Beer Cheese Fondue, from Shelli

I prefer to use a brown ale-ish type beer. For the fondue you ate, I used Sam Adam's Summer Ale.

3/4 c beer
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar tossed with 3 tbsp flour and:
*1ish tsp double ground mustard
*1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
hot sauce to taste

Rub fondue pot w/fresh clove of garlic
Pour in beer, set pot to 375*
When boiling, slowly stir in cheese mixture. Stir, stir, stir...add hot sauce...turn to warm, keep stirring until smooth.

The end.

Beef in Beer with Herb Dumplings, from Betsy

Ingredients:
Stew:
2 tbsp corn oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
8 carrots, sliced
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
2.5-ish pounds stew beef, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cups stout (I use Guinness)
2 tsp brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (I used half a tbsp of dried)

Herb Dumplings:
Generous 3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 tsp mustard powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup shortening
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, plus extra to garnish
About 4 tbsp water


1. Preheat oven to 325*. Heat the oil in a large, oven safe pot. Add the onions and carrots and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place the flour in a plastic ba and season with salt and pepper. Add the stew beef to the bag, close, and shake well to coat. Do in batches if necessary. (I just use a gallon-sized Ziploc and do it all at once)

2. Remove the veggies from the pot with a spoon and set aside. Add the meat, in batches, and cook until browned all over. Return all the meat, onions, and carrots to the pot and sprinkle in any remaining flour. Pour in the beer and add the sugar, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to the oven to bake for 1 3/4 hours.

3. To make herb dumplings, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut in the shortening and parsley, and add enough of the water to make a soft dough. Shape into small balls. Add to the pot and return to the oven for 30 minutes (covered). Remove and discard the bay leaves and serve, sprinkled with parsley.

Drunken Chili, an idea from Kris

This is the revised recipe...

- 1.25 lb extra lean ground turkey breast
- 8 cloves garlic (more or less depending on your taste), minced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 large white onion or 2 small ones, diced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 serrano chilis, with seeds and ribs, finely diced
- 3 jalapeno peppers with seeds and ribs, finely diced
- 2 heaping TBPS ground cumin
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons red chili flakes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 large TBSP Better than Bouillon beef base (or 2 beef bouillon cubes)
- 2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 bottles dark beer (Guinness works well)
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce (optional - makes it a little more tomato-y)

Sweat onions, garlic, peppers (spicy and mild ones) in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add ground turkey and brown over medium heat, mixing into the onion mixture. Add powdered spices when turkey is done. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer chili for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally. This allows the excess water to boil off, leaving more thick chili. Some like a chili soup, in that case add a little more beef bouillon (or more beer - who's keeping track?!)

This is what my chili recipe has pretty much become. Granted, I never measure anything so all measurements are guesses, not exact. It's mostly a cook by feel/taste thing... I like it spicy, if you don't, then omit and/or reduce the spicy ingredients...

Marinated Flank Steak, from Shelli

I made marinated flank steak! Yum! We're actually having it tomorrow, but I assembled it today.

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 can beer

Mix first five ingredients, then stir in beer. Pour over flank steak (mine was about 2 lbs, I think?). Marinate overnight. Can be frozen in marinade and then thawed for later enjoyment.

Grill or broil until medium (can't give you a time since I don't know how thick your steak is).

Slice on an angle against the grain.

Leftovers are great wrapped up in a tortilla!