A word on beer

This is the first of (hopefully) many posts by Dan's daughter.  He likes to think that I'm a chip off the old block in terms of my gourmet skills, but it could be that I've just been lied to for a while-- I really just throw a bunch of random stuff into a pan.  One of my favorite ingestibles, however, is beer.  I love to drink it, cook with it, and make it.  People think of the traditional beer-can chicken, where you crack a Bud and stick it inside a roaster and hope for the best.  The cooking possibilities of beer, in reality, are endless.  My favorite, for example, is to let a nice New York strip marinate in a good, thick, dark beer (think Sam Adams Cream Stout, or a Stone porter) for a few hours before cooking it.  You'd be amazed at how much of a rich, earthy flavor remains that compliments the beef and gives it almost a sweet taste and a delicate texture (the alcohol helps to tenderize the meat while marinating).  Serve with bleu cheese mashed potatoes and stir-fried mushrooms and onions.  Try stir-frying chicken in a pale ale for a nutty flavor, or baking it in a brown ale with sage and rosemary.  It's really instinct that's very similar to the "rules" for wine-- dark beer for dark meat, light beer for light meat.  However, if it's a beer you like to drink with a certain dish, then chances are that meat would taste quite good cooked in that beer.  A few words of caution-- unless you're marinating with beer, be careful of burning. Beer can thicken and then burn really easily in skillets, etc. 

So, crack a beer, throw some on some steak, and enjoy the rest-- consider it developing your multi-tasking skills.

Bon apetit!