Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Brown Ale

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

Servings – 2

·         ½ pound large shrimp – about 10-12 (deveined & peeled)

·         4 pieces turkey bacon (if you use regular bacon you will want to precook longer)

·         Garlic Powder

·         Spray olive oil

·         Skewers

1.       Precook turkey bacon in microwave for about 2 minutes.  This is a very key step, otherwise the bacon will be undercooked or you will overcook the shrimp

2.       Cook each bacon strip into thirds

3.       Spracy shrimp with olive oil

4.       Sprinkle with garlic powder

5.       Wrap shrimp with bacon and skewer

6.       Grill about 2 minutes, flip and grill 2 more minutes until shrimp is opaque

This is a very basic recipe and is a go to for me when I don’t know what to make.  I always have shrimp in the freezer and usually have some sort of bacon on hand.  I prefer turkey bacon over regular bacon for this recipe, one because its healthier, two because it’s a little less overwhelming to the shrimp and third it seems to crisp up better than regular bacon. I served with potatoes with garlic and corn with a little butter and cayenne.

I paired this with a brown ale.  Newcastle is probably one of the most well known brown ale’s, so this is likely a good reference for knowing a brown ale.  They are described as mild ale’s and are malty with light hops.  One of my favorite brown ale’s is a seasonal from Sierra Nevada called Tumbler Autumn brown ale.  I love Sierra Nevada and have used their beers in other pairings.  Their fall seasonal was amazing this year and you can likely still find it.  It’s a pretty popular beer and I have seen it on tap a lot this year.  It’s very mild, very drinkable and light sweetness balances well with the sweetness of the shrimp and the saltiness of the bacon.

Greek Potato Wedges & Dortmunder

Greek Potato Wedges

Servings – 2

·         1 large potato or two smaller ones

·         1 clove (1 t) garlic

·         1 t greek seasoning or oregano

·         1 T olive oil

·         1 t lemon juice

·         Dash salt

·         Dash pepper

1.       Preheat oven to 425

2.       Cut potato into wedges leaving skin on

3.       Mix other 6 ingredients in bowl

4.       Toss potatoes in mixture

5.       Cook 10 minutes and slip potatoes

6.       Cook 10 more minutes

I served these with the Greek style burgers and Greek seasoned steamed veggies. 

Another dortmunder that would go well with this meal would be Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold.  Great Lakes Brewing company as the name implies is in the great lakes region and is in Cleveland, Ohio.  This beer is considered world-class and one of the best dormunders on the market.  This is a clean crisp beer with some bitterness similar to a pilsner.  It’s a balanced beer of grainy, hoppy and lemony.

Greek Burgers & Dortmunder

Greek Burgers

Servings – 2

·         8 ounces ground beef

·         1 T olive oil

·         4 ounces spinach (either frozen defrosted or fresh sautéed)

·         1 clove (1 t) garlic

·         1 t greek seasoning (or oregano)

·         ¼ cup of feta crumbled

·         Dash Salt

·         Dash Pepper

·         2 hamburger buns

·         3 T feta

1.       Mix first 8 ingredients together in bowl

2.       Form two patties, and put dimple in the middle of each

3.       Cook about 5 minutes and flip

4.       Put buns on grill to toast

5.       Add additional feta on top and cook about 3 minutes

I served these burgers with Greek style potato wedges (recipe to come tomorrow) and steamed stir fry vegetable medley with a little Greek seasoning, olive oil and lemon juice. 

This meal was paired with Shiner Dortmunder brewed by Spoetzl Brewery located in Shiner, TX.  This is very drinkable with a light sweetness.  It’s a very well rounded beer with nothing being over powering.  It’s has some graininess and floral notes, but also has malty sweetness and hoppy herbal notes.

Hashbrown Green Chile Casserole & IPA

Hashbrown Green Chile Casserole

Servings – 4

(I make twice as much because leftovers are great)

•  2 potatoes peeled and shredded (or you could use 2 cups of fresh or frozen hashbrowns), Squeeze to remove access moisture
• 1 T butter, melted
• 1 – 7 oz can green chilies
• 7 oz ham steak, cubed (leftover meat from the dinner last night is great here too, carnitas, shredded beef, turkey, etc)
• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese (Mexican or Colby Jack is good here too)
• 2 eggs
• ¼ c milk
•  Salt
• Pepper

1.   Preheat oven to 450
2. Grease pie pan or small casserole dish
3. Place shredded potatoes into dish pressing along bottom
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
5. Pour melted butter over potatoes
6. Bake for 20 minutes
7. Crack two eggs into bowl and add milk and a dash of salt and pepper, mix
8. Pour eggs over hashbrown crust
9. Top with green chilies, diced ham and cheddar cheese
10. Cover with foil and cook 25 minutes
11.  Remove foil and cook 5 more minutes

I traditionally make this breakfast.  My mom originally made this, but I have tweaked it over time a little.  It’s a good make ahead meal and made in large batches is great as leftovers.  This could be served at dinner as a main meal or even as a side dish. 

As I usually make this for breakfast, I can’t say I have ever had beer with it, but if I was going to I would probably choose an IPA.  The slight spiciness of the green chilies pairs really well with an IPA.  This is an IPA I had for the first time in Sonoma County in a little dive bar/restaurant with great food with my husband, brother, sister in law and niece.  Also there was a live band which my niece could not get enough of.  There is nothing like watching a two year old dancing entranced to live music.

It is made by the Russian River Brewing company out of Santa Rosa, California.  Blind Pig IPA is considered one of the best American IPAs but critics and general beer lovers.  It has a very cute blind pig on the front of the bottle.  It’s definitely hoppy, but this has a background note of grapefruit with a good amount of sweetness to balance it out.  This is a great general drinking IPA.

Lobster Tails & IPA

Lobster Tails
Servings - 2
My favorite way to cook lobster tails

• 2 – 5 oz lobster tails
• Salt

1. If lobster tails are frozen, put into the refridgerator 24 hours in advance.
2. Fill a pot with about 2 inches of water and add some salt, bring to a boil.
3. Add steamer insert
4. Put wooden rods through lobster tails to prevent curling
5. Add lobster tails and place lid on top.
6. Steam 7-10 minutes until tails are deep red on outside and the flesh is opaque

It being New Years Eve, it calls for a celebration and special food and special beer. My parents started a tradition a few years back to have lobster tails for New Years Eve and I have adopted it as well. I think it’s a good time to splurge and Sprouts usually has 5 oz lobster tails on sale this time of year for $5.99 so I am still not breaking the bank.

I served these lobster tails simply with clarified butter. To clarify butter simply simmer the butter and skim the white solids off the top. Save this though, you can use it for other purposes, like on popcorn. I served it with bake potatoes and steamed broccoli with a little bit of cheddar cheese.

I didn’t drink this year because I have been sick and sinus pressure and beer do not mix. However, this was a beer I recently had and would have loved to have had with my lobster. That beer would be Avery Brewing Company’s Dugana which is a Double IPA. At first it seems like an odd pairing because this is a dark and caramel IPA. However, that piney, floral hoppiness pairs great with the richness of lobster and butter. This beer comes in the large bombers and is a little bit higher alcohol content. It’s a sipper not a guzzler.

Happy New Year!

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.