Beer Battered Fish

I love all edible sea creatures. Scallops, crabs, lobster, shrimp, squid, clams, mussels, and then there's fish. So many kinds of fish! Salmon is my favorite, although sea bass ranks right up there too. Thing is, they are both VERY expensive, usually. So then we must go with the cheaper fishies for supper; tilapia and cod for me! Tilapia is always cheaper than cod, but cod is still not as expensive as the others.

This amazing dish uses cod, although any thick white fish may be used. I especially love cod for its meaty texture and mild flavor. I have been wanting to make this meal for SO long... I really don't know what held me up! It may have been the idea of the mess it'd make, and yes, I made quite the mess. Just be sure to not use a shallow pan to fry the fish in cause the oil will go everywhere! I think I was also scared of failure! I mean, I've made things before that required deep-frying and they turned out horribly. Cooked too fast, cooked too slow, burnt or soggy. Frying is hard work! But I did it. And I am glad because it was wonderful! The crust is so so flavorful and just thick enough. Fish was perfectly cooked when it turned golden brown, and my family gobbled it up! I was originally planning on making just two servings for my hubby and I, but ended up making the whole batch for everyone. It does take awhile since it must be fried in batches, but if you have company to chat with while doing it, it goes by quite wonderfully :) I bought two pounds of fish and there was more than enough batter for it all! Only thing was that I had to keep adding flour to the baking pan with flour for the third coating, but it turned out perfect anyway. I love this so much and although I won't be making it often for it's lack of health benefits, I will make it again! Enjoy.

Beer-Battered Fish
Ingredients:
2 1/2 quarts vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Table salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 lb 1-inch-thick cod fillet (or other thick white fish, such as hake or haddock) cut into fried-fish-like strips (about 3oz each)
12 oz beer, cold

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large dutch oven (at least 6 or 7 quart-capacity) over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a triple-layer of paper towels and set aside. Set a wire rack over another baking sheet and set aside.
While the oil heats, whisk the flour, cornstarch, cayenne, paprika, black pepper, and 2 teaspoons salt together in a large bowl. Transfer 3/4 cup of the flour mixture to a rimmed baking sheet. Add the baking powder to the bowl and whisk it into the flour.
Dry the fish then roll it in the flour on the baking sheet, tapping off the excess flour before letting the pieces rest on the wire rack. Stir in about 3/4 of the beer into the bowl with the flour mixture until it is just combined – it should be lumpy. Add more beer, a tablespoon at a time and whisking after each addition, until the batter runs from the whisk in a thin stream and leaves a faint trail across the top of the batter.
Dip each piece of fish in the batter to coat completely, allow the excess to drip off, then roll them again in the flour on the baking sheet. The fish should be completely covered in flour.
Fry the fish in two batches so as to not over-crowd the pot. You’ll probably need to turn the heat up to high in order to keep the temperature up – it will drop fast after you start frying the first batch. Fry the fish for 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown. Transfer the cooked fish to the baking sheet with the paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining fish.

Note: I made oven fries to go along with the idea of fish and chips but with less fat. I cut up 7 medium potatoes into fries, tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder, and laid them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. I roasted them at 425 for 45 minutes and they were perfect! I definitely recommend these. And just eyeball the seasonings, that's what I do :)

URL to article: http://smells-like-home.com/2013/03/beer-battered-fish/

Beer Bread

I love bread. This is a good thing obviously, since that means I can make bread, but it's also a very bad thing... For my hips! Oh, and was this bread dangerous. Yikes. I could not stop eating it. I literally had no control around it! Just kidding, kinda ;) It's a sweeter bread, not too sweet, and deliciously buttery. It's amazing, pretty much. And the fact that it is so so easy makes it only better! It requires one bowl, throw in a bottle of beer or soda, and bake it up with some butter on top! It's perfect for when the bread drawer is somehow empty before you realize it. It's also a nice change since my family eats the same Italian rolls from the same bakery every.single.day. I really love this recipe and I'll be making it often. Enjoy! :)

I loved watching the bubbles!

Homemade Beer Bread

3 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (12-ounce) bottle beer

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 5" x 9" loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside. 

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Add beer and mix until combined (Dough will be sticky). Place dough into loaf pan. Pour melted butter over top of loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean from center. 

Serve warm or cold.

Source: http://www.shortstopblog.com/2009/10/homemade-beer-bread.html

Beer Braised Irish Beef Stew with Colcannon

Oooh yes... Looks rich, huh? It is. This dish was amazing! It completely surpassed my expectations, considering the short list of ingredients for a stew. I made this meal since St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow, and my family has never actually celebrated it! We aren't Irish... But we can still honor St. Patrick :) I also wanted to make Irish food since I never have before, and my mate's grandparents are really big on the holiday and Ireland, so I thought I should try to incorporate it into my life somehow as well. Honestly, this is the best beef stew I have ever had. And I've had many. The colcannon is basically mashed potatoes with tender sliced cabbage and salty bacon bits mixed in. It is perfect with the stew! 

This dish doesn't take very long to make. The most time-consuming part is when it's in the oven. I took quite some time trimming and cutting the meat, as there was a good amount of fat. I love how it goes in the oven twice, 45 minutes at a time, since it gave me time to clean the dishes and do other necessary things, lol. This dish is very filling so while you may want to load it up on your plate, I'd suggest to wait and get seconds if you're still hungry. I made Irish soda bread to eat with this dish and it was so good! I'll share that recipe as well. Enjoy! :)

Beer Braised Irish Beef Stew with Colcannon 

Makes 8 servings

Irish Stew:

 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 1 (3 pound) beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

 1 cup coarsely chopped onion

 1 cup coarsely chopped carrot

 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer

 2 bay leaves

 1 teaspoon dried thyme

 1 teaspoon salt

 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 2 cloves garlic, minced

 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Calcannon:

 3 slices bacon

 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage

 1/4 cup milk, warmed

 2 tablespoons butter

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until very hot, and brown the meat in 2 batches, stirring to brown the cubes on all sides. Return all the meat to the Dutch oven, sprinkle with flour, and stir lightly to coat the meat with flour. Stir in onion, carrots, dark beer, bay leaves, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil, and cover.

Place the Dutch oven into the preheated oven, and cook for 45 minutes; uncover, stir the stew, and cook until the beef is very tender and the liquid is reduced by half, about 45 more minutes.

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. Crumble the bacon and set aside.

About 30 minutes before the stew is ready, make the colcannon: Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two.

Place the cabbage into a microwave-safe bowl, and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and microwave on High for about 2 1/2 minutes; uncover (watch out for steam) and stir the cabbage. Cover and microwave for about 2 1/2 more minutes, until the cabbage is slightly tender but not mushy. Drain excess liquid, and set the cabbage aside, covered.

Place the potatoes into a large bowl, and add milk, butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the cabbage, crumbled bacon, and parsley until well combined.

To serve, place a scoop of colcannon onto a plate, make a hollow, and fill with braised beef stew.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beer-Braised-Irish-Stew-and-Colcannon/Detail.aspx

Mongolian Beef

It's hard for me to find a food that I really don't enjoy. I've tried so many Chinese dishes, except for this one. That is, until I made it myself! I had actually never heard of this dish before coming across it on this blog, but I'm sure glad I did. This is one of my favorite Chinese entrees that I can make at home. The sauce is absolutely amazing. I can't stop thinking about it! It has a slight spice from the pepper flakes, although if you love heat you may want to add more, or even double it! It's sweet and savory and Mmm, perfect! It's also ridiculously easy to make which is always a plus. I definitely recommend everyone try this dish, and let me know how it turns out! Enjoy :)

I used cubed steak because I think it is more tender than a flank steak would be. Try whatever you prefer!

Here's the beef when the sauce is added. 

I let it all cook and reduce for about 10 minutes at medium heat. 

Mongolian Beef

1 lb of flank steak or cube steak, thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 cup of cornstarch

3 teaspoons of canola oil

1/2 teaspoon grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 large green onions, sliced

Rice, for serving

Instructions

For the meat, make sure the steak slices are dry by patting them with a paper towel. Slice them into strips, then add the cornstarch to the beef. Place the slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch. Begin to cook the rice while you prepare the rest of the meal.

For the sauce, heat half of the oil in a large wok or pan at medium-high heat and add the garlic and the ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don’t worry if the sauce doesn’t look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.

Place the meat in the same pan, add in the rest of the oil if needed, and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok/pan and let it cook along with the meat.

You can cook down the sauce to reduce it to thicken or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy. Serve it hot with rice. Serves 2.

Source: http://crepesofwrath.net/2009/02/09/mongolian-beef/ 

General Tso's Chicken & Valentine's Day Dinner

Valentine's Day is a great holiday. You can pretty much feel the love in the air everywhere you go! It's also a great time to indulge with the one you love. Or, if you're single, indulge by yourself! Nothing wrong with buying yourself some chocolates and roses and piggin' out. Trader Joe's has amazing frozen gyoza, so I fried some up. We also had Italian blood orange soda! Very delicious, and all natural! Also at Trader Joe's :)

This year for Valentine's Day, I decided to do something we hadn't done in previous years. We always went out to dinner. But this time... I MADE IT. And, it was pretty amazing. This chicken dish is probably my new favorite chicken dish. And Asian dish. And I have many Asian dishes that I adore... It's just kinda perfect. For me this dish takes about 30-40 minutes but for a not-so-meticulous person, it would probably take as little as 20! My deal is that I'm picky with my chicken breast when cutting it up. They don't exactly trim all the fat off. And I use a SMALL pot to avoid wasting too much oil, so I'm doing many batches. Lol, this doesn't bother me though. The sauce is so so easy and delicous. Just make it, you'll be happy you did :)

My somewhat failed attempt to make a "box of chocolates." Definitely didn't turn out how I wanted it to, for a lack of time... But it was okay :)

Mmmm... Dessert! Warm brownies, chocolate ice cream, and toffee bits. SO good.

Source for the chicken: http://blogchef.net/how-to-cook-chinese-food/