Posts Tagged ‘Beer’


Guinness Doughnuts with Irish Whiskey Frosting

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Am I a bad part Irish Bostonian if I say I’m not really a fan of St. Patrick’s Day? Probably. I’m also probably a 93-year-old. Because I think it’s really just that I don’t like holidays on which people feel the need to get ridiculously drunk for no apparent reason. This St. Patrick’s Day is especially horrible as it’s conveniently the day VH1 has decided to premiere “Wicked Single,” the new Jersey Shore-like show about Boston’s finest young adults. It’s bad. And I’m not even going to link to it. Because I don’t want you to watch it and start hating Bostonians, too. I mean, I don’t even want to watch it because I don’t want to hate Bostonians and I am one. It makes me cringe to know that the world will have this view that Boston is filled with 30-year-olds who are drunken idiots wondering why they’re not in healthy relationships.

Of course, this is not to say I can’t get into the St. Patrick’s Day eating (corned beef!) and drinking spirit. You know I enjoy a cocktail or five myself. And so you won’t be surprised to hear that these doughnuts contain two types of alcohol between the cake and the frosting. And the frosting? Let’s just say the whiskey was diluted by NOTHING, which is exactly how it should be. Potent. I’m not really sure what kind of transition I just made here. From talking about how I hate drunken Boston stereotypes to discussing the alcohol-laden doughnuts I just made. The green alcohol-laden doughnuts I just made. But come on, whether you’re a St. Patrick’s Day lover or not, you can enjoy one of these. Or ten.

Anywayyy, I wanted the Guinness flavor to come through in the cupcake, but knew they would need something else. So, I opted for some Silk Chocolate Soy Milk since I figured it would add a little chocolatey flavor without overpowering like cocoa powder might do.

Guinness Doughnuts with Irish Whiskey Frosting (makes 12):
Print this recipe!

  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 C sugar
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1 t salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 T melted butter
  • 2/3 C Guinness
  • 1/4 C chocolate soy milk
  • 1 batch Irish whiskey frosting (see below)

pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Guinness Doughnuts with Whiskey Frosting Ingredients.jpg

Irish Whiskey Frosting:
Print this recipe!

  • 2 C confectioner sugar
  • 1 1/2 T butter, softened
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 4-5 T Irish whiskeyG
  • Green food coloring

  

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Baked doughnuts are like really ridiculously easy to make. I couldn’t even believe how quickly these were made. And let me tell you, I am not speedy in the kitchen.

Start by whisking together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

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In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, Guinness, and chocolate soy milk.

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Now, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, taking care not to overmix. Overmixing will give you cakey doughnuts, which you generally want to avoid when baking!

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Spray your doughnut pan with oil and fill about 3/4 of the way full with batter.

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Bake doughnuts for 8-10 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to cooling racks. Repeat with second batch of doughnuts (if your doughnut pan only holds six). Remember, you want your doughnuts to be completely cooled before frosting! Otherwise…. disaster.

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If you thought those doughnuts were easy, wait till you see this frosting. Basically you whisk all the ingredients together (aside from the food coloring).

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And then add a very tiny amount of food coloring and stir to combine.

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Done! Well, you still have to frost the doughnuts. Which is probably the most difficult part of this whole shenanigans.

The frosting is drippy and messy. And green. But in a really good way.

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Smelling it might get you a little drunk though. So, I’m not sure what that says about tasting it? Yes, it’s potent. I briefly considered mixing some vanilla or something into the frosting, but then said no. The Irish would not approve of that.

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Not that the Irish would probably approve of adding chocolate soy milk to doughnuts. But oh well. Just focus on the Guinness people, BEER!

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Whenever I make baked doughnuts, it’s always my goal to make a doughnut that’s super moist and not cakey and dense. These definitely succeeded. Thank you Guinness and soy milk. I mean, what else can you eat in which beer and milk would be an acceptable combination? Not much!

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But the real star of these doughnuts were the frosting. For sure. Like I mentioned, it’s pretty strong. So, I hope you like whiskey!

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You can go out and drink a ton on St. Patrick’s Day. Or you can sit home and eat these. Wait, I don’t think either of those options is overly healthy. But maybe you could just go out for a little bit and then come home and eat ONE of these?

That sounds more reasonable.

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But you’ve got to make them. Because I’m pretty sure they don’t sell anything like this at Boston’s own Dunkin’ Doughnuts. Although I did hear they just debuted an Irish coffee. Which both confuses and intrigues me. But mostly I think I need to go try it. And then probably add some Bailey’s to it. Would that be wrong?

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On second thought, if the cast of Wicked Single stayed home and baked these on St. Patrick’s Day instead of going out and acting like hot messes, maybe they wouldn’t stay single for long? Although who can really say what kind of crowd these doughnuts would attract. I guess it’s debatable.

How are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?

[Sues]

Beer Batter Fried Brussels Sprouts

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Aren’t you so proud of our nation for finally ending our hatred against the innocent little brussels sprout? I am. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still going to take the delectable little vessels of nutrition and dunk them in some beer and flour and a vat of hot oil for a bit. Because everybody knows that if you like brussels sprouts, you’ll love fried brussels sprouts. With blue cheese yogurt dip. And if you hate brussels sprouts? Well, you need to try these because I think they can change your mind.

I had fried brussels sprouts a couple weeks ago while I was at a client meeting at Local 149. I saw Meghan’s recommendation of them and knew they had to be consumed. And I loved them so much I went home and made my own. And now I’m probably going to get evicted from my apartment because I set off all of my smoke detectors at 8:00 p.m. and took 15 minutes to turn the obnoxiously loud things off. I almost just went and hid under my bed, the sound was so obnoxious. I swear, someone was hiding in the walls laughing at me as I stood on a stool waving towels around the detectors, even though there was barely any smoke. And like those trick birthday candles you just can’t blow out, I’m pretty sure these are trick smoke detectors that don’t turn off. Also, I got quite the workout and my arms still hurt. But these brussels sprouts were totally worth it. And now I know not to let oil heat to over 400 degrees. Phew.

The only thing better than fried brussels sprouts are fried brussels sprouts in a beer batter. I’m really doing everything I can here to get you to eat sprouts! Is it working?

Beer Batter Fried Brussels Sprouts:
Print this recipe!

  • 1 lb. brussels sprouts
  • 1 C flour
  • 1/2 C cornmeal
  • 1/2 t coarse salt
  • 1/4 t cayenne
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 C beer
  • 3 C canola oil
  • Blue cheese yogurt dip (see recipe below)

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You need to blanch your brussels sprouts before frying so that they’re nice and tender. I cooked mine in boiling water for about 7 minutes before draining and drying the best I could.

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Next time I might consider roasting as you’ll be left with perfectly dry sprouts (water and oil do not mix… in case you haven’t heard the saying!).

Pour canola oil in a fairly deep pot on the stove and bring to a temperature somewhere between 350-400 degrees. If it goes above 400 degrees, your smoke detectors will go off. If they’re working. If you haven’t tested in a while, this is a good way.

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Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, and cayenne, in a large bowl.

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Stir in beaten eggs and beer, too, until well combined. I think lagers work particularly well for this.

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I used High & Might’s Purity of Essence because it’s one of my faves and knew the hoppiness would give flavor I wanted in my brussels sprouts.

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When your oil has come to temperature and sprouts are dry, dunk them in the batter.

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And then in small batches, drop them into the oil.

They look kind of like doughnuts… But they’re not!

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Let them cook for about 3 minutes, until a nice golden brown. And then move to a separate paper towel-lined bowl.

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If you are a good multi-tasker, you can make the blue cheese yogurt dip now. But you could always make it ahead if you prefer. It’s easy!

Blue Cheese Yogurt Dip:
Print this recipe!

  • 1 C plain yogurt
  • 4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
  • 1/4 t cayenne
  • 1 t lemon juice
  • 2 t chopped parsley

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Mix all the ingredients in a bowl on the side.

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Told ya it was easy.

And serve the fried brussels sprouts along with the blue cheese dip and some more beer. Because you did have some left over from that batter. Right?

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Hello, little bites of heaven.

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These totally hit the spot and were the perfect little appetizer. Even though I ate them as a meal.

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Not only does frying brussels sprouts add a delicious beer breaded coating, but it also gets rid of some of the bitterness of the sprout. Which is why I think you could even convince a lifelong brussels sprout hater to eat a few.

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Especially when dunked in the blue cheese yogurt sauce, which I wanted to drink out of that mug.

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I restrained myself, but the dip really went perfectly with the sprouts. Especially with a little more lemon squeezed over the top.

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I don’t think this is quite what the Earth had in mind for brussels sprouts, but that’s OK. At least I haven’t attempted to fry butter yet. I draw the line there.

This is one of those weeks where every day feels at least one day later than it is. Hello, Friday? Allegedly, there’s going to be quite the snowstorm adventure on Friday in Boston. Which will make my commute pretty interesting. Usually I’m a snow fan, but not when I really have places to be. I guess it’s time to finally break out my Sorels! And maybe a sled, too? Something tells me that would be more efficient than the MBTA.

Even if you’re not a lover of brussels sprouts, would you try fried sprouts?

[Sues]