The Naked Pint (45 page)

Season the meat with salt and pepper, and toss it in the flour. Dust off the excess flour, and brown the meat in the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.

 

Add the onions and garlic, and cook until translucent.

 

Add all of the herbs and spices and 2 tablespoons flour; stir until well incorporated, about 1 minute.

 

Add the beer, bring to a boil, and immediately reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add the tomatoes and beans, and simmer for 2 hours, incorporating some chicken stock along the way, a couple of cups at a time, until the chili reaches your desired consistency.

Serves 8 to 10

Z
oe Nathan is the chef/co-owner of Huckleberry Café and Bakery in Santa Monica. Huckleberry features hand-crafted breads, breakfast pastry, and dessert, as well as savory sandwiches, salads, rotisserie chicken, and deck-oven pizzas. Zoe is also co-owner of Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen, where she has been the pastry chef since August 2007. Zoe thinks of herself as more of a baker than a pastry chef; her desserts are rustic in style, with a focus on seasonal ingredients and traditional French technique. She was named one of the top 10 Best Food Related Things of 2008 by S. Irene Virbila in the
Los Angeles Times
, was a James Beard semifinalist in 2009 for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and has been featured in
Food and Wine
and numerous other publications. Zoe honed her craft at Tartine in San Francisco and as the opening baker at BLD in Los Angeles. She has also worked in the kitchens of such notable establishments as Joe’s in Los Angeles and Lupa in New York City.

Zoe has been a beer fan for years and is hooked on beer’s wide variety. She has created many beer-infused desserts, like Stout gelatos and sweet beer reduction drizzles. When she tasted the Allagash Curieux, a complex beer aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels, she amended her famous flourless chocolate cake recipe, which normally uses rum, to incorporate a reduction made from the beer. People line up around the block to get a taste of Zoe’s baking. Now you can make this at home and see what all the fuss is about.

BEER REDUCTION

 

Bring the Curieux to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until the beer is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the reduction to use in the cake, and reserve the rest for a topping.

 

CAKE

 

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 10-inch round cake pan (the height doesn’t matter) with melted butter, and line the bottom with parchment paper.

 

Grind walnuts, cocoa powder, and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar in a food processor. Melt the butter, and pour it over the Valrhona chocolate to melt it. Set aside to cool.

Beat the egg yolks and brown sugar in a mixer on high for a full 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the beer reduction and ½ teaspoon of salt, and mix well.

 

Fold together the egg yolk mixture, the melted chocolate and butter, and the walnut mixture. Set aside.

 

In clean mixer bowl, whip the egg whites with a hearty pinch of salt. Slowly add the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar. Whip to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the batter;
do not mix completely
. Pour into the prepared pan. Top with plenty of granulated sugar to form a crust (about 3 tablespoons). Bake for about 55 minutes. When the top of the cake cracks along the entire surface, bake for 5 more minutes and remove from oven. Cool completely on a wire cake rack.

 

To serve, drizzle each slice with some of the reserved beer reduction.

Serves 8

A
nn Kirk’s fascination and passion for pastry began at an early age when she used to assist her mom in the kitchen, licking spatulas and otherwise getting in the way. She began her illustrious career as a lowly pastry cook under pastry chefs Kimberly Sklar and Roxana Jullapat at Suzanne Goin’s award-winning Lucques restaurant in Los Angeles. In 2004, Ann went on as a pastry chef in her own right to the well known La Terza restaurant in Los Angeles. Like many good chefs, Ann then took a sabbatical to Italy, studying every pastry along the way before returning to L.A. and working as the pastry chef in Chris Kidder’s Literati 2 kitchen. In 2007, Ann was offered the position of executive pastry chef for Little Dom’s (which was named one of the 10 best new restaurants in Los Angeles by
Los Angeles
magazine), Dominick’s, and the 101 Coffee Shop in Los Angeles.

It’s always good to have pastry chef friends. But it’s even better to have a pastry chef friend who is a beer aficionado. We’ve spent many a night with Ann discussing the nuance of beer
X
and how it would work so well with dessert
Y
and getting excited about how beer often really does pair better with chocolate than wine does. What’s more, Ann has a reputation among her coworkers for creating boozy desserts! Here’s one of our favorite boozy-beery desserts from her.

In a small stainless-steel or other heat-proof bowl, combine the gelatin and cold water, and set aside to soften.

 

Over medium heat, bring the Stout to a boil in a medium saucepan, and reduce the beer to ¾ cup. Keep an eye on the Stout because it will reduce quickly. Set aside.

 

In a medium pot, combine the milk, ¾ cup heavy whipping cream, vanilla bean pulp and pod, and sugar. Bring to a boil.

 

Meanwhile, fill a small pot of water one-third full, and bring to a boil. Set the heat-proof bowl on top of the pot, and stir the gelatin until dissolved.

 

Note: This is a soft panna cotta, and unmolding is not recommended unless ½ teaspoon more gelatin is added.

Remove from the heat and whisk into hot cream mixture. Next, whisk in the Stout reduction, and then 2/3 cup crème fraîche.

Strain the panna cotta mixture into a pitcher, and pour into 6 serving glasses. Cover the tops with plastic wrap to avoid forming a skin. Chill until set, at least 6 hours.

 

In a clean bowl, whip together 1 cup heavy whipping cream and the remaining 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche. Whip to soft peaks.

 

When ready to serve, top each dessert with a dollop of the whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon. This is excellent served with a butter cookie or chocolate wafer.

Makes six ½-cup servings

So now you’re pairing beer with food on your own, elevating your dining experience, and creating new bold flavors and combinations. You are on the cutting edge of the beer world. How does it feel? You are on par with pioneer restaurant owners and chefs from all over the country. Isn’t dining more interesting? A whole new world,
n’est pas
? Take your pairing power to the people; next time you go out with friends, order a 750-milliliter bottle of beer for the table and give them something to talk about.

It is my design to die in the brew-house; let ale be placed to my mouth when I am expiring, that when the choirs of angels come, they may say, “Be God propitious to this drinker.”

—SAINT COLUMBANUS

H
omebrewing is not a new phenomenon. George Washington famously made note of his homebrew recipe. And both he and Thomas Jefferson had brewing operations under their roofs. Families have been homebrewing as far back as the dawn of beer itself. Women and men routinely made beer as part of their daily regimen. However, as taverns and commercial breweries took hold, beer was readily available at every pub, and homebrewing was not always necessary. In 1920 in America, the Eighteenth Amendment put the kibosh on breweries. Many had to shut their doors, and the variety of styles dwindled as the economy of brewing was siphoned. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933 (thank God!), breweries could reopen, but there were far fewer than before, and they had to rebuild a business that was hurt by the dry period. Sadly, when they repealed Prohibition, they forgot to legalize homebrewing. It was okay to make your own wine, but someone forgot to mention the word
beer
(George Washington must have rolled over in his grave a couple of times!). Enter Jimmy Carter. On October 14, 1979, he finally legalized homebrewing (it took only
46 years
!) and became the favorite president of many a beer lover (October 14 is a holiday for most beer-geeks). Of course, people had been brewing tasty beer in secret up until that point, as a rebellion against the light lagers that dominated the beer scene. In the 1980s, they were finally able to brew without risk.