FEED THE RESISTANCE: VEGETARIAN CHILI PAIRED WITH CARLSBERG ELEPHANT PILSNER
Feed The Resistance: Vegetarian Chili is paired with Carlsberg's Premium Elephant Pilsner!
Our company Chili Cook-off was supposed to happen yesterday...but got cancelled. I decided to make chili anyway! I've made many variations of this same chili over the years - the key to it is the spice blend. I found the original recipe in a magazine ad several years back - it calls for a blend of Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Basil, Sugar, Salt and Seasoned Pepper. The original version of this was vegetarian and also has 3 different beans (black, white and red chili beans) along with onions, green pepper and tomatoes. When I make a meat version, I double up on the spice blend and mix one batch in with the meat as I cook that, and add the rest when I put the rest of the chili together.
Dee chose Carlsberg's Premium Elephant Pilsner to go with the chili...and it was an excellent choice.
We also talked about the One Chip Challenge that's been going viral on Tik Tok - the challenge is to eat the Paqui Carolina Reaper & Scorpion Pepper Chip. For our company chili cook-off, we put the challenge out to the bosses to eat the chip (hey, maybe that's the real reason it got cancelled). In the end, when the cook-off was cancelled, the bosses didn't have to eat the chip...and to be fair, both Dee and I chickened out too. Maybe we'll give it a try next time :)
Oh, and by the way - Chili has beans in it (see, they're called "Chili Beans")...  
And here's the box to the One Chip Challenge (still not opened)... 
Maybe next time!
FEED THE RESISTANCE: A LITTLE LASAGNA LOVE!
Feed The Resistance: Spicy Lasagna is paired with "Gier Bier" from Mob Craft!
Veterans Day was yesterday, and in honor of that, a couple of great local organizations - The River Food Pantry and Lasagna Love, have been teaming up all this week to deliver home-made lasagna to area veterans! In honor of that - I made lasagna today, and invited Lisa Fischer from Lasagna Love and Rhonda Adams from The River to join us for a little beer and lasagna! What I made today was a little bit of a twist on your traditional lasagna - the original recipe is Harissa-Lamb Skillet Lasagna...but I made it with pork, instead of lamb. This recipe calls for a lot of the same stuff that you'll find in a traditional lasagna - meat, cheese, sauce & lasagna noodles, but instead of neatly layering all of that stuff in a pan, it all gets mixed up in a skillet and cooked on the stove-top.
The harissa adds a bit of a spice to the meal, so I gave Dee a little bit of a challenge in pairing this one. In the end she picked "Gier Bier" from Mob-Craft - which is included in this year's Mob Craft Advent Calendar (but I'm not gonna tell you what day it is - you'll have to discover that for yourself).
BTW - The River Food Pantry is in the middle of their HOPE Holiday Food Drive. In this case, "HOPE" stands for "Help Other People Eat"...and now through November 15, when you give HOPE, a generous donor has offered to match all donations up to $25,000! Donate here!
FEED THE RESISTANCE: HARVEST HASH PAIRED WITH LAKE LOUIE'S "WARPED SPEED"
Feed The Resistance: Harvest Hash is paired with Lake Louie Brewing's "Warped Speed" Scotch Ale!
You know all that crappy Candy Corn that you get for Halloween? Yeah, the stuff that nobody (except my sister) eats! Well, I found a decent use for it! Our co-worker Lanette, from our sister-station Magic 98, introduced me to Harvest Hash last week...and I LOVE IT! It's really easy to make...and it tastes GREAT - even the Candy Corn is good in this! The recipe calls for Bugles, Rice Chex, and Pretzels. That stuff all gets mixed together...and then a syrup made with melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract is added before it's all baked in the oven for about 45 minutes. When it comes out of the oven, you add Reece's Pieces, Candy Corn and some of that pumpkin shaped candy corn (which I skipped, because it just seemed like too much) and mix it all up. Let it all cool...and that's it...DONE!
Dee paired it all with the Warped Speed Scotch Ale from Lake Louie...and we spent the morning munching on Chex Mix...and drinking beer!
FEED THE RESISTANCE: DEVILS ON HORSEBACK GRILLED CHEESE WITH SIERRA NEVADA PALE ALE
Feed The Resistance: Devils On Horseback Grilled Cheese is Paired With Sierra Nevada Pale Ale!
For Halloween this year, I went with the DEVIL theme! I found this recipe several years ago, and have learned since that there is an hors d'oeuvre called "Devils On Horseback," which is basically bacon-wrapped dates, stuffed with blue cheese...YUMMY! Well, someone had the bright idea of making that into a sandwich...and the Devils on Horseback Grilled Cheese was born! Off the air, Dee pointed out that it would be wonderful with some grilled onions added to the mix - I'm definitely gonna try that next time. The beer that Dee paired with this is probably one that you have had before - the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale...and it worked perfectly!
FEED THE RESISTANCE: TED LASSO'S FAVORITE BISCUITS...WITH IMPERIAL PORTER W/COFFEE & COCONUT!
Feed The Resistance: Ted Lasso's Favorite Biscuits are paired with Lakefront Brewery's Imperial Porter with Coffee & Coconut!
Until a couple of week's ago, I had never heard of "Ted Lasso."Â I learned about the TV series when I saw a post on Facebook about "Ted Lasso's Biscuits!"Â The posted claimed that one bite of the biscuits "will make you happy as a goldfish!"
O.K. - I'm convinced, I gotta learn more. Who is this Ted Lasso? What's so amazing about his biscuits? Why do I care?
I still haven't seen the show, but I'm a little obsessed with it. From what I have read, Ted is an American football coach, who somehow ends up in Europe coaching soccer. Ted is also a very happy-go-lucky guy, and he loves these biscuits! And I do too!
The biscuits are pretty much shortbread cookies, so when Dee and I were talking about them a couple of days ago, she suggested that we might pair them with a chocolate stout...I later thought that a beer with coffee notes would also work (even though I don't like coffee). The beer that Dee eventually settled on is from the "My Turn" series from Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee. With this series, the employees at Lakefront get to make a beer - this particular beer was created by Ryan, who made an Imperial Porter with Coffee & Coconut.
Yep - we were right, the coffee flavors in that beer work really well with the biscuits!
FEED THE RESISTANCE: CORN PUDDING IS PAIRED WITH NARRAGANSETT LAGER
Feed The Resistance: Corn Pudding is paired with Narragansett Lager!
Monday was Indigenous Peoples Day, so in honor of that, I turned to my wife and asked for a good dish from her tribe. She suggested Fresh Corn Pudding from an Oneida cookbook called "Three Sisters Cookbook." The recipe is incredibly simple - a couple of cups of corn kernels...3 eggs...some flour, salt, sugar, pepper, nutmeg, butter and milk...all mixed up and baked in the oven for an hour at 350. What came out had a really nice custardy (is "custardy" a word?) texture, but was a bit too peppery for my taste. I think next time I make it, I'll cut the pepper in half (to 1/2 Tablespoon) and maybe put half of the corn through a food processor.
The beer that Dee paired it with was also made with corn - and she pointed out this beer was famously featured in the movie "Jaws"...Narragansett Lager.
 
FEED THE RESISTANCE: SHRIMP SCAMPI ROLLS WITH VINTAGE OKTOBERFEST!
Feed The Resistance: Shrimp Scampi Rolls are paired with Oktoberfest Beer from Vintage!
I'm a runner...and a Triathlete. That runner part of me is always wanting to get back to the Boston Marathon. I qualified, and ran it, several years ago...and have wanted to go back ever since. The last couple of years have been a bit weird for the Boston Marathon (just like most other events) - last year the race was done virtually, and this year they moved the race from April to October. The 2021 Boston Marathon is coming up on Monday...and once again, I did not qualify for it, so I won't be there.
I won't be there, but I can still throw a little "Boston Party" right here in Madison. For my Boston Party, I'm serving Lobster Rolls...with a little twist...no lobster! I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine - the headline on the cover read "The New Lobster Roll...IT'S WAY CHEAPER!" Cheaper yes - and pretty darned tasty too! Shrimp Scampi replaces the lobster in these rolls - they're buttery...and garlicky...and delicious! When I told Dee what I was making, she immediately said that an Octoberfest beer would be perfect with it. She chose a great local beer - "Oktoberfest" from Vintage.
FEED THE RESISTANCE: GROUND PORK LETTUCE WRAPS WITH F-COVID FROM ALE ASYLUM!
Feed The Resistance: Ground Pork Lettuce Wraps with Asparagus, Mushroom & Pickled Rhubarb is paired with Ale Asylum's "F-Covid" Beer!
There's a new cookbook out called "The Wisconsin Restaurant Cookbook" and in it is a great collection of recipes from restaurants all across Wisconsin. One of those recipes comes from Dan Fox at Heritage Tavern, right here in Madison. The recipe is for Fox Heritage Farms Ground Pork Lettuce Wrap with Asparagus, Mushroom and Pickled Rhubarb...so that's what I made today!
The dish has lots of complex flavor, but comes together fairly easily, although in three parts. First you have to make the Pickled Rhubarb...and then a Chili Sweet & Sour Sauce. Each of those is simple to make - just mix together the ingredients. After that it's just a matter of cooking up the ground pork with a little bacon, asparagus, mushrooms, onion, garlic, and ginger. After that's cooked a bit the chili sauce and pickled rhubarb are added in and the whole thing is cooked down until it's almost dry - then serve it up, using lettuce leaves like taco shells and garnish with some microgreens and chopped peanuts.
Dee paired it all with what has become one of Ale Asylum's most famous beers - "F-Covid."
FEED THE RESISTANCE: COLD PIZZA & BEER!
Feed The Resistance: Cold Pizza is paired with a New England IPA from Ooga Brewing Co.
Yesterday was my birthday...and I love PIZZA...so we're having Pizza this week! And we're doing it up college-style...cold pizza and beer the morning after a late night! The pizza is homemade with a white sauce and topped with Sablefish, Chorizo, Caramelized Onions and Caramelized Fennel. It was great last night fresh from my really fancy grill/pizza oven...and it's still great cold this morning served with a New England IPA from Ooga Brewing Company. Dee also pointed out that you can't go wrong pairing pizza a beer - any beer will do (but this was especially good).
FEED THE RESISTANCE: HIPPIE PIE WITH SPATEN OKTOBERFEST
Feed The Resistance: Hippie Pie is paired with Spaten Oktoberfest Beer!
The Willy Street Fair is this weekend, so this seemed like a good time for a little tribute to Madison's hippies! Hippie Pie is a take on a recipe from a cookbook that we've talked about before - "The Moosewood Cookbook" by Mollie Katzen. This version has a few tweaks, but it's pretty true to the original. What's not true to the original - as you'll see from the pictures, is that I burnt the crust. Even with the burnt crust, this is a great savory vegetarian pie.
Dee decided to pair this with Spaten's Oktoberfest - matching the flavors of the cheese and caramelized onions with the caramel flavors of the beer.
