Day 3: Beers To You!

For me there is nothing quite as challenging as using a liquid primarily known for it drinking qualities in savory dishes that you can eat.  But, today Heather picked one of the great all time beverages, and I had to make a dish with it. 

Day 3 Ingredient:  Beer

That's right beer lovers, Heather chose for me today the one thing that can make your Friday night turn from dull to delightful.  It can make a game with your favorite team losing seem like just another day.  According to Brad Paisley it's one of those things that has been "helping white people dance."  It's beer, and it's good.

The type of beer was left up to me, and personally, I think that it really depends on what you are making as to what type of beer you will use.  I originally wanted a Chocolate Stout to go with the dish I had conjoured up in my head, but since I couldn't find any at the two stores I looked at, this Cream Stout would work just as well.  The best thing about cooking with beer too...any leftovers must be drunk right away.

The dish I wanted to make came to me pretty fast.  Actually, I have been ready to make this dish again since the first time I made it back in Kansas about a year and a half ago.  Back then, I was trying to do healthy takes on some classic dishes and this was a southern classic dish that I had never tried, but had always wanted too.  Back then it was for the Soldiers.  Today, it was for me and Heather. 


Day 3 Ingredients:

1.5 lbs Baked and Diced Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (350 degree oven, 25-30 minutes)
2 Cups Bisquick (Light and Smart for me)
1 Egg
2 TBSP Vegetable Oil
1 1/3 Cup Beer (drink the rest of the bottle if old enough)
2 TBSP Butter
1/4 cup diced onion (not pictured)
1 TBSP Flour
1 Cup Half and Half (mine was fat free)
1 TBSP Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Frozen Corn (thaw for a few minutes) (not pictured)
Salt and Pepper


Instructions:

1.  Preheat Waffle Iron or Belgium Waffle Maker.  Combine Bisquick, Egg, Oil and Beer in large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined.  Spray waffle maker with cooking spray and add 1/2 to 2/3 cup of batter to the waffle maker.  Cook until golden brown.  (Batter will make approximately 4 Belgium Waffles, and I keep them hot in a 150 degree oven until the rest of the food is ready.)

2.  In large skillet, melt butter over med low heat, add onion, pinch of salt, and black pepper.  Cook down for 3-4 minutes or until onions are translucent. 

3.  Add flour and stir to create a rue

4.  Stir in Half and Half and Maple Syrup and lower heat to a simmer.  Continuously stir until sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  Add more black pepper to taste (I like a lot)

5.  Add diced Chicken and Corn, and stir to coat with the gravy.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes to heat corn and reheat chicken.

That's pretty much it.  This is what you end up with.

Day 3 Dish: Chicken and Waffles

That's right, it isn't traditional, as in fried, but it is good stuff.  And the beer in the waffle actually works beautifully, or at least I think so.  The bubbles in the beer, make it lighter.  It also provides that dark beer taste without overpowering the dish.  That is one reason I used maple syrup in the gravy.  I wanted that to counteract and compliment any bitterness the beer may add. 

The only thing I did think was that it was missing something, but that thing was hot sauce.  Heather is going to disagree with this and I know I will get docked for it, but with the right amount of sauce you can actually taste the flavors better.  Bon Appetit!

Heather: 
Taste-3 stars: Creativity-4 stars

I knew Steve would enjoy having beer as the ingredient and I was interested to see what he would do with it. I watched him gathering ingredients and I thought maybe beer pancakes..LOL!  I was pleasantly surprised to see we were going to have chicken and waffles again. I'm not sure I'm a fan of this dish. It was ok when we had it in Kansas and it was ok today. It's not something that when I taste it I want to keep eating it, unlike some other dishes Steve makes..yum! Like he stated, I felt it was missing something, not sure what. We added the hot sauce, but it was chipotle flavored so I felt it was too powerful and covered the taste. Steve disagrees, but then he puts hot sauce on a lot of things.

I give him 4 stars for creativity though, with an ingredient like beer I thought maybe beer bread or something with sausages. He made beer bread years ago and said he'd never make it again. Good job, babe. Keep up the creativity!