Perseverance Ale Pot Roast

Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau’s own brewery, periodically releases these amazing limited edition and rough draft beers.  Just released on September 1st is an inspiring creation from the Pilot Series: Alaskan Perseverance Ale. It is a Russian Imperial Stout made with birch syrup and fireweed honey. It is a complex brew, wonderful to sip on a cold autumn evening.  And, while you’re sipping, plotting ways to incorporate it in all sorts of culinary creations.

Ingredients:

2.5-3 lb beef roast
1 bottle Perseverance Ale
4 shallots
6 organic carrots
1 1/4 cups organic beef broth
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs worcestershire sauce
2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1 tbs butter
1 can organic tomato paste
3 cans italian green beans
Salt and pepper

How I made it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Clean and peel the carrots and shallots.  Cut the carrots in half and place in the bottom of a dutch oven or covered roaster. Cut the shallots into quarters, except for one, which is diced.

Salt and pepper both sides of the roast, and then brown the roast on all sides in a nonstick skillet. Transfer the roast to the dutch oven, placing on top of the carrots. Scatter the quartered shallots around the roast and cover.

Deglaze the skillet with 1 cup beef broth and 1 cup Perseverance Ale. Add the garlic, diced shallots, and worcestershire sauce and stir as it comes to a low boil.  Pour over the roast.  Cover and put in the oven for 1 hour.

After the first hour, begin to prepare the mushrooms.  Clean and slice the mushrooms, then sweat them in the tablespoon of butter until tender.  (Remember not to crowd them in the pan. If your pan is too small, add them in batches.)

Take the roast out of the oven and place on a heat proof surface.  Add the mushrooms and replace the lid, but don’t put it back in the oven just yet. In the pan you used to cook the mushrooms, combine the tomato paste, 1/4 cup of beef broth and 1/2 cup of Perseverance Ale.  Stir as it heats, until it’s combined and smooth.

Pour the tomato mixture over the roast and spoon the rest of the “pot liquor” over it until it’s nicely combined. (Be very careful, your roasting pan will be hot.)  Continue to cook in the oven for 90 minutes.

Add the italian beans and return to the oven. Let sit in the oven, turned off, until ready to serve. Pairs wonderfully with mashed potatoes, which soak up all the gravy.

How it turned out:

Amazing!  The meat was tender, the gravy luscious. Potentially BETTER than Julia’s Boeuf Bourguignon.

 

Easy Crab and Tomato Bisque

Special thanks to the best friends, one who gave me the immersion blender used in this recipe and the other who was willing to be the guinea pig for this easy bisque.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
16 ounces fresh wild crab (claw meat, not imitation)
1 box Pomi chopped tomatoes
1 box Pomi strained tomatoes
3 tbs basil (dried)
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 ¾ cup low-sodium V8 juice
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon Gourmet Garden chili blend (in the tube in the produce section)

How I made it:

Melt the butter in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the crabmeat, the chopped tomato, and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes.

Add the strained tomatoes and stir until thoroughly blended.  Stir in the flour, then the tomato juice.  Add the cream, ketchup, Old Bay and chili blend.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened.  Stir in the basil. 

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth. Be careful — if you splatter it will be hot (I speak from experience).

Turn the heat down to low until you are ready to serve.  Makes 8 servings.

How it turned out:

Perfect!  Everyone at dinner tonight had seconds.  With a big salad and fresh whole wheat bread, it was a lovely winter Sunday supper.  A dollop of sour cream or a splash of hot sauce can add a bit more pizzazz, but it’s perfect as is. 

 

Halibut with Herbes d’Provence

This is an easy supper, though it can take an hour or so.

Ingredients:

1 lb halibut, cut into three steaks
1 lemon
1 tbs herbes d’provence
olive oil

How I made it:

Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze the juice of one half into a bowl.  Mix the herbes d’provence in with the lemon juice.  Spread the herb mixture on each side of the halibut steaks. 

Heat 2 tbs olive oil over medium to medium high heat in a non-stick pan.  Place the halibut steaks in the pan and cook until done through.  *I had trouble doing this in the pan, because the steaks were pretty thick.  I put them in the oven in a greased baking dish covered with foil for about 20 minutes to finish cooking. 

The result:

Flavorful and healthy, the halibut was great paired with a big salad and roast asparagus and sweet onion relish.  Next time, I’ll get halibut fillets instead of steaks, to make cooking a little easier.

 

Sweet and Spicy Summer Dishes

Inspired by the July edition of Bon Appetit, I decided to adapt a couple of recipes for our Independence Day celebration.  Both turned out so yummy that they disappeared before I got pictures.

Grilled White Salmon with Thai Sauce

This is a spicy coconut sauce that was great with fresh Alaska salmon.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk (regular, not lite)
the juice of one lime
5 tsp ginger paste (in the chilled section of the produce aisle)
3 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp diced serrano chili (no seeds or pith)
1 lb salmon fillet

How I made it:

Heat the coconut over medium-high heat.  Add each of the other ingredients one at a time, gently whisking to combine them all.  Let cook 3-4 minutes, until it becomes a little thicker.  Remove from heat.

Spoon 1/2 cup of the sauce over the fillet and let sit for an hour (in a glass dish, preferably) before putting on the grill.  Reserve the remaining sauce in the refrigerator for later. 

Grill on a medium-hot grill until cooked through, flaking easily and no longer translucent in the center.  Reheat the remaining sauce in a glass bowl in the microwave.

Serve the fish with 2-3 tbs of sauce spooned over the top.

How it turned out:

Given how little was left over, I think it was a hit.  Very moist, with just the right amount of spice.

Soda Jerk Beans

These are a lighter version of the traditional baked beans.

Ingredients:

1 vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
4 cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups root beer (use a rich artisanal one, not A & W)
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
3 tbs light or mild molasses
2 tbs tomato paste
2 tbs dijon mustard
2 tsp chili spice blend (available in the chilled section of the produce aisle)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

How I made it:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In an ovenproof pot or skillet, saute the chopped onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat, until the onion just begin to turn brown.  Add the ingredients one at a time, saving the beans for last.  Stir until well combined.  Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.  Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

How they turned out:

A light and tasty version of baked beans.  They won’t be the thick or sticky kind associated with traditional baked beans, but they are full of flavor and a great side dish for food off the grill.

 

By Request ~ Alaskan Agutaq

For my friend who needs something groovy for a multicultural potluck at her munchkins’ school, here is a recipe I learned in Nome for agutaq (also known as Eskimo Ice Cream).  Agutaq is traditionally made with tallow, seal oil, berries and sometimes, fish flakes.  

Here is a picture of what traditional agutaq looks like:

This recipe is a more western version (no fish flakes).

Ingredients:

3 cups Crisco

2 cups sugar

6 cups blueberries or cranberries, rinsed, drained and patted dry

water as necessary

How it’s made:

Beat the Crisco and sugar together, adding water as necessary, until whipped and fluffy.  Fold berries in with a spatula.  Serve with crackers, chocolate wafer cookies, or something similar.

The results:

Not for everyone, but some people really like it.

 

Boris and Natasha’s Revenge

I have a friend who is an excellent hunter and even better cook of wild game.  During a recent visit, we invented a new dish.  Moose and Squirrel Stew, or Boris and Natasha’s Revenge.  It’s derived from his moose stew recipe, and turned out to be very yummy.  His recipe is kind of intuitive, so I’ve tried to quantify the ingredients as best I can.

Ingredients

1 lb squirrel meat

1 – 1 1/2 lbs ground moose meat

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

4 cups chicken broth

3 cans canned vegetables (potatoes, peas, carrots, etc.)

2 cups brown rice

How to make it:

Parboil the squirrel meat in water.  While that’s cooking, brown the onion and garlic in olive oil.  It’s best to do this in the stew pot.  When the onion is translucent, add the mushrooms.  Cook through, then add the moose meat.  Brown thoroughly.

Add the chicken broth to the moose and onion mixture, and then the canned vegetables with the liquid in the cans.  (If you worry about sodium content, rinse the veggies and add them plus an extra cup or so of water.  And use sodium free chicken broth.)

Add the rice, then the squirrel and the liquid it was cooked in.  If it doesn’t seem soupy enough, add more chicken broth.  Simmer and season to taste.

The results:

A real Alaska original.

 

Clam Stuffed Mushrooms

As promised, here is the first of two clam-tastic recipes from our recent Clam-a-palooza.  While I helped create these recipes, I didn’t actually prepare them.  One of the best things about Clam-a-palooza was that, not only did we feast on freshly caught clams, I didn’t end up cooking a thing (or washing a dish!). 

So here’s the stuffed mushroom appetizer.

Ingredients:

15-20 large white mushrooms

1 stick butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 tsp garlic

3-4 cups very finely chopped smoked clams (this was pretty labor intensive)

2 cups caesar flavored croutons

grated parmesan and romano blend

How they were made:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Wash the mushrooms.  Remove stems, hollow out caps.  Chop the stems up in small pieces. 

Saute the onions, garlic, and chopped mushrooms in butter until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms tender.  While that is cooking, smash the croutons into crumbs.

When the onions and mushrooms are done, add the clams.  Cook just a couple of minutes, then add the crouton crumbs.  Mix well to make stuffing.

Stuff mushroom caps, placing them on a foil covered cookie sheet for baking.  Top with grated cheese. 

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and just a little brown.

The results:

YUMMY!!!  I don’t even like clams, but this stuffing turned out very mild and flavorful. 

For the next time:

Maybe work on a creamier stuffing version.  That was my only criticism, that they were a bit crumbly.

 

Salmon and Pasta

This is a super easy salmon recipe. 

Ingredients:

1 lb wild Alaska salmon, cut into 2-3 pieces

whole wheat thin spaghetti

 fresh asparagus

organic grape tomatoes

sliced mushrooms (canned or fresh)

sliced onion, 1/2 cup

minced garlic, 1 tbs

olive oil

How I made it:

Poach the salmon in 2 cups water (simmer covered for about 5-7 minutes).   Cook spaghetti according to instructions on the box.  Meanwhile, saute garlic and onion in olive oil until fragrant and translucent.  Add mushrooms.  About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add the asparagus (whole or cut into pieces).  When the pasta is done, strain it.  Add the pasta and asparagus to the mushroom mixture.  Add the grape tomatoes and toss until everything is well mixed.  Plate the salmon and pasta and serve.

The results:

Yummy.  With a nice merlot and rustic italian bread, it was a healthy yet satisfying meal.