Hot and Smoky Baked Beans

I know this ingredient list is a little long, but this recipe couldn’t be easier. After cooking the bacon, it’s really just a matter of mixing together the remaining ingredients, pouring into a baking dish, and baking until beautifully browned and bubbly!

Source: Hot and Smoky Baked Beans, Bon Appétit, July 1999

Ingredients
6 bacon slices
1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 ¼ cups purchased barbecue sauce
¾ cup dark beer
¼ cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 to 6 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies
6 15- to 16-ounce cans Great Northern beans, drained
Chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels and drain. Transfer 2 ½ tablespoons bacon drippings from skillet to large bowl. Finely chop bacon; add to bowl. Add onion and next 7 ingredients to bowl and whisk to blend. Whisk in 4 to 6 teaspoons chipotle chilies, depending on spiciness desired. Stir in beans. Transfer bean mixture to 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Bake uncovered until liquid bubbles and thickens slightly, about 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Cheddar Ale Dip

I made this dip as an appetizer for our “beer” themed tailgate. Super easy to prepare and tasty, we served with corn chips. This dip is great for preparing ahead of time and for travel. It should be served at room temperature.

Adapted from: Cheddar Ale Spread, Culinary Concoctions By Peabody

Ingredients
8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup beer (anything but a light beer)

1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced

Directions

Combine the cream cheese, mustard, cheddar cheese, cream and salt in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, add the beer, and continue processing until very smooth. Stir in the parsley by hand until just dispersed.

Beer and Cheddar Risotto

I’m always game for risotto, and this one was a great dish for our “beer” themed tailgate. Creamy, cheesy, and rich in flavor—this was wonderful! If you want a vegetarian version, just substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Source: Beer and Cheddar Risotto, Cooking This and That

Ingredients

½ small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups Arborio rice

12-ounce bottle of beer (preferably not light beer)
6 cups chicken broth

5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

⅓ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Pour chicken broth into medium saucepan. Keep warm over low heat.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat just until butter is melted. Add onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until soft and translucent. Turn heat to medium-high and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant.

Add rice and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until opaque, adding more olive oil as necessary to coat the rice.

Pour in beer, turn heat up to high until it starts to simmer.

Turn heat back to medium-low and add the chicken broth ½ cup at a time, stirring until liquid dissolves. You may not need to use all of the chicken broth—risotto should be creamy and just slightly al dente. This should take 30 minutes or more.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheeses and cayenne pepper.

Stout Cupcakes

I was excited to make these cupcakes, the first recipe I’m trying from my new cookbook. The cake is a complex layering of flavors from the cinnamon, molasses, brown sugar, orange zest, and stout beer. I like buttercream frostings on my cupcakes, so I didn't use the stout glaze that goes with this recipe; instead, I made honey-cinnamon frosting, which was an excellent complement to the flavor of the cake.

Source: Stout Cupcakes, Honey-Cinnamon Frosting, Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Ingredients
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 ¼ teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
1 ¼ cups unsulfured molasses
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light-brown sugar
2 large whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) stout beer, such as Guinness, poured and settled
Honey-Cinnamon Frosting (recipe follows)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat oil, molasses, brown sugar, whole eggs, yolk, zest, and stout until combined. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks to cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons honey

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat all ingredients until smooth. Use immediately, or refrigerate up to 5 days in an airtight container; before using, bring to room temperature and beat until smooth.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

How have I never made this recipe before? This Barefoot Bloggers selection is a classic soup, and with the autumn weather turning cooler lately, it is a perfect meal for the season. Bear in mind that with the olive oil, bacon fat, butter, and half-and-half, this is not a diet-friendly chowder, but it is oh so tasty! I cut the recipe in half, which still yielded a generous amount for the two of us. I was also able to use the fresh onions and potatoes from my CSA bag. Thanks to Jill of My Next Life for choosing this recipe.

Source: Cheddar Corn Chowder, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients
8 ounces bacon, chopped
¼ cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant

I received a couple of Japanese eggplants in my CSA bag this week and wanted to do something new with them. When I found this recipe, I was intrigued with the use of puff pastry as a shell for baking the pasta mixture. I only had two Japanese eggplants, so I added two sweet red peppers to the mix.

I like to think of this dish as a perfect pasta pie! The use of puff pastry ended up being so creative and delicious. I was worried that it might deflate once I removed the springform pan, but it held. (Now I have another use for my springform pan other than cheesecake!)

Source: Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant, Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients
⅓ cup plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 Japanese eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound mild Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
⅓ cup dry red wine
3 cups marinara sauce
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 pound mozzarella, diced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 (17 ¼-ounce) package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

Directions
Heat ⅓ cup of oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the eggplant and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté the eggplant until it is golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium. Add half of the garlic and sauté until it is tender, about 2 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant mixture to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining ¼ cup oil and the remaining eggplant and garlic.

Add the sausage and wine to the same frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine evaporates and the sausage is brown, breaking the sausage into pieces with the back of a spoon, about 8 minutes. Add the sausage, marinara sauce, and crushed red pepper to the eggplant mixture, and toss to combine.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the angel hair and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until pasta is still slightly crunchy and undercooked. Drain. Toss the angel hair with the eggplant mixture. Cool completely. Add the mozzarella and Parmesan and toss to combine.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface to a 13 ½-inch square. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan, allowing the excess pastry to hang over the rim. Spoon the pasta mixture into the pan. Place the second pastry sheet atop the pasta filling. Pinch the edges of the pastry sheets together to seal. Trim the overhanging pastry edges to about 1-inch. Fold the pastry edges in to form a decorative border. Cut a slit in the center of the top pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Bake until the pastry is brown and puffed on top, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the pan sides and serve.

Swiss Chard Risotto

Risotto is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. After getting a beautiful bunch of Swiss red chard in my latest CSA bag, I thought this would be such a tasty dish to take for lunch at work. The main thing to remember when making any risotto is to stir frequently to ensure a creamy texture. I added a large clove of minced garlic (about 1 teaspoon) for more flavor in this dish, as well as a drizzle of white truffle oil as a bold finishing touch. So yummy!

Adapted from: Red Chard Risotto, Bon Appétit

Ingredients
5 cups canned low-salt chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 ½ cups Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped red Swiss chard leaves (about 1 bunch)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional grated Parmesan cheese
White truffle oil, for drizzling

Directions
Bring stock to simmer in medium saucepan. Cover and keep warm.

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice, Swiss chard, and garlic; stir until chard begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add 2 ladlefuls of hot stock. Simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy, stirring frequently. Continue adding remaining stock, 1 to 2 ladlefuls at a time while stirring, until stock is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Mix in ½ cup Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer risotto to medium bowl. Serve with a drizzle of white truffle oil and an additional sprinkle of Parmesan.