TEDxDrexelU: Why Not Add Chocolate to Beer

Why Not....  is the theme for TEDxDrexelU on May 16, 2012.   I was invited to participate and immediately thought Why Not Add Chocolate to Beer.  

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas worth Spreading.” It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, & Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. 

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience (Ideas worth sharing). At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.  

The outline of my TEDx talk:   Beer is one of the building blocks of civilization that spans across many continents and cultures. Created from grains that were cultivated and steeped, the first evidence of beer dates to the Neolithic (7000 BC). Join me as we fast forward 9000 years and explore the art of brewing and the state of the beer industry in the 20th and 21st century. Theobrama cacao (aka chocolate) also plays a significant role in civilization. Discovered in the New World when Montezuma introduced Cortes to xocolatl almost 500 years ago, today chocolate is consumed around the world, and is also an ingredient and flavor used in craft brewing. 

Here is the list of  TEDxDrexelU speakers and their Ideas Worth Spreading:

1. Tyler Hartung:  Co-Founder and VP of Finance and Operations at The Unreasonable Institute, Why Not quit your job and become a server?  
2. Nick Anselmo: Director of Theather at Drexel University,  Why Not engage in the dynamic world of theater? 
3. Carla Diana: Associate Director of Interaction Design at Smart Design,  Bringing Objects to Life through Form, Code and Electronics 
4. Bill Moggridge: Director at Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum,  Why Not change the world with design thinking? 
5. Sebbie Buhler:  Beer Craft Adventurist,  Why Not add chocolate to beer? 
6. Robb Armstrong: Cartoonist at GoComics.com,  Why Not go to work in your underwear like me? 
7. Brian Robertson:  Co-Founder at HolacracyOne,   Why Not ditch bosses and distribute power? 
8. Chelsea Briganti, Leigh Ann Tucker, Monica Bhatia and Ingrid Zweifel: From The Way We See The World, Why Not make the world the way you see it? 
9. Dan Formosa:  Ph.DConsultant in Design,  Why Not admit there is a problem with math and music? (or why Pythagoras would have liked the cats in Nashville) 
10. Marek Swoboda: Biomedical Researcher at Drexel University,  Democracy in science and technology. Why Not? 
11. Jason Ingle:  Executive Director at Greener Partners,  Why Not fix our food system? 
12. Russell Meddin:   Founder of Bike Share Philadelphia, Why Not bring Public Use Bicycling, bike-sharing, to Philadelphia? 
13. Patrick McDonald:  Founding Partner of Onion Flats LLC, Jack 
14. John Anderson Fry.  President of Drexel University Guest of Honor  

Tickets for TEDxDrexelU are available online. Follow these links for more details, posted on the  facebook page,  at the website TEDxDrexelU.com  and on the TEDxDrexelU blog.

Join me for the journey to TEDxDrexelU!

Erin Go Rogue ~ Chocolate Stout Shepherds Pie Recipe for St Patricks Day!

Chocolate Stout Cheddar Shepherds Pie

A great recipe from the folks at Rogue Creamery in Central Point, OR in February 2012 ~ perfect for a St Patricks Day celebration!

Classic comfort food with a Southern Oregon twist.  Our Chocolate Stout Cheddar stars in this satisfying traditional with a savory layer of meat and root vegetables topped with a layer of cheesy mashed potatoes. Make ahead in single serving dishes for a satisfying midweek meal  (serves 6)

6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 ½ lb. organic ground beef or lamb

1 c. onion, finely chopped

2 c. vegetables: combination of chopped carrots, parsnips, peas

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

3/4 c. Rogue Ales Chocolate Stout

½ c. milk or cream

¾ c.. butter

8 oz. Rogue Chocolate Stout Cheddar, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender (20-25 minutes).

While potatoes cook,  melt ¼ c. butter in a large, deep skillet.  Saute onions over medium heat, 2-3 minutes.  Add carrots and parsnips.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Add ground meat and cook until no longer pink.  Add peas, Chocolate Stout and salt and pepper to taste.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes until stout is reduced.

Mash potatoes in a large bowl with remaining butter and milk.  Season to taste.  Add 1 ½ c. shredded cheese.  Stir to combine.

Pour meat and vegetable mixture into a large casserole or six single serving dishes.  Top meat mixture with mashed potatoes and remaining cheese.

Bake in a 400 degree oven until bubbling and browned on top, 25 -30 minutes.

 

How about something sweet for dessert?  Try this recipe for brownies made with RCS, or how about brownies made with Rogue Chocolate Stout and Baileys Irish Cream frosting!

Got time for mail order? Here are a few of my favorite beer infused desserts:

• The folks at TruffleTruffle in Chicago have a Beer & Pretzel collection featuring Caramels, Brittle, Marshmallows and Truffles, all made with Rogue Chocolate Stout!
• Vosges Haut Chocolate's SMOKE + STOUT bar  is made with Rogue's Chocolate Stout beer + Alderwood smoked salt + burnt sugar caramel + 70% dark chocolate. Let it melt in your mouth, don't chew, its that good!
• Got Beer Gelato? The folks at Phila's Capogiro Gelato do... sometimes they feature Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato on their ever changing menu.

To the blarney is each of us, Erin Go Rogue!

Rogue Ales Beer Dinner in TX Hill Country January 27, 2012 - Westin La Cantera

Folks in the Hill Country of Texas should check Beer Dinner this out:

Don't be afraid to go a little rogue this 2012 year with your friends at The Westin La Cantera Hill Country Resort. On Friday, Jan. 27 at 7:00 p.m. in The La Cantera Grille, we are proud to host a beer dinner with Rogue Ales, an American craft brewery who prides itself in doing things differently. 

Five revolutionary handcrafted beers that go against the grain will be paired with a spectacular dinner menu, created by Chef Isaac Cantu and Chef Henry Wesolowski. These chosen beers have earned the highest awards at events including 2011 World Beer Championships, 2011 Great American Beer Festival, 2011 US Beer Tasting Championships and 2011 Mondial De La Biere. 

There are a limited number of tickets for this high-selling event, so please don't hesitate to make your reservation by calling us directly at 210-558-2305. 

Tickets are priced at $55 per person (not including tax or gratuity). 

Click here to download the menu and a list of the beers chosen for your consideration. 

ROGUE BEER DINNER 

January 27, 2012 

CAP’N SIGS NORTHWESTERN ALE 

DEADLIEST CATCH TARTARES AND CEVICHES 

King crab and fresh vegetable 

HAZELNUT BROWN NECTAR 

DEEP FRIED “CHICORY”, PORK AND CHEESE 

Iberico ham, St. Andre, hazelnut and egg yolk 

DOUBLE DEAD GUY 

DOUBLE STUFFED QUAIL 

Duck, foie gras and “cherry” 

XS IMPERIAL RED 

INDIVIDUAL POT PIE 

Lamb and winter vegetable 

CHOCOLATE STOUT 

SOFT CHOCOLATE 

Espresso, meringue and oats 

ob:  I google'd "soft chocolate"  I came up empty handed, however the menu pairings are creative--this dinner should be delicious--especially intrigued by the topping and combinations of flavors & textures of the dessert. I would live to see photos, so tweet me @chocolatestout and let me know how this dinner & pairings go, and what the Sam Hill Soft Chocolate is!   If it were cheese, I'd select pairing Chocolate Stout with local farmstead Pure Luck Farm & Dairy's Hopelessly Blue, Del Cielo or  Sainte Maure. 

Cheers!

The world's best flavored stout - - complex, great mouthfeel, hint of bitterness

I crack up when I read the beer reviews like the one below from the World Beer Awards, especially when parsed into sound bytes. I just wish I had the nerve to do stand-up comedy (how many times fans of this beer have told me "you were great last night"...), but I'd blush myself off the stage in a heart beat.  Still, here is my list of fun(ny) soundbytes from the WBA review:

• great mouthfeel
• creamy
• complex
• hint of bitterness
• great balance
• fresh vanilla aroma
• layered & inviting

Kudos to John "more hops" Maier and his crew at Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon for brewing this elixir (which I adorn the label of), and for the other beers from Rogue Ales that scored WBA awards!  Yet another couple of awards in their caps. I'm thrilled Rogue Chocolate Stout beer was awarded World Best Flavored Stout  & The Americas Best Flavored Stout, according to worldbeerawards.com

Thanks to the contributors on Beeradvocate, this beer has 1800+ reviews with a score of 94,  (99 from The Bros!) and RateBeer which has 1877 ratings and a score of 99!

Rogue's 22oz (and 64, 101oz) bottle has food group symbols, as a suggestion for pairing this beer with food. The food symbols on Rogue Chocolate Stout are Beef and Dessert -- but I feel the strength of pairing this beer is with cheese!   Here are some of my favorite cheese pairings: 

• blue cheese from producers like Rogue Creamery, Jasper Hill Farms or the classic stilton from Colsten Bassett (UK).
• mature cheddars (with lots of crunch) like Upland's Pleasant Ridge Reserve,  Fiscalini or Beechers 24 or 48 month old reserve.
• new styles like Touvelle from Rogue Creamery (sort of jack meets cheddar...)
• classic goat cheese like Cypress Grove's Humboldt Fog, or MozzCo's Hoja Santa.  
• flavored cheese like Beehive's Barley Buzzed or Rogue Creamery's Chipotle Cheddar.
• a soft / bloomy rind like Cherry Grove's Buttercup Brie,  Kunik form Nettle Meadow farms, or Dinah from Kurtwood Farms.

I also love to blend this beer (Hole Mole')  and have also blogged some of my beer cocktail recipes in the past (Rogue Diplomat Gone Nuts) and will continue to blog new recipes here and on a new site, www.BeerMixology.com 

tags: @chocolatestout  @rogueales

Teal Dragoness, a cocktail for OCNA 2012 Turn Up the Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs

According to wikipedia, the color Teal is not even 100 years old, but its a color we know in nature (common teal duck, etc.) and has a broad range of tones in the green/blue spectrum.

Teal is also the color associated with Ovarian Cancer causes (as pink is for breast cancer).  For the 2nd year I created a signature cocktail for the annual Turn Up the Heat Gala in DC.  This charity event showcases & celebrates the talent of dozens of women chefs and restaurateurs from the DC Metro Area and raises money for a good cause.  Its a privilege and honor to be the only brewery & distiller invited to pour for past 5 years, and to have a signature cocktail for the second year.  My 2011 Teal Tonic was Rum based, the 2012 cocktail base is Rogue Spirits' Sprue Gin  distilled with 14 ingredients including traditional botanicals like juniper berries, along with Spruce and Cucumbers.

Teal Dragoness is the 2012 cocktail I created, inspired by OCNA, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Assoc and the Year of the Dragon.

In a cocktail or wine glass, pour over ice and stir:

• 1 part  Rogue Spirits Spruce Gin
• 1/2  parts  Bols Blue Curacao  (just enough to create your shade of teal)
• 1 part  Prosecco or equivalent sparking wine

Options:

• Use Q-Ginger, tonic or club soda instead of Prosecco.
• Add a splash of Midori if more green is needed for your Teal Dragoness.

Raise your glass ~ toast the women who are fighting and surviving Ovarian Cancer & wish them well, and toast those who are looking for and working on a cure.   Prost & Enjoy! 

A shout out to Karen Buhler - an amazing glass artist (and my sister-in-law) who also makes whimsical shot glasses (heat shots of people, buck shots of deer...),  tumbers & cocktail glasses, in addition to her collectible glass art.  My "Buckshot" shot glass is filled with the Teal Dragoness cocktail.


TURN UP THE HEAT -- Event Info:  
 “Turn up the Heat: A Celebration of Women Chefs” Gala will take place at the DC Ritz Carlton at 1150 22nd Street NW on Tuesday, February 7, 2012. Proceeds of the event will support our efforts to raise awareness, educate women and health care providers, and advocate on behalf of women with ovarian cancer.  Tickets start at $250 doe the 2012 Turn Up the Heat Gala. Your contribution is tax deductible above the $90 per-person cost of the dinner.   We hope you will join us!

Here is a list of  Chefs participating in 2012 Turn Up the Heat, February 7th at the Ritz Carlton, DC.

WASHINGTON, DC

• Beverly Bates of Vidalia
• Amy Brandwein of Casa Nonna
• Robin Butler of Red Hook Lobster Pound DC
• Janet Conley of Cowgirl Creamery
• Violeta Edelman of Dolcezza Artisanal Gelato
• Sara Fatell of Grassroots Gourmet
• Ruth Gresser of Pizzeria Paradiso/Birreria Paradiso
• Susan Holt of CulinAerie
• Charleen Huebner of Chef of the Hill
• Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne of Georgetown Cupcake
• Ris Lacoste of ris
• Jamie Leeds of Hank's Oyster Bar and Lounge
• Jodi Lehr of Santa Lucia Estate Coffee
• Ana MacDougal of Michel Richard Citronelle, Central Michel Richard and MICHEL
• Janis McLean of 15 ria
• Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora
• Alison Reed of Ripple
• Kavita Singh of New Heights Restaurant
• Tamesha Warren of The Oval Room

MARYLAND

• Francis Bakota of My Wish Dish
• Barbara Black of Black Restaurant Group
• Somchet Chumpapo and Patrice Dionot of L'Academie de Cuisine
• Rita Garruba of 8407 Kitchen Bar
• Susan Sorrenko of Moorenko's Ice Cream
• Monica Thomas of Tailored Taste Personal Chef Service

VIRGINIA

• Gladys Abi-Najm and Grace Abi-Najm Shea of Lebanese Taverna Restaurants
• Laurie Bell of Great Falls Tea Garden
• Charleen Huebner of Stratford University School of Culinary Arts
• Kate Jansen and Tracy O'Grady of Willow Restaurant
• Shannon Overmiller of The Majestic
• Yasmine Sandhu of Sugar & Spice
• Aimee Suyehiro of Argia's
• Christine Wansleben of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs of Richmond
• Laurie Weber of The Swiss Bakery

WEST VIRGINIA

• Anne Hart of Provence Market Cafe

Beverages

• Sebbie Buhler of Rogue Ales and Rogue Spirits
• Five Rivers Winery

tags:  @chocolatestout @rogueales @ocna  #womenchefs

Celebrating November 3rd , International Stout Day

Hip Hip Horray for Erin Peters  who declared November 3rd as International Stout day! @Stoutday

Being that my image has been on the bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout for upwards of a dozen years, it behooves me to  encourage others to imbibe in this elixir--drink on the dark side, go for your inner stout, especially on November 3rd!

Why settle for just drinking your stout when you can eat it too!   Here are a few ways to celebrate  ~ all are available online and made with a stout near and dear to my International Stout Day heart!

Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout Cheddar - The Lodge gift basket also includes Smokey Blue and other goodies selected by Rogue Creamery. The cheddar is also sold in 8oz blocks at select retailers and through online retailers.
TruffleTruffle's Beer Pretzel & Brittle collection.
Vosges Haut Chocolate's  new  Smoke + stout  chocolate bar
Valerie Confections - gift box of whiskey and stout truffles 
Capogiro  makes a special batch of Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato each year for Philly Beer Week! 

Why not brew it at home?   This 5 gallon homebrew recipe for Roge Chocolate Stout is online.   Better yet, you can celebrate twice this week since November 5th is Learn to Homebrew Day - an annual event sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association! 

You can also bake your stout and eat it too!   Check out this recipe that Chef Bruce Aidells wrote for Bon Appetite Magazine!    Here is a fun blog post &  brownie recipe (though I have not tried it myself).   Who doesn't love a molten lava cake made with chocolate stout...

On a diet? You can also read all about it -- just remember good beer is real food!  There are dozens of dozens of reviews by the consumers on Beer Advocate  and RateBeer  and a solid thumbs-up from the  beer press in Seattle!

So join me in celebrating International Stout Day, hopefully with something very dark and highly roasted in your glass or a creation thereof on your plate.  No matter whether it has notes of chocolate malt or real chocolate added, its all about the base -- Stout!!

Prost!

The Women of Beer Dinner Oct 25th in Phila supporting Susan G Komen for the cure

I am so thrilled to be part of this charity dinner: The Women Of Beer, Tues Oct 25th at MidAtlantic Restaurant & Tap Room in Philadelphia.

Meet + greet + dine with 8 ladies in the brewing industry:
Carol & Jodi Stoudt from Stoudts in Adamstown, PA,
Suzanne Woods from Allagash in Portland, ME,
Wendy Domurat from Dogfish Head in Milton, DE
Whitney Thompson and Karen Noonan
from Victory in Downingtown, PA,
Megan Maguire from Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY and
Sebbie Buhler from Rogue Ales in Newport, OR.

Chef Daniel Stern has planned an 8 course dinner paired with 11 special beers. Cost is $150 pp all-inclusive, with $50 benefiting the Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

Quite an amazing menu and beer pairings, including a beer washed cheese from Birchrun Hills Farm --yet another reason to celebrate -- October is American Cheese Month! Have you talked to a cheesemonger today? Steve Jones of the Cheese Bar in Portland, Oregon took the 2011 Cheesemonger award!


women of beer dinner menu:

meet + mingle: small bites + snakes / victory brewing co / festbier

first: winter vegetable salad / brewery ommegang / aphrodite - brett beer with fruit

second: saffron-poached trout / brewery ommegang / hennepin - farmhouse saison

third: variations of squash / allagash brewing co / hugh malone - belgian-stye ipa

fourth: green-peppered-crusted monkfish / dogfish head / midas touch - ancient ale

fifth: dry-aged ribeye: two ways / dogfish / hellhound on my ale - double ipa

sixth: birchrun hills farm beer-washed cheese / victory brewing / otto - smoked belgian-style dubble

seventh: a taste of apple / stoudt's brewing / apple pie beer

eigth: chocolate + cramel / stoudt's brewing / london porter & rogue ales / chocolate stout



A big thanks to Evan Oxenfeldt and Chef Daniel Stern!


tags: @RogueAles @ChocolateStout @MidatlanticPHL