Creamy Beer Pasta Sauce

One thing that gets my taste buds going is eating pasta in creamy beer sauce. Very simple to make and has an absolutely divine taste. First off, you're going to brown whatever meat you use in olive oil and remove it from the pan. Next, you use equal parts flour and butter to make a roux(melt the butter and slowly scrape the yummies from the pan into it. Add the flour and stir). Continue stirring the roux until it reaches the light brown stage, add a lager beer, or an ale if you want it a little more bitter, 3 oz at a time. Stir in until the beer is completely finished. If the sauce is still thick you can add water, but I use chicken broth. It adds some more depth of flavor. Add 2tbsp of cayenne pepper sauce, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 tbsp of parsley, 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tbsp salt, and 1 tsp dill. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes in a covered environment. The flavors marry together and you will add the meat (I use smoked sausage and/or chicken usually) back in. Allow to simmer covered for another 8-10 minutes so the meat shoals up the flavor of the sauce you made and pour over noodles. Works well with linguine, fettuccine, or penne regate. This recipe works well with shrimp pasta as well and can also be used with black eyed peas and rice for a hoppin' john's type dish. Fantastic taste that you're sure to love. And don't worry,  the minute amount of alcohol in the beer will cook out. And another thing, the better beer you use, the better rate you will get. Please don't use light beers, the flavor doesn't come close to using something full bodied. Give it a try... I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as we do.

Invention

Invention... A fun word. Often, we seek new things that broaden our minds, senses, and adorations. We make things. Craft new ideas. Some for gain, some for entertainment. I love messing around with stacking flavors and researching how certain things are made. I make dressings that never existed, sauces that you can't buy, dips that will make you smack your momma, and even learned tricks of the trade to make the products I would normally buy, for my taste, better. For instance, I love pimento cheese. My favorite is Palmetto brand. But I'm not paying $6 a tub for it. I can make it at home for less than 4 and make it better.

2 cups sharp cheddar
1 cup pepperjack
2 roasted red bell peppers from a jar.
1/2 cup mayo
2 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or 3 dashes of hot sauce.
Put ingredients in a food processor and let it ride for 10 seconds. Takes 5 minutes. Very simple to make and the taste is superb.

Chicken salad is another staple I have messed with. Roaster chickens from the grocery store make some darn tasty chicken salad. Quarter some onion and bell pepper, a little celery, and chicken, mix in some mayo and a half a bottle of Frank's hot sauce and you have buffalo chicken salad. I added some bleu cheese and bacon in it one time and made a bacon bleu chicken salad. Sweet and Sour sauce made a good one. Teriyaki, bbq, honey mustard, jerk, Cajun, and many others have been made. It's all about what you like and keeping it interesting. Some of these ideas are just reinventing the wheel. All part of food invention. New ways to try things that you love eating. The only limits you have in the kitchen are those that you stop with your imagination. Expand the universe and seek better. Making another post next week. Hopefully doing some projects on fried tastiness.

Here's to profiles

Have you ever thought of two different foods that you love and can't decide on what you want to eat? How about combine them and fuse the cuisines into one dish. Two things  that go surprisingly well together are Mexican and Asian.  Especially on chicken. Another is low country southern and Italian.  The flavors work very well together.  For example,  I put creole seasoning, smoked sausage, and Worcestershire sauce in my spaghetti sauce.  I know it sounds weird,  but it works. Another is to make meat loaves with Asian flavors like soy, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic, and oyster sauce. Mix the meat with an egg and Panko Bread crumbs,  throw it in the oven and you have a magical Asian meat loaf.  That and play around with proteins like ground shrimp burgers,  chicken meatballs, turkey burgers, lamb chilli, buffalo taco meat, all different and funky combinations that you never thought of that work surprisingly well. Keep things interesting. Experimentation is the key to making your taste buds and your tummy happy.  Eating the same old stuff because that is the only thing you have a recipe for is a means to a very boring appetite. Try sandwiches with odd toppings. I put fried bologna,  two kinds of cheese,  collard greens, eggs, tomato, and mustard on a sandwich and it rocked.  Make your own sauces... You like a particular kind of soda? Make a bbq sauce out of it.  Same with fruity sauces. Don't follow recipes verbatim. Just play around and see what you can come up with.  Rules are meant to be broken.  Just remember to love cooking,  and quit eating outside trash from fast food restaurants. You'll be much happier.