Monday, November 09, 2009

Beer Food

Not food you EAT with beer; food you MAKE with beer! Beer was the theme for our October Food Bloggers potluck. Now it may not seem like the season for cole slaw, but it’s still warm in Texas. I can even remember making a Christmas cole slaw one year with green cabbage and red peppers. Anyway, I brought Cole Slaw with Beer Dressing to our potluck and got plenty of compliments on it. I admit I know nothing about beer and I don’t even drink beer, but I do keep Budweiser in my fridge for guests, so that’s what I used in this recipe. I would think whatever you have in your fridge would work just fine.




Cole Slaw with Beer Dressing

This recipe serves 12. I also made a tester half batch using exactly half of all ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 pound red cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound green cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound carrots, shredded (I used a preshredded package)
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup white sugar
1 t. celery seeds
1 – 12 ounce can beer
1/3 cup canola oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 t. prepared mustard
1 t. agave nectar
2 t. salt
½ t. black pepper
½ t. red pepper

Directions:
In a very large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrots, onion, and pepper. Sprinkle the sugar and celery seeds over the mixture and toss again.

Pour beer into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes. Whisk in the oil, vinegar, mustard, agave nectar, and spices. Remove from heat and pour over slaw. Stir until well coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, drain in a colander. Taste for seasoning, toss again, and put into a serving bowl.


Our potluck was held at the 512 Brewery. Can you believe I had never been to a brewery before? 512 is a small business, more like a hobby for the proprietors. They had several beers available for sample and of course the head man was available to answer our questions.





As always, the bloggers brought some very creative dishes to share. Some food I could eat:

Beer Battered Fried Avocado

Beer Braised Brussels Sprouts



My slaw and my cousin’s beer braised black bean salad and homemade tortillas (My cousin makes what she calls *hybrid* tortillas, made with half white flour and half corn meal – corn flavored tortillas that don’t break!)



Some rice that went with a meaty stew!


Nonvegan foods that were a hit:



Beer Crust Pizza


Kabocha Squash Pumpkin Ale Cakes; Roasted Cauliflower and Rice



Pumpkin Ale Cheesecake



And the crowd favorites – Beer-a-misu and Beer Caramels.


Kind of a small crowd this month, but the weather was great and 512 was a great host. I look forward to the next event!

18 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Fun event and fare!

Gina said...

That sounds like so much fun!! That cole slaw looks awesome, I've been on a slaw kick lately :)

Andrea said...

The cole slaw looks good! I don't usually cook with beer but I do remember making and enjoying your beer bread.

Oraphan said...

Your beer dressing cole slaw looks fantastic! It's still warm during the day here in CA, so I'll go ahead and make some very soon.

The bloggers potluck sounds like a lot of fun. Too bad I don't have any blogger group where I live.

jessy said...

hooray for another glorious blogger's potluck - so much awesomeness go'n on! mmmmmmmmmmm! your coleslaw with beer dressing sounds most delicious - i'm gonna have to see if i can find a gluten-free beer & make it. yay! beer battered avocado, beer braised brussels, roasted cauliflower & rice - wow! i like your sister's idea on the hybrid tortillas. i'm gonna have to try making something like those, fo 'sho!

jessy said...

hooray for another glorious blogger's potluck - so much awesomeness go'n on! mmmmmmmmmmm! your coleslaw with beer dressing sounds most delicious - i'm gonna have to see if i can find a gluten-free beer & make it. yay! beer battered avocado, beer braised brussels, roasted cauliflower & rice - wow! i like your sister's idea on the hybrid tortillas. i'm gonna have to try making something like those, fo 'sho!

miss v said...

um, i love cabbage and i love beer. what a nice combo! plus, i'd probably drink beer with it. :)

i've got to make beer-crust pizza!

Jes said...

Wow, a potluck at a brewery sounds like my kind of get together! And that coleslaw looks great--bet it would pair fabulously with some of 512's beer.

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a lot of fun! All of that food sounds yummy too. I am not a beer drinker either, but I do like cooking with it. That Beer-a-misu sounds awesome!

Unknown said...

Beer-a-misu XD

lynn said...

fun fun fun!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oh man, my husband would LOVE this! He likes anything beer related.

Ricki said...

I must say I'm not a fan of beer as a rule, though once ate a sandwich with beer-based mustard that was heavenly. And for some bizarre reason, the battered avocado is the most appealing food in the post to me! Looks like a great time.

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Ha! Beer-a-misu! So clever! I am extremely ingtigued by the beer battered fried avocado! If it makes you feel any better, I've never been to a brewery either! :-D

Erin said...

What an awesome idea for a potluck! I am a big fan of beer but haven't cooked with it much, so these are some cool ideas. I love the name beer-a-misu!

Unknown said...

oh i forgot to add... a while back i cooked lentils in beer (and homegrown tomatos, etc) for taco salads and it was heaven!! i forget what kind of beer... in Portland we have a zillion+1 microbreweries.

Nicole said...

Fried avocado is the BEST FOOD EVER. Ahh, soo goooood.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Wow! That is such a cool spread. I love breweries, though I do not know much about alcohol. I know what tastes good and that's about it.

My sister has been telling me to try fried avocado for a while now. Must get on that. Mmm.