Honey Beer Bread & Grilled Beer and Cheese Sandwiches

One cooking memory that is distinctly contained in my head is the first time I made beer bread. I was well underage, holding what I recall now as a Budweiser over a bowl of flour. I mixed, I baked, I ate... I spit it out. Yep, not the best cooking memory. I don't know what I did to maul such a carbohydrate, but I was pretty inexperienced then and I'm sure I botched just about every step of the process.

My love: BUTTER!

Well, a lot of time has passed between now and then and things have changed. I love beer for its slight bitterness, tang and distinctive scent. I love bread for its soft interior and comforting chew. Together, I think they create something that I not only love, I adore. I attempted beer bread again and I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was. Soft, a bit sweet from the honey with a gorgeous browned crust. Beer bread is a bit more dense than others and has a different texture than your typical loaf, but it's easy to learn to love. 

Yeasty-beer-butter-goodness:

If you're in the mood for bread and have a fear of yeast like I do (as documented here): make this! It's easy as can be. Combine, mix, bake, slice, enjoy! Really, that's it. My ultimate favorite thing about beer bread is that it actually tastes like beer. When you pull it out of the oven, the distinctive smell of beer rushes into your nostrils. You sneak a taste and there it is, beer. It's awesome. Plus, if you make this honey beer bread, you can use it to make the utterly divine goodness that is grilled beer and cheese sandwiches (below). You... will... not... regret... it. Not one bit!

Slices like a dream...

Honey Beer Bread

Yields: 1 loaf

Original recipe here.

3 cups flour

2 tbsn. sugar

1 tbsn. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tbsn. warm honey

1 bottle (12 oz.) beer

4 tbsn. butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed, DO NOT OVER MIX! Pour half of the melted butter into the loaf pan. Spoon the batter into the pan and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until the top of the loaf is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I think the sole purpose of beer bread is to be made into this sandwich. Being a grilled beer and cheese sandwich is the life calling of beer bread. If only we all knew what our life purposes were; life would be so simple! Combine worcestershire-caramelized onions, cheese and beer bread and you really can't get any better than that. I challenge you, I really challenge you to try to make something more delicious. 

Ooey, gooey, crispy, creamy, tangy, sweet, crunchy deliciousness:

Grilled Beer and Cheese Sandwich

Yields: 4 servings

Adapted from here.

1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsn. olive oil

1 tbsn. Worcestershire sauce

4 tbsn. Dijon mustard

4 slices fontina cheese

4 slices cheddar cheese

8 slices homemade beer bread (recipe above)

salt and pepper
oregano, fresh or dried

In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until they begin to wilt. Add the worcestershire sauce, some fresh oregano (if using dried, use sparingly), and salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce the heat to medium and cook slowly until the onions start to caramelize and gain color. Once done, set aside. Spread 1 tbsn. of mustard on 4 slices of the beer bread. Pair up the bread slices. Top half of them with a slice of fontina cheese and the other half with a slice of cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with some pepper, then divide the caramelized onion among one side. Top with the other paired bread slice and grill, panini press or George Foreman the sandwiches until golden brown, cheesy, and thoroughly heated throughout. Enjoy!

Yea, this is for real.

Giada's Fruit Spring Rolls

I used to be infatuated with the Food Network Channel, so much so that it became part of my daily routine. I probably owe to it a big portion of my love of cooking and food. Recently though, my food inspiration has solely come from food blogs. On a nice and relaxing day, I decided to tune into the Food Network once more, for old times sake.

One of my favorite Food Network chef's is Giada de Laurentiis. She's absolutely gorgeous and makes some yummy, yummy food. One of my favorite cupcakes is actually from her! Well, I saw her make this fruit spring roll and I was shocked to say the least! I'm Vietnamese and we do NOT make dessert spring rolls, but if Giada gives it her seal, I'd at least give it a shot.
These were definitely easy and pretty to look at! All those colors make me happy. Tasting it you ask? It was odd. But don't scratch it off your list immediately. The flavors were spot on. The mint and the honey with the fruit, how could you go wrong? I especially loved the lime dipping sauce, which added a subtle zing to the sweetness. I was just surprised by the sweet noodles.

But to be fair, if I has used the Pad Thai noodles it might have tasted better since it has more structure than the vermicelli that I used. Next time, I might just toss all the fruit in the dressing and have at it! I literally love that mint-lime dressing.

Fruit Spring Rolls

Yields: 4 - 6 servings

Original recipe can be found here.

For the rolls:

1 1/2 cups cooked Pad Thai noodles, cooled and drained (I used rice noodles)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup packed mint leaves, finely chopped

6 rice paper rounds

6 medium strawberries, stemmed and sliced

1 mango, halved, peeled, seeded and cut into slices

6 tbsn. sliced almonds, toasted

For the dipping sauce:

1/4 cup packed mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup fresh lime juice, 2 - 3 limes

For the rolls, put the noodles in a medium bowl and add the honey and mint. Using 2 forks, toss the ingredients together until the noodles are coated. Dip the rice paper in hot water until thoroughly wet, remove and flatten out on a clean surface. Add some noodles, 3 - 5 strawberry slices, 2 mango slices, and some toasted almonds. Roll the rice paper around the filling like a burrito; first rolling the top over, tucking in the sides, then completing the roll. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

For the dipping sauce, in a small bowl combine the mint, honey and lime juice. Pour into a serving bowl. Serve with the rolls and enjoy!

Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Honey Buttercream

So here is my fantasy (maybe a possibility): That I would be able to finish college, take a year off and then continue on to Medical School. But then somewhere after, in between, or even during I would open my own bakery. I don't know how or even if those two would work together, but hey, I want it ALL! And my best friend, Cherish, would finish up her film school program at USC and become a successful director/ producer in LA and we would live in a cute little apartment that we would make all our own. Back to the present day is where it begins, here, where I have been hired to bake cupcakes for her "310 purple" class screenings - and let me tell you the film shorts were fantastic and an honor to view! In total I baked 4 varieties, here is one: Spiced Chai with Honey-Cinnamon Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

These cupcakes were fantastic. I just received Sky High in the mail the other day, and I knew I HAD to make these cupcakes because one, I LOVE chai, and two, because I heard that her recipes were fantastic, mind-blowing, amazingness. And trust me they were indeed. I didn't use her frosting recipe as I wanted to use something that would hold its shape but I did use her notes of honey which added a nice touch. Make these NOWWW!

Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Yields: an 8-inch triple-layer cake (serves 12 - 16) OR

Original recipe from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Printable Recipe

For the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cup milk

6 chai tea bags

4 whole eggs

2 egg yolk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 3/4 cup cake flour

2 cup sugar

4 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. salt

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

For the swiss meringue buttercream:

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter (12 tbsn.), room temperature

6 tbsn. honey

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat to 350 F. Line with cupcake liners, set aside. In saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the tea bags. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove the bags and squeeze out the remaining milk. Let the milk cool completely. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, vanilla and 1/3 cup of the chai milk. In the bowl of a mixer sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Beat on low for about 30 seconds, then add the butter and remaining chai milk. Mix on medium low speed until light and fluffy. Next, add the egg mixture in three additions, making sure to scrape the bowl well after each. Divide the batter among the cupcake tins, about 2/3 full, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. For the frosting, place all ingredients into a stand mixer or food processor and incorporate well until smooth, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.