The Bar Towel

Braised some brisket with 2/3 bottle dark horse reserve and 2/3 bottle of aged peche mortel. Absolutely fantastic.

mad some chili with a bottle of Smashbomb. Turned out pretty good.

sprague11 wrote:Braised some brisket with 2/3 bottle dark horse reserve and 2/3 bottle of aged peche mortel. Absolutely fantastic.

I tried Peche Mortel in cooking my oatmeal this morning, and I can see how a very malty stout would bring out the beefy flavors of brisket & make killer gravy. I'd maybe use a non-coffee / non-hoppy Imperial, St-Ambroise Oatmeal or even Sinha stout which seems to have some ideal qualities.

Tuqueboy also mentioned Brooklyn Black Chocolate, possibly the strongest bargain stout we ever had here.

Ukie wrote:Used my Creuset cast iron wok on a induction burner while glugging some Canonico Salento. Its Italian, its ruby red and peppery and cheap. When you cook wth Sambal Oelek chili paste anything else is wasted.

MEZZOMONDO NEGROAMARO SALENTO
Italy | Mgm Mondo Del Vino S.R.L.
LCBO 588962 | 750 mL | $ 7.95

Anybody got some non-expensive wines for cooking they use? And for what dish? Of course I'm finding old Belgian Strong Ales work just fine too...

Since tomorrow is Stir-Up Sunday, I thought I'd post a link to the pudding recipe I used last year. I used DDC Aphrodisiaque instead of Guinness and it was fantastic! This year, I'm trying Cannery Maple Stout. Also, I reduced the amount of raisins and prunes by 1/2 cup each and added a cup of chopped dates.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/yuleti ... ecipe.html

Edit: Stir-Up Sunday was last week. Crap.

I found a recipe for a Coffee Bourbon BBQ sauce that I want to whip up. Any suggestions on an inexpensive bourbon I could use for this purpose?

Ale's What Cures Ya wrote:I found a recipe for a Coffee Bourbon BBQ sauce that I want to whip up. Any suggestions on an inexpensive bourbon I could use for this purpose?

I always use Maker's Mark as my cooking bourbon.

Mind sharing the recipe? Sounds intriguing. Any idea what you're going to use it for, or just making it for no particular recipe?

I made a "Guinness" cake but subbed DDC Aphrodiadiaque for the Guinness. Delish!

I made some Indian chicken tenders with chipotle dip.

Cubed some chik breast and dusted with lots of Tikka, a bit of Masala, some grey salt and fresh-ground ppr. Let the cast skillet get nice and hot over several minutes on medium (the handle should get hot when the iron is evenly saturated with heat) When the seasoned pan was just slightly smoking threw on some butter and EVO - and just before adding on the cubes of seasoned chicken I tossed them in whole grain flour. Browned the cubes about 5 a side (adjusting the heat to control the rate of cooking.) Let them rest on paper towel a minute to degrease.

The dip was a sealed pak of take-out Swiss Chalet rib sauce - trailer style! It ate good with the Red Racer IPA.

Gonna make an ipa pizza dough this week with a red racer...

Iceman wrote: I always use Maker's Mark as my cooking bourbon.

Cool, I'll get that one. Too bad we can't get it in a smaller bottle.

andrewrg wrote:Mind sharing the recipe? Sounds intriguing. Any idea what you're going to use it for, or just making it for no particular recipe?

Sure. It's one of those "doctor" recipes where you take a store-bought sauce and give it steroids:

-In a small sauce pan, bring 1/4 cup of water just to boiling
-Stir in 4 teaspoons of instant espresso powder. Stir until dissolved.
-Stir in 3/4 cup of BBQ sauce, 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons of bourbon
-Cook over medium heat until bubbly, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat.
-Simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.

The magazine I found it in suggests using it on chicken wings, but I don't have any kicking around. I do have a couple chicken breasts and sides of back ribs that need using up though, so it'll be one of those.

Thanks! I will definitely try this out. I usually put bourbon in my BBQ sauce when I make it, but never thought of putting coffee in before.

andrewrg wrote:Thanks! I will definitely try this out. I usually put bourbon in my BBQ sauce when I make it, but never thought of putting coffee in before.

I love what bourbon does to BBQ sauce. I don't know too much about the drink itself (other than enjoying a good mint julep) but since it looks like I'll be buying a 750mL bottle I'll have to do a little exploring.

Yeah, I've made a bunch of BBQ sauce batches with whiskey and with bourbon, respectively, and the bourbon batches always come out better. Which reminds me, I'm out of bourbon.