I don't "get" pale ales

I love beer. No one that knows me would argue that. My brother has even called me a "beer snob" on several occasions. I'm OK with that. I love wheat beers like Belgian whites and hefeweizens are probably my favorites. Rock Bottom is my normal choice for lunch on the weekend. Although since Gordon Biersch bought them and changed the recipe on some beers and took the Asian lettuce wraps off the menu I'm not so happy, but that may be another blog entry. I have recent really been liking stouts and some porters. But the one beer that no matter how much I try to like is a pale ale. Whether a normal pale ale or even worse an India pale ale, I just don't "get" it. They are so bitter that any other flavor gets over powered. They are so dry and hoppy I just want to drink water. My buddy Chad loves them. And my favorite bartender at Rock Bottom loves them too. "The hoppier the better" he has been known to say. But I just can't get into them. So many good breweries make them and I keep trying to like them. I drink them with an open mind when I get a sampler at a store or a microbrewery but I just can't do it.

Oh well. I guess you can't like everything. I stick to my spicy wheats and creamy stouts.

A home cooked classic for a classic - Pot Roast for Mom!

On Mother's Day this year I planned to have mom over for dinner. I was going to cook my chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, but that morning I was watching Guy's Big Bite and he made this amazing looking pot roast. I knew I had to make it.

I grew up eating pot roast my mom made from one of those packets of seasonings and an oven bag and I still make that to this day. I love it! All the veggies, carrots were my favorite and boiled potatoes you smash and pour the gravy on. All of this brings back great memories. So I thought this would be fun. Making mom a classic she made for me for years, but a little different.

Now this may shock you a bit, me being a trained chef, but I have never made any pot roast but the oven bag, pre-mix seasoning kind. Crazy right? So I thought what the hell. The recipe called for me to use chuck, which I love, as well as my favorite cooking vessel: my cast iron Dutch oven. I was happy before I even started.

All the ingredients ready to go!

Now this had quite a few ingredients: chuck roast, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, fresh thyme, dried savory, tomato paste, red wine (for me and the recipe!) and beef stock. It also called for dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and part of the liquid from that, which I thought was different. I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but I like prepping food. Something about cutting up the stuff is soothing for me, sorta of a Zen-like activity. Strange I know. I'm sure a psychologist would analyze the hell out of that, particularly when I mention I really like cutting meat...

Anyways, this type of recipe is one of my favorites as I have mentioned before. Simple and cheap ingredients, put together just the right way and then allowed to cook slowly to become something special. What I really liked that was different about this recipe is that the "gravy" was made by pureeing all the veggies in the juices after the cooking was done. What came out was a thick, rich "gravy" that really made a different. It was then served on buttered egg noodles, instead of potatoes. We had just had baked potatoes the night before and I figured Amber wouldn't mind a pasta product. So I used some of Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (which is awesome!) and some butter and then plated it on a platter and served it family style. Amber and mom agreed the recipe was a keeper. I sent some home with mom for Gary and had leftovers for lunch the next day.

Hit me up if you want me to direct you to the recipe. Its definitely worth a little extra effort.

Dinner is served, mom!

The sweet smell of smoke

First off, let me say thanks Chad! I mean that seriously and sarcastically. All I can think about lately is firing up the smoker and throwing some meat on. Tonight I tried out some cornish game hens. I brined them for about 4 hours, then did a nice rub and let them come up to room temp while I fired up the grill. I used a combination of 100% all natural hardwood lump charcoal and then hickory chunks. Amber was a little bummed as the skin was a bit too bitter and smoky to eat and that's her favorite part. But the meat was tender, juicy and the dark meat was falling off the bone. I think I will try smoking a whole chicken soon. The hens may have been too small and that is why they got bitter. Every experience is an opportunity to learn.