Dinner Recipes

Murgh Makhani

Marinade:

2.5-3 lb chicken

1T Chili Powder / 1/2T Kashmiri chili powder

1T Tandoori Masala (max!)

1T Garlic paste (or half a bulb of garlic)

1T salt

Makhani Gravy:

- 5-6 tomatoes (vine ripe, or other high-water, low-meat - NO Beafeaters!)

- 50gm Cashews

- 3T sugar (increase only after pure if tomatoes are too tart)

- 2T malt or apple cider vinegar

- 1T salt (add more if needed)

- half a large onion or whole medium onion (red or yellow)

- 3-6 chilis. (jalapenos work, but try to find more 'oriental' products)

- 1T garlic paste (or the other half of the bulb)

- 1.5T masala (mix Garam & tandoori)

- Chili powder mix to desired heat level

- 2-4T butter or Ghee (can sub EVOO if needed)

- 4T heavy cream (can double if you really want it creamy)

- 1t kasoori methi (aka. dried fenugreek) (opt)

The Cook:

cube chicken, mix with marinade spices mix. set aside for a few hours (or overnight).

rough chop tomatoes. mix with cashews, vinegar, sugar and salt. set aside.
chop onions, chilis & garlic. (they will be puree'd later, so cuts aren't important)

cook onions & chili in Ghee (or EVOO) for ~5 min. add garlic and spice mix for 2 min.
pour in tomato mix. bring to boil, then lower to simmer and let cook for A LONG TIME. (Drink at least 1 beer just sitting at the table!)
puree the mix (vitamix works great). Strain through a kitchen strainer into a bowl. Put back in the pot and add low heat. add the cream.
pan fry, bake, or grill the chicken.
garnish with kasoori methi.
eat on a bed of plain white rice, &/or tumeric rice, &/or naan.

Heat Chart: total chili between chicken and makhani. 2 parts chili powder, 1 part kashmiri chili

2T: mild / 3T: medium / 4T: hot / 5T: good luck!

Reclaimed Weihenstaphen Braided Pretzel-bread

time: 2+ months [experimental recipe]

Ingredients (per strand - split in 3 for the braid!):

24oz total of Homebrew vorlauf.

- Collect 8oz from Midnight Mochachino and 16oz from Bav Hef brew. Collect during first vorlouf to ensure undiluted high-gravity wort. Use sanitized jars as this will be saved in the fridge for months. Record OG so you can calculate the sugar-equiv content.

** What is wort you ask? First, "no" it's not beer / "no" there's no alcohol / "yes" it's safe for kids ~ it's 100% natural sugar water! If SG is around 1.070, you have about 3.5TBSP sugar equivalent in each 1-cup of wort.

*** If you don't have wort - replace each set with 4T sugar (brown or table) or honey dissolved in 1C water.

12 c bread flour
1T salt (cut in half if you use salted butter)
4T unsalted butter, melted then cooled but still soft
3 batches of reclaimed Weihenstaphen yeast slurry (from Bav Hef brew). You can use 1/3 of a W-68 pack, but they cost $6 each so making beer with it then getting free reclaimed yeast is the best option.

Instructions:

MIXING (PER STRAND)

Warm 1cup wort to 85–90°F. Mix in reclaimed yeast slurry.
Allow to ferment at room T for 8-12 hrs (Krausen develops).

** NOTE: start in AM, then check through day and should proceed by the evening.

** -OR- start in late PM and resume in morning.

** use a container you can cover but not close tightly - such as a mason jar with the lid unscrewed slightly.

Mix triple batch of flour, salt & butter, then split into 3x equal batches.
Add Yeast-Wort-Krausen slurry. Mix to shaggy dough, then rest 15 minutes
Knead 6–8 minutes until: smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky.

** Splash with water if too dry – pinch of flour if too wet.

Form into 3x equal balls. Lightly oil & cover each dough separately.

FERMENTATION SCHEDULE

Stage 1 – Initial Activity: let set for 3-6 hrs at room temperature

Stage 2 – Cold Ferment: Refrigerate 36–72 hours

Stage 3 – Wake-Up: Remove dough from fridge & allow to warm to room T for 2hrs

Roll each dough into a 14–16 inch rope
Arrange: Hef – MM – Hef, then Braid loosely on parchment

Refrigerate shaped braid for 1hr

· Build Baked baking soda bath (1L water & 30g baked baking soda)

· Dip in Baked baking soda bath for 35-45 sec [MAX!] - Let rest for 10-15min

· Brush with egg wash

· Top with Pretzel salt (recommended) & [opt] sesame seeds

** PRO MOVE: isolate sprinkle: MM w/ light sesame & hefe w/ black sesame

· [Opt] top with baked / dehydrated spent grain (20g max on whole loaf)

*** NOTE: Ensure it is FULLY Dehydrated & dry before use

· Pre-heat oven to 425F – ** Ensure STONE is also pre-heated!

· Slide loaf on parchment onto pre-heated stone, then BAKE: 425°F for 22–26min

Let cool, then enjoy only with your dearest family & friends! Also, don't forget ~ Drink Bav Hef & Weizen Stout while snacking!!

EQUATORIAL ESSENCE OF CITRUS

~~~ A Spirituous Extraction at Terminal Latitude ~~~

Ingredients:

- a fifth of vodka (you'll need a 1.75L bottle to store the batch when complete, so may as well go for it!)

- 10 lemons

- 2 limes

- pinch of salt (1/2tsp max)

- A questionable but generous amount of sugar!!

Instructions:

De-wax protocol: Boil enough water in a pot to submerge your lemons. Dip lemons in water for 5-10 seconds, then rub the wax off (rotisserie chicken glove highly recommended). Rinse under cold water then soak in cold water to halt the cook. Light to moderate ice recommended.
Zest acquisition: Zest all citrus. Avoid pith at all costs. Leave color behind if necessary — The tiniest amount of pith will turn the entire batch into "essence of turpentine", suitable only for scrubbing rust from brightwork!
Syrup formation: Juice citrus. Measure volume (~3 cups expected). Bring juice to a boil, cut heat, then add equal volume sugar. Stir until dissolved. Refrigerate.
Extraction Phase: Combine zest with ~3 cups vodka in a sealed jar. Store in a dark, room-temp location. Agitate 1–2 times daily for 7 days.
Filtration: Strain citrus-vodka through a coffee filter or cheese cloth. Discard the zest.
Assemble: Mix citrus-vodka with citrus-syrup to taste. Straight up 50/50 is a good start!

CAUTION: Side effects include unearned confidence and disparaging remarks regarding Italian import variants. You should resist the urge to make such claims if you have never sailed the Mediterranean Sea.

Holiday Ham Dinner

Buy a ham - any ham. Get the fixins you want. (sweet potatoes, roasten or mashed potatoes, onions, instant or homemade stuffing, rolls, whatever else you want).

Start the glaze EARLY! Put a 12-oz bottle of dark beer into a pan. Add 1/3 can of D180 Belgian Dark Candi Syrup. Put to a very low simmer (ensure there's steam coming off, but not boiling - you don't want to scorch the sugar on the bottom of the pan). whisk frequently to keep mixed. Reduce by half, stir in 2tsp or so of whole grain mustard & set aside. (it will take 2-3 hrs just for this if you do it right - get it going as you're preping the rest of dinner!)
- For Christmas I did the Belgian Dark Strong Ale (BDSA). Easter, I used a Midnight Mochachino Weizen Stout. Both were fantastic. The glaze looks charred-burnt, but it's actually Black-Sweet-Salty-GOLD!
Prepare the sides however you want. I do sweet potatoes with marshmallows and 2-3 other sides.
When the ham has 30 min remaining, take off the top and baste with the glaze every few minutes until complete.
Make a sweet-salty gravy with the drippings and enjoy your amazing holiday meal!

Mexican Dinner Night

Supplies: Local groceries, but import Chili from Mauro Farms.

Triple Dips:

Guac: Avocados, Lime juice, Diced Tomatoes, fresh chili & Onions - mix all together with the right amount of salt.

Tomatillo Salsa: Roasted tomatillos, tomatoes, onions, chili, and cilantro. Salt & pulse a few times in a vitamix.

Corn Pico: roasted corn, onions, tomatoes, chili, salt & cilantro ~ stir.

Serve with corn-chips as apetizer as you chat.

Beans: 1lb Black or Pinto. 4T butter. Mix with spices like you mean it (1T cumin, 2-3 tsp chili powder, 1tsp coriander, and 1 or 2 more tsp of anything you want.) Cook, for about 3 hrs (or pressure cooker for an hr and slow release for 30min).

Spanish Rice: see below for full details.

Chili: Cook pork however you want (pic is shredded, but I often use diced). Mix with Cumin, Mauro farms green chili, and salt. On the side fry dried chilis in oil (guajillo, Ancho, and a couple Arbol [3 if you're feeling frisky!]). At 3 min or so add a quart of water and bring to light boil. After 5 min cut heat and blend to smooth puree. pour through strainer into the pork mix.

Tortillas: I can make corn myself, but they take soooo long, and I can't make flour. I buy Guerrero (commercial), but if you live in SE CO, you know exactly where to go to get authentic fresh made tortillas!

Invite several friends over for a great party, or perhaps for a tasting night!

Spanish Rice

Eat with tacos, Chili, and drink a Lager Maize or Maize-Ale!

4c rice, rinced thouroughly

1.5-2 cans tomato sauce, then raise total volume to 4c

2tsp "better than boulion" chicken

2tsp cumin

1tsp chili powder

1tsp Kashmiri chili powder

2tsp salt (maybe more later)

cook in P-cooker. quick release pressure when done

fluff rice & stir

add 1c diced onion & however much fresh roasted chili you want

More coming soon

I've gotta add my Beer can Turkey, Homemade Pizza Night, and many others

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