Beer and food, two of my favorite things. I have to admit I did get a fair sampling of both over the weekend while down in NY. I had a chance to sample a few different styles of food including a great evening at a German Restaurant to help celebrate a friend’s birthday. I am a little biased about how German food should taste, the Jaeger Schnitzel (schnitzel with hunter’s sauce) was tasty, however it wasn’t as delicious as the one my wife makes. But that is to be expected since she’s from Germany and is a good cook.

What I did enjoy with that dinner besides the “Gemuetlichkeit” was the choice of beers that were offered. I started out with a nice Warstiener Dunkel (dark) with the sausage appetizer and moved over to a lighter lager with the main course, dessert consisted of a round of Jaegermiester along with some Pear Schnapps (no Obstler was available, dang)

What does all this have to do with my cooking blog?]



Well it reminds me once again how beer and food are a great match. It has also made me start planning my beer and food dinner party menu. There are many wine pairings that are offered at restaurants and now some are now offering beer pairings as well. Its about time.



Although I do enjoy a nice glass of wine and can appreciate the subtle differences in the different vintages and varietals, the different types of beer now available make cooking and eating an enjoyment as well.

My plan is to offer a full dinner party with each course prepared with beer in the recipe as well as a recommended beer to accompany it. But the great part of this is that even if you are not adventurous and only drink a light beer from St. Louis, you can still enjoy the food and beer!

I am working on fall menus and expect to see the beer offering next month. However, one of the things I did promise to post for a friend is a delicious chocolate cake made with Stout beer. This can of course be the dessert served with a beer dinner, but it makes a delicious anytime cake or a St. Patrick’s Day dessert as well.

With this cake, they are two types of frosting that can be made, I prefer the chocolate ganache, however if you are looking for a for a beer presentation experience, then the cream cheese frosting does make it look a little like a glass of Guinness with foam.

Enjoy the food and the beer.


1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter MAKE SURE YOU USE UNSALTED
3/4 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips, I prefer Ghirardelli
½ cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well with cake spray Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Drink remaining 4 oz of stout
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend.
Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend.
Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.

Ganache

For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake You may use microwave as well, just be careful to heat in 10-15 sec stages. You may also substitute a shot of Kahlua for the coffee.

Its been a busy few weeks, between Park Hill Chefs and my side job at a catering company its been hectic, But, hectic is good, June is a busy month with graduations and end of school year ceremonies and it helps build a little nest egg during the lean summer “cheffin” months.

During this time I plan on keeping busy by teaching a few ServSafe classes and doing some community education classes as well. Right now I have some healthy cooking classes scheduled and may add a few more.

Another activity that I will be undertaking this summer is undertaking a Chef Challenge, I have submitted my application and will post details when the first round is selected. Keep your fingers crossed that I am selected, I know I will.

As part of the challenge I have to submit an original recipe and I have until Tuesday to come up with one. I am torn between a nice Southwestern dish or one that is beer based. The beer based option is certainly one that I will pursue in the near future if I do not select it as I plan on offering a Beer Dinner party option in the near future, this will pair different types of beer with several courses cooked with beer. Please contact me for further information if you would like to book a dinner party or would just like some suggestions on pairings.

Otherwise, have a wonderful summer and stay hydrated during the hot summer months.

Organic vs Non-Organic Fruits and Vegetables

As some of you may have noticed, I did not post a blog last week. The main reason for this is that this is the busy season for catering and cooking with graduation parties and the wedding season coming into full swing, Because of this, I will move into a bi-weekly blog and perhaps go back to a weekly blog after the summer.

Speaking of summer, this is the time where local fruit and vegetables are starting to appear at farm stands and that got me thinking about Organic foods. I am reminded of when I was in culinary school and one of my Chef Instructors asked us if we knew the difference between regular and organic vegetables. His answer was “about $1.29 a pound!”

All kidding aside, there are times when it does make sense to buy organic food and to spend the extra money, The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a Washington D.C. advocacy group, has put together a “dirty dozen” of fruits and vegetables that should be purchased as organic when you can.

They are:

Fruit

• Apples
• Cherries
• Chilean Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

Vegetables

• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Potatoes
• Spinach

The reason behind this is somewhat obvious. These products have a thin skin that is easily penetrated by pesticide and we also generally eat the entire outside of the product.
There also recommend that some other fruits and vegetables are not worth spending extra on, these are:

Fruit

• Bananas
• Kiwis
• Mangos
• Papaya
• Pineapples

Vegetables

• Asparagus
• Avocado
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn
• Onions
• Peas

These products generally do not contain pesticide residue and many have skins that protect the actual food from contamination. Another way to avoid pesticides is to buy from local farmer markets or buy what’s in season.

I happen to live in an area of New England where we have an abundance of great local produce and not only are the prices generally as good or better then the big food stores, the quality is always fresher. You should also eat a variety of different fruits and vegetables as the different types of food contain different pesticide residue so you are not over exposing yourself to one particular pesticide.

Of course, the best option is to start and grow your own organic garden.


This year my wife Margit and I have joined a local community garden and have most of our rows planted. There is a lot of work involved in this and my hat goes off to the all the farmers out there that do this for a living and also to those pioneers that had to do it to feed their families. I’ll keep everyone posted on how we make out with the garden as the season progresses.
Until next time, stay away from the dirty dozen if you can. Otherwise, be sure to wash your fruits and vegetables thoroughly with cold water.