The first day of Spring here in Northern Indiana gave us a beautiful 87° day. It was awesome and while I planned our garden, Jeff was headed to hike the Appalachians and this amazing weather would be perfect for him and I alike.

Instead the temperature dropped and it rained and our garden had to wait. And Jeff? Well he hiked in the pouring rain and slept in the blustery wind and froze in 20° nights and threatened to throw himself off a cliff so they would air lift his frozen carcass home to me.

Heck just last night we had yet another hard freeze warning.

Mother Nature is f*&#ing with us.

However ice cream don’t care if your freezing. It waits for no one. And even if you are hypothermic, ice cream always manages to make you feel better. And let’s face it eventually this weather will break (this week is the rumor, but I will believe it when I see it) and you will want this recipe in your dessert arsenal. Because to be quite honest and to try not to break my arm while I pat myself on the back, it turned out amazing.

The beer used in this is called Wild Blue. It is an odd beer which I liken more to a fruity wine then a beer. Maybe a combination of wine and beer. (Now THERE’S an idea…) There is no hop aroma and very few end hints of malt. It is however VERY blueberry tasting. And if you like blueberry, you will like this. Plus it packs a punch at 8% alcohol by volume.

Wild Blueberry Beer Cheese Cake Ice Cream

One Bottle of Wild Blue blueberry lager
1 8 oz block WHOLE FAT cream cheese cut into chunks and softened.
1 C half and half (WHOLE FAT) (Heavy cream can also be used)
1 egg
3/4 C sugar
1 heaping C frozen blueberries

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat pour 1 bottle of Wild Blue Blueberry beer. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and mix in the cream cheese. Stir till cream cheese is melted and blended. Remove from heat.

Combine the half & half, sugar and egg.

Stir into warm beer mixture and mix till well combined.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, get your ice cream maker ready before you remove the beer cream mixture from the fridge. Stir in 1 heaping cup of frozen blueberries and pour the mixture into the ice cream maker. Follow your makers instructions till ice cream is set. Move ice cream to a container and let set up in freezer overnight.

Enjoy!

It should be noted that this beer is not boiled long or is it reduced. Therefore the alcohol content does remain and this is NOT an ice cream for children.

I would assume that this recipe would also work with other strong fruit beers like lambics. Just change the frozen fruit you add accordingly.

By the way this is ALSO part of Elle’s New England Kitchen and my plan for WORLD DOMINATION thru ICE CREAM also affectionately known as SCOOPAPALOOZA. More details to come but head on over to her blog and check it out.

Oh yeah many of you were asking what I got Heather for Valentine’s Day.  Well it follows the annual theme of creepy garden gnomes.

It is the female one on the left and I got it from http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/whatonearth/Item_Skel-A-Gnomette-and-Skel-A-Gnome-Garden-Sculptures_CF2993G_ps_dpr.html.  Great company with prompt shipping and awesome customer service.

Past that it is finally starting to break from winter here so the garden plotting and planning is even in full effect.  Heck Heather started a bunch of seeds so I would not be surprised if DEA is not knocking down my front door in a couple weeks because of the heat signature my house is putting out.

The other major change is the garage is slowly being turned into the official Safehouse Brewery and Brewpub.  Invitation only but the beer is cold and guarantee a grill or a smoker is got something cooking on it.

This was one of those recipes that was grilled to delicious perfection.

For the coleslaw you will need:

• 1/2 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup IPA or other beer
• We cheated and bought a coleslaw kit since it is a heck of a lot easier than sitting there using a mandoline to break down cabbage and carrots.  However; if you are inclined I am betting a small head should suffice.
• If you are grating cabbage and not being lazy make sure you add in a grated carrot.
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
• 2 chipotle in adobo diced
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• juice of one lime
• salt and pepper

Coleslaw idiot directions:

• Combine
• Put in fridge
• Wait a couple hours
• Taste.  Do you like it?  Great then you are ready.  If you hate it adjust the flavors.  You might need more salt or pepper.

For the fish you will need:

• 1 lb mahi
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• juice of a lime
• 1 tablespoon ancho powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 cup cilantro

Fish is even harder than the coleslaw to make:

• Combine everything
• Wait 20 minutes
• Grill or oven bake until the fish is flaky

To assemble the tacos:

• Soften corn tortillas
• Throw in some spoonfuls of coleslaw
• Add in some flaked fish
• Throw in whatever in the heck else you like
• Serve and enjoy!

Anyways as usual you can always tell when Jeff is writing because I have zero to say.  In fact I am going to pay her to ghost write for me…….

You will need:

• 1 lb ground beef (I used venison that was floating around from my buddy getting a deer last year)
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 bell pepper finely diced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 3-4 tablespoons whole chili powder (ancho and guajillo were used)
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 bottle of beer (we used Brooklyn Brown Ale)
• 2 cups of beef stock
• 1 jar of green chilis
• 1/2 to 3/4  box of elbow macaroni (how much you like is how much you throw in).
• 2 cups of cheese (one cup habanero cheddar and another cup of straight cheddar)
• 1 can of kidney beans drained
• 2 large can of tomatoes not drained
• bacon grease or canola oil

Steps to success:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Saute the onions and bell pepper until softened (about 5 minutes) in bacon grease in your favorite cast iron dutch oven (large stockpot works too).
• Add in the meat and cook until no longer pink.
• Add in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and orgeno and cook for another minute.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients except for the cheese. Cook uncovered until the macacroni is done and the liquid has evaporated (about 12 minutes)
• Throw in a cup of cheese and mix in
• Throw the rest of the cheese on top and shove in the oven uncovered for 10-15 minutes (until the cheese has melted and hardened up)

Serve and enjoy!

So I am not going to waste your time rambling about nothing so cutting to the chase and getting to the recipe.

• 3 lb chuck roast
• 2 onions
• 5-6 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• Bottle of good beer. We used a black lager.
• 4 cups of beef stock
• Tablespoon of fresh thyme
• Tablespoon of fresh rosemary
• teaspoon of cayenne (if you are a sissy use less)
• 3-4 bay leaves
• Couple carrots
• Couple really good handfuls of red and yellow potatoes quartered
• 8 ounce package of mushrooms quartered
• Cup of frozen peas
• Bacon

Fire up your dutch oven and throw in the bacon. Remove and set aside once cooked.

Salt and pepper the daylights out of the chuck roast and throw it in the bacon grease to get browned.

While you wait eat the bacon.

Remove the chuck roast and set aside. Add in the onions and cooked until brown over (about 5 minutes)

Add in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute.

Add in the beer, beef stock, bay leaves, cayenne, thyme, and rosemary. Throw the pot roast back in, bring to a boil, reduce, and let it simmer for a couple hours covered.

After two hours, taste, and adjust (let me guess you need more salt and since you were a sissy and choked back on the cayenne you realized it needs more heat). Now chop up all the veggies and throw them in a cast iron skillet with some more bacon grease (cook more bacon if you have to) and let them get brown over.

Dump them into with the pot roast and let this cook for another 20 minutes.

Remove the chuck roast and shred it. Dump in the peas. If it is to really liquidy then mix in a couple tablespoons of flour with water and dump in to thicken it up.

Serve and enjoy.

While I think here is a picture of a jellyfish we saw at the Shedd Aquarium….

I still got nothing so time to trudge through.

Who does not like beer and cheese?  If so wait a couple more days because I am sure Heather is going to post up some foo foo muffins or cupcakes for you to enjoy.  Heck that is going to be the hardest part of this joint blog because my blog was a testament to everything meat and hers is well *barf* baking.  I am going to have to try extra hard to keep my carnivore lovers happy.

Well work beckons………….I love my job I love my job I love my job………..

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 onion grated
• 1 rib of celery grated
• 1 carrot grated
• 3 cloves of garlic grated
• 2 bay leaves
• Couple sprigs of thyme
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1.5 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 bottle of beer (I used a hoppy Oktoberfest from a local brewery that for some reason the name is escaping me)
• 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 lb of extra sharp cheddar cheese grated
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Steps:

• Over low heat in a medium sauce pan add in the 1/4 cup of butter and once melted add in the carrot, onion, and celery.  Cook for 5-10 minutes.
• Add in the garlic and cook for another minute.
• Sprinkle the flour over and stir around for a couple minutes.  If the mixture seems to dry add in more butter.
• Lower the heat and add in the beer, broth, milk, cream, bay, Worcestershire, mustard, and thyme.
• Cook until heated through (about 15 minutes).
• Add in the cheese a handful at a time and do not add in more cheese until the previous handful has melted.
• Serve with pepper, more cheese, bread, bacon, whatever the freak your little heart desires.