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 my take…

Brew Ha-Ha Fish Muddle

2 tablespoons olive oil


2 cloves garlic


1/4 pound pancetta or bacon, cut into small pieces


3 scallions, chopped


1 celery stalk, chopped


1/2 red bell pepper, cleaned and chopped


1 tablespoon lemon juice


1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce


2 cups diced tomatoes


1/2 bottle beer (I used Victory IPA)


2 cups stock (I used veg stock but you can substitute fish stock)


3 medium potatoes, diced


1/2 teaspoon thyme


Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


1 pound fish, cut into small squares (you can add as much seafood here as you wish – the more the muddlier! I am allergic to shrimp and mussels so I obviously avoid them.)


Tabasco sauce

1, Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium high heat. Add pancetta or bacon and fry until crispy.

2, Add garlic, scallions, celery and bell pepper and cook until vegetables are soft. Add potatoes, lemon juice, Worcester sauce and saute a few more minutes.

3, Slowly add tomatoes, beer, stock, thyme, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. At the boil, reduce to simmer for at least 45 minutes.

4, Add fish during last 10 minutes and cook until fish is white and flaky.

5, Serve with cornbread (this is a MUST) – add Tabasco if you wish (and I do!).

Let me know what you think!

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Fish Muddle

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 for a pure pint. I wanted something a bit lighter. Fortunately for me, the brunch menu offered up something called a “Blanche Mimosa” described as:

Blanche de Bruxelles, a wheat beer seasoned with coriander and orange peel, that is topped off with our fresh squeezed orange juice

It was fabulous. Light and fruity – perfect with my duck salad!

It actually reminded me a bit of the Radler that I posted a few weeks back. The proportions were a bit different, I think. So here’s my take on the Beer Mimosa, using the proportions for a traditional mimosa. Enjoy!

Beer Mimosa

6 oz wheat beer
4 oz orange juice

Pour the wheat beer into a tall glass – you can use a fancy one (try a champagne glass if you want) – but the one I tried came in a traditional pub glass. Fill with chilled orange juice. Don’t stir!

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** Don’t forget to enter this month’s contest! Click here to find out how to win! **

(c) Brew Ha-Ha, 2008

Technorati Tags:
beer, beer mimosa, Blanche de Bruxelles

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Beer Mimosas

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 to find out how to win! **

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Lager and Lemon-Limeade

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 you can. Section the wings into pieces.

The Marinade: 1 part Chili-Garlic paste, 1 part Hot Teriyaki (I like World Harbors Maui Mountain Hot Teriyaki and for a more sesame laden twist I also like Soy Vey brand), 1 part basic hot sauce like Crystal or Durkee (for that dash of traditional flavoring). You can play with the combination but basically you want to get the heat of the chilies, the garlic and the sweet/sticky of the teriyaki. Naturally Sriracha sauce makes a nice addition and you can also monkey with wasabi, sesame, Thai or curry variants if you are so inclined. Let the wings soak for 6-12 hours (overnight). Make sure you reserve the marinade for use as the sauce.

The Grilling: Grill over medium-high heat until largely done. Then turn up heat to high in order to crisp the skin. Note- the teriyaki in the marinade is very sticky so you need to make sure your grill is well oiled before hand to minimize sticking.

The Sauce: Take the remaining marinade and pour into a saucepan. Add several tablespoons of butter or margarine. Heat to a boil then remove from heat.

Serving: Pour the sauce over the wings, stir well and serve!

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Ultimate Wings #2, An Asian Variation

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 beer (we last used Victory Hop Devil – the original recipe called for flat beer but I’ll go on record as saying that I don’t have the patience to wait “several hours” so I kept my open only a few minutes)
3 T vinegar
1-1/2 T honey
1 T melted butter
1 T minced onion

2 c bread flour
3/4 c rye flour
1/4 c wheat flour
2 T cornmeal (I use a very grainy milled cornmeal from NC)
2 tsp caraway seeds
1-1/2 tsp salt

(You may also want to add 2 T gluten – not gluten flour. This isn’t a terribly heavy bread but it does both rye and wheat flours which can make it dense. I’ve made it with and without and prefer it with

Place everything in your bread machine, set crust as desired (I like medium), 1-1/2 pound loaf and basic/white bread cycle. Hit start and sit back.

Come picnic time, cut with serrated knife into thin slices. Pack up in a ziploc with a paper towel to absorb the moisture – or use aluminum foil. Keep your cheeses and meats in blocks – you can slice them up as you go. No plates needed, just a few napkins, a knife and a cutting board. Wash it all down with a nice wheat beer. Perfection!

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Beer Bread (Perfect for a Picnic)

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 vinaigrette but with beer – and why not?

Take the opportunity to experiment with some of the flavored beers. I personally like a fruity salad dressing (no mean comments, please) so I think a Raspberry Wheat or citrus-y beer would be a really nice complement.

Give it a whirl!

Beer Salad Dressing

6 T olive oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots (or onions)
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup beer
3 T white vinegar (if using a wheat beer, you might consider using balsamic for a different taste)
1 T Dijon or whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Dash hot sauce (you might want to omit this if you use the wheat beer and balsamic combo – but my theory is that there’s never too much hot sauce!)
Salt and pepper to taste

Using 3 T of the olive, cook shallots and garlic over medium-low heat until soft. Whisk in beer, vinegar, mustard and honey. Reduce to low and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool. Add hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with salad and enjoy!

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Beer Salad Dressing

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 not be good?). Me? After spending some time in the UK, I’ve come to enjoy a good beer battered fish – but I like to throw in some cornmeal for that southern flavor.

Beer Battered Fish

1/2 – 1 c. milk**

1 egg
1 cup flat beer
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal (use a good quality corn meal)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
dash Tabasco or hot sauce
vegetable oil
butter
fish fillets

** okay, a note about the milk. Some folks don’t like a real fishy fish taste. Some cooks in the South will rinse their fish and will rest the fish in milk or buttermilk for close to an hour before cooking. You may want to skip this step.

1, Beat the egg and add in the beer.
2, Slowly add in the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper and tabasco sauce until the consistency is like pancake batter. You may need to add more or less flour depending on how much batter you like on your fish. My advice is to add the flour slowly and keep a small dish of flour handy.
3, Dip fish fillets into the batter, making sure to coat all sides.
4, Heat vegetable oil to very hot (a drop of water should sizzle in the pan). I like to add half vegetable oil and half butter. The reason for this is that frying only in butter will cause the fish to burn without being cooked through; frying only in vegetable oil will cook the fish but the outsides won’t be as brown and crispy as I like.
5, Drop fillets one at a time into oil and butter mixture.
6, Fry fish, turning only once, until both sides are a lovely brown.
7, Drain on paper towels.
8, Serve with a cold beer (I recommend a nice ale) and – of course – cole slaw.

Enjoy!

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesday: Beer Battered Fish

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 prepared lemonade – or 2 cups homemade lemonade

1, Combine.
2, Serve.
3, Enjoy!

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesdays: Radler

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 original (it’s a great book, I highly recommend it if you’re into making bread and use a machine).

Beer Starter
3/4 c. flour (I used King Arthur’s All Purpose Flour*)
2 T rye flour (again, King Arthur’s)
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 c. flat beer (I used Troegs Sunshine Pils*)

Whisk all ingredients together. Pour into a glass jar – cover with cheesecloth and rubber band and then again with plastic wrap.

As with a regular sourdough starter, let the starter rest in a warm area (room temp of 75-80 degrees will do). Do not allow the starter to exposed to direct sunlight as it will overheat the starter and could affect the yeast.

The starter should rest for 1-2 days. Stir it occasionally each day until ready to use.

* Don’t be fooled. The quality of ingredients does affect the taste and texture of the bread. Use good flour and beer that you like.

Sourdough French Bread
beer starter (as above)
1/2 c. water at room temp
3 c. bread flour (again, King Arthur’s)
2 tsp. salt (I used sea salt)
2-1/4 tsp. or one packet active dry yeast
-
1/4 c. cornmeal

Place all ingredients except cornmeal into bread machine (or you can mix and knead by hand). Use the “dough” cycle and let the machine mix and knead the dough for about 1.5 hours. When the cycle is over, deflate the dough with your fingers and let rest for about 3 hours.

Shape dough on cutting board using extra flour as needed (dough will be sticky). Cover dough and let rest for about an hour.

Knead dough to deflate. Line a bowl with a clean kitchen towel and flour (inside the towel). Place the dough in the bowl, covering the dough with the towel and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. The dough will now rise in the fridge (yep, you read that right) for the next day or so.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Take the dough out of the fridge (it will look as though it hasn’t risen much after you take it out), reshape gently using the cornmeal (the dough will be really tacky). With a knife, cut slashes into the bread – about 3 or 4 (it gives you the pretty appearance that sour dough is known for).

Bake the bread for 12 minutes at 450 degrees. Reduce the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 25 more minutes, being careful not to overcook. The bread will be brown and crusty.

Take it out of the oven and enjoy!

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I’m a butter on bread girl and I think this bread would be yummy with some butter and jam. I have so far tried it on its own, also good.

Since I used the pilsner, there isn’t a strong “non-bread” taste. You can definitely pick up on the yeast, though. Remember that there’s yeast in beer already and combining the yeast-y beer with yeast in the starter and then more yeast in the bread – well, you can guess what happens.

If you try it, let us know what you think!

(Image: Newscom)

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesday: Beer Starter for Sourdough Bread

Smoked Jumbo Wings with Habanero Mash
Prep Time: 4-6 hours (not including overnight marinade)

The Wings: It all begins with the wings themselves. You really want to get the largest and highest quality wings you can find, and be sure to keep them whole. The Friar is blessed to live in the City of Brotherly Love and therefore goes to Cannuli House of Poultry in the world famous Italian Market to buy his wings. They cost more per pound than the regular sized variety but the extra meat is needed because of the smoking and to be honest, if you are going to spend this long making wings then you want as much meat as possible to savor when you are done.

The Marinade: Minced garlic – 1-2 cloves per pound of wings. Cheap hot sauce – like Franks or Durkees – 1 bottle per 5 pounds. After removing the wings for cooking make sure you reserve the marinade for use in the sauce.

The Smoking: If you have never used a smoker it would take too long to explain the process here. Anyway use good hardwood chunks (better than chips). Smoking time depends on the heat of your fire and the amount of meat you have put in.

The Crisping: Simply smoking meat can produce a leathery skin that is not unpleasant but I have found that if you throw your freshly smoked wings on the grill for 5-10 minutes the flames get the skin to crisp nicely thus simulating traditional wing crunch nicely.

The Sauce: OK – this is the tricky part to relate because The Friar is not a scientific cook. Also when working with Habaneros, one’s heat tolerance comes into play. Anyway, when I make this mash, I make a large amount and store it for future use. First thing is to Ventilate The Kitchen! Take 6 cloves of minced garlic, 1 minced small onion and 12 minced habaneras (consider wearing gloves when handling the peppers). Sautee in oil. When thoroughly cooked down add 2-4 Tbls of honey. Store in a plastic, air-tight container.

Pour the marinade into a saucepan and add 4 tsps of butter or margarine. Heat to a boil. Turn off the heat. Stir in 1-4 Tbls of the Habanero Mash.

The Finish: Pour sauce over the wings and coat thoroughly. Serve!

Quick Prep Variation: If you do not have a smoker or you do not have the time to use it you can simulate the results by cooking your wings on the grill the whole time and using a smoker box insert (a small metal box filled with wood chips that goes on the flames under the grill surface). Cook over low heat for 1 hour. Turn up heat to high and follow Crisping directions.

Enjoy!

The Friar

Note from the editor – not sure if this is the full-board recipe, but be forewarned, these suckers are melt-your-skull hot, so adjust as necessary.

Post from: EveryJoe

Tasteful Tuesday: Ultimate Wings