Blue Moon Recipe: Belgian White Beer Can Chicken

This is a fun recipe.  And also one of, if not the best whole roasted chicken I've made AND had (that includes you, Zuni chicken).  The idea came from the summer grilling direction.  The beer can chicken recipe is very easy, and very delicious.  The only trick is you need to keep an eye on the chicken during the first 10-15 min so it doesnt fall, or catch fire.  

The method of cooking, and combination of aromatic spices produces an incredibly moist, and delicious chicken.  The Belgian White is perfect for this recipe because of the subtle spices and hint of citrus. Just writing about this is making my mouth water! Try this recipe this summer!!

Blue Moon Belgian White Beer Can Chicken

1 (4-pound) whole chicken
1 can Blue Moon Belgian White beer
Orange Rind
1 tsp coriander seeds
5 Cloves
1 tsp honey
3 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp seasoning salt
2 tbsp pepper

Blue Moon Recipe: Spring Blonde Wheat Ale Brats

 

In this first edition of Blue Moon Recipe development, the good people on the account had me gear recipes for summer grilling.  The first set of recipes were to use Blue Moon's spring offering, the Spring Blonde Wheat Ale (you can read more about the beer here! http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/).  This beer was brewed with orange & lemon peels giving it a very refreshing taste and finish.  I wanted to use those flavor profiles on a classic method of cooking bratwurst. 

Going off of a traditional method for cooking brats, I used a base of onions, and then built the cooking liquid from there.  Using the beer, orange and lemon peels, and some additional spices, the brats were cooked till just done.  The brats were then finished on the grill, and accompanied by the flavored onions, and a home-made roasted red bell pepper aioli.  

They turned out amazing.  The flavors that were infused into the sausage were succulent and delicious.  I probably ended up eating about 3 before the night was done.  What a great way to start the spring!

Spring Blonde Wheat Ale Bratwurst

2-3 Pounds raw bratwurst, stabbed with a fork
6 bottles Spring Blonde Wheat Ale beer (or enough to cover the brats)
2-3 cups of water
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 large onions, sliced thin
2 red bell peppers, sliced thin
1 lemon, peel included (try to keep rind separate from pith)
1 orange, peel included (try to keep rind separate from pith)
1 tsp Mustard seeds


NOTE: These recipes were made exclusively for Blue Moon Brewing Comapny. 

Blue Moon Recipe Development!

I am very fortunate to have worked in advertising and in turn I've met some awesome friends along the way. About two months ago I received a phone call from a good friend who is now working in Chicago on the Blue Moon account.  Her offer was pretty simple - submit some recipes using Blue Moon Belgian White beer and hopefully a business relationship can be formed.  Well, it has!  Kellan's Kitchen is now partnering with Blue Moon to create hand crafted recipes using signature beers in the cooking process and pairing food with seasonal selections of fine ales.  The recipes created will be simple, approachable, and of course, delicious.  They will live online, and may make some cameos at in-store displays and possibly other outlets.  Watch this space for exciting recipes using BEER!!!

Check the site, and like them & Kellan's Kitchen on Facebook! 

http://www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com/

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/bluemoon

Chicken Pot Pie w/ Southern Biscuit Topping

I haven't officially blogged about this dish, but its been on the menu and in my arsenal for a while.  One of my favorite to eat mainly because I LOVE BISCUITS! Requested by many families, this is a classic spin on the American favorite.  

First and foremost, you need some homemade chicken stock. Super easy and makes dishes.  For the meat, I like to use chicken thighs, but any piece of chicken will do. First step is dredging the chicken and placing it in a large pot with some olive oil.  Browning the pieces off, I then add chopped leeks.  Once the leeks get soft, its time to start adding stock.  Adding enough to cover the chicken, this then simmers for about 45min to an hour.  The chicken is then removed and set aside in a bowl for shredding.  Back to the pot goes carrots, peas or broccoli, or whatever veggies you like.  Then, goes in the heavy cream.  About 10-16oz depending on the size of your meal.  Let this mixture boil down a bit, then add your shredded chicken back into it.  From here on out, its ready for the oven. 


Onto the topping.  I use a very basic biscuit recipe, and I use a lot of it. I usually double this recipe for a 14 inch glass baking dish: 
2 Cups Flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 stick butter (cubed)
2/4 cup milk (buttermilk if you have)

With the oven pre-heated to 400* the pot pie should go in with a cookie sheet on a rack below. This is to catch any overflow and wont turn your oven into a smoker! in 20-25 min, you should have a golden brown crust. 





Love, love this recipe. The biscuit topping makes this dish unique and awesome.  Garnish with some Franks Red Hot, and your belly will be happy.  

Pineapple Pork, Seared Ahi, and Tuna Tar Tar, oh my!

Sunday. Also known as Sunday Funday.  This glorious day I hit an inspiration nerve and went to town on some left over raw ingredients from a previous dinner.  Pork tenderloin, sushi grade Ahi, pineapple, avocado, and some asparagus were my main ingredients.  After much debate, I wanted to try out a pineapple glaze for the pork. After some research, I went to work. Into the glaze:


1/2 pineapple, diced small.
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
3-4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tbsp ginger
1 tbps chili paste
1/4 cup mirin


or roughly their abouts... This sat on the stove and was simmered for about 30 min, then stick blended.  


In the meantime, I took my pork tenderloin, and cut a sizeable slit through the middle.  Then stuffed that cavity with a couple generous long pieces of pineapple, 1 Jalepeno, cut long, and some fresh cilantro.  


This was ready for the oven. I lightly coated the tenderloin with some of the glaze before it hit the oven.  350* it went in.  Brushing the glaze on it ever 15 min or so.  


The tenderloin came out incredibly moist, and produced some delicious drippings.  Served with the glaze on the side.


In addition, I made some seared Ahi, coated in a bit of seasoning salt & sesame seeds.  Served withs ome sliced avocados, and scented steamed shrimp.  


Also... some tuna tar tar! Fine chopped, and dressed with soy, sesame oil, siracha, brown sugar, and lime zest.  Mixed with some avocado, and served with crisped won ton chips.  


Lastly, I took the asparagus, and placed it on a bed of cilantro and lime.  Added some water to the baking dish, and let it steam in the oven for about 10 min. A lovely compliment!


An awesome sunday funday meal. Well deserved!

Seared Ahi w/ Carmelized Pinapple

Given the chance to experiment every once in a while with a high quality ingredient is always a fun time.  This particular session was a winner.  Brainstorming with the Executive Chef from Uncommon Kitchen (http://www.uncommonkitchen.org/), Doug Bahr, was particularly beneficial.  We were talking about seared Ahi, and fun things you can do with it, and he suggested using some pineapple slices and carmelizing them.  Well, thats what I did.  Thinly slicing some pineapple filets and dusting them with some sugar, they hit a dry pan and began to brown just slightly. Once they hit the desired state of brownness, I pulled them off and let them cool.  The Ahi was simply prepared, coated in sesame seeds, then seared to a perfect rare. With the addition of some sliced avocados, the ahi & pineapple were layered onto a bed of arugula. The fish was drizzled with some pan drippings from the pineapple slices, topped with a bit of lime zest and served with a soy based dipping sauce.  A hit, and a keeper. Thanks Doug!

Now on Facebook!

Yes, indeed. Kellan's Kitchen is now on Facebook!

Check it out, and become a fan!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kellans-Kitchen/118318051576691

Ravioli Edition

Armed with a pasta dough recipe, a pasta maker, and some free time, I was finally able to have some fun and play with the idea of ravioli.  There was a technique that I have seen on a number of cooking shows like Iron Chef that I had to try.  Raviolos is a variation on ravioli, with the stuffing consisting of an uncooked egg yolk, and other items.  The idea is the yolk becomes a main component of the sauce for the ravioli.  

So, I took to it.  My go-to pasta dough recipe involves an even egg-flour ratio. 4 eggs, to 4 cups of unbleached flour, some salt and olive oil to flavor.  I rolled out my sheets and was ready to rock. first task, was separating the egg yolks from the whites. These were then placed in ramekins off to the side.  The second part of my filling was a ricotta-spinach base, which i would pipe into little molds for the egg yolks.  My one mistake, came here. I got a bit to excited and antsy, and didn't chop the spinach.  Next time... 

With my filling(s) ready, my sheets rolled out, it was go time for assembling these bad boys.  Piping a small circle onto the pasta sheet, it was go time for the yolks.  So, very carefully, I slipped the egg yolk on to the mixture, careful not to break it.  So far so good, then it was time to top and seal. My second rookie mistake was not getting the 2nd sheet of pasta dough of uniform size... so, it was a little tight.  But, on we went.  


Topped, sealed, and now cut out with a circle mold, these Raviolos were ready.  My sauce was going to be simple, and tasty.  A browned butter with sage sauce was the majority of the liquid to be accompanied by the runny egg yolk.  In addition, some crispy pieces of bacon, chopped fresh parsley, and some Parmesan would add texture, and color.  And, who doesn't like bacon! 


The raviolos hit the boiling water for about 2-3 min.  No accidents, they were looking great.  Finally ready to eat, they were sauced, topped and accompanied by a thick slice of toast.  At first bite, they were delicious. The egg yolk was wonderful in the brown butter and the bacon added the perfect amount of salt. 


If you are adventurous, try these. If you see them on a menu, order them!  Lots of fun and a different way to enjoy a classic dish. 


Pasta Dough:
4 eggs
4 cups of unbleached flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp of olive oil

Creme Brulee #1

My Mom's favorite dessert. My Aunt's favorite dessert. My favorite dessert.  This project finally hit the stove. I had been wanting to make this dish for quite some time.  My Christmas presents this year were ramekins, and a brulee torch. I guess those were huge hints from my Mom and Aunt, and they paid off.  


I'm pretty traditional when it comes to Creme Brulee, so I wanted to keep my recipe and flavors simple.  Taking notes from a classic recipe, I decided to go with 6 egg yolks, and a quart of cream as my custard base.  I added some vanilla extract and Kahlua for flavor. The eggs whisked with a 1/2 cup of sugar, and the cream heated on the stove with the vanilla and Kahlua. Tempered, then added into the eggs, the custard was ready to hit the oven.  325* for 45 min in a water bath and first part finished.  These little guys then hit the fridge to fully set.  


Ali P came over for the first trial and first Brulee in the kitchen.  Upon notes, not bad. The custard was a tiny bit runny for my taste, but the flavors were there.  Maybe some adjustments for high altitude, but definitely on the right track!


6 Egg yolks
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tbsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp Kahlua

Tuscan Sourdough Casserole

I know what you're thinking. Casserole? Well, after much debate, and a couple bottles of wine, this is the final name we came up with for my new dish. Hitting the menu soon, and available for order, the Tuscan Sourdough Casserole is outstanding.

The idea came about during a hodgepodge dinner with my dear friends Chris & Cara. A combination of fridges was the first inspiration. I had some chicken, they had some sausage and veggies.  When beginning to construct some sort of plan, I came across a memory of a dish I had when I was living in Siena, Italy.  Tuscany is known for their hearty soups, which are usually constructed with leftovers, a medley of vegetables, and some sort of protein, usually beans. So, I started cooking.

Beginning with an onion and some garlic, the chicken was diced and added to a hot skillet.  Then some diced spicy Italian sausage (pre-cooked) was added to the pan.  The Tuscan influence hit the pan next, a can of Navy beans (in future recipes, I plan on using white beans, or cannelloni). Then, one very ripe tomato was diced and added to the pan along with some salt, cayenne, and white pepper. Once this mixture looked like it was blending pretty well, I added a whole bunch of spinach and some sliced zucchini. This simmered until all the spinach was wilted and the zucchini was almost al dente. The next bit, was a play on my favorite Tuscan dish, Ribollita (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribollita).  We sliced up some San Francisco Sourdough very thin, toasted it, and layered into the bottom of a Pyrex baking dish. The stew mixture was then added on top of the bread, followed by a layer of graded swiss cheese ( we later had a very heated discussion about another cheese other than Parmesan which would substitute for swiss... we came up with nothing).  Another layer of bread was added, then stew. then topped with a layer of very thin bread, and a whole bunch of Parmesan.  This was all baked at 400* for about 15 min.  

The result was outstanding.  Three of us polished off an entire pyrex baking dish.  Accompanied by a very refreshing salad of tomatoes and butter lettuce.  We discussed the dish for the duration of the night, what could change, what the name should be, playfull additions, and so forth.  This not only hit the spot, but triggered an incredible discussion about food. I love my friends. As Chris stated in the final naming of the dish: "Tuscan Sourdough Casserole: A Spontaneous Combustion" ... Yup. Delicious.