Rosemary Ranch Chicken & Dark Lager

Rosemary Ranch Chicken
Servings – 2

• ¼ c olive oil
• ¼ c sour cream
• 1 T ranch seasoning (can use bottle ranch in place of seasoning and sour cream)
• ½ T chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 t dried)
• ½ T fresh thyme (or 1 t dried)
• Couple splashes of Worcestershire
• Couple splashes apple cider vinegar
• Dash Salt
• Dash Pepper
• 1 Chicken Breast – cubed into 1 inch pieces

1. Mix together first 10 ingredients in plastic bag
2. Add chicken breast, marinade at least 30 minutes, longer the better
3. Put chicken onto skewers
4. Grill about 4 minutes each side until cooked through

I served this with brown rice cooked in chicken stock and green beans flavored with thyme, rosemary, salt and red pepper flakes. This has a strong earthy flavor. I wouldn’t normally pair the following beer with a chicken, but the strong flavors stand up well here.

One of the best holiday ales I have ever had is a local beer, Rahr & Sons Winter Warmer, an English Style Dark Lager. Rahr & Sons is out of Fort Worth Texas. One of these I will actually get over there for a tour. This is a great beer to sip while enjoying a holiday meal. It is definitely rich, but well rounded. There is mild bitterness, but mostly it is smooth and malty.

Potato Pancakes (Latkes), Apple Sauce & Pale Ale

Potato Pancakes
Servings – 2

• 1 large or 2 small potatoes peeled and shredded
• 1 T onion powder (or half an onion shredded)
• 1 T flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 T vegetable oil

1. Mix together shredded potato, onion, flour, and yolk in bowl
2. Put mixture into wire strainer and push out extra moisture
3. Heat oil over medium heat, wait a few minutes to warm
4. Create small patties with potato mixture and place into hot oil
5. Let latkes cook for about 3-4 minutes, flip
6. Cook about 3-4 minutes until brown on both sides
7. Remove latkes to paper towel lined plate to drain access oil
8. Dust with salt while still warm

Apple Sauce
Servings – 2

• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1 t apple pie spice (or any combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice)
• 1 t brown sugar (if desired – I leave this out its sweet enough as is for me)

1. Add apple and a few tablespoons of water to a sauce pan
2. Add to stove top and bring water to a boil
3. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes
4. Add spice and sugar to pot
5. Using potato masher, smash apples, cook longer if not tender enough or if mixture is too watery
6. Refrigerate apple sauce once mashed, best if served cold

During Hanukkah this year as I often do, I celebrate in the one way I know how, with food. I grew up eating potato pancakes and absolutely love them and they are always best made at home. I don’t use the shredded onions because my husband and I don’t like them, but it is the right way to include them. It is also proper to add some schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) to the oil when frying the potato pancakes, but I never have it on hand. You can also serve with sour cream but I love the sweet and savory combination with the apple sauce. I started making my own apple sauce because this is the only time of year I eat it and I never have apple sauce on hand but I always have apples. When you make it once, you will never go back to store bought, homemade apple sauce is easy and very delicious. The key here is to squeeze out the extra moisture before frying. Also, eat the potato pancakes immediately after making, they are the best warm with a little dollop of apple sauce on top.

The Jewish side of my family are not big drinkers, so I usually don’t have these with beer. However, a lot of fried foods go great with pale ales. The oil, salt and sweetness from the apple sauce goes great with a simple slightly hoppy pale ale. I chose the Diamond Bear Pale Ale. Diamond Bear Brewing Company is based out of Little Rock, Arkansas. This beer is great with its hoppiness balanced with buttery caramel and toasted malt. This pairs even better as it has a speck of nutmeg echoed in the applesauce.

Haddock with Mango Rum Sauce & Summer Ale

Haddock with Mango Rum Sauce
Servings – 2

• 2 – 4 oz pieces of Haddock (I chose Haddock because it was on sail but any mild white fish will do)
• 1 Mango – peeled and chopped
• ¼ c good white Rum (after my time in the US Virgin Islands, I recommend Cruzan)
• ½ lime – juiced and zested
• ½ lemon – juiced and zested
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 t apple pie spice (or any combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, and all spice)
• 1 t cornstarch
• 1 t grated ginger (or ground ginger if you don’t have fresh on hand, but use about half as much)
• Dash of salt

1. Add all ingredients except fish to food processor
2. Pulse until smooth
3. Add to sauce pan and simmer about 5 minutes
4. In the mean time, salt and pepper the haddock on both sides
5. Grill haddock, about 3 minutes each side (can also plan fry)
6. Top each fish with half of the sauce

This recipe was inspired by our honeymoon in St John. We ate at a delicious restaurant called Morgans Mangoes and I knew I had to try to duplicate the sauce. This sauce would be great on a lot of different fish as well as chicken and pork. I served this with a cilantro lime rice and a citrus salad. A delicious combination that took us back to the virgin islands in the middle of winter.

This recipe would be great paired with a tropical cocktail, but of course I am going to go with a beer. I am recommending a pairing, that would be perfect but is very hard to find in the states. However, I am still recommending it so you are aware of it if you ever make it to the Caribbean.

St. John’s has their very own brewery. Now, this place not only makes great beer but they have a tasting room with a restaurant on the island. The bar food is awesome and its one of the only places on the island that’s air conditioned. So in my book its 100% worth a visit. My favorite beer by the St John Brewers is also a great light, sweet pairing here. It’s the Tropical Mango. They call it an Island Summer Ale and it’s everything you could want in a beer on a tropical island. Refreshing with a sweet mango finish.

Thai Steak Salad & IPA

Thai Steak Salad
Servings - 2

Marinade
• ½ T garlic
• 2 t onion powder
• 1 dried lemon grass chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/3 cup of fresh mint
• 1/3 cup of lime juice (about 4 limes for me)
• 2 T fish sauce
• 1 t sweet chili sauce
• 3 T sugar/splenda
• 6-8 oz steak (I used sirloin)

Dressing
• 1 T rice vinegar
• 1 T sweet chili sauce
• Dash sugar/Splenda
• Dash garlic powder
• Dash onion powder
• Dash salt
• Dash pepper

Salad
• 4 large handfuls of lettuce
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 T mint
• 1 T cilantro

1. In bowl, mix together garlic, onion powder, lemon grass, cilantro, mint, lime juice, fish sauce, sweet chili sauce and sugar. Add to ziplock bag with steak. Marinade at least 3 hours.
2. In small sauce pan combine dressing ingredients, and heat until combined
3. Grill steak, about 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare, let steak rest several minutes
4. Split lettuce between two plates
5. Top with cucumber, mint, cilantro, and dressing
6. Finally, slice and top with steak

This is a very flavorful salad and hearty enough for a main dish. Since this is so flavorful, you want a flavorful beer to stand up to it. I chose an IPA, Frye’s Leap IPA, made by Sebago Brewing Company out of Maine, where they have four locations. This has a big aroma and a big flavor. As with IPAs, there are a lot of hops, but balanced with caramel malts and grapefruit. The citrus here plays off well with the citrus of the steak marinade.

Chicken Pad See Ew & Lager

Chicken Pad See Ew
Servings - 2

• 8 ounces of flat noodles box
• 1 T peanut oil
• 1 T garlic
• 1 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 t brown sugar
• 1 t sweet chili sauce
• 1 T fish sauce
• 1 t cornstarch
• 2 handfuls, fresh baby spinach (could use broccolini, broccoli or Chinese broccoli as well)
• 1 egg, beaten
• Dash of red pepper flakes

1. Bring large sauce pan to boil, add noodles. Cook about 5 minutes until a little tougher then al dente.
2. Heat oil in skillet. Add garlic and chicken and cook until chicken is cooked through about 5-10 minutes.
3. While chicken is cooking add soy sauce, sugar, chili sauce, fish sauce and cornstarch to sauce pan. Cook about 5 minutes until warm and combined.
4. Add Spinach and cook until chicken is wilted
5. Add noodles to pan and mix
6. Add sauce to pan and mix until combined
7. In separate skillet or move mixture to own side and in hole, scramble the egg until thoroughly cooked.
8. Mix egg and rest of mixture together
9. Garnish with red pepper flakes.

This is one of our favorite meals when we eat it out at a Thai restaurant so it was only right to make a version at home. You definitely also make this with other proteins; shrimp is another of our favorites. Unlike a lot of Thai food, this is not spicy and well flavorful its generally fairly mild. This would pair well with the Thai beer, Singha which is readily available in the US, I actually drank this quite a bit while in the Philippines too as most their domestic beer is not very good and US imports were expensive.

However, I like to stick with American microbrews for my pairings. I like to think I can save the US economy by supporting local, American, small business breweries. Like Signha, I would pick a lager for this meal, something light a refreshing not to overpower the food. American lagers are quite common and most people have their favorites. I don’t like many of the large produced ones, but there are some gems.

Landshark lager, which is most often found in the summer, can be found in most liquor stores. It’s brewed by Margaritaville Brewing Company in Florida. As many people known this is brewed in conjunction with Anheuser-Busch and was launched by Jimmy Buffet. It’s similar to a Corona or Dos Equis, but in my opinion better and it’s local. It has a slight malt and slight hops taste. It’s very light and sweet. Very easy to drink and I even recommend it for those that don’t typically love beer.

Mixed Greens Salad with bacon dressing & Double Dark Lager

Mixed Greens Salad with bacon dressing
Servings - 2

• 3 big handfuls of mixed greens
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 2 pieces of bacon, diced
• 2 Splashes of red wine vinegar
• 2 squirts Dijon mustard
• Pinch of sugar
• Dash of salt and pepper

1. Split mixed greens on two plates or bowls
2. Slice hard-boiled egg and split between two plates
3. In small sauce pan, sauté bacon, until crisp
4. Drain bacon and about half of drippings
5. Lower heat under sauce pan
6. To sauce pan, add red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, salt and pepper
7. Stir until incorporated and add bacon back
8. Pour bacon and dressing over greens and egg

I served this salad with schnitzel and spaetzle and it paired well with a German inspired dinner. Therefore, I would recommend a German inspired beer here. I recommend Moerlein’s Barbarossa Dark Lager. Christian Moerlein Brewing Company is out of Cincinnati, OH. This is between Munich-style dunkel and bock. It had a rich, medium bodied flavor and pairs well with the richness of the bacon.

Thai Peanut Chicken & IPA

Thai Peanut Chicken
Servings - 4

• 3 T soy sauce
• 3 T fish sauce
• 2 t hot pepper sauce
• 2 t red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T minced fresh ginger root
• 2 T onion powder or one large onion diced
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 T peanut oil
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks

• ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups broccoli
• 1/2 cup cashews

1. In a bag, mix together first 9 ingredients. Add chicken and marinade for at least one hour.
2. Pour chicken and sauce into pan and sauté until chicken is cooked through about 5-10 minutes.
3. Add peanut butter and broccoli
4. Cook until broccoli is cooked through and peanut butter is thoroughly blended
5. Top with cashews
6. Serve with rice.

The spiciness of this rich calls for a beer with a strong flavor for compliment and in order to not get lost in the strength of the dish. Choosing one my favorite beers here, another IPA. For this dish I chose Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale. Sierra Nevada is a well known brewery out of California. This is a seasonal ale, usually out around Christmas time. It has a lot of hops, but a strong caramel maltiness as well. This does indeed taste like Christmas with a pine, floral finish.

Layered Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole & Red Ale

Layered Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
Servings – 4

• 2 chicken breasts diced (ground chicken or turkey as well as thighs would be good in this as well)
• 2 T taco seasoning
• 1 T water
• ½ cup green enchilada sauce
• Few dashes hot sauce
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup green enchilada sauce
• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Sauté chicken on stove with taco seasoning and water until chicken is cooked through. Drain excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in water ½ cup of green enchilada sauce, hot sauce and black beans.
3. In another bowl, mix together sour cream and 1 cup of green enchilada sauce.
4. Pour ½ cup of sour cream mixture in bottom of baking dish
5. Put 4 tortillas over sauce spread out
6. Pour chicken mixture over tortillas
7. Pour ½ of remaining sour cream mixture over chicken
8. Place one cup of cheese on top
9. Top with 4 more tortillas
10. Pour remaining sour cream mixture on top
11. Top with remaining cheese
12. Cover dish with aluminum foil
13. Bake for 20 minutes
14. Remove cover and bake for 5 more minutes

I paired this with Jamaica Red Ale, made by Mad River Brewing Company from Blue Lake, CA. This beer has a good balance between hops and maltiness, not overwhelming the dish. The citric notes but through the sour cream and compliment the Mexican flavors.

Chicken Tortilla Soup & IPA

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Servings – 4

• 1 T onion powder or 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 T garlic, finely chopped
• 2 T butter
• 4 oz can of green chilies
• 8 oz can tomato sauce/chopped tomatoes
• 2 jalapenos finely chopped
• 1 box of chicken stock
• 8 oz can black beans
• 8 oz can of corn or frozen corn
• Half a cooked chicken, meat shredded
• 2 limes
• 1 t salt
• 1 t pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese
• 4 corn tortillas cut into strips

1. Melt butter in soup pot on low
2. Sauté onion, garlic, butter, green chilies, tomatoes, and jalapenos for 5 minutes
3. Add chicken stock and bring to a bowl
4. Drain and add black beans and corn to pot
5. Juice the limes and add to pot
6. Add salt and pepper
7. Add chicken, cheese and tortillas
8. Cook for 5 more minutes
9. Serve and top with additional cheese and sour cream or guacamole

This is very filling and delicious. It’s very easy to make and you can freeze and eat later. If you do so, freeze before adding tortillas. This is great with an IPA. Steelhead extra pale ale is made by mad river brewing company and a great pair here. With being an extra pale ale it’s definitely hoppy but has some malt and floral aromas. It has a good citric quality that complements well here.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken & Brown Ale

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Servings – 2

4 large chicken tenders
2 slices of bacon
4 ounces of shredded cheddar or Colby cheese
½ can of condensed cream of chicken soup
¼ cup of sour cream
¼ cup of milk
Splash of lemon juice
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Pre cook bacon for 2 minutes in microwave
3. Cut bacon in half
4. Salt and pepper chicken tenders
5. Wrap chicken tenders in bacon and place into baking dish
6. Cook for 20 minutes
7. Mix cheese, soup, sour cream, milk, lemon juice, onion powder and pepper and salt
8. Pour mixture over chicken
9. Cook 20 more minutes

I served this with angle hair and side of green beans. It would also be good over rice or egg noodles using the topping as a sauce for the pasta.

This time of year we are in between fall and winter beers. This is rich dish, but has more subtle flavors, nothing too overpowering or strong. A brown ale with a nutty flavor would go great with this dish, supplementing the flavors of this meal and cutting through the richness. As always, I try to focus on domestic, especially microbrews. I am choosing a beer from Texas, Real Ale English Brown Ale. This can typically be found year round, but I consider these beers great for this time of year. As with most brown ales ales, it has a malty taste and aroma with little hops but has a slight sweet, toffee flavor. Great together with this recipe.

Schnitzel & Spaetzle & Oktoberfest

Schnitzel & Spaetzle
Servings: 4

Schnitzel
1 lb pork loin, trimmed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups panko
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper

Spaetzle
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 cup milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 gallon hot water

Sauce:
1/8 dry white wine
1T fresh lemon juice
3T unsalted butter
1T chopped fresh parsley

Schnitzel Directions:
1. Slice pork into eight 1"-thick pieces.
2. Pound each piece with a meat mallet to desired thickness
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into three separate shallow dishes.
5. Dredge each medallion first in flour, then in eggs, and finally in bread crumbs.
6. Place breaded pork on a baking sheet or plate.
7. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
8. Sauté pork until golden brown, 2–3 minutes on each side.
9. Remove from pan and keep warm in a 200° oven.

Spaetzle Directions:
1. Mix together flour, salt, pepper, eggs and nutmeg.
2. Press dough through spaetzle maker, or a large holed sieve or metal grater.
3. Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook about 5 minutes. Drain well.

Sauce Direction:
1. Deglaze schnitzel pan with wine
2. Add lemon juice and simmer 3 minutes.
3. Off heat, whisk in butter.
4. Stir in parsley; spoon sauce over medallions and sauté spaetzle briefly in some sauce as well.

Obviously these recipes are very Oktoberfest inspired. One of my favorite Oktoberfest beers comes from one my favorite breweries: Leinenkugel Oktoberfest. Wisconsin knows German beers and it doesn’t get more German then a fall Märzen, Oktoberfest beer. This is medium bodied with a strong malty taste with a slight caramel sweetness.

Steak with pomegranate/cherry sauce and Oktoberfest

*I took this recipe primarily from 5 fix on food network

Steak with pomegranate/cherry sauce
1.5 pound skirt steak or hanger steak (3-4 ounces per person)
1 T crush garlic
1 T onion powder
1/3 c pomegranate juice
1 cup cherry preserves
Salt and pepper
Spray olive oil

1. Trim steak if necessary
2. Spray both sides with spray olive oil
3. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper
4. Spread .5T of garlic on each side of steak
5. Grill steak & rest 5 minutes before cutting
6. In sauce pan combine onion powder, pomegranate juice, cherry preserves and shake of salt and pepper
7. Simmer for 5 minutes until reduced
8. Slice steak against the grain
9. Serve portion of steak while powering some of the sauce over top

Due to the sweetness in the sauce you want to stay away from a beer that’s sweet or it will be overwhelming. This has flavor, so a medium beer stands up pretty good. It being the season, I will largely be cooking and choosing beers in the Oktoberfest family. Today I recommend Magic Hat’s Hex Ourtoberfest. Magic Hat is out of Burlington, Vermont. Most of their beers I enjoy and they usually ranked pretty high. There a molasses flavor that dominates this beer. There are slight notes of fruit and floral hops, but that don’t over power or make it too sweet.

Steak with pomegranate/cherry sauce and Oktoberfest

*I took this recipe primarily from 5 fix on food network

Steak with pomegranate/cherry sauce

· 1.5 pound skirt steak or hanger steak (3-4 ounces per person)

· 1 T crush garlic

· 1 T onion powder

· 1/3 c pomegranate juice

· 1 cup cherry preserves

· Salt and pepper

· Spray olive oil

1. Trim steak if necessary

2. Spray both sides with spray olive oil

3. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper

4. Spread .5T of garlic on each side of steak

5. Grill steak & rest 5 minutes before cutting

6. In sauce pan combine onion powder, pomegranate juice, cherry preserves and shake of salt and pepper

7. Simmer for 5 minutes until reduced

8. Slice steak against the grain

9. Serve portion of steak while powering some of the sauce over top

Due to the sweetness in the sauce you want to stay away from a beer that’s sweet or it will be overwhelming. This has flavor, so a medium beer stands up pretty good. It being the season, I will largely be cooking and choosing beers in the Oktoberfest family. Today I recommend Magic Hat’s Hex Ourtoberfest. Magic Hat is out of Burlington, Vermont. Most of their beers I enjoy and they usually ranked pretty high. There a molasses flavor that dominates this beer. There are slight notes of fruit and floral hops, but that don’t over power or make it too sweet.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

So this isn’t a beer/food pairing, but its so good and we have been enjoying it everyday, so I thought it was a much share.

Servings - 2

Coffee – any coffee will work but something basic not other underlying flavors already there

1 t pumpkin pie spice

¼ c skim milk (or amount/type to your liking)

2 splenda packets (if you don’t like the sweetness, leave this out)

Handheld aerator for foaming coffee (if you don’t have one its worth the investment for making lattes at home, saving you money)

1.      Brew coffee as normal, adding teaspoon to coffee grounds (if you are using a keurig, you will want to add just a pinch of the spice directly into the brewed coffee)

2.      Warm milk for about 30 seconds in microwave

3.      Foam milk with aerator

4.      Add a splenda packet into each mug

5.      Add a little bit of milk to each mug

6.      Fill rest of mug with brewed coffee, leaving some space for additional milk

7.      Use rest of milk to fill mugs

*If you want to make this alcoholic add a shot of spiced rum before topping with milk

Pumpkin Spice Cookies & Oktoberfest Beer

FINALLY, after being busy with the wedding, honeymoon and then being sick…I am finally back to cooking, posting and drinking beer.  I had a party to go to and needed a quick dessert.  I ran to the store and manage to get the items and make two batches in about 45 minutes.  It’s super quick and easy recipe.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Servings – makes about 18-24 cookies

1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cookie mix

½ (30 ounce) can pumpkin pie mix (essentially canned pumpkin with sugar and spices already mixed in)

2 handfuls each of cinnamon chips and chocolate chips

1.       Preheat oven to 350

2.       Mix all ingredients together

3.       Drop spoonfuls on non-stick or greased cookie sheets

4.       Cook 18-20 minutes

In the spirit of the season I would pair these with an Oktoberfest beer or Marzen.  These are typically German beers and are dark and full-bodied.  In US these are usually called Oktoberfest.  They are seasonal during the fall, around the time of Oktoberfest.  One of our favorites is St Arnold’s Oktoberfest.  St Arnold’s is a Texas beer out of Houston.  Their Oktoberfest is full-bodied and slightly malty.  It’s quite rich and a great start to the new season.

Steak & Gorgonzola Flatbread – New Belgium Trippel

Steak & Gorgonzola Flatbread

Weight watchers – 3/piece

Servings – 8 (2 pieces/person)

Roll of thin pizza crust from refrigerated section

2t minced garlic

2t onion powder

1 c reduced fat cheddar & jack

1/3 c gorgonzola cheese

5 ounces of grilled filet mignon (rare)

Spray olive oil

1.      Cook pizza crust according to package

2.      Take pizza crust out of oven

3.      Preheat oven to 350

4.      Spray crust with olive oil

5.      Spread garlic & onion powder over crust

6.      Slice filet into strips and sprinkle across crust

7.      Sprinkle both cheese over steak and crust

8.      Heat for 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted

9.      Cut into 16 rectangles

Made this for a paring party and it was a big hit.  So delicious.  I now love making flatbreads, refrigerated crusts make it so easy. I paired this with a New Belgium Trippel, one of Mike’s and my favorite beers.  New Belgium is overall one of our favorite breweries.  This tripel is lighter than most tripels and can be a everyday beers.  It’s malty with a strong coriander flavor.

Bean Dip - Witbier

I have no excuse, but I have completely dropped the ball on the blog lately.  This is one of those recipes that have been in my family for ages.  We have it just about every party.  I believe my mom started it and my brother in law Gage perfected it.  It’s a really simple recipe and most the time I have all the ingredients on hand, so its an easy appetizer to put together for an unexpected party.  This is a basic bean dip and you could add dozens of different ingredients to it, but this is always my favorite.

Bean Dip

Weight watchers – 4/serving using baked tortilla scoops (1/2 cup dip with 5 chips)

Servings – about 20 people

1-16 ounce container light cream cheese

1-16 ounce bag 2% milk Mexican cheese

2-15 ounce cans fat free refried beans

1 packet taco seasoning

*These are the amounts I general use, but adjust to your liking of beans/sour cream/cheese ratio.

1.      Preheat oven to 350

2.      In bowl mix together beans and taco seasoning

3.      In baking dish spread a layer of beans

4.      On top of beans add a layer of sour cream (should be about half as thick as bean layer)

5.      On top of sour cream add layer of cheese

6.      Repeat layering, finish with a cheese layer

7.      Heat in oven about 10 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted

8.      Serve with tortilla chips (baked scoops are great for a healthier choice)

This actually pairs really well with a lot of different beers.  It’s not too bold so you do want to stay away from anything too strong in flavor.  It still being summer, I like this with a witbier.  Mike and I both love witbiers especially in the summer.  Shock Top Belgian White, is pretty good is widely available.

Shock Top is another one, like blue moon, done by the big beer companies, Anheuser-Busch.  If I am craving a wit and I am out a bar and they don’t have blue moon, this is often your only other option.  It’s not the best witbier out there, but it will indeed satisfy the craving.  It is brewed with orange, lemon, lime and coriander.  I always love the coriander spice in a beer and the citrus flavors really come through.  This is refreshing and easy to drink.  It’s a good beer for people who don’t typically like beer.

Hoisin Pork Lettuce Wraps - Dunkelweizen

Hoisin Pork Lettuce Wraps

Weight watchers – 1 point/wrap

Servings – 12 lettuce wraps – 4 people – 3/person

1/3 c of hoisin sauce

1 T lime juice

1 T water

1 c shredded carrots

1 c shredded cabbage or lettuce

1 c shredded cucumber

1 c fresh cilantro or 1 T dried cilantro (I don’t always have fresh on hand)

12 ounce pork tenderloin cut into 24 thin strips

12 Boston or Bibb lettuce leaves

1.      Combine hoisin, lime juice and water

2.      Combine carrots, cabbage, cucumber and cilantro

3.      Cook pork on stove top about 3-4 minutes until browned

4.      Mix pork with sauce

5.      Top each lettuce leave with 2 slices of pork and handful of vegetable mixture

I got the idea for these wraps from weight watchers magazine and there is a similar recipe they go over.  By the way if you are on weight watchers I highly recommend the magazine for recipe ideas.

This will probably go into our regular rotation.  It is filling, but without any carbs it’s so low in calories and points.  This would also be great with chicken and equally as healthy.  If you want to add some carbs, some rice noodles or rice would be good in it as well.  The hoisin provides tons of flavor for minimal points and so easy to open a jar.

I paired this with a dunkelweizen which typically do well with substantial salads and pork.  Dunkelweizen is a southern German wheat beer.  Most of these beers are out of Germany but there are a few good American ones.  One of my favorites is a seasonal beer, so unfortunately is not available right now, but watch for it during Christmas time.  I am giving you a heads up to watch for it in the coming season.

It is Shiner’s holiday cheer.  I have talked about Shiner before and greatly appreciate it.  Even though I am not a native Texan, I have lived in the state for 8 years so while it’s not home like Chicago is, it is a close second.  When I tried this for the first time, I was shocked how good it was.  This is brewed with peaches and pecans and you can definitely taste them.  So it’s definitely fruity for a beer, but for a holiday beer, I like it.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings – Abbey Dubbel

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Weight Watchers points – 3/chicken wing

Servings – 15 people (about 3/person)

5 lbs chicken wings, disjointed

1 c soy sauce

½ c Splenda brown sugar mix

¼ c lemon juice

1 T garlic powder

1.      Heat oven to 300

2.      Combine last 4 ingredients

3.      Place chicken wings in a greased pan in a single layer

4.      Pour sauce over wings

5.      Bake 2.5 hours, turning wings every 20-30 minutes

6.      Wings become very dark in color

Although I don’t know where this recipe originally came from, my mom taught it to me and I just love it.  I can eat pounds of these wings all by myself.  They are great as an appetizer or even as a main dish.  Chicken Wings aren't healthy even when baked, they aare 3 points just for one, but these are a far better alternative then deep friend.  A plain chicken wing has a good amount of fat and thus should be a treat rather then a regular choice.  When I eat them, I always make them or order then grilled or baked and "naked" without breading.  I also pair with a salad or lots of veggies so I have just a handful of wings.

I paired these with an abbey dubbel.  I don’t generally drink many dubbels, but Mike loves them.  One we both like is the New Belgium abbey ale.  Almost every single beer out of New Belgium is awesome.  One of the things we were most upset about cancelling our wedding in Denver was not being able to tour the New Belgium brewery.  If you ever plan to go you need to register at least 6 weeks in advance. 

Abbey Dubbels are also called Belgian dubbel. Traditionally abbey dubbels are trappist ales.  Meaning they were brewed by Trappist (a Roman Catholic religious order who follow rule of St. Benedicct) monks.  They have mild hoppiness without a lingering hop flavor.  They have fruit aromas and caramel flavors due to crystal malt used. 

The New Belgium Abbey Ale has won a lot of recognition and awards at the Great American Beer Fest.  It is brewed with 6 different malts and a Belgian yeast strain.  It has a sweet flavor reminiscent of banana and is well balanced.

Strawberry Salad with Raspberry vinaigrette- Hefeweisen

Strawberry Salad with Raspberry vinaigrette

Weight watchers – 2 points/serving

Servings – 4

2 cups romaine or butter lettuce

2 cups baby spinach

2 cups sliced strawberries

3T sunflower seeds

.5 cup low fat feta

Dressing –

1.5t reduced sugar raspberry jam

1T balsamic vinegar

1T water

1t splenda

Pinch of paprika

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

1.      Whisk together all ingredient of dressing

2.      Place lettuce & spinach into large bowl

3.      Top with dressing and mix

4.      Top with strawberries, feta and seeds

This is an easy and delicious summer time salad.  You can do it with all different types of fruit, different jams, different seeds or nuts & different cheese.  Really whatever you have on hand.  There is no oil in the vinaigrette saving you a lot of fat and calories.  Adjust if you prefer more dressing, but I prefer my salads mores on the drier side.

I paired this with a hefeweizen, a light, summery, citrusy beer.  I chose a Texas classic, Spoetzl Shiiner Hefeweizen.  Spoetzl Brewery is located in the small town of Shiner Texas, founded over a hundred years ago.  The hefeweizen is one of their year round, active beers.  It has flavors of orange, lemon and honey.  A perfect compliment and pairing to a light summer salad.

Spinach & Canadian Bacon Grilled Cheese - IPA

I have been so behind on my postings.  To get back on track....

Spinach & Canadian Bacon Grilled Cheese

Weight watchers – 8 points

Serving – 1

1 Whole wheat Bread bread thins

2 T (3/4 slice) Hot pepper muenster cheese

2 T (3/4 slice) 2% sharp cheddar cheese

 1.5 slices of Canadian bacon, cooked

1 t light butter

Handful of baby spinach

1.      Put .5 t of butter on each outside of bun

2.      Flip over buns

3.      On each side place half of each type of cheese

4.      On top side, put handful of fresh spinach

5.      On bottom side, put Canadian bacon slices

6.      Put sides together

7.      Heat in non-stick skillet, under medium heat, a few minutes on each side until cheese is melted and bread is toasted

I was craving a grilled cheese.  A grilled cheese is normally at least 14 weight watchers points and possibly more.  Plus it’s not very well rounded.  I decided to see what I could make with what was in my fridge, add some more protein and a vegetable.  It was amazingly delicious and satisfying.

This does have a little kick to it with the hot pepper muenster.  An IPA always stands up great to spicy rich food.  My husband asked around and researched and found an IPA everyone was recommending.  Yes, we are now married now.  We had a surprise wedding at our Bar Food Pairing wedding a few weeks ago.

The IPA is Abita Brewing Company’s Jockamo IPA.  The brewery is located in Abita Springs, Louisiana.  The Jockamo IPA is a year round beer.  It has a strong piney hoppiness to start with and finishes with a more mild caramel maltiness.  There is also some background orange citrus.  

Coconut Shrimp – Witbier

Coconut Shrimp

Weight watchers – 8 points/serving (Serving is ¼ lb of shrimp)

Servings – 4 people

1 lb de-shelled, deveined raw shrimp with tails on

¼ cup of Flour

2 eggs whites

1/2 cup French’s French Fried Onions

1/3 cup flaked Sweetened coconut

½ cup Panko bread crumbss

1 t Garlic powder

1 t Onion powder

Spray olive oil

1.      Preheat oven to 450

2.      Spray cookie sheet with olive oil

3.      Pulse fried onions in food processor for a few seconds

4.      Combine fried onions, coconut, panko, garlic powder and onion powder in dreding bowl

5.      Add flour and eggs (slightly beaten) to separate dredging bowls

6.      Dredge shrimp in flour

7.      Drede shrimp in egg whites

8.      Dredge shrimp in coconut mixture

9.      Palce shrimp on cookie sheet & spray with olive oil

10.  Cook about 10 minutes, flipping once and until shrimp are opaque.

The original recipe for these is just shrimp, eggs, onion & coconut.  However, I added some additional ingredients for added crunchiness and flavor & to make the crust stick better.  These can of course be pan fried, but baking them keeps them healthier.  This is definitely a little higher in points then many of my recipes due to the fried onions and carbs, but it’s worth it.

I chose one of Mike & I’s all time favorite beers, blue moon.  For the most part in this blog I am trying to support American micro & craft breweries.  Blue moon is actually manufactured by Coors Brewing Company and I am generally not a fan of Coors or other similar large brewing companies in the US.    However, the original blue moon is so good and so good for pairing; I’ll let it go this one time.  I will likely also pair the blue moon seasonal at a later date and time.  All of them are delicious, even if they stupidly changed the names of the seasonals recently.

Anybody who reads my blog knows what a fan I am of coriander in my beer.  Blue moon has this as well, but it’s must more subtle then other beers.  It’s balanced out by the fruity, citrus action of the orange peel.  This beer pairs beautifully with seafood due to these two prominent flavors.  Blue Moon is often served with an orange slice, however if the orange slice is too much orange for you a lime goes well to cut the sweetness.