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Beer Fondue
Day four of my St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza… Fondue! Every January fifth Eric and I can be found at the Melting Pot enjoying our anniversary fondue. It’s one of my favorite foods. I even tried to have a fondue party when I was in high school many, many years ago. It ended with a group of us girls dumping a pot full of half melted cheese in the woods. Silly us, we thought the cheese had to be cooked in the fondue pot over the little can of sterno. Yeah, kind of embarrassing to admit. This recipe is cooked on a stove and is almost as good as the Melting Pot’s…
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Chocolate Mint Eclair
Day 3 of St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza! Today I learned a very important lesson… read the entire recipe carefully the night before or the morning of baking. No, I didn’t forget any ingredients. I had that checked off my list two days ago. What I didn’t realize was that this recipe needed 2 hours in the refrigerator. Ooops. And I discovered I had to add those two hours to my baking time just as I remembered Kai’s orthodontist appointment that I also didn’t make time for in my day. Ooops again. What I thought was going to be a quick dessert turned out to be hours in the kitchen… after the orthodontist…
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Wexford Irish Cream
Today’s beer is the Wexford Irish Style Cream Ale. This beer is draught style. For those unfamiliar with the term, draught style is an attempt to recreate the experience of pouring the beer into a glass directly from a tap and keg. This isn’t necessary for all beers, but when done correctly with the right beer it makes a world of difference. And Wexford does it up right. As the beer pours into my gleaming pint glass the nitrogen widget in the can works its magic. Magic may be too mild a word. With even a gentle pour the entire glass momentarily becomes a sea of swirling, creamy foam that…
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The Beers of Ireland – Part II
I’m a huge Monty Python fan and I’m beginning to think the lads from Guinness are as well. In fact, the motto for Guinness’ new Black Lager should be, “And now for something completely different.” At first glance this beer does appear to be related to the iconic Guinness Draught. It pours a deep black color, just like its bigger brother; utterly opaque and begging you to dive in. A rich two finger head crowned the beer after a strong pour into a dry pint glass. However, in the brief time it took me to carry the beer upstairs the foam had almost completely dissipated, leaving behind nothing but a…
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Shepherd’s Pie – Lower Fat
Today is day 2 of my St. Patrick’s Day extravaganza.Yesterday’s pot of gold was a big hit with the high school crowd and today’s shepherds pie received two thumbs up from Arielle and Eric. I believe I heard Arielle say, “You’re keeping the leftovers in the fridge… right?” And Eric replied with, “Yeah but this is a get up in the middle of the night and sneak some dish.” My heart smiled. It’s nice to know my cooking skills are improving. Even though last night Kai told me the Food Network had the perfect show for me – America’s Worst Cooks. Anyone who lives with teens has to be tough.…
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Introducing guest blogger / beer loving husband – Eric
Everyone has indulgences; things they love that aren’t necessarily good for them; for Krista it’s chocolate and ice cream – for me it’s beer. Once a month or so I succumb to my passions and take a trip to Total Wine. For those of you not familiar with it, Total Wine is the beer lovers equivalent of Mecca. Imagine a store the size of Wal-Mart or Target filled with nothing but alcohol in every shape, size and type imaginable. Looking for vodka in a crystal skull? They’ve got it. A wonderful cream liqueur made from the African Amarula fruit? Check that off the list too. But most importantly they have…