Pork Chops & Chicken

A Quick Glance @ American Craft

I went to the new opening for American Craft last night in Brookline, Ma. David Ciccolo who owns the Publick House and Monks Cell as well as the Publick House Provisions, decided to revamp and go in a whole different direction with his former restaurant the Roadhouse.

David suffered set back after set back when it came to the Roadhouse. There was no luck for that place at all. From the bad chef who opened the restaurant (admittedly that was David's mistake), to the typical Brookline residents who couldn't be bothered to go to the planning meetings when David planned on installing a 4600 pound smoker, only to have the same residents complain and have it shut down 6 months later because was spring time. Who cares that it had been going for 6 months and that they ignored the planning meetings. It's spring time and they wanted their windows open.

Then there was the issue of the smoker being set up with a Jewish Center for Asthmatics right behind his pork-filled, smoke monster (true story). Next it was the Boston Globe writing an unethical review of the Roadhouse highlighting the good food from the new chef but making no mention of phasing out the old chefs bad food and writing about it without any mention of the change over. A terrible review without telling the whole truth or painting an accurate picture. Kind of like the typical Yelp review. And lastly being forced to change his menu due to a lack of a smoker from Texas-Style BBQ to a Tex-Mex style menu. I think the fans were as exhausted as Mr. Ciccolo was.

Finally David has come up with a realistic change to his restaurant. A concept that I think hits all the right marks at the right time. American Craft featuring only American craft beer, wines, and spirits. The menu has been kicked up 20 notches and simplified. The restaurant itself has been tweaked to feel worlds more comfortable.

My husband Todd, wrote a good write up from his point of view for a BeerAdvocate review. You can read that here.

I mostly wanted to highlight some of the food we had last night. It was so good. The duck hash was awesome, and not pictured, was the buffalo mozzarella cheese bites in marinara sauce. Delicious! The Stout Braised short rib was massive and so soft and tender. The potatoes were soft and creamy. I usually don't like mashed potatoes at all, but these were great.

Pulled Duck Hash: duck confit, root vegetables, and Yukon potatoes.

Burger: On a Challah roll with bacon, fried egg, spinach, and cheddar with hand-cut fries.

Stout Braised Short Rib: short rib with wilted spinach and whipped potatoes.

The beer selection is good. Let's face it, whether you liked the food at the Roadhouse or not, finding good beer in one of David's places has never been an issue. Now there is good wine too.

As many bumps in the road as there have been for David in finally getting this restaurant situated, I think it's finally safe to say that he has found his niche. This is the right concept at the right time.

I don't expect to see glowing reviews on Yelp with all the back and forth changes the Roadhouse has been through. I don't expect much out of Yelp in general. Or those who are on average hard to please. But you should see it for yourselves. American Craft is a much more comfortable place to hang out at, much more laid back atmosphere, and the food has kicked up, simplified, and fantastic. I liked it and frankly I am all that matters around here. It is my blog after all.

Thanks to my friend Caitlin, for allowing me to borrow her camera for these pics.

Creamy Chicken Pesto with Mushrooms and Sundried Tomatoes

This is the day I realized my camera was dying. The day I realized it's time to upgrade to a more professional type camera. Yellow pictures, blurry images with the setting set on still images. What a disaster, but I couldn't resist sharing this recipe.

I attended the 1st Annual FoodBuzz Blogger festival in the beginning of November last year. As part of the tons of swag we were given, I got a jar of this Mezzetta Napa Valley Homemade style pesto. Unfortunately it leaked all over my bag on the way home so I had a day or two use it.

I am not a huge pesto fan and I haven't really cooked with it before. So I searched the internet for a creamy chicken dish that I could add the pesto to. I found a very simple recipe from the FoodNetwork for Chicken in Parmesan chive cream sauce. This was the recipe I used for my base and then improvised the rest to make an awesome chicken pesto dish.

Forgive these pictures and pay attention to the recipe. You will want to make this. I cut out the chives and added a few different things to this recipe. Look for the asterisk to indicate what has been changed from the original recipe.

Chicken in Parmesan Cream Sauce by Robin Miller

1 tbls olive oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
* 1/4 cup parmesan
salt
pepper
* 1 6.25 oz jar of basil pesto
* 10 large white mushrooms sliced
* 1 cup of sundried tomatoes chopped
* 1 pound of cooked bowtie pasta

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes stiring with a spoon. 

Add chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown on all sides.

Add thyme and bay leaves and cook for one minute, or until fragrant.

Add heavy cream and bring to a simmer for 1 minute or until sauce has thickened. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Add parmesan cheese and simmer for 1 minute or until sauce has thickened. Remove bay leaves.

Boil bowtie pasta and cook until pasta is tender. Drain the pasta and leave in pot. Add the entire jar of pesto, sliced mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes to the pasta. Pour on the creamy chicken from the skillet into the pot and stir well. Make sure all the pesto and cream sauce has coated everything.

Serve immediately in bowls with garlic bread.

The asterisk next to the parmesan is there because the recipe called for 1/4 cup, but I found that I needed a lot more than that. Start with the 1/4 cup and gradually add more as you need it. But allow it time to thicken before adding more so as you don't over do it. Just watch that you don't over cook the chicken while you wait for the cream sauce to thicken.

Clown Shoes Black IPA Hoppy Feet

Clown Shoes Black IPA Hoppy Feet 7% abv from Mercury Brewing Co. in Ipswich, Ma.

A second chance with this beer. I tried it for the first time on NYE at Cambridge Common for their 30 taps, 30 IPA's night. I dismissed it because my palate was shot from drinking heavier hopped beers like Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. I thought it was light and not note worthy at all. Boy, was I wrong.

Gregg Berman, the creator of this beer, found my quick and rather dismissive blurb about the beer. He sent me an email asking if I would try it again with a fresh palate. Within a few hours that beer was sitting on my door step. Talk about customer service!

I was given two bottles. I tried it that night with my famous meat loaf. The beer and meat loaf were amazing together. It will probably be my go-to beer for my meat loaf in the future. The beer is rich and roasted with big malts, but very hoppy and clean as well. It drinks well, has a nice hop bite, and not cloying from the malts.

This is the style of beer I have been digging a lot lately. It has everything I want in a beer. Rich roasted malts and big hops.

I am glad I got a second chance with this beer. It very tasty and I was wrong to dismiss it that easily.

Thank you Gregg!

Bad Ass Beer Dinner, Bad Pictures (Rogue @ Cambridge Common)

[Kate Baker, Suzanne Schalow, and Sebbie Buhler. Good image that isn't one of my bad images via Sebbie.]

It wasn't a total loss, but I really screwed this one up. This beer dinner however, was just too good to not to write about despite my shoddy pictures. So I am going to blog it anyway and hope that you all don't mind.

A good friend of mine, Sebbie Buhler of Rogue, came up to Boston to do a beer dinner at Cambridge Common. The ladies of Cambridge Common, Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow, also great friends, just keep cranking them out. Beer dinner after beer dinner. And this happened to be a spectacular dinner I was lucky enough to catch.

My whack pictures of Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow. Sebbie Buhler and Suzanne Schalow.

Welcoming Beer: Captain Sig's Deadliest Ale 6.2% abv American Amber/Red Ale

 

A beer brewed in honor Captain Sig from the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch. This is a nice and bitter beer. Spicy, malty, big hops, and it's plenty bitter. Very tasty and easy to drink. I liked it a lot. It was my first time having this beer before. I had been wanting to try it ever since I heard about it because I am big fan of Rogue and the show.

My picture is so pathetic. It's painfully obvious I am not a photographer or possess zero photography skills, but I am not sure why I snapped a blurry pic and then moved on. 

First Course: Garlic, cheddar, and andouille sausage soup.

Beer: Dead Guy Ale 5.6% abv Maibock/ Helles Bock




What a wonderful soup! Man this thing was creamy, chock full of garlic and sausage. The Dead Guy ale was perfect. Not too hoppy or bitter, very balanced with the malts. They were made for each other. The soup was very filling and delicious. Perfect for the winter months. I really need to get the recipe.

Look at that beer shot. Same thing again, blurry. Does that delicious beer no justice. Let's forget about that bad shot with another good pic of the soup.

Second Course: Baby spinach toasted hazelnuts, cranberries, and crumbled blue cheese.

Beer: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar 6.2% American Brown Ale


 

It's as though I really hate the beer with the kinds of pictures I took.

Actually, this was the best pairing of the night. Rogue Hazelnut is a delicious brown ale, but if you have ever had it before, then you know how delicate the hazelnuts are. It happens to be more robust on bottle than it is on draft. But again it's not a dominating feature of the beer.

Once I took a sip of the beer and tasted mostly the roasted malts, I figured nothing different because this is the kind of beer it is. But once I had a bite of the spinach, this beer opened up in huge ways. The hazelnuts completely popped out. Not just a little bit either. It was like drinking an actual hazelnut nectar. I believe it was the earthiness of the spinach. Yes the salad had hazelnuts on it, but if you notice the picture, there wasn't enough on that plate to do dominate the palate.

I used this beer once before for a chocolate and beer dinner. And sitting around with the chefs of this restaurant, we tasted the beer and decided that the best way to make the hazelnuts pop out was to just do a simple butternut squash puree with only vanilla added. Served with it was a piece of Selles sur Cher goat cheese rolled in cocoa nibs. The premise was to have beer, cheese, and chocolate in every course. Well this worked for pronouncing the hazelnuts and it was delicious. But this salad pairing far exceeded the butternut squash as far as making the hazelnuts pop.

Third Course: Pork chop with black lager mushroom jus, scalloped potatoes, and haricot vert.

Beer: Chatoe Dirtoir 5.2% abv Schwarzbier/ Black Lager

So naturally when I finally manage to get a clear shot of the beer, it's so black you can't even tell. And the clear shot of the beer meant, bad shot of the food. You can't see the delicious pork chop smothered in amazing mushrooms. 

Luckily, Sebbie managed to capture a much better picture.

There was a choice for entrees and naturally I had to go with the pork chop. I did it solely because of the name of my blog. That and it just sounded awesome. Of course it was awesome. The gravy was amazing, the au gratin was creamy and fantastic. This was straight up comfort food and I ate every bit of it.

The beer was unbelievable too. Another Rogue beer I haven't had before. This is a black lager that drinks like a big old stout. You wouldn't know it was a lager at all. The brown head, the very black body, and big robust flavor and nose. No this thing couldn't possibly be a lager. But it sure was.

Chatoe Dirtoir purposely misspelled, and proudly labeled GYO (Grow Your Own). From their press release: 

Available on draft and in serigraphed 22oz bottles, Wet Hop Ale is brewed using two First-Growth hops, Independence and Revolution, from Rogue's Micro Hop Yard in the Wigrich Appellation. Each hop will be brewed the day they are harvested by John Maier, Rogue Brewmaster. After brewing, they will be blended, bottled and kegged.

2010 Chatoe Rogue products will use Rogue Micro Farms' Independence, Revolution, Liberty, Freedom, Newport, Rebel and Alluvial hops from the Wigrich Appellation and Dare, Risk and Dream malts from the Tygh Valley Appellation. Chatoe products will include Pinot Envy Ale, Dirtoir Ale, Single Malt Ale, and OREgasmic Ale.

Dedicated to Independence, a 200 barrel brew of Wet Hop Ale is made using 3,000 pounds of wet hops! To view the Hop Yard web cam, and get more information on Rogue, Rogue Micro Farms and additional pictures of the harvest visit www.rogue.com or call 541-867-3660.

It was delicious, creamy, drank like a big stout, and worked wonderfully with the pork chop and potatoes au gratin. Total comfort food with an amazing new beer. You would not recognize this beer to be a black lager.

Fourth Course: Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Beer: Rogue Chocolate Stout 6.3% abv

 

Sebbie's beer! That is Sebbie on the bottle. A delicious and very bitter chocolate stout. My first time with this beer I thought it was too bitter. Now that's all I want in beer is nothing but bitterness. Bitter like my soul. 

[image via Sebbie]

Normally when I host pairings, I try not to pile the same flavors on top of the same flavors. I like to push the envelope and explore different ranges. But sometimes you got to go with what works. This is one of those cases, chocolate on chocolate. A no-brainer. The beer is made is imported dutch chocolate, and was paired with a big sweet chocolate cake. Unbelievably good yet again with this pairing.

What happens to the beer with a big sweet cake is that it tones down the beer in such a way it becomes more drinkable. Sometimes stouts are so big, you can only have little bits at a time. There is such a thing as very filling beers. But there is a reason big, decadent, rich chocolate cakes work with big rich stouts. They balance each other out. Not to mention the rich chocolate enhances the roasted malts on the beer allowing it to be roasted, chocolatel-y, coffee, bitter, and fantastic!

Well done Kate and Suzanne. Another successful beer dinner in the bag even if my pictures didn't do it justice. And hanging out with Sebbie late after the dinner until the bartenders kicked us out, was the highlight of the evening.

Humpy's "Break Into The Cage" Beer Dinner Jan. 13, 2010

 [Gratuitous Moose shot for the Alaskans. ;>]

This was our first event after landing in Anchorage, Alaska. We literally flew into town, got showered up, and were back out for beer and food.

Billy Opinsky, the owner of Humpy's Great Alaskan Ale House, owns and shares a kitchen with another bar called SubZero Micro Lounge. Anyone who know beer in Alaska, knows Billy O. He is a kind and generous proprietor of two Anchorage's mainstay's and is extremely knowledgeable about craft beer. After our week in Alaska, I can safely call Billy O, my pal!

SubZero was the scene for the "Break Into The Cage" beer dinner. Billy Opinsky broke into his stash of rare offerings of Belgian beers kicking off a week of beer events for the Great Alaskan Beer And Barely Wine Festival. There were some excellent surprises in store and some other offerings that were not so much.

Welcome Beer: Castelain 2001 Blonde Biere de Garde, 6.4%, France

This one came out a little chunky, but tasted amazing for nine year old beer. I felt like it held up well.

The French are known for their farmhouse style ales. Very classic, wild farmhouse ales. As pretty as Biere de Garde's are though, I am looking forward to France finally competing with the Italians and making more varieties of craft beer. But having said that, I have never been to France. There could be a beer revolution going on there right now.

First Course: Artisan greens with pomegranate, tossed with meyer lemon, olive oil, and geuze, topped with gorgonzola and crispy pancetta.

Beer: Boon Oude Geuze 2001 Gueze, 7% abv, Belgium

This was an excellent pairing. The sour gueze went right to work on the earthy greens and the blue cheese. The pomegranate seeds added a touch of sweet tart to the plate. And of course the pancetta, that's always a welcome guest to any dish.

I liked this course a lot because reinforces the power of a good pairing. I am not a fan of sour beers. If the ph is off, they become undrinkable to me. It's not the flavors of them despite how funky they can be, it's the physical effects they cause to my body. Like instant heart burn. If they are too funky, they wild bacterias cause instant bloating. An uncomfortable issue to talk about with beers, and in the middle of a beer dinner discussion, but it still happens. These aged beers were certainly funky but I was able to handle them okay with food. 

It proves to me that food and beer really change one and other. Beers you may not like, end up being wonderful with the right food. And once you accept that factor that food changes the experience all together, it reinforces a mantra that I have been repeating over recent months: You don't not need to give a person "training wheel" beers in order to make them a convert. People think non beer drinkers should be weened into beer versus giving them the best beers no matter what style they are. All it takes is an expertly matched pairing. The same can be said about me who has professed a dislike towards sour beers. Food changes everything for the better.

Second Course: Seared Foie Gras resting on red cabbage braised in Hanssens Kriek with a blackberry compote and fresh berries.

Beer: Hanssens Oude Kriek 1999 Lambic, 6% abv, Belgium

This was an amazing dish. Huge pieces of wicked soft foie gras. Absolutely sinful and artery clogging. Just the way I like it! The red cabbage and the blackberry compute was fantastic.

The beer was not so much for me. Despite it's gorgeous red color and crisp carbonation still hanging on, there was a funk going on that I just couldn't get passed. It was little rough on my esophagus as well. All the other geeks at the table were going bonkers over it. This was one I just couldn't agree with. I wound up drinking the Boon Oude Geuze with it and it worked just as well. Same basic principles of the high acid content cutting through the rich fats as well as the carbonation.

Despite a super funky beer, this course was amazing.

Mystery Beer: Cantillon Fou' Foune Lambic, unknown year, 5% abv, Belgium

Amuse Bouche: Crostini with a gouda spread, spring onions and chutney.

Now this was a Cantillon I could handle. Cantillon is world renowned for their lambics and gueze's. But they are also know for being some of the most sour beers you can get. These are some of the worlds prettiest beers, but the some of the roughest on me. Luckily not this one thanks to aging rounding out all the dramatic sharp sour edges. Big lovely peaches and apricots in this muted sour beer.

It went perfectly with the little nosh of gouda crostinis. 

Intermission Beer: Unibroue Edition 2005, 10% Abv, Dark Belgian Strong Ale, Quebec, Canada.

Sadly from this point on I can only post the picture from this beer dinner. I had to head back to the hotel and sleep. I had a headache so bad. We landed that afternoon and went right to the dinner. This was the kind of headache that wouldn't go away without a few hours darkness and sleep. Luckily I woke up feeling great the next and had a glorious breakfast of King Crab Leg Cakes Eggs Benedict. But bad luck for me, I missed the bread pudding dessert. Todd finished taking pictures for me.

Third Course: Deconstructed venison stew with root vegetables.

Beer: Thomas Hardy's Ale 1996 Old Ale 11.7% abv, England (Retired)

Fourth Course: Pistachio crusted lamb resting in Duchess de Bourgogne demi glace with potatoes au gratin.

Beer: Trappistes Rochefort 8 2004, 9.2% abv, Dark Belgian Strong Ale, Belgium

 

Dessert: Bread pudding with Thomas Hardy glaze.

Beer: Goulden Carolus Noel, year unknown, Dark Belgian Strong Ale, Belgium.

I love bread pudding. What a shame I couldn't make it all the way to the end. But from everything I did have, it was an incredible meal. Todd said the rest of the meal was fantastic. I got to meet and hang out with some really great people. And I got to bad mouth Sarah Palin with some like minded Alaskans.

Thank you Billy O for kicking off our week in Alaska with an amazing beer dinner.

Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Cupcakes With Bourbon Hot Fudge Frosting

I love chocolate, I love Bourbon, and I love cupcakes. Why not combine all three? This is what happens when I have cravings at midnight and I have to do something about it right away.

This won't be another one of my tl;dr (too long, didn't read) posts. Just a simple recipe with a few a additions and viola, Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Cupcakes.

First thing you need to to know is that this is the very best chocolate cake recipe of all time. I don't mean fancy fuck-all cakes that have no flour, added coffee, or blah, blah, blah added to them. This is for straight up chocolate cake. Now, I did tweak the recipe for the cupcakes, but you need to know that this recipe is makes simply the best chocolate cake in the world. Super moist, and super chocolate-y.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
*1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

What a Hershey's recipe? Yes! Hershey's unsweetened cocoa is actually world class. Only snobs will shun it because it's from Hershey's. Eff them! You don't have to use Hershey's if you don't want to, but certainly follow this recipe. I used Droste because it was on sale when I bought it. You know how expensive Whole Foods is and when they put stuff on sale, it's a jump at moment.

What I did to change the recipe was, I added one cup of chopped pecans to the cake batter. I found that after they were baked they tasted amazing, but next time I will probably roll the frosted cupcakes in chopped pecans instead. It's up to you. Either way its still delicious.

Instead of boiling water, I heated 1 cup +2 tbls Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Add one cup to a sauce pan and heat. Add the 2 tbls of bourbon to the batter itself. Do Not let it boil. Just heat it up to the point before it boils and add it to the batter.

Bake as recipe calls for.

 

For the frosting I just tweaked another classic recipe I found for a chocolate butter cream that calls for hot fudge.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup hot fudge topping
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions

1. Cream together the butter or margarine with the shortening.
2. Sift the cocoa with the confectioners' sugar and add to the creamed mixture. Mix together adding 1 tablespoon at a time of milk to keep mixture smooth. Don't add more than 1/4 cup of milk.
3. Add the hot fudge topping and the vanilla extract. Blend until smooth and creamy.

I simply subbed the milk for the Buffalo Trace Bourbon. I added little bits more at a time if the frosting was too thick.

And there you have it. Super moist, very decadent, bourbon-y, deliciousness in the guise of a simple cupcake.