Inlaws, Stout, More Food, and Good Bars

Well another week has come and gone and we find ourselves here at the pubcast looking to what we have done and will be doing. I hope to get into more beer news and industry items as well but this week was not the week for that. Work was a mess and I had to see the inlaws. Any way on to the food and bars
Guinness Beef Stew
1-2lbs of stew meat cut in to 1" cubes
1 can flat stout(Guinness)
2 carrots
1 turnip
4-5 red potatoes
rosemary
salt and pepper
1 packet dried onion soup mix

Seer the beef in a hot cast iron skillet ( regular pan if you have too)
place in the crock pot and cover with the beer, onion soup mix and a 1/2 cup to a cup of water or beef broth depending if it is needed. Put the rosemary ( half a sprig) in cheese cloth and tie it up so you can fish it out later.

Let that cook for the day

Veggies
chunk up and toss with some oil salt and pepper and roast for 45min- 60min you do not want them to fully cook so if the pieces are small cut down you cook time. Crispy but not fully done is what you are looking for.

Take the beef and rosemary out of the crock pot and set to cool. Discard the rosemary bundle. Add the veggies and cook for an hour or till fork tender. If you like you can stir in a table sppon of tomato paste. It adds to the flavor Time may vary.
Add the beef back in and heat it all up then serve with warm bread.
Add a nice mug of stout and you are good to go.

For the best chicken I've had in a long long time
Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket
http://www.chickenbasket.com/

You want to stop and have a good time and a good beer
Kerry Piper is a place to see.
http://www.kerrypiper.com/

come listen to me
http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/2007/10/Inlaws_Stout_More_Food_and_Good_Bars-52710.html

come talk to me
murphyspubcast@yahoo.com

Dinner and Friends

This weeks Pubcast is about a dinner I made and some people I met.
Lets get to the dinner
Shrimp and Cheese Quesadias with Sam Smith's Pale Ale
BLT Caesar Salad with Holy Moses White Ale
Roasted Game Hen with Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale
Eli's Cheese Cake with Young's Double Chocolate Stout.

Recipes
Quesadias
1/2 lb of fresh (or thawed frozen) shrimp
table spoon of fajita seasoning (look in your spice aisle)
teaspoon of chili powder
tablespoon of Cumin
pinch of salt and pepper
juice of one lemon
1 cup grated Mexican white quesadia cheese
1/2 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
6-8 tortillas (depending on how full you make them)

Combine the shrimp, lemon, and spices and let sit for about 15min then saute' in a little bit of oil until the shrimp are just turning pink through out.
Place the shrimp on a paper towel to drain and heat up a large skillet (cast iron works best)
take one tortilla and place some white cheese on it (as much as you desire)
Place the drained shrimp on the cheese and top with the jack and cheddar.
Place another tortilla on top and place in the hot pan.
Keep an eye on them so the do not burn. Once the one side is browned flip and brown the other side till the cheese is nicely melted. Cut in fours and serve.

Quick and easy BLT Caesar Salad.
Look for the bagged version in the stores (its much easier)

Roasted Game hens 1 per person (I made four)
4 Cornish game hens
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 table spoon rubbed dried sage
1 table spoon of dried Basil
stuffing mix( you can use store bought if you like)

Darin and pat dry the chickens
Combine the sage, basil and butter into a bowl.
Rub the herb butter on the chickens and under the skin
Fill with stuffing mix if you desire (So people might find this unhealthy so skip it if you like)
Place them in a roaster and cook at 350 for about 1 hour and 20 mins. (check the temp. after an hour. You want them to be about 180 degrees in the thickest part.)
If they are getting too brown cover with foil.

Stuffing.
1/2 a yellow onion
1 stalk celery
box of croutons (flavored if you like)
2 cups of chicken stock (store bought)
1/2 stick of butter
salt, pepper, basil, sage to taste

Dice up the onion and celery then saute' in the butter until softened
Begin to add the croutons slowly as they absorb the butter begin to add the stock (you may not use it all)
Continue to add the crumbled croutons until you have made the amount you like (I go for the whole box even though I do not need it all but its good)
Add Stock until you get the consistency you like.
Season to taste.


Desert
Buy Cheese Cake :)



Ok, Link time

Eli's Cheese Cake
http://www.elicheesecake.com/

And the place to listen to me

http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/

Thanks for coming

:note I am not a professional cook so use my recipes at your own risk.

Chill in the air

Ok maybe not today with the temp hitting 75-80 here in Chicagoland but there is a chill in the air coming and with that it makes me think of hearty beers. One of my favorite styles of beer is the Brown Ale or some times called a Nut Brown Ale. They might not be the hearties of beers but they make me think of fall and cooler weather. Maybe it is the lower hop presences or just the color of reddish brown to dark brown that reminds me of fall. The leaves are changing (well they should be if they had not been fried this summer), there is a chill and the sun sets earlier.

Sitting on my porch with a mug of Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale and watching the leaves dance in the wind is one of the joys I get from this time of year. Oktoberfest beers have passed on with the weather and the Stouts and Bocks are not in season yet (Yes I know you can get them all the time now). A good warming stew for dinner and another mug of brown ale completes the day for me. I think as beer drinkers we appreciate slower paced things like an Autumn sunset and the slow change of the leaves. Too much of our world is rush and get this done, hurry up and do this, faster we need this now. Take the time get yourself a good mug of ale sit back and relax.

Do you have a favorite brown ale or fall beer that lets you sit back and relax a bit and watch the leaves? Leave me a comment or send me an email to murphyspubcast@yahoo.com. Also I am still looking for guest to be on the Pubcast with me. I have not yet bought my digital recorder but I will soon. If you are interested in being a guest let me know

Thanks and May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!"

Beer tour 2007

Hi and welcome back. This is a special edition this week. My sister came for a visit so I took her round to some of my favorite spots and had some of my favorite beers.
First the beer list as promised
Pranquster From North Coast 9.5%avb

Lunar
54 E. St. Charles Road Villa Park, Illinois, 60181
Moonbeam Steam 5.5%
Harvest Moon 6%
Orbitor Doppelbock 8%

The Lodge (http://www.bavarian-lodge.com/)
Erdinger Oktoberfest Weissbier 5.6%
Ayinger Brau Weisse 5.1%

Rock Bottom Lombard
94 Yorktown Center Lombard, IL 60148
Demon Sweat 5.5%

Goose Island Clybourn
1800 North Clybourn in Chicago.
Dunkle Weizenbock 8%
Beerhunter Brown Porter 5.8%

The Berghoff
17 west Adams St Chicago IL
Lager 5.4%
Dark Lager 5.4%

The others

Streeters
50 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL

The Signature Lounge
http://www.signatureroom.com/
Hancock Tower
875 N. Michigan Ave

http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/2007/10/Beer_tour_2007-48914.html

Books, A vampire, and a Church

Well it seems I have made it to my second real pub cast.
This week I reviewed three beers

Traquiar House Ale.. A wee heavy
Nosferatu... A Great Lakes American strong ale
J. W. Lees Harvest Ale a Port condition barley wine

Also I had said I would make it to the Lodge for a Review and a chat with Mr. Van Housanbrouk. It turns out due to a toe injury I could not make it... Sorry

I did how ever pick up some great books

The Brewpub Cookbook By Daria Labinsky and Stan Hieronymus
and
Premier Beer a Guide to America's Best Bottled MicroBrews By Elaine Louie


After chatting them up and talking about things I found in there I mentioned some great Brewpubs and here they are

Flatlanders
http://www.flatlanders.com/

Micky Finns
http://www.mickeyfinnsbrewery.com/

Church Brew Works
http://www.churchbrew.com/

So if you have any suggestions or comments you want to give me send me an e-mail to
murphyspubcast@yahoo.com

Oh and the link to the show

http://murphyspubcast.mypodcast.com/2007/10/Books_A_vampire_and_a_Church-46833.html

Thanks a lot and may we always have a pint in our palms