S'more Stout + Spent Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy New Year! After a busy end of 2013, we are officially back with some new posts to kick off 2014. We have been brewing a lot lately and experimenting with baking with the spent grain (the grain that we steep to start the brewing process). This time, I scooped out enough to line a square baking pan and tried to dry out some of the moisture in a 200 degree oven for about 5 hours. We were brewing a chocolate-y stout, so the grain had a great sweetness to it. After getting most of the moisture out, we put it in a food processor to grind it up a bit. I think next time we'll let it stay in the oven a bit longer, but we were pleased with the nutty, earthy flavor that the gain added to the cookies. Here are the recipes for both the cookies and the S'more Stout (inspired by this beer by Highwater Brewing Company).

S'more Stout

Grain:

1 1/2 lbs Maris Otter

1/2 lbs Roasted Barley

1/4 lbs 

1/4 chocolate

1/4 150L Crystal Malt

Hops: 

2 oz Fuggle (1oz at 60 min; 1oz at 30 min)

Other:

6 lbs malt extract 

Nottingham yeast

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup honey

2 cinnamon sticks

3 vanilla beans (2 in boil, whole; 1 in the primary, sliced lengthwise)

About halfway through the boil, we took 2 cups of wort and placed it in a saucepan. To it we added the cocoa, honey, cinnamon and vanilla beans and let simmer for the remaining time. The goal was to create the flavor you get in a s'more- chocolate, honey from the graham crackers, and vanilla in the marshmallow. Before cooling the wort, we added in the cocoa mixture. Once we had transferred to the primary fermenter, we added the third vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise to maximize the flavor. We have about 2 weeks to go until our S'more Stout is ready to drink, and we can't wait!

Spent Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

We used the recipe from the back of the bag of chocolate chips, with a few minor substitutions. We used 1/2 cup spent grain in place of 1/2 cup of the flour. Because the grain was not completely dry, we did not have a flour consistency, so the result was that the cookies were a little flat. Next time I'll add some baking powder in addition to the baking soda in the recipe to try to get them to rise a bit more. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground spent grain

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Next add in the spent grain, then gradually mix in the flour mixture until all ingredients are combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake on cookie sheet 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Rye PA

Yesterday was brew Sunday! Even though the calendar says it is summer, the weather here in San Francisco feels like fall (bordering on winter!) so we decided to brew a rye IPA. Our last few beers have been Belgian-style, and we wanted something a little more hoppy. We can't wait to taste this beer!

Recipe: 

Grain:
1 lb Moris Otter
1 lb Rye
1/2 lb 60 L
1/2 lb 20 L

Hops:
1 oz German Northern Brewer @ 60 min
1/2 oz  Willamette @ 30 min
1/2 oz German Northern Brewer @ 15 min
1/4 oz Willamette @ 10 min
1/4 oz Willamette @ 5 min
1/2 oz German Northern Brewer @ end of  boil

7.5 lbs Malt extract
Yeast- Safale #5

Shrimp Tostadas

I saw an idea on Pinterest to make cookie shells for ice cream using the back of a cupcake pan. I thought I would give it a try for a savory dish, using corn tortillas and turning them into baked taco / tostada shells. It worked out great, though a little messy to eat.

Ingredients:

4 corn tortillas
1 dozen large shrimp
1/2 bell pepper, sliced in strips
Lettuce, avocado salsa and sour cream (or greek yogurt!) for topping

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Position the tortillas on the back of the greased cupcake pan and place in preheated oven. Bake 10 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

While the tortillas are baking, cook the bell peppers in a heated pan with a little olive oil for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add the shrimp and cook until pink.

Once the tortillas are done, fill them with the lettuce, avocado, shrimp, peppers, salsa and sour cream. These would be so fun to fill with other taco fixings- such a versatile dish!

Garden Bounty!

We are so proud of our garden! It really is the little garden that could. It started as a bunch of dirt that we were certain would never let things grow. But with a little TLC, we were able to produce so many yummy veggies, greens and herbs. Kevin harvested the cucumbers, zucchini (blossoms too!) spinach, tomatoes and beets pictured above and we turned it into dinner. Gardening is such a rewarding hobby!

For an appetizer, we stuffed the squash blossoms with goat cheese, rolled them in an egg wash and bread crumbs, and browned in a pan. Talk about melt-in-your-mouth goodness!

Next, we roasted the beets and added them to the spinach, cucumber and tomatoes to make an unbelievably flavorful salad.

Finally, we steamed our zucchini, and seasoned with a little lemon pepper and Parmesan cheese. We served this along side some salmon burgers from Whole Foods, and voila! Dinner is served.

And yes, some homebrew to round out the meal :)

Two-in-One Recipe: Meatballs and Meatloaf

It is pretty typical for us to be making dinner around 8pm, so having things ready to heat up makes things much easier. About  a year ago, we posted our Meatball Potpies, which are still a favorite in our house. If we make them on a Sunday, when we have more time, leftovers on Monday are a great way to kick off the week. To keep things easy later in the week,  we have learned that while we are taking the time to make the turkey mixture for the meatballs, we may as well double the recipe and use the rest to make a turkey meatloaf.

To mix things up, once the meatballs are rolled and in the pan, we add some diced bell pepper and BBQ sauce to the turkey, then place in a covered loaf pan to bake later in the week. I have also frozen the meatloaf both cooked and uncooked to have on hand for another time. If you freeze uncooked, just be sure to thaw in the fridge for a day or two in advance so the baking time is quicker.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground turkey (I use 1 lb extra lean and 1 lb lean for added flavor)
1/2 small onion or 2 shallots, diced
1- 2 eggs
1/2 - 3/4  cup bread crumbs (depending on how wet your mixture is)
Salt and pepper
Sprinkle of nutmeg
follow the rest of the recipe for the meatball potpies

Once the meatballs have been made, add 1/4 - 1/2 diced bell pepper (any color) and BBQ sauce to taste (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup) and press the mixture into a greased loaf pan. drizzle more BBQ sauce on top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through.

Lindsay's Candied Ale

Finally- a long overdue beer post! We have been really in to brewing seasonal beers over the past year, starting with our summer 2012 brew, Lobster Tale Ale. Last winter, Lindsay decided the beer would be one that incorporated the spices of the season. And so, Lindsay's Candied Ale was born. We found one of these tucked in the fridge, and it is just as tasty on a foggy San Francisco summer day as it was during the holidays.

Recipe for 5 Gallons: 

Adapted from the Brooklyn Brew Shop's Beer Making Book- Gingerbread Ale

4 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
2 Tbsp candied ginger
2 whole nutmegs, grated
7 lbs malt extract
3 oz Cascade hops (1 oz @ 60 min, 1/2 oz at 30 min, 1/2 oz at 15 min, and 1 oz at 5 min)
English ale yeast

Seared Ahi Wraps

The past two months have been filled with wedding planning, save-the-date making, and an amazing trip across the pond (more on that in another post). For those that don't know, Kevin planned a surprise trip to Kauai for us back in February and it was on that trip that he proposed. Now, 5 months to the day,  I thought it fitting share a recipe that was inspired by that trip.

We ate a few of our meals at Dukes Kauai, and the seared Ahi wrap was incredible. When we returned to San Francisco, we of course missed the beach and the sunsets, but the Ahi wrap!, we missed that too. So, here is our attempt to recreate it. It is a pretty good copy cat wrap when the craving hits, but if you get a chance to try the real thing, we highly recommend it!

Ingredients: (for 2 wraps)

1/2 lb Ahi Tuna

2 whole wheat tortillas (brown rice work well if you are gluten free)

1 cup cooked brown rice (we use the pre-cooked frozen kind from TJs)

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup seaweed flakes (also from TJs)

Avocado, sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

optional- wasabi paste

Directions:

Heat a pan and drizzle enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Season the Ahi with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes each side, until tuna is cooked to your liking.

While the fish is cooking, heat the tortillas and stir the sesame oil and seaweed flakes into the cooked rice. If using wasabi paste, stir together and set aside.

In each tortilla, layer the rice, fish, avocado and wasabi paste. Roll like a burrito and cut in half. We served with a salad of cucumber and carrots tossed with a little rice vinegar, salt and pepper.

If you make extra, these hold up surprisingly well for lunch the next day.

Enjoy!