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.