Liquid Dinner - April 13

The idea for this one came from some nagging desire to make Guinness ice cream. And from there, I decided I needed an ice cream maker (a Cuisinart ICE 50 that I am very, very pleased with) and then an entire dinner made with — you guessed it — beer.

The guestlist:
+ Paul
Allan + Alison + Kamela
Jessica + David
Ganda + Winnie C.

The menu:
Welsh rarebit
beer bread v.1
beer bread v.2 (with Cheddar and scallions)
carbonnades flamandes
Greenmarket salad with beer vinaigrette
chocolate stout cake with Guinness ice cream

The beers:
Brooklyn Local 1
Duvel
Trappist de Rochefort
Ommegang Three Philosophers
at least 7 others I can’t remember, including a lambic

Welsh Rarebit
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Toast some white bread. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan (they tell you to use a double boiler, but aside from the general messiness of this recipe, it seemed fine over direct heat) and stir in 1 cup beer and heat until warm. Stir in 4 cups shredded Cheddar and cook, stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Stir in

1 egg, well beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Spoon over toasted bread, sprinkle grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and stick in the broiler.

Beer Batter Bread
Adapted from Steven Pyles’ New Tastes from Texas

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Add the beer all at once, mixing as little as possible; the batter should be lumpy.

Pour the batter into loaf pan and brush with the melted butter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Beer, Cheese, and Scallion Bread
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease loaf pan. Whisk together

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add 1-1/2 cups light or dark beer (not stout). Fold until dry ingredients are moistened and transfer to loaf pan, spreading evenly. Bake 35-40 min.

Carbonnades Flamandes
Adapted from Saveur

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 lbs boneless chuck, cut into 2″ cubes
7 tablespoons butter
3 large yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups beef stock
1-1/2 cups dark Belgian beer
2 bay leaves
2 springs thyme
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown meat, about 5-10 minutes per batch. Transfer meat to bowl and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, melt 4 tablespoons butter in pot. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown, 35-40 minutes. Set aside with meat.

Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to pot, then immediately add flour andn cook, stirring constantly until deep golden brown, 2 minutes. Add stock and beer, scraping fond from bottom of pot. Return meat, onions, and accumulated juices to pot. Add bay leaves, thyme, sugar, vinegar and season to taste. Simmer on low, partially covered, until meat is very tender and sauce is dark, thick, and velvety, 2 hours.

Chocolate Stout Cake
Adapted from Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup Guinness
1 cup molasses
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3 eggs
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Sift together first six ingredients.
Pour beer and molasses into medium pot, whisk together and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and whisk in baking soda.

Whisk together eggs and both sugars, mixing well to combine. Whisk in oil and then beer mixture.

Make well in dry ingredients andn pour in liquid ingredients, whisking slowly to incorporate. Do not overmix.

Pour batter into lightly buttered Bundt pan and bake 30 minutes. Cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and top surface is just beginning to crack.

Guinness Ice Cream
Adapted from Suzanne Goin’s Sunday Suppers at Lucques

1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Guinness
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bring milk, cream, beer, and molasses to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn off heat.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla together in a bowl. Whisk a few tablespoons of warm cream mixture into yolks to temper them and gradually add 1/4 cup more, a few more tablespoons at a time, whisking all the while. Add rest of cream mixture, mixing thoroughly. Return to pot and cook custard over medium-low heat, 6-8 minutes, stirring, until thickens and coats back of a spoon. Chill 2 hours or overnight in fridge. Process in ice cream maker.

Dirty South - March 28

The guestlist:

+ Matt
Cecily + Liz + Trevor
Marisa + David
Eric + Daniel

The menu:

shrimp ‘n’ grits poppers
pickled okra (two kinds, including rick’s pick’s smokra)
black-eyed pea salad
biscuits and cornbread
sauteed kale
braised pork shoulder
cracklin’
buttermilk pie

The wines:
Crap, I forgot to write these down before the bottles got tossed. Anyone remember any of them? I know there was a Riesling.

Shrimp ‘n’ Grits Poppers
Adapted from Bill Neal’s Southern Cooking

4 cups cooked grits
5 tbsp butter
2 eggs, well beaten
12 shrimp, halved lengthwise
Vegetable oil for frying
2 cups seasoned flour for dredging

Heat oil. (It’s ready when a piece of bread or a test popper turns deep brown after 30 seconds of frying.) While grits are still hot (but not hot enough to scramble the eggs), beat in butter and eggs. When cool enough to handle, shape into balls around shrimp halves. Dredge in seasoned flour and fry until golden brown. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Black-eyed Pea Salad
Adapted from Saveur, June/July 2006

6 cups cooked black-eyed peas
4 chopped scallions
1 finely diced seeded red bell pepper
1 diced cored tomato
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 tbsp mustard
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup olive oil

Combine first five ingredients. Emulsify last four and pour on bean mixture.

Bay-studded Pork Shoulder
Adapted from Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock’s The Gift of Southern Cooking

1 bone-in pork shoulder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
12 whole bay leaves
2 large onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 bottle of red wine

Preheat oven to 275°F.
Rinse pork shoulder and pat dry. Cut 12 slits in skin side of pork, about 1 inch wide and 1-1/2 inches deep. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over pork, making sure they get in the slits. Insert 1 garlic sliver and bay leaf in each slit. Scatter sliced onions over bottom of roasting pan. Place pork shoulder on top of onions and pour wine into bottom of pan. Lay a piece of parchment directly on top of pork shoulder. Wrap pan tightly with foil and cover with lid. Cook in oven for 6 hours.

For cracklin’: separate skin from pork and remove in 1 piece. Place on a baking sheet and crisp in 425°F oven until deep golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

Before:

After:

Yogurt Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
5 tbsp cold butter
7/8 cup plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Rub pieces of butter with mixture to thoroughly blend. Stir in yogurt until mixture forms a ball. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead 10 times. Press into 3/4-inch-thick rectangle and cut into 20 squares. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Buttermilk Pie
Adapted from Food & Wine

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 butter pie pastry shell

Preheat the oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks and flour, then beat in the buttermilk, lemon juice and nutmeg. In a medium bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold the beaten whites into the buttermilk mixture until no white streaks remain. Pour the custard into the baked Flaky Pie Shell and bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, until the custard is golden and risen, or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool and serve.

Butter Pie Pastry
Adapted from Edna Lewis’s In Pursuit of Flavor

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
12 tbsp frozen butter
1/4 cup ice water

Combine flour, salt, and butter. Blend well until mixture is the texture of cornmeal. Add ice water, mix quickly and shape dough into a ball. Dust lightly with flour and flatten into a disc. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour in refrigerator or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Roll out dough and press into pie dish. Prick surface with fork to prevent from puffing in oven. Cook until lightly browned.

Cecily covered all the action too, both before and after.