Beer

Beer, that glorious liquid, that granter of courage and attractiveness, beer is why I have returned to that fickle mistress the blogosphere (do we still call it that?). Since our last writing, I have taken on a new obsession, but one that fits in well under the auspices of the Kentuckipino. I have begun home brewing beer and it has been glorious…and by glorious I mean beer filled, and bottle filled, and bucket filled, and carboy filled, and did I mention the buckets?

Home brewing has proven to be a fantastic pastime and one that deserves some chronicling, if only so that I may avoid repeating mistakes and ensure that the mistakes I make in the future are new and more expensive/delicious/hazardous. In truth, there has been so much to learn and while I’ve been doing my research, I’ve on just begun to scratch the surface of beer geekdom in the past year since we started brewing.

So, what have we done to date? Glad you asked:

• Imperial Nut Brown Ale (kit, extract) 
• Robust Porter (kit, extract) 
• Holiday Ale (kit, extract) 
• Pale Ale v1 (extract) 
• Amber Ale (extract) 
• Kolsch (extract) 
• Cream Ale (all grain) 
• Saison (extract) 
• Pale Ale v1 (all grain) 
• Pale Ale v2 (all grain) 
• Weiss (all grain) 
• Dragon’s Milk Clone (extract) 
• Watermelon Wheat Ale (all grain) 
• Victory Milk Stout (all grain) 
• Russian Imperial Stout (all grain) 

There will be more brews ahead as well as dips into beer science and the home brew/craft beer culture in and around Chicago. Until then, don’t worry, relax, and have a home brew, and another, and another, and another…

Aaand we're back again, for the very first time

So, to recap what’s been going on since our last post:

• Clare and I started Kellogg to earn our MBAs
• Clare and I finished Kellogg and earned our MBAs
• Clare is expecting the Kentuckipino the First.
• Much food and drink has been had since our last post

Well, that about does it for the recap. Now, on to the new stuff.

Grilled Pizza Goodness

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I love pizza. There I said it. I’m an addict. I’ll take it any way I can get it. Neopolitan, Pizza Hut, New York, Chicago, it’s all good to me (well, within reason anyway). For my money though, it just doesn’t get any better than making your own. Sometimes though, you don’t want to crank up the oven, especially in the summertime when it gets so hot. For those occasions, we make grilled pizza.

Easy Vinaigrette

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This post is for Lynne, the woman who cuts my hair.  I was in her chair yesterday, on my way to fabulous, and we were talking about how nasty bottled salad dressing is.  Indeed, it's gross.  I started making my own dressing a couple of years ago in a really basic way.  I bought a bottle of balsamic vinegar and I would just dress my salads with a little dash of that and a little dash of olive oil.  That's good, but sometimes I want something a little different.  I consulted my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook compendium, and I found this recipe.  It's easy, fast, and really cheap.  Best of all, it's delicious!  You can toy with this basic at will - different herbs and vinegars will change the taste to match what you are serving.


Basic Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar (balsamic, red wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or you can substitute lemon or lime juice)
1 T. sugar
2 t. fresh thyme, oregano, or basil OR 1/2 t. dried crushed thyme, oregano, or basil
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. dry mustard OR 1 t. dijon mustard
1/8 t. black pepper

Things to add: parmesan cheese, red pepper, garlic, celery seed, ginger...

Half Acre Brewing

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I don’t even know where to begin.  A couple of Saturdays ago our group of friends were able to take a private tour of the Half Acre Beer Company brewery in the North Center neighborhood (just a couple blocks away from our old apartment over Bowman’s).  If you haven’t had their beer, you’re missing out.  Bookmark this page, shut down your computer, go out and buy some Half Acre right now.  I’ll be here when you return.

Back?  Great.  Pretty good huh?  You can thank me later.

Where Did January Go?

Joel looking dazed and confused trying to figure out his accounting homework while on vacation.

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It is amazing how much can change in just a few weeks.  After the holidays, school started and while it has been a rewarding experience on a number of levels it doesn’t leave much time to cook and even less to write about it.  What we don’t lack are stories and pictures that we want to share, so hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll be able to carve out more time to documents some of the fun things we’ve been doing in our kitchen.

The Baking: Sugar Cookies & Royal Icing

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For years, I have been laboring under the assumption that this recipe was my aunt's.  This year, I saw it in my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook!  Scandalous!  The dough is very fragile, so the chill time is absolutely necessary.  Make sure you have similarly sized cookie cutters so the baking time is consistent.  The thing I like most about these cookies is that they bake up nice and soft, as opposed to a crunchy, shortbread-like cookie.

You can frost these using the royal icing recipe below or you can use baking sugar to decorate them before baking.  The sugar is definitely easier, but the icing is nice if you're looking for an art project.