hello,

I have recently became a contributor to this blog. This is the my first post. I will be posting many recipes in the future that include beer as one of the ingredients. Please do not be shy as far as leaving any feedback. I will be also very happy to answer any questions you may have.

For this recipe I have decided to use the Imperial Stout beer from Tenaya Creek Brewery from Las Vegas, Nevada after our recent trip there. The stout has Chocolate, Roasted and Black malts making this a very thick and flavorful beer. It is definitely one of my top favorite beers out there.

Please keep in mind that, for this recipe, I have decided to keep it very simple and also due to the fact that I would like everyone to be able to make this cake, I have taken lots of shortcuts. There is a long way of doing this (which will yield an even better result), but I guarantee you, I would have lost you half way throughout the recipe. Anywho, I implemented the K.I.S.S method (Keep it simple, stupid).

On to the recipe now!

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 ea (14.5-oz) Gingerbread Cake mix packages
• 2 ea large eggs
• 2 3/4 c Imperial Stout Tenaya Creek beer, room temperature (1 bottle)
• 1/2 c Butter, softened
• 1 ea (16 oz) package Powdered Sugar
• Garnishes

Preparation:

1. Stir together gingerbread cake mix, eggs and 2 1/2c Imperial Stout beer.
2. Pour the batter evenly into 2 lightly greased cake pans
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the toothpick is clean once inserted into the center of the cake. Cool the cake on the rack for 1 hour or until completely cool.
4. Beat the softened butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the sugar and the 1/4c Imperial Stout beer gradually.Beat until light and fluffy.
5. Spread the Buttercream between the layers and on the top of the cake.
6. Garnish the cake

Note:

Keep in mind that you can use plenty of things for garnish. I have decided to go for roasted Pecans this time. Make sure you toast them in the over at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Be careful and do not burn the nuts.

The finished product will look like this: