Whole Wheat Beer Biscuits

In a week and a half both of my kids will be in school. My youngest is super excited about starting kindergarten and has been talking about it non-stop for pretty much the last two months. I'm excited, but also nervous. I have stayed home with my kids for 8 years and for the first two years after graduate school I looked for work and found nothing. So basically for the last 10 years I have stayed at home. I'm more than a little nervous about both of my kids being in school. Originally I had planned on going back to work when my youngest started kindergarten. However, my area has absolutely no jobs besides fast food and Wal-mart, and when I factor in the additional amount my student loans would go up and child care I probably would probably only break even. So for now I will be staying at home. It will be a time of transition for both my youngest and I and I'm hoping that the next couple of weeks bring lots of positive changes for my whole family.

My family loves biscuits. They are one of their favorite breakfast foods and my youngest will eat two at a time if I let him. I try to add whole wheat flour into my family's diet whenever I can and this morning I made Whole Wheat Beer Biscuits.

Adapted from The Sunset Cookbook.

Whole Wheat Beer Biscuits

Whole Wheat Beer Biscuits

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Summary:

An easy biscuit recipe using beer and whole wheat flour.

Preparation Time: 0h, 5m

Cooking Time: 0h, 20m

Total Time: 0h, 25m

Yield: Serves 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup beer

Cooking Directions

1. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
2. With your fingers or a pastry blender cut in the butter.
3. Beat egg and then add to flour mixture.
4. Add beer and mix just until dough comes together.
5. Pat dough into a 1-inch thickness.
6. With a 2-inch biscuit cutter cut out biscuits.
7. Place on a greased or parchment papered baking sheet.
8. Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

Notes: 

• If your family isn't a fan of whole wheat flour this recipe would also work with white whole wheat flour. It's an easier transition to whole wheat for kids and has a rise similar to regular all-purpose flour. 
• Make sure to not overwork your dough. The difference between great biscuits and mediocre is all in the amount of kneading. Biscuit dough needs a light touch. Never use a rolling pin, hand pat the dough out, and only mix the ingredients until they just come together. Anything more and your biscuits will be tough and won't rise. 
• I have also tried this recipe with only 1/2 cup of butter and had similar results. I try to cut down the amount of butter my family consumes when possible and while the biscuits weren't as rich, my husband and kids didn't notice the reduction in butter once the biscuits had jam and/or butter on them. 

That's it! They have a beautiful rise in the oven and are great either with butter or jam. Any type of beer would work, I used a wheat beer that I already had in the fridge. Have a great week everyone. 

Milk Stout Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I may have eaten a bowl of icing out of the fridge this morning. Last night I made a basil chocolate cake (which was actually very good!) and made a big batch of homemade buttercream frosting. This  morning it was calling for me to eat a bite, and then another, and before I knew it the bowl of leftover frosting seemed to have disappeared. This afternoon I made a batch of cream cheese frosting and had the same problem. There is something about frosting that makes me have to eat it, I can go without cake, but frosting is a completely different story.

So now that I have babbled on about frosting, it's time for a cupcake (and frosting) recipe. My husband loves trying new kinds of beer and our fridge normally has a variety of brands and types. For the last six months my husband has been nagging me to try a cupcake recipe that he found using Milk Stout online. So I finally gave in and made them today for my mother-in-law's birthday. The recipe is as follows.

Adapted from Left Hand Brewing.

Milk Stout Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Milk Stout Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe Type: Dessert

Summary:

A delicious combination of chocolate and beer (yes beer). Great for parties!

Preparation Time: 0h, 15m

Cooking Time: 0h, 25m

Total Time: 0h, 40m

Yield: Serves 24

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 bottle Milk Stout
• 1 stick melted unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 8 ounces softened cream cheese
• 1 pound confectioners sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl mix together dry ingredients (sugar, flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt).
3. In another bowl combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla.
4. One at a time add eggs.
5. Add sour cream and mix until combined.
6. Add dry ingredients and stir until mixture come together (do not over mix or your cake will be less fluffy).
7. Pour batter into 24 muffin cups (greased or with liners).
8. Bake for 12 minutes, rotate pan and then bake for another 8-12 minutes.
9. Combine the cream cheese and confectioners sugar to make the frosting.
10. After the cupcakes have cooled frost with the frosting.
11. Store in the refrigerator.

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July today! These cupcakes were a great dessert for the steak, mashed potatoes, and salad that we had for dinner tonight. For a party they would be a nice way to have a dessert that both beer and chocolate lovers would like. Plus according to my family they are pretty yummy! 

Regional Food Trends: Kentucky Beer Cheese

Kentucky Beer Cheese

Each state has at least one signature food. West Virginia is the home of the pepperoni roll. If you have never had one, they are delicious. A sweet, yeasty roll with pepperoni and sometimes mozzarella or pepper jack cheese. Growing up in Seattle everything revolved around salmon and pan-Asian food. I learned to make sushi when I was 9 and still love it to this day. Where you grow up has a large influence on the types of food you eat and what you learn to cook. When I moved to West Virginia I had no idea how to cook southern food. I had never made a biscuit in my life and I had only made gravy from a can. After meeting and marrying my husband I turned to my mother-in-law for help. Over the past 10 years I have learned to make all the foods my husband loves. My husband's side of the family lives in Kentucky and he is obsessed with Kentucky foods. He is obsessed to the point he stocks up on Ale 8 when we go to the grocery store on the other side of the river. One of his favorite regional foods is Kentucky Beer Cheese, so I tried a new recipe for it this week.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 15 minutes of total time, all of which is active and makes 16 servings. My husband made the majority of this recipe and he made a few changes. I had to help him use the blender since I don't think he had ever used it before. He was a fast learner though. For the cheddar he used extra sharp cheddar, PBR beer, 3 cloves of garlic, Tabasco and a slight amount of horseradish. When I blended the cheese in the blender I added it in batches, putting the beer in first. After the cheese was blended I let it sit overnight in the fridge for the taste to mellow.

The first day this cheese is made it's pretty strong. However, by the second day it's perfect. I would suggest cutting the garlic down to only 2 cloves and my husband thinks that it would be better with Yuengling beer. It is great served with crackers or spread on a toasted baguette.

Does your region have a food that it is known for? (I love finding out about regional foods!).

For the recipe go to Kentucky Beer Cheese. 

Beer Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage

Beer Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage

I have had a full weekend of eating. Most weekends I try to cook and eat everything from scratch. However, this weekend was the first part of spring break for my oldest so everything was a little wacky. While I eat healthy 99 percent of the time this weekend was full of coffee and chocolate. I absolutely love dark chocolate and allow myself a treat at least once a month in order to keep my sanity. Since I was sick with strep for over two weeks my body wants everything that I normally don't eat so I have been allowing myself a little food self pampering. This week I will be back to my normal cooking and eating schedule. Last week when I was on antibiotics and slowly feeling more like myself I made a number of high protein pork dishes. My family loves pork and to me it is a great comfort food. One of the recipes I tried was for Beer Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage from the March 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 5 hours (including marinating time) and makes 4 servings. I did make a few changes. First since I can't have regular beer I used gluten free beer. I also use a soy sauce which does not have wheat. For the marinating I allowed the pork to sit in the sauce for 5 hours. I ran out of butter right before making this recipe so instead of using butter I substituted canola oil. The recipe has the cabbage cook for 20 minutes, but my husband prefers his cabbage very soft so I let it cook for another 5 minutes. I did have to add a slight bit more water in order that the cabbage did not burn.

The pork in this recipe was very tender. My two boys ate almost an entire tenderloin by themselves, which is a good sign that they loved the recipe. The only thing that I would change is to double the sauce in order that there is enough to pour over the pork on the plate. I also love cabbage and would have liked more than the recipe made so I would double the amount of cabbage. Overall a simple recipe with lots of flavor and one that I would make again.

For the recipe go to Beer Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage.

Spicy Maple Baked Beans

Today was my annual after Christmas cleaning day. After the gifts are all unwrapped comes the fun part, finding room for everything. So I spent the day cleaning, organizing and moving new toys etc. into their proper places. Luckily I had already spent the Sunday before Christmas taking an entire carload of items to donate, so I had made lots of room for new toys. I have always been adamant with my kids that in order for them to receive new gifts they have to donate some of the toys that they don't play with anymore. That way my house stays organized and they understand that donating toys to those in need is a good thing. The one task that I don't enjoy is all the laundry and dishes from guests and cooking. I don't have a dishwasher so everything has to be washed by hand. On a normal day it isn't a big deal, but on the holidays it can be a little overwhelming. Luckily I am on the last load of laundry and then I plan on allowing myself to relax and read a book this evening. I have definitely earned it. Last week I made a number of dishes to freeze for meals this week so I could cut down on my after Christmas cooking. One of the new recipes that I tried was for Spicy Maple Baked Beans from the January issue of Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 19 ingredients. According to the recipe is takes 3 hours and 30 minutes, 45 minutes of which is active and makes 8 to 10 servings. First things first I do not understand how this recipe states that it takes 3 and a half hours. If you follow the directions it should take no more than approximately an hour and 45 minutes. Maybe they are taking an additional almost two hours to slice the hot dogs, or I am completely missing something. I did have to make a few modifications. I have never been able to find canned navy beans in my area. So instead I used plain white beans, which while slightly different worked just fine. Since I eat gluten free I made sure that the Worcestershire sauce that I bought didn't include wheat. Additionally I used gluten free beer, since regular beer has gluten.  I used a dutch oven to cook the beans which worked very well, especially keeping the lid half open. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

These beans were very popular in my household. My husband thought that they were the best baked beans that he had eaten in a long time and ate multiple bowls. Since the dish had hot dogs, my two boys were quite excited and ate a number of leftovers the next day. The best part was that since it made 10 servings I had enough for a meal last week plus leftovers for an entire other meal after Christmas.

For the recipe go to Spicy Maple Baked Beans.