In “The Foodie’s Beer Book: The Art of Pairing and Cooking with Beer for Any Occasion” (Skyhorse Publishing, $24.95), authors Brooke and Luther Fedora share recipes gleaned from their experiences as the husband and wife chef/owners of the Horse and Hound Gastropub in Charlottesville, Va.
Before opening their own restaurant and entering the world of craft beer, the Fedoras graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked at restaurants in London and New York, where wine was the preferable pairing with food.
“Our restaurant ended up being very craft beer-centric,” Brooke says. “We starting playing with cooking with beer, doing beer dinners, and we ended up liking the pairings more than when we were pairing with wine.”
“The Foodie’s Beer Book” includes a primer on beer styles and techniques for cooking with beer. But the heart of the cookbook is a series of menus arranged by the seasons, highlighted by holidays and special occasions.
With the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21 in 2014, we were intrigued by the three-course dinner the Fedoras created to welcome the shorter, colder days ahead.
The starter is a roasted butternut squash tart with honey, beer and goat cheese, paired with a malty English-style ESB. Hearty confit chicken leg quarters are served with brown butter Brussels sprouts and paired with a strong bourbon barrel-aged Belgian-style tripel. And a rich and creamy chocolate praline layer cake is paired with a chocolate stout.
“This whole menu is about it being cold and that’s when you want a big beer and you want a big dish,” Luther says.“We pair the confit of chicken with Allagash Curieux, which is a big, bourbon barrel-aged tripel with great body and balance. We incorporate the beer into the confit, which infuses a lot of flavor. Together, it’s just wow.”
Recipes
Roasted Butternut Squash Tart
This tart is well-balanced, with a light flaky puff pastry base anchoring the creamy texture of perfectly roasted squash. Add a hint of honey, beer, and goat cheese and it becomes a real crowd pleaser as an hors d’oeuvre or first course.
10 ounces puff pastry, frozen or fresh
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon beer
Toasted squash seeds for garnish
Preheat oven to 375. If using frozen puff pastry thaw for about 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the squash with the cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and oil. Mix to coat all the pieces and spread squash out in single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15–20 minutes or until fork tender. Remove and allow to cool.
When the squash is still a little warm, evenly distribute it across the puff pastry sheet. Spread the goat cheese crumbles across the tart in areas the squash is not. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the pastry begins to raise and turns golden brown and crispy. Remove from oven.
Combine the honey and beer. When the tart is ready to serve, drizzle the honey-beer mix over it, sprinkle with toasted squash seeds and cut. Serve immediately.
Serves: 6
Per serving: 516 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 9 grams protein, 67 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 26 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 10 milligrams cholesterol, 476 milligrams sodium.
Beer pairing: Hobgoblin ESB or other English-style bitter.
Orange-Curieux Confit Chicken and Thyme-Ale Jus
Planning ahead is essential with this main-course dish. The chicken needs to develop flavor in the fat for at least 24 hours and up to 2 weeks. The longer the better, because this cooking technique is a preservation method, but it is also an effective method of infusing flavor and creating a juicy, tender piece of meat.
4 chicken leg quarters, thighs and legs still attached
Sea salt and pepper
6 cups chicken fat, duck fat or lard for confit
1 cup plus a splash strong ale
2 white onions, thinly sliced
2 oranges, thinly sliced
4 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves
10 whole peppercorns
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Fat, lard or oil for frying
Heat a large, heavy-bottom skillet until very hot. Season the chicken on all sides with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Melt a tablespoon of fat in the skillet and sear the chicken to a medium brown color on all sides. Remove skillet from heat and set the chicken aside.
In a large Dutch oven, layer the onion slices, orange slices, bay leaves, garlic, and peppercorns. Lay the chicken in a single layer on the onion-orange layer. In a large pan or stockpot warm the 6 cups of fat until liquefied. Pour it over the chicken; cover completely. Simmer on medium heat for 2 hours, completely submerged in the oil. Add 1 cup of strong ale and continue simmering for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 2 weeks.
To make the jus, carefully remove the block of fat that has separated from the gelatinous stock in the bottom of the pan. The fat and chicken pieces should come out easily, and what remains is the chicken stock and spices. Refrigerate chicken and fat until ready to finish the dish. Remove the stock at the bottom of the pan and put in a clean saucepan. Gently heat the stock and strain out the oranges and other flavorings. Add fresh thyme and set aside.
To serve: Warm the jus and finish with a splash of ale. Remove chicken from the fat and set the pieces aside. Heat fat, lard or oil in a clean Dutch oven until shimmering. Carefully add the chicken to the hot oil and fry for about 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and crunchy. Serve hot with jus and Brussels sprouts.
Serves: 4
Per serving: 599 calories (percent of calories from fat, 87), 12 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 57 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 81 milligrams cholesterol, 38 milligrams sodium.
Beer pairing: Allagash Curieux, barrel-aged tripel or other Belgian-style strong ale.
Brown Butter Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are one of the most misunderstood vegetables, but because they keep so well, they are one of the green stars of winter menus. And when cooked properly, they can really wow even the biggest critics.
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, cleaned and quartered
1 gallon water
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Clean the Brussels sprouts by peeling any discolored or damaged outer leaves. In a medium bowl, soak the sprouts in warm water for about 10 minutes. This helps release any dirt in the inner leaves. Strain the sprouts and rinse with cold water. Cut the tough stem off the bottom of the sprout. Be sure not to cut the leaves to prevent the sprouts from falling apart. Cut the sprouts in quarters if they’re large, halves if smaller.
Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil with 3 tablespoons of salt. Pour the Brussels sprouts into boiling water and cook uncovered for about 8 minutes. The sprouts should be fork tender but not mushy.
While Brussels sprouts are cooking, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with cold water and plenty of ice. Remove the spouts from the boiling water, strain, and immediately pour into the ice bath to stop the cooking.
When ready to serve, strain and pat the Brussels sprouts dry. In a medium sauté pan, lightly brown the butter. Sauté the sprouts in the brown butter lightly for about 1-1/2 minutes or until they are warm. Finish with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with confit chicken.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 117 calories (percent of calories from fat, 42), 5 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 504 milligrams sodium.
Indulgent Chocolate Praline Layer Cake
Indulgent, decadent, rich and creamy, this cake is complex and unique, and remarkably delicious paired with a chocolate-flavored beer. The process for building each layer is a bit time-consuming, but surprisingly easy, and worth it.
Layer 1
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs, your own recipe or store-bought
1/2 cup unsalted butter
Layer 2
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon beer
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted and chopped
Layer 3
16 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons beer
Layer 4
1 cup dark chocolate chips, 60%
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon beer
1/2 cup candied walnuts for garnish.
Layer 1: Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1/2 cup of butter and combine in a small bowl with chocolate cookie crumbs. Evenly press into the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool while preparing the next layer.
Layer 2: In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 1-1/2 cups of butter and add the brown sugar. Bring this mix to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in beer. Stir toasted walnuts into praline mix and immediately pour onto cookie crust in the springform pan. Spread out evenly and refrigerate for 1–2 hours or until set.
Layer 3: In a medium bowl combine sugars and the cocoa powder. Then in a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment beat together the cream cheese, sugar/cocoa mix, and beer until smooth. Spread this mix evenly over the praline layer and refrigerate for 1–2 hours or until set.
Layer 4: In a small saucepan, simmer cream and beer. Put chocolate in a small bowl and pour the cream mix over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Let cool for about 10 minutes and pour over the cream cheese filling. Refrigerate for 1–2 hours or until set. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; remove the spring form pan and slice using a hot knife. Garnish with candied walnuts. Keep this cake refrigerated.
Serves: 16
Per serving: 576 calories (percent of calories from fat, 69), 6 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 45 grams fat (23 grams saturated), 103 milligrams cholesterol, 130 milligrams sodium.
Beer pairing: Rogue Chocolate Stout or other chocolate or imperial stout.
Recipes adapted from “The Foodie’s Beer Book: The Art of Pairing and Cooking with Beer for Any Occasion” by Brooke and Luther Fedora (Skyhorse Publishing, $24.95).
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