http://wroughtirongrill.com/ on Feb. 4, 2010 Feature the Beer from Arcadia Brewing in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Food and beer pairings:

1) Cereal City Beer-Straw yellow/slight gold in color, flavors of grains, breads, spicy/earthy and sweet malt with aromas of golding hops.  4.2% abv, 32 IBU’s’s

Food Pairing-Parmesan encrusted whole grain bread filled with gruyere and grilled

2) Extra Special Bitter-An English Style ESB deep copper color with ruby undertones.  Full bodied, caramelly toasted malt character finishes slightly sweet and is balanced by a solid hop bitterness.

ABV 5.5% IBU’s 30

Food pairing-Prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe

3) Sky High Rye(12^th Anniversary Ale)- In honor of our adventurous friends at Sky Dive Inc. in Hastings, Michigan, we crafted a truly adventurous brew in Sky High Rye.  A West Coast-style Pale Ale with rye malt, Sky High Rye boasts a massive floral aroma of resinous hops.  The hops contribute flavor notes of lemons, peaches, and pine needles, combined with the sweet, malty flavors of toffee and bread.  Rye adds a pleasant peppery, spicy note like a fresh slice of pumpernickel bread.  Very well-rounded and very drinkable, Sky High Rye will surely inspire adventure in all who taste it. 6.0% ABV, 5 IBU ’s

Food Pairing-Poached Alaskan Cod with grapefruit buerre blanc atop a corn tortilla

4) Coco Loco-A truly one-of-a-kind brew, we like to call this our Triple Chocolate Milk Stout.  A combination of three different chocolate malts, cocoa nibs and 63% cacao bittersweet chocolate make this a sinfully delicious brew.  The addition of lactose lends the beer a creamy quality- not unlike a milkshake- while the Blackstrap Molasses adds rich, burnt, syrupy flavors.  Flavors of baker’s chocolate and espresso dominate, while rich malty flavors and a subtle kiss of hops add nice balance.    7% ABV   39 IBU’s

Food Pairing-Espresso rubbed bbq beef atop bibb lettuce

5) Hop Rocket-After 11 years of brewing beer with balance, our Brew Crew took a left turn with Hop Rocket Imperial IPA, a massive Imperial that focuses on the hops!  At 111 IBUs, this huge ale Rockets off the charts with a massive nose of sticky, resinous hops and flavors of grapefruit, lemon peel, spruce, earthy mushrooms and dew-covered grass.  While the focus truly is on the hops, a pleasant, sweet malt base backs the beer and balances it to a delicious level of drinkability with notes of toffee and freshly baked biscuits.   9% ABV   111 IBU’s

Food pairing-Applewood bacon wrapped jalepeno filled with citrus and scallion cream cheese

6) Cereal Killer-Brewed in the traditional English style of Barleywines, Cereal Killer is an explosion of full-bodied, malty goodness.  Huge syrupy flavors flow over caramel, toffee, molasses and toasty notes.  All these rich malt flavors are balanced out nicely by just the right amount of citrus-like hoppy bitterness.  A high alcohol content makes this a beer for the cellar.  As this brew ages, it will continue to develop more sherry-like flavors and aromas similar to a cask-aged port.  9.1% ABV   45 IBU’s

Food Pairing-Grilled duck and fois gras salad crostini

7) Shipwreck Porter- This beer was aged in 10-year old whiskey barrels. A very dark brown, nearly black beer with a thick cafe au lait head. A bit of lace. Sweet chocolate aroma, and noticeable whiskey. Mostly tasted of sweet chocolate, some vanilla.  13% ABV

Food Pairing-Beef tips rubbed with green peppercorns, almond encrusted, skewered, baked and served with rosemary hollandaise

It seems so simple a dish Pancakes!  Inexpensive as well, I remember times as a child when money was tight my mother making them for dinner.  Of course as kids we LOVED IT!  The basic recipe is alright, but I am looking for something better!

  My next batch was a Buttermilk Pancake recipe, and I must say the flavor is much improved ( even using buttermilk powder which for conveince is always available and on hand with no worry about spoilage like the fresh buttermilk )

  The other change using this recipe is using less Baking Powder and adding Baking Soda, much like my Biscuit recipe.  So here is the recipe.

• 1 cup Flour
• 1 TBSP Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 TBSP Sugar
• 1/4 cup Buttermilk Powder
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Milk or Water
• 2 TBSP Melted Butter

  Combine flour, sugar, buttermilk powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix well.  Slightly beat egg, add the milk, and whisk in melted butter.  Add to dry ingredients and blend until incorporated.  You are now ready to make you pancakes!

  I tried this recipe again with 2 TBSP sugar instead of 1 TBSP and thought they had a better flavor, but hey who doesn’t have a sweet tooth?

  I am going to continue to play with the ratios of differen’t ingredients until I find the ” PERFECT ” pancake!

After a recent yearning for pancakes, I am now on the quest for the ” perfect recipe”!

My review of my first recipe ended up being s0-so, tried a basic recipe but omitted the egg ( didn’t want to run to the store ).  They were thick and fluffy but very delicate and crumbly because I didn’t use any egg. 

We Chef’s love ratio’s…it’s the perfect way to make differing quantities and get great results!  So here is a basic pancake recipe, makes 4 large flapjacks to 8 mini ones.

• 1 cup Flour
• 2 TBSP Baking powder
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Egg
• 1 cup Milk
• 2 TBSP Melted Butter

Combine all the dry ingredients together and mix.  Slightly beat the egg and then whisk in your milk.  Next whisk the melted butter into that.  Combine with dry ingredients and mix well…you are now ready to start cooking!

This recipe is probably more than enough for 2 average adults or…1 hungry teenager.

The Beautiful November was quit clear today and made for a stunning sunrise. The clear skies made for a bitter chill! As usual I am starting my morning with a strong cup of French roast coffee and checking my horoscope for the day ( Ya ya I know…guilty pleasure )
Going to be a busy day working in the restaurant today…much prefer working at home on projects. As I drink coffee and type this morning I am thinking of things to blog about? I have had a request for a great pizza recipe…sounds like trouble to me! I may try and tackle it, just so much information, styles and opinions…could be as volatile as talking religion or politics.

I am also thinking of doing more on tips for at home gourmets. Ways in which you can cook that are easy and can give Professional results. Recipes are an endless souce of inspiration for me. Many of my recipes are just a tiny bit differen’t than what you will find anywhere else. I always try and take the best qualities and elements from multiple recipes and combine them into what is the best recipe in my opinion. Those are the recipes I share with you! In the kitchen you have the opportunity to teach technique, which is a challenge not being able to show you. Perhaps in the future I will include some video media???

I hope this morning is finding you well…I am getting hungry already talking food….maybe I’ll go make some pancakes….possibly?

• 12 eggs
• 12 oz sugar
• 6 1/2 oz flour
• 3 1/2 oz cornstarch
• 2 oz cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter

Melt butter in a pan util it starts to turn slighly brown.  Add baking soda to butter and stir.  Combine eggs and sugar in a metal bowl and whisk over a hot water bath until the mixture reaches 140 degrees.  Remove and whip with a mixer until it is 3x the original volume and holds a ribbon for 10 seconds.  Fold in flour and cornsatrch.  Remove a portion of th batter and fold in butter/soda mixture and then fold that back into remaining batter.  Bake in 9 in cake pan lined with parchment on the bottom and greased well.  Bake at 350 degrees about 40 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.