One of the best things about the end of summer is the opportunity to make lots of great soups, stews, chowders, burgoos, gumbos and muddles with seafood and other summer fare. With some fresh veggies on hand from my garden, I decided to tweak a fish muddle recipe and add a side of cornbread, as well as a nice cold beer.
A Fish Muddle is basically a stew consisting of a “mess of fish” as my Granny would say, traditionally cooked outside and shared. It’s popular in the coastal South, especially North Carolina, where I grew up. Here’s …read more

On Sunday, Chris and I took the family to The Belgian Cafe, located in the Art Museum section of Philadelphia, PA. It was a rainy July afternoon and we were hoping for something tasty but not heavy – the restaurant didn’t disappoint.
What the cafe is really known for, however, isn’t so much its food as its beer. The selection is impressive. There are about a dozen beers on tap – and according to the waitress, about 250 bottled beers and ales in the fridge.
But in the early afternoon (it was 2pm), I wasn’t in the mood …read more

Remember my recipe for a Radler? In this month’s Every Day with Rachael Ray, she offers a similar recipe – but with lime juice. I’ll confess that I haven’t yet tried it (I just saw the recipe) but it’s on my list. If you try it first, let me know how it is!
Lager and Lemon-Limeade
3/4 c lager beer, chilled
3/4 c lemonade, chilled
3 T sweetened lime juice
Lime wedge, for garnish
In a tall glass, stir together the beer, lemonade and lime juice. Serve with the lime wedge.
** Don’t forget to enter this month’s contest! Click here …read more

The friar’s back, with another great wing recipe (the first is here).
An old eating and drinking buddy of mine once told me that these wings were my one great contribution to the cause of civilization. I don’t know whether or not you will agree but I think you will find that they are worth trying. Now, this Asian/teriyaki flavor of wing is commercially available from a number of places but even so, I find home-made to be better than most of those you can order.
The Wings: Again you should buy the meatiest and highest quality meat …read more

All too often, we think about picnics as giant affairs with multiple courses. But why not make it a more basic affair as the Europeans do?
Ditch the potato salad, put away the cole slaw and say goodbye to the grill. Instead, go for simple flavors: some cheeses, salami, pepperoni, olives and good crusty bread.
served by picapp.com
The key, of course, is the bread. Try this one:
Polish Beer Rye Bread
This recipe is for a bread machine and tweaks just slightly a bread found in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook, which I highly recommend.
1 c …read more

Maybe it was the blueberry buckle with fresh cream that I ate for dessert last night – or maybe it was the skinny girl who passed me on my run today – but I have been in the mood to eat better as of late.
Lucky for us, it’s summer and there’s lots of fresh produce around, some of which I’ve grown in my own garden. But greens don’t have to equal tasteless. Why not throw some fresh greens together and dress them with some beer salad dressing? Yep, beer salad dressing. It’s just like a wine …read more

In the South where I grew up, summer was all about seafood. As an adult, I developed a pretty nasty food allergy to shellfish – but I can still eat some fish. And despite the snarky comments from my husband, I happen to think that frying a good fish is one of the best ways to prepare it.
There are lots of ways to fry a fish. My mom would pan fry fish with a little bit of cornmeal breading in vegetable oil. My grandmother would deep fry fish in lard (how can anything cooked in lard …read more

The weather here on the east coast has recently been hot and uncomfortable. Of course, you know what they say: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade – and beer!
In Munich, the Germans make a wonderful summer drink called a radler. Basically, it’s a refreshing mixture of beer and lemonade. It’s easy to make and even easier to drink! Best of all, in hot weather, when it’s important to stay hydrated, it’s better than drinking a beer.
Skeptical? Give it a try. I think you’ll like it!
Radler
1 bottle German beer (typically a Weissbier)
1 bottle …read more

I’ve been a little obsessed with making bread for the past few months using my wonderful bread machine. This week, I stumbled upon a recipe for sourdough based on a beer starter and gave it a whirl. The recipe calls for little to no use of the bread machine – you can do it without. It was the most difficult bread that I’ve made so far but also very tasty.
I’ve modified the recipe from one featured in The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook (German beer starter & Sourdough Bread) though the recipe remains very close to the …read more

At the request of the good editors of this blog, I am going to offer up a few columns on food, including some recipes. It may not surprise you to learn that The Friar not only likes libation, but also food in almost all of its wondrous varieties. Now having gone to college in upstate New York, I quickly acquired a taste of Buffalo Wings. In my years since graduation I have made wings in all shapes and sizes with varying degrees of success. The recipe I am about to share with you is a more …read more