Category Archives: Party Time

Bacon Nation

15 Thursday Oct 2009

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Again, a “blog blip” on an upcoming Bacon Nation event via the web.

The Bacon Nation

Aaron Tucker has invited you to the event ‘BACON LIVE!’ on The Bacon Nation! Have you been watching Bacon Live?

Time: October 21, 2009 from 6pm to 7pm
Location: The Bacon Situation Room
Organized By: Jason Mosley and Sean Brett

Event Description:
Bacon Live is an online show hosted by Jason Mosley (Mr Baconpants) and Sean “The Baconator” Brett every Wednesday at 7PM Eastern (4 Pacific, 6 Central).

Weekly topics include bacon discoveries, reviews of bacon-related products, lots of bacon humor and even non-bacon bacon news! It’s six hours of fun packed into one!

See more details and RSVP on The Bacon Nation: The Bacon Nation

About The Bacon Nation
Welcome to the Bacon Nation where every day is a celebration of the Best Meat Ever.
283 members
31 discussions
11 Events
35 blog posts

Cheers! There is also a link to The Bacon Nation in the sidebar ====>

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake

13 Tuesday Oct 2009

Posted by in Celebrations, Dessert, Party Time, Photos, Recipes

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OK. So here is the recipe for the Chocolate Stout Layer Cake that Marnie and Mac made yesterday for her birthday dinner. They got the original recipe from Bon Appetit. Enjoy this one … We did!

Chocolate Stout Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Cake:
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup chocolate stout, regular stout, or porter
2/3 cup freshly brewed strong coffee

Frosting:
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (54% to 60% cacao), chopped
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper round; butter and flour parchment. Place chopped chocolate in medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 11/4 cups sugar in large bowl until fluffy and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in lukewarm melted chocolate, then stout and coffee. Beat flour mixture into chocolate mixture in 2 additions just until incorporated.

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into cake batter to lighten, then fold in remaining egg whites in 2 additions. Divide batter between prepared cake pans (about 3 cups for each); smooth tops.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer cakes to racks and cool in pans 20 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks; remove parchment paper and cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

For frosting:
Place chopped chocolate in medium heatproof bowl. Combine whipping cream and espresso powder in medium saucepan. Bring cream mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Pour cream mixture over chopped chocolate; let stand 1 minute, then whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Chill chocolate frosting until slightly thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (or for quick chilling, place frosting in freezer until thickened and spreadable, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes).

Using serrated knife, trim rounded tops from both cake layers so that tops are flat. Place 1 cake layer, trimmed side up, on 9-inch-diameter tart pan bottom or cardboard round, then place on rack set over baking sheet. Drop 1 1/4 cups frosting by large spoonfuls over top of cake layer; spread frosting evenly to edges with offset spatula or butter knife. Top with second cake layer, trimmed side down. Spread remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake.
DO AHEAD: Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let cake stand at room temperature at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours before serving.

Ingredient tip:
If you can find it, use a chocolate stout (Brooklyn Brewery and Oregon’s Rogue Brewery make it) in the cake batter. The chocolaty flavors in the beer come from dark-roasting the malts. Some brewers even add a little chocolate to the beer as well. If you can’t find chocolate stout, use another stout, such as Guinness. Sierra Nevada Porter and Samuel Adams Honey Porter would also work well in this recipe.

Miss Marnie’s Birtday Is Today!

12 Monday Oct 2009

Posted by in Bread, Food, Party Time

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Today is Marnie’s second anniversary of her 39th Birthday!! It is also the 27th anniversary of my brother’s 39th Birthday! Such a day! Looks like we’d best have a party. And now we will reveal, in no particular order, the wines to be serverd at tonight’s dinner! Oh, and all of these wines come from our cellar!

L-R: A 1968 Beaulieu Vineyard Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($110) and a 1968 Gemello Filice Winery Cabernet Sauvignon ($46)

L-R: A 1968 Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio Barolo ($37) and a 1968 Taylor Fladgate Reserve Porto, Late Bottled Vintage ($198)

So now you ask, “Why a 1968 vintage?” Well, it’s not my brother’s birth year, but rather Marnies. Salute!! But wait! What’s cookin”? Try a Fall Root Soup, Lamb Roast with Mustard and Rosemary, Cauliflower with Brown Butter, Fresh Homemade Bread, Green salad and Chocolate Decadence Cake! What more could we ask for.
Cheers!

Oktoberfest Dinner

11 Sunday Oct 2009

Posted by in Food, Main Dish, Party Time, Photos By: Bob Young, Things To Do

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Well, it really was a good dinner. Our friends, Debra and Geno, joined us and it was delightful. If you missed the previous post, here is the menu –

Fall Root Soup

Sauerbratten with Cabbage and Special Sauce

Hot German Potato Salad
Fresh Baked New York Rye Bread

Lemon Bars

2008 St Regulus Reserve Riesling (Weiser, ID)

And here is the dinner plated. From left to right – Cabbage in Apple Cider and Clove, Hot Potato Salad, Fresh Baked New York Rye Bread and the Sauerbratten with Special Sauce. Loads of fun to prepare and especially to share with friends. Cheers!

Saturday Dinner

10 Saturday Oct 2009

Posted by in Food, Party Time, Things To Do

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Here’s a good one.

Fall Root Soup

Sauerbratten with Cabbage and Special Sauce
Hot German Potato Salad
Lemon Bars

2008 St Regulus Reserve Riesling (Weiser, ID)

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So that’s it. It’ll be fun. The sauerbratten has been getting happy since Wednesday. Cheers!

Little German Donuts – Schmalzkuchen

29 Tuesday Sep 2009

Posted by in Dessert, Food, Food Prep, Party Time

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Oh yes!! So much food to try and so little time. “I get to soondt olt and to late schmart!” Try these!

Walk through any of the street fairs in Germany and you will be accompanied by the smell of these delightful donuts. Yeast dough flavored with lemon and vanilla, then fried into golden puffs. Because the dough is not sweet, the vendors liberally sprinkle powdered sugar on the donuts.

These donuts are traditional at wintertime festivals, especially in Northern Germany. Now you can make them at home for the family. Eat them within a few hours of frying because, like most homemade donuts, they quickly become stale.

Little German Donuts – Schmalzkuchen

Makes 48 little donuts, about 4 servings.

Ingredients:
1 5/8 c. all purpose flour (250 grams) plus extra
1 tsp. dried yeast
1/2 c. (125 ml.) warm milk
2 T. sugar (40 grams)
1 egg
1 T. vanilla sugar (or another tablespoon sugar)
2 T. butter
1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 tsp. salt
Powdered sugar
Oil for deep fat frying

Procedure:
Place all the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour the warm milk in the well, sprinkle the yeast on top and add a pinch of sugar. Stir the milk a little, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave it for 10 minutes.

When the milk mixture begins to foam, add the egg, the rest of the sugars, butter, lemon zest and salt. Mix with a large spoon or on the mixer with a dough hook, until the dough comes together to form a ball. Add a little more flour, if needed.

Knead the dough until a soft, smooth ball can be formed. Grease or oil the ball, place in a small container and let rise, covered, for 20 minutes or so. The dough will not be appreciably risen.

Flour a cutting board lightly and pat the dough into a rectangle. Roll out to 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a pizza cutter or bench knife, if possible, cut the dough into rectangles (or diamonds) roughly 1 inch by 1 1/2 inches large (2 by 3 centimeters).

Heat 2 inches of oil in a stock pan or other large, deep saucepan. There should be another 2 inches of clearance over that.

If you are using a deep fat fryer, follow manufacturer’s instructions. The oil should be heated to 365°F.

Fry the donuts in 4 – 5 batches for about 3 minutes. Turn them once half way, when the underside turns golden brown. Remove from hot fat and drain on paper towels or brown paper (grocery bag paper).

Sift powdered sugar over the top and eat while still warm.

Try these “poppers” at the next BSU (Boise State University) Football game with a good lager. YUM-O!

Beer-Simmered Bratwurst with Onions and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

28 Monday Sep 2009

Posted by in Celebrations, Food, Main Dish, Party Time

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OK, I know I said I would not add any more Oktoberfest recipes, but this one from Bobby Flay and the FoodNetwork, looks intriguing. There’s even a recipe for Sauerkraut and German Potato Salad. Cheers and enjoy!!

Bobby serves up a traditional German meal of beer and brats. With recipes for Beer-Simmered Bratwurst with Onions and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut, German Potato Salad & pickles of all kinds.

Beer-Simmered Bratwurst with Onions and Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

Ingredients:
3 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 pounds precooked bratwurst, pricked with a fork
6 bottles dark beer
2 cups water
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Hot dog buns, brown bread, or hoagie buns
Sweet and hot German mustard, optional, for garnish
Spicy brown mustard, optional, for garnish
Red Cabbage Sauerkraut, recipe follows
Pickles, optional, for garnish
Pickled beets, optional, for garnish
Pickled eggs, optional, for garnish

Directions:Preheat the grill to high. Arrange the onion slices and garlic along the bottom of a medium stockpot. Place the bratwurst on top and then add the beer, water, coriander, caraway, mustard seeds, and ginger. Bring to a simmer over the grill grates or on a burner. Simmer the sausages in the mixture for about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the bratwurst sit in the liquid for 10 minutes.

Remove the sausages with a pair of tongs onto a platter. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Grill the sausages until the casings are crisp and golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve the bratwurst on the buns with the onions, mustard and sauerkraut, if desired. Garnish with pickles, pickled beets, and pickled eggs, if desired.

————————
Red Cabbage Sauerkraut

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large head red cabbage, thinly shredded
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat grill to high. In a medium saucepan, combine the oil, vinegar, water, and sugar over medium heat, and cook until the sugar has melted. Add the mustard seeds, garlic, and cabbage, and cook until the cabbage is soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

————————
German Potato Salad

Ingredients:
3 pounds new potatoes
1 yellow onion, quartered
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 large red onion, diced
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/4 cup canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
Preheat the grill to high. Place potatoes in a large pot with the onion and cover with cold water. Cook, on the grates of the grill, or on a burner, until tender. Drain, discard the onion, and cut the potatoes into cubes when cool enough to handle. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

Place a large saute pan on the grates of the grill. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Add the onions to the rendered bacon fat and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully add the vinegar and mustard seeds and cook for 2 more minutes. Whisk in the canola oil and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the hot dressing to the potatoes and toss gently to coat. Fold in the green onions and parsley. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste.

More Oktoberfest Recipes

26 Saturday Sep 2009

Posted by in Celebrations, Food, Food Prep, Party Time

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And continuing with our Oktoberfest theme and recipes from allrecipes.com, here are some more. Enjoy these.

Leeks and potatoes are simmered with a ham bone, then pureed before cream is added to this subtle soup.

German Leek and Potato Soup

Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chopped leeks
8 potatoes, peeled and sliced
6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 ham bone
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large pot over medium heat, cook onions in butter until translucent. Stir in leeks, potatoes, water, thyme and the ham bone. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove ham bone and puree soup with a blender or food processor. Return to pot, stir in cream, salt and pepper, heat through and serve.

———————–

And here is the Grand Daddy of them all –

Sauerbraten

Serves: 6
Ingredients:
4 pounds rump roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup red wine
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 cups water
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup sliced onion
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
1/4 cup white sugar
5 whole cloves

Beef Prep:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons bacon grease

Gravy:
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Directions:
Rub the roast with salt and pepper and place in a large non-metal bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine wine, vinegar and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Stir in garlic, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, sugar and cloves and pour the marinade over the beef. Cover and refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.

Beef Prep – Remove the meat from the marinade and thoroughly pat dry. Dredge in 1 cup flour (may use more or less if necessary). Heat bacon grease in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown roast in drippings on all sides. Pour in half the marinade, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender, 3 hours.

Gravy – Remove meat to serving platter. Increase heat to medium-high; mix 2 tablespoons flour with 2 tablespoons water and add to pan, stirring until gravy thickens. Stir in sour cream. Pour sauce over sliced meat.

What to Drink? – Zinfandel or a lager that is on the sweet side.

———————–

Black Forest Cake

Serves: 12
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup kirschwasser
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon strong brewed coffee
2 (14 ounce) cans pitted Bing cherries, drained

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon kirschwasser
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 8 inch round pans with parchment paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Pour into 2 round 8 inch pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making 4 layers total. Sprinkle layers with the 1/2 cup kirshwasser.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee; beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or milk. Spread first layer of cake with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining layers.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon kirshwasser. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate curls made by using a potato peeler on semisweet baking chocolate.

What to Drink? – Port or a good TBA (I’d take the TBA) or a good Riesling Ice Wine

1st Course – German Leek and Potato Soup
2nd Course – Sauerbraten
Dessert – Black Forest Cake

There’s a whole dinner for your Sweetheart during Oktoberfest when you were at the Beer Hall! Cheers!!

Oktoberfest Recipe – Schnitzel

24 Thursday Sep 2009

Posted by in Beer and Ale, Food, Food Prep, Main Dish, Party Time, Recipes

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Here is an Oktoberfest Recipe from All Recipes. Have fun with these!!

Schnitzel is the German word for cutlet, usually describing meat that is dipped in egg, breaded and fried. Wiener Schnitzel is a veal cutlet prepared in this manner. Translation of the name: ‘Wiener’ this word comes from the word ‘Wien’, which is the Austrian city called Vienna. ‘Schnitzel’ means basically meat in a crust…Serve the schnitzels with salad, ketchup and French fries.

Wiener Schnitzel

Ingredients:
2 pounds veal
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups bread crumbs
1/8 cup oil for frying

Procedure:
Cut the veal into steaks, about as thick as your finger. Dredge in flour.

In a shallow dish, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper. Coat the veal with egg mixture, then with bread crumbs.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry veal until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side.

What to Drink: Riesling or a good Lager

PREP TIME – 20 Min
COOK TIME – 15 Min
READY IN – 35 Min

Serves: 8

So there you go for today! How about German Spaetzle Dumplings for tomorrow! Cheers.

Oktoberfest6 2009 Part 1

23 Wednesday Sep 2009

Posted by in Beer and Ale, Food, Food Trivia, Party Time, Recipes

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October is just around the corner. What a fun month: Oktoberfest and Halloween! I think for the next couple of days I will post some good, celebratory German Oktoberfest information and recipes. This information will come from allrecipes.com. Here’s the first installment. Enjoy.

Oktoberfest

As if you need an excuse to break out a fine German beer, Oktoberfest is here!Celebrate with a strong, malty lager and Bavarian favorites such as pretzels, sausages, and schnitzels. Officially, this year’s festival ends October 4. Unofficially, though, you can join the party anytime.

And from Frances Crouter, we get –

Raise a stein to Bavaria, cheer the oom-pah band and celebrate Oktoberfest!

What began in 1810 as a regional celebration of the marriage of Prince Ludwig has evolved into one of the largest festivals in the world. Hungry, thirsty hordes of merrymakers descend upon Munich, Bavaria’s capital. Tents capable of seating 100,000 people offer beer from six local breweries–carried by more than 1600 strong-armed waitresses–and serve southern German specialties. The 2009 festival runs from September 19th to October 4th. If you can’t make it to Munich this year, cook up a small fest of your own.

And Bret Kimbrough adds,

Beer is almost as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians left beer in the tombs of Pharaohs to ensure a happy afterlife, and barley has been cultivated for thousands of years for the purpose of brewing beer.

The Code of Hammurabi, the oldest known system of written laws, contains statutes governing the sale and brewing of beer in Mesopotamia. Those ancient brews were murky, dark, heavily spiced concoctions few of us would recognize as beer today. Fortunately, considerable energy has been devoted over the past few millennia to refining and codifying the beer brewing process.

Lagers: Clearly Refined

When most people hear the word “lager,” their thoughts immediately turn to the mass-produced stuff that comes in cans at the grocery store. While most of these are lagers, they only represent one jewel in the lager crown.
The word lager actually comes from the German word lagern, which means “to store.” Lagers are subjected to long fermentation and aging periods in order to produce a brew of exceptional clarity and refinement. (As the German saying goes, “Iss, was gar ist, trink, was klar ist, und sprich, was wahr ist:” Eat what is well cooked, drink what is clear, and speak what is true.) A true lager takes at least 30 days to prepare.
Serving Suggestion: try a clean, elegant pilsner as an aperitif–the beer’s bitterness is good for stimulating the appetite.

Beyond Blonde

Lagers include hoppy, floral Pilsners, malty helles (blonde) bocks, refreshing Dortmunders and silky Bavarian-style lagers. There are also darker offerings like schwarzbier, dunkels, and the darker bocks. While it is hard to generalize about such a diverse race of beer, all of these brews do have certain things in common: they are all fermented with lager yeast, Saccharomyces uvarum. This yeast likes to work within a range of about 35-50 degrees F and tends to yield a beer of clean, very approachable flavor. Far from being bland, this straightforward fermentation profile allows the ingredients in a beer to really shine through and let the flavors of malt, hops and the native water’s character excite the senses.
Suggested Pairing: Bock beers go well with German-style sausages.

Bacon Wrapped Bratwurst


INGREDIENTS
4 bratwurst
3 (12 ounce) cans light beer
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 slices bacon, cut in half

DIRECTIONS
Poke bratwurst several times with a small fork, and place into a saucepan with the beer. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bratwurst from the beer, and allow to cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place a wire rack on top.
Toss the brown sugar and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl and set aside. Cut each bratwurst into three pieces, wrap each piece with half strip of bacon, and secure with a toothpick. Toss the bratwurst with the cayenne mixture to coat, then place onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until the bacon is brown and crisp, 25 to 35 minutes.

Cheers and Enjoy! More tomorrow!!!