07/29/14

Seared Steak with Pale Ale Butter, Mushrooms, and Onions

Huck’s Famous Spicy Steak with Mushrooms and Onions cooked in a Pale Ale Butter.

When I was at the “office job”, I was treated to two overpriced fancy, white table cloth, steakhouse dinners. One for our Christmas party, the other a just because “You’ve never been there??” treat. I greatly appreciate my boss treating us to dinner each time, but both meals were less than stellar. In fact, at the Christmas party, if I was paying for the meal, I would have hand delivered my extremely overcooked, boiled, pieces of unseasoned beef to the kitchen and showed them a thing or two about my good friends Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper.

As you may have gathered from my little rant, I’m not a fan of steakhouses. If I’m throwing down over a $100 for a meal, it’s not going to be something I can make better at home.

I like hole-in-the-wall or eclectic restaurants. On a recent trip to Coolinary {My favorite restaurant of all time}, I ordered Barley Risotto with Lamb Meatballs. Not overly crazy. Probably something I could recreate on my own {I’ve made Barley Risotto before}, but I could NEVER get the favor into my dish they did. As soon as the food hit my tongue, I closed my eyes, smiled, and ‘Yummied!’ That is my happy place! Then I had a mini battle with myself, do I tell everyone how great this is and share or keep it all for myself?? Of course I shared!

Today’s lunch was a Yum moment. Huck and I have our steaks down to a science, as long as I’m cooking for just the two of us. I like my steak rare and have no problem eating it blue. As long as the outside has a nice sear, we’re good. I honestly don’t know how to cook a steak any other way. We’ll have friends over and they’ll request their steak medium. I start stressing about over or undercooking their piece.

Steak is expensive after all. Steak is something we’ll have once or twice a month. We usually buy one Porter House and Huck takes the New York strip side, and I get the filet. Aren’t we just prefect for each other??

So back to lunch, I seared our steaks in an extremely hot pan. I usually smoke up the whole house while doing so. It’s so worth it, though! We marinated the steak yesterday with Huck’s spicy rub we put on everything, literally! {It’s a mix of a bunch of ground pepper powders, garlic, onion, salt and pepper}. Once the steaks were finished, I added about two tablespoons of my Pale Ale Butter to the pan with mushrooms and onions and cooked until the veggies were soft. The slight bitterness from the Pale Ale worked great with the spice from the marinade.

I actually overcooked my piece a little while setting up for pictures. Go figure. Luckily, the center was cooked perfectly.

Looking at these pictures makes me want another pieces. Instead I’m making cupcakes. Peanut Butter Frosting for Chocolate Stout Cupcakes to be exact. My goal is to only eat one… Maybe two! I’ll let you know how it goes!

I also announced the winner of the t-shirt from Kona Brewing Company. Head over to see if you were the lucky winner!

{Blog maintenance question before I leave: if anyone knows how delete the boarders around my pictures, I’d really like to know! My Windows Live Writer isn’t working, I’ve watched countless YouTube videos, and read a bunch of WordPress forums and still can’t figure it out:( I don’t like it!!}

Pale Ale Butter

Flavored butters are super easy and added extra flavor to normal dishes. Add additional seasonings or substitute for some of your favorite.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)
  • 2 tablespoons Pale Ale
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • PinchSmoked Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper Powder (Optional)

Directions

Combined all ingredients together until fully combined. Place butter on plastic wrap and roll into log form. Place in the refrigerator to chili until ready to use.
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07/23/14

Kona Brewing Co. Castaway IPA Plus Giveaway

Want to know one of the best advantages to being a beer/food blogger? People send you beer samples in the mail!

Receiving beer samples at work makes everything better!

I was contacted by a representative from Kona Brewing Company weeks ago about trying out their new IPA! As you all know, I have a slight obsession with IPAs. For me, the day I had an IPA and said, “Wow! I really like this!” was the day I knew I’d become a craft beer fan for life. Trust me, that didn’t happen overnight. It took a couple of years experimenting with beers to finally, truly, enjoy an IPA. Now, it’s what I order 8 out of 10 times.

Now, back to the beer. To give you a little history about Kona. They started in 1995 in Hawaii. They’re Pacific Golden Ale and Fire Rock Pale Ale were their first two beers. Now, they’re the top selling craft beer in Hawaii. They also distribute to 36 states and 9 countries. Their new Castaway India Pale Ale made its debut in the Mainland in 2014. For us South Florida peeps, it will be making its way down here this summer. We’re the last to get everything! ;)

The Castaway had a nice hop balance, but wasn’t super bitter like some IPA. I would compare it to a session IPA, maybe? I never claimed to be a BJCP judge after all. There is a hint of citrus flavor that I love in an IPA. Here is the description from Kona’s website.

Take a sip of this copper-colored India Pale Ale and you’ll taste bold, citrusy hops with a touch of tropical mango and passion fruit, balanced by the rich caramel malts. Castaway IPA has a clean, crisp finish that’s as refreshing as the wind in your face when you set sale for adventure.

It’s brewed with Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe, and Milenium hops.

My husband buys Citra by the pound! He’s also known as the Citra king.

The bitterness is moderate in this beer with only 50 IBU {International Bitterness Units}. To compare, Lite Lagers are around 10 IBU. The alcohol by volume is 6.0%.

We actually did a tasting with Karl and Holly, and we all agreed, it was a nice tasting summer IPA. Good for a hot summer day.

Isn’t the packaging awesome? So creative shipping the beers in a Wilson volleyball, like from the movie Cast Away.

Now the best part, Kona is offering one of you guys a prize. Unfortantly, it’s not beer! Sorry, I tried! But they are providing a t-shirt for one LF&B reader. I don’t know about you, but I love beer shirts. Now, that I work from home, it’s all I wear.

All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us what’s your favorite Kona beer or what’s your favorite line from the movie Cast Away. When the Kona rep asked me that question, I could only come up with one. I’ll be interested to see if anyone comes up with something different.

You can enter for more chances to win below. Winner will be announced July 30th. Please us the Rafflecopter box below to leave a comment. It will select the winner randomly.

{Winner will be able to select T-Shirt size}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Kona Brewing Company provided me with two bottles of their Castaway IPA and a t-shirt for one reader in exchange for the post. As always, the opinions are all my own.

07/21/14

MIA

Hello! Its been a while! Just when I had motivation to blog regularly again, life happened! I’m not complaining, though.

A blog that I like to read does this thing every couple weeks called High Low High. She shares the high points and low points from the week. I though I would be fun to share some of the things going in our lives with my own High Low High, so here we go.

HIGH- I got a new job.

My office job was supposed to be a temporary job until I could find another property adjuster job. I really like property insurance. Yeah it’s lots of paperwork. Yea, climbing on roofs isn’t my favorite. Yea, most of our claims are in the worst parts of Hialeah. But I love working for myself. I love the freedom that comes with it. And I actually like the job! I’m not made for 9-5 Monday-Friday. I’ve either worked for myself, 12 hour shifts, or enjoyed the semi-retired life for a long time. Some days, I felt like a bird in a cage. Having to ask off to do simple stuff like go to the doctor, drove me INSANE! Sitting at a desk for 8.5 hours was even worse. It’s crazy because I can work on claims for 16 hours a day {I did it 3 days this week}, and it doesn’t feel the same. I have no idea why. I also got to the point where all I wanted to do was stay home. I felt like I was gone all the time, and when I was off work, I just wanted to hang out here. I’ve NEVER been like that before.

So, I spent the last year searching for the right job. Our trip to NOLA a few months ago, was actually to meet with a company for both of us. Not just Huck {I lied! Sorry!}. After talking back and forth for a few weeks, June 30th I received my first claim. It was a happy day! Followed by an Oh Shit! I don’t know what I’m doing day. Luckily, I have Huck and some really great support helping me learn the ropes. It adds a lot more pressure, though. Huck’s like a rock star claims adjuster, and I’ve wanted this job so badly. I’m really scared I’m going to screw it up, and I’ve been stressing myself out thinking I should know EVERYTHING already and feel like a failure when I mess something up. Honestly, I don’t think I’m doing terrible. Just learning! But I’m still stressing.

{Our office!!}

Low- I was let go from my old job.

I’m really thankful for the office job. Yea, I hated it, but it keep me employed and provided a steady paycheck for 10 months. I was miserable before I found that job. I had nothing to do all day. I also wasn’t contributing to our household. I didn’t want to do anything or buy anything because it was Huck’s money. Not mine. So, the office job made me feel better. It gave me something to do, and there was a time when I actually thought I could see myself growing with the company.

I was hired as an assistant claims manager for a bus company and to help with office work for a workers comp agency. I’ve worked in workers comp before but this stuff was over my head, and for a while I really wanted to learn. I was constantly asking for more things to do and more responsibilities. I can’t tell you how many time I said “I’m a fairly smart, educated woman, that doesn’t like to be bored. Give me something challenging to do!” A few months ago, I was told, basically, I was good at answering phones and that’s what they wanted me to focus on. WTF!!

I think that was the last day I asked to help anyone or for more “responsibilities”. I checked out! It didn’t help we were traveling and had visitors so much in May and June, either. I wanted my freedom back more than ever. I hadn’t worked a full week since May. I fell bad because that’s not the kind of employee I am! Again, I’m very thankful for the job, but it wasn’t a job for me! I actually had my whole “I quit, here’s my notice” speech all planned out.

They beat me to it, though. I arrived to work a couple weeks ago, and was told they were letting my go. My response “You couldn’t have told me over the phone and saved me the time driving here.” Because it’s so far. Then I was furious because I wanted to quit. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I came here to break up with you, damn it! They didn’t give me the exact reason they let me go. Apparently in the state of Florida, you don’t have to give a reason… cop out!

Honestly, it worked out better. If I put in my notice, I’d still be there until next week. I’ve been so busy this week {remember the 16 hour work days?}, there’s no way I’d be able to handle both. I still feel bad for being a shitty employee, but I was only there to answer the phones after all.

High- One Year Cancer Free

Last week marked the one year anniversary of the scariest week of my life. It’s when we found out Huck had a cancerous growth in his colon. Luckily, it was caught before it could spread and no other treatment was required. He had his 6 month check up in January and follows up regularly with his doctor.

Low- We had a water leak

The property adjusters had to file a water claim… how ironic. At least we knew what to do. Now, our house is currently a mess! We’re missing half the flooring in our bedroom and closet. We had fans and dehumidifiers in the house for 2 days last week. Dog hair was blowing everywhere.

Luckily, it wasn’t that bad. We have the air mattress in our office. It’s not bad as long as no one has to get up.

The house just feels so dirty right now!! I’m ready for everything to be back in it’s spot so I can start scrubbing!

We picked up the flooring today, so hopefully we can finish our bedroom tonight. Fingers crossed.

High- People actually use my recipes!

One of my old coworkers posted this picture on my Facebook page, and said she tried my Blueberry Pound Cake and really liked it.

My sister also tried the Buttermilk Fried Chicken a couple weeks ago.

It make me so happy to know people are actually trying my recipes!!

I’m hoping to start sharing more with you guys in the coming weeks. The weathers been pretty crazy lately. Like it rains ALL THE TIME, but that’s life in South Florida. I’m hoping I can start cooking and photographing at lunch like I did before I started the office job. It’s typically not raining then. I have so many great ideas I want to share.

Check back in on Wednesday for a change to win a t-shirt from Kona Brewing Company.

07/11/14

Grilled Peach and Porter Ice Cream

Grilled Peach and Porter Ice Cream. plus a giveaway sponsored by Joy Cones and The Kitchen Prep.

I love Porters and Stouts, but when it’s a million degrees outside, like it is right now, I usually skip them and go with an IPA or Pale Ale. I couldn’t get enough Stouts while on our trip to Minnesota last year. To me, cold weather and stouts/porters just go together. Now, this doesn’t mean I avoid them all together, I just usually sip some of Huck’s.

When Dianna from The Kitchen Prep asked me to be apart of her Ice Cream Social, I instantly started brainstorming ideas.

I knew I wanted to use a beer from TBC, and after our trip to Fort Peirce, I knew I wanted a use Grilled Peaches. I asked the brewers at TBC if they had anything fruity I could use for my dessert, and the answer was no. But, they did recommend their Baltic Porter. At first I wasn’t sure about using a Porter with Grilled Peaches?

I started off using the Porter in a basic ice cream recipe. After consuming about half the batch, I deciding to try adding the Grilled Peaches. I almost keep the recipe as is! It was that good, but I had my heart set on Grilled Peach Ice Cream.

I experimented with the recipe a few time {AKA we have a TON of ice cream in our freezer, currently!!} The final batch was a complete success. The grill helped caramelize the sugars in the peaches and give them a roasted, charred flavor. That paired great with the sweet beer, cream and sugar.

I’ve now found the perfect way to enjoy a stout or porter on those hot South Florida days.

Don’t forget to head over to Dianna’s blog and enter for a chance to win the Ice Cream Social Prize Pack, and check out some of the mouthwatering recipes she’s posted this week.

Ice Cream Social Post:

They all sound amazing, but the Nutella-Swirled Ice Cream is pour genius, and you don’t need an ice cream maker!!

Grilled Peach and Porter Ice Cream

Serves 6-8
Prep time 1 hour
Website Bless This Mess- Fresh Peach Ice Cream
{Reminder: since the beer isn’t cooked, there is alcohol in this recipe. Great for the adults; not so great for children}

Ingredients

  • 3-4 Medium Peaches (Pitted and cut into thick slices)
  • Cooking Spray (Optional)
  • 1/2 cup 2% Milk
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream
  • 1 cup Sweet Porter or Stout
  • 1 tablespoon Vanilla
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • Pinch of Salt

Directions

Preheat the grill or grill pan over medium heat. Lightly spray the grill or peaches with cooking spray
to prevent from sticking, if desired.

Place peaches flesh side down and cooking until peaches start
to brown. Flip.

Once peaches have nice grill marks on both sides, place half of the peaches in a food processer and blend until smooth. You can add some of the milk to help thin out the mixture if needed.

Dice the additional peaches into small pieces. Place in a bowl, in the refrigerator to cool.

Add the blended peaches to the refrigerator and cool for 30 minutes.

While the peaches are cooking, whisk together the Milk, Heavy Cream, Beer, Vanilla, Sugar, and Salt.

Once the sugar is dissolved, place in the refrigerator until the peach mixture is ready.

Combine the Beer mixture with the pureed Peaches and add to an ice cream maker. (For the ice
cream maker I was using, it took about 20 minutes for the mixture to be a soft serve consistency.)

Add the diced up peaches half way through the process.

Enjoy right away or freeze to enjoy later.
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