Bbq foods, hot dogs a couple of beers and an amazing colorful Macy’s firework display – yes it was an enjoyable 4th of July weekend. I tasted some noteworthy local brews which reminded me of my Beer Battle on Iron Chef America against Bobby Flay which I fortunately walked away as the winner.
(4th of July fireworks)
(sweet weekend with beers & burgers on our porch...)
And the secret ingredient is …
BEER – which the chairman revealed in his dramatic manner (with a back flip) and you could see Bobby’s and my facial expressions drop on TV. I guess both of us hoped for something more of a food product such as an exotic spice or an unusual fruit as an ingredient. Being under the show’s 60 minute time crunch to cook five different courses for four judges didn’t make it easier.
(pop corn crusted chicken marinated in beer with purple potato salad and radish)
Beer as a cooking medium
It turns out that beer is actually a terrific cooking medium. For the first course I prepared shrimp carpaccio with beer/lime vinaigrette – Corona anybody - to top that off I sprinkled some pop rock candy and caper berries over the dish which added significant pomp & circumstance. I prepared smoked sturgeon for another dish with fresh hops which intensified the natural earthy flavor of the fish. For the entrée we bathed a free range chicken in an ale beer and then crusted it with popcorn and fried it (not your usual Paula Deen TV chicken). The judges’ highlight was Hawaiian pineapple which was caramelized in Dutch wheat beer and baked with pretzel crust very much like a cobbler which we topped with porter beer meringue and sprinkled with caramelized bacon confetti – sounds strange - but it was lip smacking. I was surprised and delighted to learn how well beer complimented the different nuances of these foods.
One dish I did not mention is a beer based soup, and here’s the recipe:
(beer chowder with corn and potato chips)
“Coastal Beer Chowder”
(recipe yields four appetizer portions)
2 cups almond milk (unsweetened)
2 cups porter beer
12 pieces littleneck clams
3 tablespoons vegetable oil such as canola or grape seed
2 stalks celery
1 onion
2 potatoes such as Russet
3 slices of bacon
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
Salt such as Baline (to taste)
3 pinches cayenne
1 teaspoon all purpose flour
1. Rinse clams with water.
2. Combine clams and four cups of water in a pot (1-gallon sized) then bring to boil. Put pot on side of stove and let sit for 10 minutes or so (any sand from inside of clams will drop to bottom of pot). Pour clam juice slowly through a fine mesh sieve (discard very last of liquid which will most likely be sand).
3. Separate clams from shells then rinse with water and chop (1/8-inch pieces).
4. Cut celery, onion, potatoes, bacon into small pieces (1/8-inch cubes)
5. In a pot heat oil on medium heat setting then cook cut vegetables, bacon and thyme (10-15 minutes, stirring once in a while with a wooden spoon). Season mixture with salt and cayenne then dust with flour and continue to cook (5 minutes or so).
6. Combine clam broth, almond milk and beer with cooked vegetable mixture then bring to boil and continue to simmer on low heat setting (5 minutes or so).
7. Heat chopped clams in almond milk/vegetable mixture.
Chef’s Tip: You can make an entrée dish out of this recipe by adding seafood such as shrimp, scallops, white fish (e.g. cod, halibut, or flounder).
Bobby went back to his chilies. I am about to open a new beer driven restaurant…
