Chocolate Stout and Valentine's

With Valentine's day fast approaching, you're likely being bombarded with recipes, advertisements for jewelry and flowers, and pink and red heart-shaped decor in all directions.  Don't get me wrong! I love Valentine's day.  Even in high school, my best friend and I would go bonkers making each other Valentine's and baked goods.  To us, it's all about showing and sharing your love for others, whether it's family, friends, or a significant other.

But here's my humble idea...  If you want to do something a little different for Valentine's day and your fellow celebrants enjoy beer, why not bring chocolate stout or porter to the table this year?  It's delicious to drink, it's versatile in cooking and baking (check out The Beeroness' blog for inspiration!), it can be served with a scoop of vanilla or coffee ice cream for a chic and easy dessert, and it mixes with champagne for a Black Velvet cocktail.  Plus you're still bringing chocolates, a Valentine's day staple!

To aid in your decision, my roommate and I had a taste-off between two chocolate stouts.  Their labels lured us in with irresistible descriptions of chocolate and velvety taste.  We're obviously suckers for anything packaged well.  We tasted, we decided - Southern Tier Brewing Company's Imperial Choklat Stout is the best chocolate stout for your loved one(s).  Provided you share.  Thankfully these come in large bottles, so sharing is easy.

Upland Brewing Company's Teddy Bear Kisses

vs.

Southern Tier Brewing Company's Imperial Choklat Stout

Imperial Choklat Stout
from Southern Tier Brewing Company

About Choklat:
10% ABV
Opaque, very dark brown color
Lightly carbonated, heavier + creamy body
Brewed with ale yeast, two types of hops, four types of malts, and bittersweet Belgian chocolate.
Flavors noted by the brewery include chocolate, dark cherries, lightly woody and bittersweet.

Ahhhmazing. Seriously, you need to try this.  It's richly, distinctly chocolate, but it is incredibly smooth and drinkable.  The flavor is perfectly balanced, rich chocolate without any unappealing hints of hoppy bitterness or cloying sweetness.  Unlike several other dark beers, Choklat does not sit heavy in your stomach, inviting both food pairings (flavored chocolates, delicate and creamy cheeses, angel food cake, fresh berries) and drinking it solo.  It's also excellent for cooking, such as brownies or cupcakes or - dare I say it? - an ice cream float, adults-only style.  Upon first taste, my roommate and I fell in love and it's going to be a long-term relationship with Choklat.

Teddy Bear Kisses
from Upland Brewing Company

About Teddy Bear Kisses:
10.2% ABV
Opaque, very dark brown color
Lightly carbonated, medium + creamy body
Brewed with high alpha hops and an abundance of dark malts.  Aged on cocoa nibs to provide additional bitterness and chocolate flavor.
Flavors noted by the brewery include a velvety malt character, balanced bitter intensity, and soothing chocolate notes.

"Teddy Bear Kisses will make you feel warm and happy inside, but it's definitely not your childhood cuddle toy." (Upland)

It looks like motor oil...but it tastes better.  However, Teddy Bear Kisses isn't quite what I had imagined from its description on the bottle.  Belying its looks, this brew had medium body, so it wasn't as heavy in the stomach as expected.  The malts didn't provide a thoroughly rich and roasty flavor, but instead a burnt malt and slightly chocolate flavor.  The hops + cocoa nibs provided bitterness, which was thankfully not the typical hoppy bitter flavor.  Instead, the bitterness had a hit of chocolate and espresso.  The chocolate flavor I'd hoped for was much milder in Teddy Bear Kisses, perhaps drowned out by the other flavors.  Rats.  There is a possibility, though, that we didn't experience the best this brew has to offer.  According to other reviews, this beer shines when served on tap instead of from the bottle.  Overall, Teddy Bear Kisses was just okay.  We won't be asking it to be our Valentine, especially when Choklat is there to sweep us off our feet.


This Valentine's day, Eric and I are continuing the tradition of cooking dinner together and sharing a bottle of champagne.  I'm making him Plain Old Brownies, which are our compromise (he wants box mix brownies, I want to make them from scratch to show my love) on brownies.  My coworkers are receiving a bunch of Monster Cookies (from Baked:  New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito), which are thoroughly addictive cookies of oats, peanut butter, M&M's, and chocolate chips. I may shove a bit too much batter in my face while making them. Oops.  And my roommate and I are celebrating early with raspberry lambic - vanilla Greek frozen yogurt floats (inspired by Bianca at Confessions of a Chocoholic).


What are your plans for Valentine's?

Good Things - Early Winter

Good things from the past few weeks...


The return of fondue dinners with my roommate.
We bust out an electric fondue pot for the Trader Joe's fondue mix and assemble an assortment of dipping vehicles.  This time, we've got toasted bread cubes (pumpernickel and sourdough), raw broccoli, and roasted brussels sprouts.  Unsurprisingly, melted cheese made my initial taste of raw broccoli delicious. Cheese works its magic yet again.

Don't worry, the bunny isn't for dipping. He's supervising our fondue feast, spread across the coffee table that functions as our storage device/dining room table. Yup, we're heathens. But happy ones, at least!

Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout.
"A stout brewed with chocolate" is on its label. It's amazing. I must get another bottle (or four) very soon. Rich without being heavy, flavorful without being an in-your-face brew, I couldn't get enough of it.  It's also easy and delicious to use in baked goods, like bread puddings or brownies or cupcakes.

More Apple Cheddar Scones.

I told you, they're thoroughly addictive.  I can't have them enough, fresh out of the oven or for breakfast the following morning. 

Cardamom Ice Cream.

As much as I am a loyal fan of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (who makes a fantastic lime cardamom frozen yogurt, by the way), I've been loving this intensely cardamom ice cream from Three Twins.  Equally cozy with chocolate or caramel sauce as it is with roasted fruit (especially roasted plums).

Pumpkin, Maple, Bacon, Pecan Oatmeal.

Yeah, I did it. I put bacon in my morning oats. And it was delicious. A salty-smoky-sweet flavor bomb.  Just cook your favorite package of instant oatmeal with a mixture of pumpkin puree and milk, then top with cooked bacon, pecans, and a generous drizzle of real maple syrup. Wintry luxury that's good for you!

Spaghetti Squash, Black Bean, and Cotija Cheese Tacos.

From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.

Holy cow, I've never been more in love with a vegetable filled taco than I am for this. It's incredibly easy to make - just one night's prep offered 4 dinners' worth of food.  And it's a welcome change from my usual spaghetti squash meal, where I top the squash with tomato sauce and pretend it's spaghetti.  

Roast your spaghetti squash with chile powder and cayenne powder.  Assemble your tacos (or, if you're me, on a giant sized chile tortilla from Trader Joe's. So good.) with roasted spaghetti squash, black beans from a can, cotija cheese, extra hot sauce (because you can never have too much), and lime juice.  Make a hot mess over your plate and call it a night. Bonus points for a cold beer to wash it down.

Double Ginger Cocktail

Of all the Christmas cookies my mother and I crafted this year, the ginger rum molasses cookie (aka Joe Froggers) from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented (by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito) is the one I've snacked on the most.  It's insanely delicious, with a robust molasses flavor giving way to ginger and spice.  Plus we made way too many of them.  It turns out quadrupling a recipe sometimes yields way more than you expected.  Oops.  It was a fortunate accident, though, because I can't stop eating them.

So you can understand why I have high hopes for SNAP, a marvelous liqueur produced by Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction  flavored like German spiced molasses cookies, lebkuchen.  That means the rich, dark flavor of blackstrap molasses and the warm spiciness of fresh ginger plus aromatic spices come in a handsome bottle of liqueur.  You can drink the best gingersnap you've ever tasted, people! 

Obviously, I'm excited about SNAP and the possibilities it holds.  Even though my first cocktail made with SNAP wasn't worth sharing, I'm still eager to find the perfect cocktail that showcases SNAP's molasses-ginger-spice flavor.  With my current addiction to ginger rum molasses cookies, it feels right to search for its equivalent in cocktail form.  Thus the Double Ginger Cocktail.  It's SNAP liqueur, dark rum, and ginger ale or beer.  Sounds like it has all the right stuff.  

Alas, though a solidly good cocktail, it isn't what I'm looking for.  Molasses flavor from SNAP and the dark rum are overwhelming any trace of ginger or spice.  So it's back to testing other cocktails in my quest for liquid gingersnaps...  Oh, the suffering! Oh, the cookies I'll be required to sample!

Double Ginger Cocktail

from Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:

1 oz. SNAP

1 oz. rum (spiced or dark)

4 oz. ginger beer or strong ginger ale

Preparation:

Pour SNAP and rum over ice into a tall glass.  Add ginger beer or ginger ale.  Stir and garnish with a lime wedge, if desired.

Notes:

-This cocktail is all about molasses.  Dark rum has a strong molasses flavor, as does SNAP.  If you were thinking it might be a novel twist on the Dark and Stormy, like I did, you'll miss the bright punch of ginger and lime the Dark and Stormy offers.  Instead, you'll be ready to curl up with a thick blanket and drink this to fortify yourself against winter's chill.  Which is exactly what I'm doing, since Ohio is going through a painfully cold spell. 

Any ideas for what to try with SNAP next?

Happy Friday!

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Continuing with the theme of foods I've only discovered in the past few years are sweet potatoes.  Growing up, I can't recall them ever entering our house.  Not even in the ubiquitous form of sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.

Through a combination of food magazines, food blogs, and roommates, I met sweet potatoes and fell utterly in love.  Especially when roasted in the oven with spicy chipotle chile powder.  It's so easy, so nutritious, and so flavorful, it's become a staple in my apartment, especially when served with curry ketchup or balsamic glaze.

Chipotle Sweet Potatoes
A spicy and versatile dish perfect year-round.

Ingredients:
2-3 medium sweet potatoes
Olive oil
Chipotle chile powder, to taste (I use about 1 tbsp. for 3 potatoes)
Pinch of cayenne chile powder
Kosher salt, to taste (I use just under 1 tsp. for 3 potatoes)

Preparation:
Heat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.

Peel sweet potatoes and chop into roughly 1-inch cubes.  Toss in enough olive oil to lightly coat (about 1 tbsp. for 2-3 potatoes).  Sprinkle with chipotle chile powder, cayenne chile powder, and kosher salt.  Toss to evenly coat the potatoes.

Bake until the potatoes are easily pierced by a knife, about 25-40 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes or so.

My favorite ways to eat chipotle sweet potatoes:

--As a side dish, served with a hefty dose of curry ketchup (Mix 1/2 tsp. red curry paste with a 1/2 tsp. water until it forms a slurry.  Stir into 3-4 tbsp. ketchup.)

--Or drizzled with balsamic glaze

--Inside a soft corn tortilla with black beans, grated cheddar or monteray jack, pickled jalapeno slices, and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

--Mixed with cooked quinoa and dried cranberries, with a splash of apple cider vinegar and olive oil

--I haven't tried it yet, but I suspect these would pair wonderfully with a raw kale salad, apple cider vinaigrette, and crunchy apple chunks.

Thoroughly Addicitive Apple and Cheddar Scones

I can admit to you that, as a youth, I did not like cheese.  I ate hamburgers, not cheeseburgers, even from McDonald's.  At family parties, I avoided those strange-smelling cubes of cheese as scrupulously as I avoided the raw veggie tray.  I bemoaned the stench of the blue cheese ever present on my mother's salads.  The only cheese format acceptable to my decidedly finicky (i.e. frustratingly picky) palate was thoroughly melted in either grilled cheeses or mac and cheese, which I maintained was only edible if it was made:  A) from the blue box and B) by my mother.  I can't even fathom how crazy and how annoying my food preferences must have been to my parents.  I apologize, Mom and Dad and all my relatives.  I'll make up for lost time, I promise!

Since my anti-cheese attitude lasted far too long (all the way through college), you can understand why I'd never tried the classic combination of apples + cheddar.  Never. Even as my interest in food and cooking developed, even as I was curious about all the flavors I'd never tasted, even as I started to eat cheese by itself, I still resisted apples + cheddar.  It must've been a remnant of my anti-cheese days.

Then I met Smitten Kitchen. Deb promised these apple and cheddar scones would be addictive.  Plus, I wasn't going to the extreme of having unmelted cheddar and apple...so it stood a better chance of success.

It turns out, these scones are addictive. Even if you've never had apple and cheddar before in your life.  They're addictive enough that you make a few batches in a row, because you can't get enough.  And you start to wonder if there are other combinations of apple and cheddar that could pass muster...  Perhaps a pie crust a la Alton Brown?

Apple and Cheddar Scones
from Smitten Kitchen (get the original recipe with Deb's marvelous writing and photography here) 
Makes 6 large scones, which are at their very best directly out of the oven and quite good for 1-2 days after.

Ingredients:
2 firm tart apples (I prefer Honeycrisp and Braeburn, which aren't exactly tart. Oh well.)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading dough
1/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 1/2 tbsp. for sprinkling
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt, plus a pinch for the egg wash
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (please shred your own, it is so worth it here) (white is recommended for aesthetics)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

Preparation:
Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel and core your apples, then cut into 1/16th-inch chunks.  Place in a single layer on the lined baking sheet and bake about 20 minutes, until they take on a little bit of light brown coloring and feel dry to the touch.  I know, this sounds finicky, but you're reducing the overall moisture content of the scone, so it will turn out crumbly and perfect instead of gloppy.  Gloppy doesn't sound good, does it?  So gently dry out your apples!

Meanwhile...

Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle your chilled butter chunks on top and use either a pastry blender, forks, two knives, or your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour mixture.  You want a shaggy consistency, with a few larger pieces of butter (pea-sized or smaller) and many more small pieces of butter.  I find it best to pinch a quantity of dry goods + butter between my fingers and thumb, then drag my thumb across the row of my fingers.  

Add the baked apple chunks, shredded cheddar, cream, and 1 egg to your shaggy flour + butter mixture.  Stir until just combined.  Don't overmix.

Generously flour your countertop and place your dough on top of it.  Sprinkle with more flour.  Using your hands to gently pat or a rolling pin to gently roll your dough out into a 6-inch circle, about 1 1/4-inches thick. Cut into 6 wedges and transfer each to a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between scones.

Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and brush on top of each scone.  Sprinkle liberally with granulated sugar; it'll bake into a crunchy crust.  Bake until firm and golden, about 30 minutes.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.  If you can wait that long.

Notes:

As I mentioned, these are at their absolute best directly out of the oven.  Well, if you can wait 10-15 minutes for them to cool a bit, that's probably better, but it will be challenging.  If you'd like to reheat your scone before enjoying, I'd suggest a toaster oven or oven to preserve the crisp crust of sugar and egg wash.

I've found that after 2 days, regardless of storage method, these scones lose a lot of their winning points - they're much less crunchy and their interiors are turning mushy (especially the apples).  So eat them quickly. And make more soon.

It's A Walk-Off! | Apple Cider Cocktail Battle

Two cocktails.  Both highly anticipated (by me).  One successful, one a halfhearted flop.  Here's their story...

Apple cider is my fall and winter thing.  It's the juice I choose to go with breakfast.  Warmed up, it's a comforting dessert replacement (nothing can replace chocolate and ice cream, let's be real).  With spiced rum or bourbon, its an easy seasonal cocktail.  Made into caramels, a la Deb Perelman, it's a chewy, stick-to-your-teeth bit of heaven.  So apple cider is inherently good.  Particularly when using a quality apple cider that isn't sickly sweet (my favorite? Trader Joe's. Which is apparently off the shelves for the season. Cue my cries of despair.).

When I stumbled upon two cocktail recipes using apple cider, I had to try them.  Yet more perfect and easy seasonal cocktails? Of course, I had to try them.  And I was going to make it a battle.  A cocktail walk-off, if you will.  Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail vs. Hot Caramel Apple Cider.

Fast forward to the epic conclusion....and the Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail won by a landslide.  It balanced adeptly between sweet and spicy, thanks to the use of ginger liqueur.  Though I'll admit the Hot Caramel Apple Cider, with just a touch less sweetness, was a strong competitor.  Either way, you won't lose.


Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail
by Amy Tobin
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:
2 oz. Domaine de Canton (ginger liqueur)
1 oz. caramel flavored vodka
3 oz. apple cider
dash lemon juice

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake and strain into a martini glass.

If desired, crush a few gingersnaps into crumbs.  Rim a glass with plain simple syrup or agave syrup, then dip into the crushed gingersnaps.

Notes:
--To my taste, an excellent balance of sweet (from the caramel vodka and from the cider) and spicy (from the ginger liqueur and the cider spices).  Another good thing - it wasn't pow-in-your-face alcohol, which is still a bit too much for me.  Yes, I love imbibing cocktails, but I'm still a bit of a wuss.  I'm working my way up the ladder, right?

...versus...

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

from Amy Tobin

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:

6 oz. apple cider

1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tbsp. caramel syrup

1-2 oz. caramel flavored vodka

Preparation:

Combine cider, cinnamon, and caramel syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is melted into the cider.

Remove from heat and stir the vodka in.

Notes:

--For my tastes, this drink was too sweet.  Next time, I'd cut back on the caramel sauce or use plain vodka. Maybe add a pinch of fleur de sel or Maldon salt as a counterpoint.

--This would be a heck of a lot cozier served in a mug.  Bonus points for a dollop of whipped cream.

Jalapeno Parsley Sour Martini | from WANM

Here's something totally different.  It's not a traditional holiday flavor.  It's not even a typical winter flavor.  I just needed to change things up and temporarily break away from all the warmth and coziness of winter.  We Are Not Martha's Jalapeno Parsley Sour Martini did just that, setting me free from spice, earthiness, and that inexplicable heaviness we feel each winter.  Or maybe that's all the layers of clothing I bundle in to keep warm. Either way, this cocktail is easy, delicious, and an excellent change from the norm.

Bonus: The leftover jalapeno syrup is great drizzled over cornbread, crostini with goat cheese or ricotta, or brushed onto chicken wings.

Jalapeno Parsley Sour Martini
from We Are Not Martha (get the original recipe here)
Makes 2 drinks

Ingredients:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
2 jalapenos, sliced (deseeded if less heat is desired)
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
4 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. lime juice
6 oz. unflavored vodka

Preparation:
Make the jalapeno simple syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the jalapeno slices, drop heat to low, and simmer for 5-7 minutes.  Strain the syrup into a container.  You can store leftover syrup in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

Note: If you're not a fan of spicy heat, you'll want to deseed the jalapeno peppers first.  Do this by cutting  the jalapeno in half lengthwise, then trimming away the seeds and the white rib the seeds stick to.  All you want is green jalapeno.  Cut the deseeded, de-ribbed jalapeno into 1/2 inch chunks and use in the simple syrup recipe.

Make the cocktail. Put the parsley, lemon juice, and lime juice in a glass or cocktail shaker.  Muddle the ingredients together gently, so that the parsley is only lightly bruised.

I was a bit creative since I didn't use a cocktail shaker and wanted to enjoy my drink from a martini glass.  I muddled the parsley and juices in a small glass ramekin with a wooden muddler, then transferred the liquid to a martini glass. 

Add the vodka and about 4 oz. of the jalapeno simple syrup.  Stir or shake to combine, then pour into your martini glass.  Cheers!

What's your favorite out of the ordinary drink?