Bacon Cheddar and Ale Soup

February 7, 2016 - 5:59 pm

I'm pretty into soup right now. LA doesn't really have soup weather, but the last few weeks have been about as close as it gets. So, when this recipe landed in my feed, it seemed like perfect timing to try it out.

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I Ruined the Meat Slow Cooker Chili

December 29, 2015 - 5:20 pm

This fail is my fault and it could have been avoided. I cook a lot of chicken with my slow cooker and with enough trial and error I've solved the dryness problem (hint: it involves liquid, a mixture of chicken breasts and thighs, and just the right amount of cooking time on low). I rarely cook any type of beef. So, when I found what sounded like a delicious recipe for Texas Beef Chili on Once Upon a Chef, I tried to outsmart my cow and prepared the recipe as outlined except I put everything into the slow cooker. The result was excellent flavored chili with very tough and dry meat.

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Short Rib Chili with Chocolate Stout

December 31, 2014 - 4:31 pm

Last week, I went to the store without a plan, which is generally a bad idea. Normally, I'm not so good at shopping without something specific in mind and I end up with 11 ingredients that don't go well together and a pint of ice cream. I had it in my head that I wanted something beefy, but I wasn't sure what that might be. When I saw boneless short ribs, I remembered a really delicious short rib chili I once had, so I Googled a recipe while I was in the store, picked up all of the ingredients, and off I went to cook. Food 52's Short Rib Chile was actually third on Google's list of results, but it has recently become a favorite site of mine so it was a no brainer.

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Spicy Stir Fried Bacon

December 13, 2014 - 2:38 pm

In the last month, I've managed to make four recipes I found at maangchi.com. Originally, I was just trying to figure out what to do with a nearly full tub of koren hot pepper paste (gochujang) leftover from a recipe I tried months ago. I was immediately smitten by her. The recipes all looked great and she made cooking korean dishes seem easy despite all of the "exotic" ingredients. After my first success with Spicy Braised Chicken (Dak-bokkeumtang), I ventured further into the site and found several other recipes I was interested in trying, including her recipe for Spicy Stir Fried Pork (Dwaejigogi-bokkeum). Having had all of the ingredients on hand except pork belly, I substituted that with bacon and called it dinner.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde

November 30, 2014 - 11:59 am

A few weeks back I made Roasted Tomatillo Chicken Enchilada Casserole from Pinch of Yum. It taught me that roasting green chiles is flavorful and delicious. So, when I saw a recipe for Slow Cooker Chile Verde on a forum, it went on my immediate "to make" list. Read More to see the recipe.

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Bacon and Beer Soaked Cheese

November 23, 2014 - 5:21 pm

Just in time for the holidays, Sam Adams teamed up with Beecher's Cheese to create 4 easy soaked cheese recipes. Each of the recipes has a place here, but only Bacon and Beer Soaked Cheese holds a special place in my heart. Read more to see the recipe.

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Raspberry Lambic Brownies

September 23, 2012 - 3:15 pm

The beneficiary of my baking really likes the combination of raspberries and chocolate. After searching online for baked good ideas using some sort of beer, I came across these Cherry Lambic Brownies at Oh My Veggies. The modification was obvious - it's raspberry season, so substitute the cherries for fresh raspberries, and use raspberry lambic instead of cherry. The results were quite satisfying!

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Seared Scallops with Apple Cider Balsamic Glaze

August 7, 2012 - 10:34 pm

A funny thing happened a few weeks back: I had an unexplained craving for scallops. Up until that time, I wasn't even sure that I liked scallops. In fact, I was pretty sure I didn't. Logic tells me that somewhere, deep down, that craving was calling to a primal memory of enjoying scallops that I must have had at some point in my life.

Given that the craving was unexpected, I hadn't planned a thing. Naturally, I scoured the internet and came up with this recipe from She Cooks He Cleans. All in all a success, although I found out scallops are rather pricey.

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Bacon and Kale Gratin

June 28, 2012 - 9:13 pm

As promised, here is that recipe for the bacon and kale gratin that I made to serve with the marinated beer brats. Yes, I did eat 1/2 of the pan. Yes, in a single sitting. I couldn't help myself. Thank you Pinterest for shortening my life with this recipe discovery.

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Notes on a BBQ and Beer Brats Two Ways

June 3, 2012 - 5:52 pm

A party three and a half years in the making actually came to fruition yesterday. There's no reason it actually should have taken that long to happen, and there was nothing about it that would have seemed like it took that long to plan, but it did.

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