Drinking beer is good eating.

So said philosopher Immanuel Kant, and he was right. Beer is food. “Liquid bread” as the monastery and convent brewers of Europe describe it. A beverage made with the most basic of ingredients — but made to be savored, celebrated, enjoyed. Like a masterfully grilled steak of tender, aged beef. Like a plate of risotto, cooked to al dente perfection. Like a batch of Mom’s favorite ribs, falling-off-the-bone tender and dripping with zesty sauce.

Like Brew Your Own Magazine.

Hey, we’re serious!

Think about it. The food we enjoy the most is that which is prepared with tender loving care. Whether it’s a simple or complicated recipe, whether it took five minutes or five hours to make, we look forward to the dish coming to the table. Enjoy the aroma, regard the presentation. The best food is prepared by someone who knows the ropes.

Just like Brew Your Own. For two years, the staff of BYO has brought you a monthly menu of tasty and tantalizing tidbits of brewing knowledge, history, art, and industry. There’s something for everyone and for every palate. It’s a monthly smorgasbord of brewing techniques, tales, and culture.

So what better way to celebrate our second anniversary than with a feast of food and beer!

The BYO staff recently put their heads together to pick a batch of special cooking-with-beer recipes and gathered for an impromptu picnic to enjoy them.

Appetizer

Onion Beer Dip

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup beer (we used Märzen)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1-oz. package onion soup mix
• Black pepper to taste

Whip cream cheese and add beer. Mix well. Add sour cream, soup mix, and pepper. Stir. Refrigerate before serving. Makes about two cups. Great served with chips or fresh vegetables.

Salads

Tossed Salad with Wheat Beer Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup Wynkoop Wilderness Wheat beer (or other wheat beer with very low or no hop bitterness)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tbsp. minced chives
• 2 tbsp. minced parsley
• 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Salad (mixed greens, cucumber, thinly sliced red onion)

In the bowl of a food processor, blend mustard, vinegar, and beer. While processor is running, slowly dribble the oil into the mixture a few drops at a time. Then pour a slow, steady stream of oil until it has been mixed and emulsified. Add herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over tossed salad. Gently toss and serve immediately. Serves four.

Recipe courtesy of Famous Chefs and Other Characters Cook with Beer, by W. Scott Griffiths and Christopher Finch, Doubleday.

Fourth of July Potato Salad

• 2 lbs. medium red potatoes, unpeeled
• 5 tbsp. cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 slices bacon
• 2 large red onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup amber ale (or other ale with medium hop and medium malt characteristics)
• 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper

Boil the potatoes in water to cover until just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and let potatoes cool. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut them in half. Cut the potato halves into 1/4-inch-thick slices and place them in a large bowl. Combine three tbsp. of the vinegar, the mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the warm sliced potatoes. Toss lightly.

In a skillet, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain the bacon, reserving the drippings in the skillet. Crumble the bacon over the potatoes. In the reserved bacon drippings, sauté the onion over medium heat until just tender, adding vegetable oil as needed to prevent the onions from sticking to the skillet. Pour in the ale and the remaining vinegar. Heat just to deglaze the skillet, stirring to loosen any browned bits. Pour the ale-onion mixture over the potatoes. Add the red pepper and toss well. Serve at room temperature. Serves six to eight.

Recipe courtesy of Famous Chefs and Other Characters Cook with Beer, by W. Scott Griffiths and Christopher Finch, Doubleday.

On the Grill

Mom’s Bar B Q Ribs

• 4 to 6 slabs of pork baby back ribs
• 1 bottle barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp. Heinz 57 sauce (optional)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tbsp. A-1 sauce (optional)
• 3/4 cup beer (we used porter)

Place rib slabs on a rack in a large pan with water on
bottom. Bake 45 minutes in a 400° F oven. Cut the slabs into two ribs each. Mix above ingredients together and dip ribs into the mixture. Put them on a large pan with tin foil on bottom in a single layer. Bake 30 minutes in a 375° F oven.

At this stage you can finish them on the grill or cool the ribs and freeze them in large plastic bags to grill another day. Save any extra sauce, and add it as you grill. Yum yum.

Recipe courtesy of  Elaine “Mom” Landau.

Grilled Vegetable Salad

Salad

• 1 crookneck yellow squash
• 1 large zucchini
• 3 medium onions
• 6 portabello mushrooms
• 1 Japanese eggplant
• 1 red bell pepper, 1 green bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, cored and sliced into wide strips

Beer Basting Sauce

• 1 cup honey ale
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. chili garlic paste (sold in the Asian food section of most supermarkets)

Wash all vegetables and cut into one-half inch slices. (Slicing squash and eggplant lengthwise, into long strips, makes them easier to grill.) Blend all ingredients for basting sauce.

When coals are ashy and glowing, place vegetables on the grill. Baste with beer sauce. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of Cooking With Beer by Lucy Saunders, Time-Life Books.

Dessert

Spice Beer Cake

• 12-ounce bottle of beer
(we used amber ale)
• 1 cup quick oats
• 2/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts

Bring beer to boiling point in saucepan. Add oats and let stand 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, cream margarine and sugars together; blend in eggs and vanilla. Add oatmeal mixture and mix well. Sift dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture; add nuts. Pour into greased and floured 9x13-inch cake pan. Bake at 350° F for 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. While cake is still warm to the touch, frost with Broiled Caramel Frosting. Serves 12 to 16.

Broiled Caramel Frosting

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 2 tbls. half and half

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Spread on cake and broil on lowest rack until bubbly and golden brown.

Cake and frosting recipes
courtesy of Drink Your Beer and Eat It Too! by Joanie Steckart, Nob Hill Press.