Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcohol. Show all posts

Monday, February 22, 2010

Beer Bread

I was reminded of this by a facebook friend who said he craves beer and bread. What a better way to have them, than to combine them? This recipe is from foodnetwork.com, but there are a lot of variants out there. This recipe can be made safe for allergic folks, if you sub out butter for a safe margarine.

Keep in mind that the quality and flavor of the beer will affect the flavor of the bread. We've had good success with darker beers, and I think I may have tried a stout once.

3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
12 ounces beer
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter a loaf pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and beer and mix well. The mixture should be sticky. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. At the last 3 minutes of baking, remove from oven, brush the top of the loaf with butter and return to oven.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Vodka Sauce...minus the vodka

This is originally a Rachael Ray recipe...her 'You Won't Be Single for Long Vodka Cream Pasta'.
Sometimes I include the vodka, sometimes I leave it out...depending on if we have some in the house...but it's delish either way.

What you need:
~1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
~1 tbsp butter
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~2 shallots, minced (i usually just use an onion)
~1 cup vodka (optional)
~1 cup chicken stock
~1 can crushed tomatoes (32 oz.)
~salt and pepper to taste
~1 lb cooked pasta (penne is a good one)
~1/2 cup heavy cream

What you do:
~heat a large pan and add oil, butter, garlic, shallots
~sautee until shallots have softened
~add vodka
~reduce vodka by half (about 3 min.)
~add chicken stock, tomatoes
~bring to a bubble then reduce to a simmer
~season with s&p
~stir in cream and return sauce to a bubble
~remove from heat and toss with pasta

What you can do:
~i like to toss in peas or mushrooms for a change of pace sometimes
~sausage is delish, also....i used some meatballs this last time and they went along well

and of course....some nice crusty bread to slop up that sauce is a must!

ENJOY!