If you love beer you'll love these cupcakes

                                                         Scott Beveridge photo

As someone who loves craft beer paired with chocolate, the publisher of Travel with a Beveridge decided he must try beer cupcakes. And, as someone who prefers lazy, easy recipes, he decided to employ Betty Crocker and other store-bought ingredients to make beer cupcakes AND get his friend Mary to do most of the work in her kitchen.

                                                        Scott Beveridge photo

Everyone raved about them, so much so that the editor at his real job decided to try them herself. She received identical accolades from the newsroom.

By Liz Rogers
Observer-Reporter Editor

My inspiration came after colleague Scott Beveridge mentioned he’d baked beer cupcakes to rave reviews simply by using a boxed mix and substituting Samuel Smith Imperial Stout for the water.

"Best cupcakes ever," he said.

I decided to try it for myself, but used Samuel Adams Imperial Stout instead.

After achieving similar results, I set out to see how stout would perform in a scratch recipe.

I adapted Food Network chef Dave Lieberman’s recipe (I swapped Samuel Smith Imperial Stout for the Guinness), and ended up with amazingly moist results.

If you like beer, you’ll love these: The flavor of the beer comes shining through but isn’t too overwhelming.

I skipped his frosting recipe and made my own from butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, which complemented the cake quite nicely.

A garnish of miniature pretzels provided a nice sweet and salty touch to this beer lovers’ dream.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes. Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, plus more for dusting finished cupcakes
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch fine salt
1 bottle stout beer (I used 11.2 ounces Samuel Smith)
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 12 to 13 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out.

(The Liz Rogers recipe was first published in the Observer-Reporter)

The hot dip this NFL season

It appears most NFL parties this season would not be complete without Buffalo chicken dip. I mean this appetizer has caught on faster than a Hines Ward reception during the second half when the Pittsburgh Steelers were down two touchdowns a needed to pull a win out of their gizzard.

Below you will find my recipe for the dip, shown above, which was supposed to have been served last Friday to my coworkers at Observer-Reporter newsroom in Washington, Pa.. It was my contribution to a Steelers luncheon in advance of Pittsburgh's exciting come-from-behind win the next day against the belittled Baltimore Ravens.

However, the news got in my way that day in the form of my having to report on state police filing first-degree homicide charges against three suspects in a 2003 cold-case slaying in California Borough, Pa.

One of my editors ended up taking half of the dip to a party she would attend the next day, while the night newsroom staff ended up being treated to what remained in the bowl. Thankfully that crew washed said bowl before leaving it empty on my desk.

Ingredients:

1 20 ounce bag of Giant Eagle Fire Roasted Fully Cooked frozen chicken breasts
1  small white onion
5 stalks of celery
1 12 ounce bottle Marzetti Blue Cheese Simply Dressing
1 8 ounce package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 8 ounce package of Kraft Mexican Cheddar Jack shredded cheese
McIlhenny Co. Tabasco Brand Pepper Sauce to taste


Directions:

Microwave chicken according to instructions on the bag, chop and place into medium size mixing bowl. Finely chop celery and onions. Soften cheese in microwave oven. Mix ingredients into the chicken and chill overnight. Reheating before serving is optional.

The Milky Way pecan pie

 

By Scott Beveridge

BELLE VERNON, Pa. – You can thank my new Droid X by Motorola for this especially rich pecan pie for Thanksgiving dessert.

I turned to the smart phone after realizing yesterday in the syrup section at the local Shop 'n Save that it was out of dark Karo. It was about 2 p.m. The store clerk said to come back after 5 p.m. when a new shipment was due.

As if I was going to make a second trip there on a busy shopping day, especially because motorists outside in the parking lot had been driving as if their heads were under their car seats when I arrived. I mean I witnessed some old guy nearly back over a man walking to his car after a woman nearly crashed into my Ford as she stupidly crisscrossed around traffic.

The recipe in my hand never seemed to produce a pie that tasted right, either, no matter how many times I tweaked it before giving it a rest about 5 years ago. Then I remembered having once seen a pecan pie recipe calling for molasses after noticing a few bottles of that dark stuff on the same store shelf.

So I pulled out the Droid, hopped on the web, found one at SimplyRecipes.com and decided to make it my own by adding and dropping some ingredients for the pie, shown in the photo, above. The killer ingredient would be the Milky Way Simply Caramel Bar. The recipe follows:

8 oz of pecans, chopped

1 cup of light corn syrup

1 Tbsp molasses

2 Tbsp melted butter

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dash of salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1.91 oz Milky Way Simply Caramel bar, cut into small chunks

1 package of Just Unroll Pillsbury Pie Crusts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Form one pie shell into a 9 inch pie dish. Layer the bottom with the pecans and candy bar pieces. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl by hand, and then pour the mixture over the pecans. Bake 40-45 minutes, making sure to tent the crust edges with aluminum foil after 20 minutes of baking.

The bread of life

By Barbara S. Miller

MUSE, Pa. – To Christians of Eastern European origin, the Easter basket signifies more than an opportunity to satisfy the sweet tooth with meltingly smooth chocolate bunnies and fruity or spicy jelly beans.

Descendants of coal miners, Jim and Dolores Cox of Muse preserve Easter traditions their ancestors brought from Europe.

Amid their ethnic Easter basket, one finds ham, homemade cheese, lamb-shaped butter, kielbasa, dyed eggs, salt and, of course, a round crown of rich, raisiny bread known as paska.

Eating the blessed food on Easter breaks the fast that Byzantine Christians begin on Good Friday.

Both Eastern European and Mennonite Christians bake Easter paska, a rich, typically golden yeast dough studded with jewel-like raisins. It symbolizes the risen Christ's body as the bread of life.

The name of the Easter paska is derived from Paschal, referring to Passover. "Paschal Lamb" refers to the victorious risen Christ, who celebrated a Passover meal with his disciples before his crucifixion.

Dolores Cox, 81, bakes paskas each spring, employing a recipe from her late mother.

"I make a different one. My mother made a white dough and a yellow dough," she said. "I've been trying to keep my mother's thing going." The two-tone dough may be unique to Cox and her extended family; it's not something one sees at supermarkets or bakeries.

Her mother, Anna Pozonsky, made the bread solely from memory, but Cox wrote down the ingredients and formulated amounts. She uses only egg yolks in each dough because she thinks egg whites make the dough too dry.

"I put a little more sugar in mine than she did," Cox said. Soaking raisins makes them more pliable and helps set them in the raw dough. Golden raisins keep the bread moist after baking.

Cox, 81, a member of St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church in Canonsburg, bakes a dozen loaves at a time, using either a deep round pan or an angel food cake pan.

No bread machine or fancy mixers with dough hooks pass muster with Cox.

"You have to feel the texture of the dough," she said. "If it sticks to your hand, you need a little more flour. You use your muscles."

Her recipe:

Dolores Cox’s
Two-Tone Paska
n MAKES 6 loaves
Yellow Dough
Ingredients
1 large cake yeast
1 (12-ounces) can evaporated milk
1 can hot water
1⁄2 cup oil
4 egg yolks
5 cups flour
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 stick of butter (1⁄4 pound),
room temperature
1 cup cooked white rice
1⁄2 ounce turmeric
1 (1-pound) box of golden raisins, soaked in hot water to soften. (Discard water once raisins are added to dough.)
Pour can of evaporated milk into small mixing bowl. Remove lid and fill can with hot water, then pour into bowl with milk. Add yeast to milk-hot water mixture, breaking it up and stirring to dissolve. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes, then add 1⁄2 cup oil.
Beat egg yolks with whisk and set aside.
Sift flour into large bowl. Add sugar, salt and turmeric to the flour and mix. Then rub butter into the flour mixture. Add rice in same manner.
First temper egg yolks with a bit of the milk-water-yeast mixture, then add yolks back to the milk-water-yeast mixture. Mix, then pour into flour-turmeric mixture. Add raisins. Work thoroughly. Add more flour until dough is not sticky.
Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and allow dough to rise in a warm place for one hour; punch down. Allow to rise for another hour before shaping.
In meantime, start second batch of dough.

White Dough
Ingredients
1 large cake of yeast
1 (12-ounces) can evaporated milk
1 can of hot water
4 egg yolks, beaten
6 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter (1⁄2 pound),
room temperature
1⁄2 cup oil
1 (1-pound) box of golden raisins, soaked in hot water (Discard water once raisins are added to dough)
Pour can of evaporated milk into small mixing bowl. Remove lid and fill with can with hot water, then pour into bowl with milk. Add yeast to milk-hot water mixture, breaking it up and stirring to dissolve. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Then add 1⁄2 cup oil.
Beat egg yolks with whisk and set aside.
Sift flour into large bowl. Add sugar and salt and mix. Then rub butter into flour mixture.
First temper egg yolks with a bit of the milk-water-yeast mixture, then add yolks back to the milk-water-yeast mixture. Mix, then pour into flour mixture, add raisins and work thoroughly. Add more flour until dough is not sticky.
Cover white dough bowl with a towel and allow to rise for one hour in a warm place. Punch down and allow to rise for an additional hour.
Note: White dough does NOT contain rice as an ingredient.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Shaping dough: Score yellow dough into sixths and do the same with white dough. On floured board, place one portion of white dough and flatten into a round. Place flattened round of yellow dough on top. If using angel food cake pan, make hole in center of dough. Stretch white dough up and around yellow dough to wrap it around on outside and center of ring shape. Flip over, seal any seams and place in lightly greased or sprayed angel food cake pan. Remove any raisins that poke through top or sides of pan because they can burn. Pinch off a few pieces of white dough from remaining dough in bowl and roll into long, rod-shaped strands to make a cross or two to decorate top of bread. Repeat for remaining five loaves.
Brush tops of bread with a mixture of whole egg, 1⁄4 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Allow to rise in pan on tabletop for 20 minutes to 1⁄2 hour, until even with top of pan.
Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool somewhat, tapping pan to loosen paska before inverting and continuing to cool on wire rack. Serve as is or toasted and buttered.

(This story originally appeared in Living in Washington County, a publication of the Observer-Reporter. Photo: Robin Richards. They are republished with permission.)

Salmon with pistachio crust

By Scott Beveridge

Having been raised on Hamburger Helper, it took a trip a decade ago to America’s Northwest for me to discover salmon.

And, that it’s best eaten freshly cooked from the water and served on the sweet side.

That revelation arrived at a salmon bake in Juneau where the main course was served in a bourbon-molasses sauce. The clincher was an amazing salmon sandwich with apricot chutney spread at a restaurant in Hood River, Oregon.

Back here in Pittsburgh, a good fishmonger can be found at a number of locations with salmon that doesn’t taste fishy. Among the best are at the new Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson Township. This huge store is a destination in itself with prices ranging from those at Wal-mart to the finest gourmet supermarkets. (What its staff does with cheese is sinful)

That is where the ingredients were purchased today for this recipe for salmon with a pistachio crust:

Ingredients:

2 large salmon fillets (about 2 pounds total)
½ pound or more of shelled salted pistachios
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
Zest of one Navel orange
1 1/3 cups of orange juice
A few drizzles of olive oil
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

Salt and pepper the fish and then marinate it in a cup of orange juice for an hour in the refrigerator

Pulse the nuts and orange zest in a food processor before adding the olive oil, brown sugar and the 1/3 cup of juice to make a paste.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the fillets on a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Cover the fish with the paste, pressing the mixture down with a spoon. Top with fresh cracked pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Serves four.

Finding comfort with chicken and dumplings

Month of Meals: Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings, originally uploaded by stetted.

By Candy Diamond Berko

The skin on my grandmother’s hands was papery-thin. They fluttered around the kitchen, stirring this, slicing that, putting one dish after another into the oven. She really held it down. In my own kitchen, I also slice, stir and bake, but without the same skill or zest as my old granny. My hands don’t flutter. I definitely don’t hold it down.

Comfort food was her specialty. Comfort food is satisfying, yet simple; it brings back memories while also making new ones. It tastes familiar and calming. But, dinner has never been very calming for me. It’s always been a bit stressful, dealing with the fears of doing it wrong, making meals that everyone likes, and dealing with the complaints if they don’t. Plus, being a success in the kitchen is always difficult with my two kids running around and demanding constant attention. Then, there is the clean up afterward. Not very comforting! So why is it called comfort food again?

Last week as I was putting together my shopping list and planning my meals, I decided to try making chicken and dumplings. How was I supposed to pull this one off? If I could just find an easier way to make the dumplings…so, of course, I turned to the busy mom’s friend, allrecipes.com.

Wow, this recipe was going to be easy! You place 4-5 raw chicken breasts (cut up) into a crock-pot, along with one small can chicken broth, one can of cream of chicken soup and one can of cream of celery soup. Let that simmer for about 5 hours on high, and then get two cans of Giant Eagle brand buttermilk biscuit dough out of your fridge. This was my kind of recipe; four of the ingredients come from cans. Comfort.

As the kids woke from their naps they noticed me in the kitchen. My son said “I help, mom-mom.” My daughter got two chairs and they stood next to me breaking biscuit dough into little bite-size bits, talking and laughing while they worked. We placed the bits of dough into the crock-pot. Looks of pride painted their faces because they “helped” with dinner. Comfort.

Dinner simmered in the crock-pot for another 3 hours on high and then it was ready. I served the chicken and dumplings in bowls with vegetables on the side. Even my picky four-year old had seconds. The looks on everyone’s faces told me that I had succeeded in making an easy meal that was still delicious. It was then I realized my own definition of the term comfort food.

Here is the recipe if you would like to make this delicious, easy dinner:

4-5 raw cut up chicken breasts
one small can chicken broth
one can cream of celery soup
one can cream of chicken soup
2 cans of Giant Eagle brand buttermilk biscuit dough
season salt to taste
dill to taste
pepper to taste

Place chicken, broth, and the soups into crock-pot. Season to taste. Turn on high and let simmer for 5 hours. Break your biscuit dough into bite size pieces and place in crock pot. Let cook an additional 3 hours. This serves about 8, and costs about $1.25 per serving.

Candy Diamond Berko is a 2002 graduate of Point Park University, stay-it-home mom and former social worker.

A shepherd's pie for the sloth

This shepherd’s pie isn’t your British great-grandmother’s version that baked for hours in a slow oven from a sticky recipe cooked up in the Middle Ages. It's for lazy cooks with hearty appetites these days, a blimey good version that will give them more time to veg out.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 - 12 oz. jar of Heinz Home Style Gravy - Bistro Au Jus
1 - 1 lb. bag of frozen Birds Eye Stir-Fry Vegetables (sugar snap peas, carrots, onions and sliced mushrooms)
1 - 1 lb. bag of Ore-Ida Steam n’ Mash garlic seasoned potatoes (some milk and butter)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Break up and fry ground meat in a skillet with garlic, salt and pepper, drain and spread into an 8-by-11-inch casserole dish. Stir gravy into the beef before creating a second layer with the frozen vegetables. Cook potatoes in microwave and prepare according to the instructions on the bag. Evenly cover casserole with potatoes. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the potatoes brown to your liking.

The lobster slider is a winner

The anonymous chef and I attempted Saturday to pull off lobster sliders, a recipe for an alternative to grilled burgers that was featured last month on the Today Show.

It’s an expensive experiment because two lobster tails weighing slightly less than a pound cost $34 at Wholey's fish market in Pittsburgh’s Strip District.

“They’re delicious,” the chef said as she tore into a sandwich.

For bread, we slice a loaf of light and airy flatbread from Sunseri’s, a fantastic bakery that can be found, too, in the Strip. Dollops of mayo and thin slices of a garden fresh tomato are used to top off the sandwiches.

There is one problem, though, with this recipe – it lacks a bonding ingredient. That makes the patties difficult to turn over and hold their shape. So we toss an egg into the second batch that is shown in the photo, above. That probably isn’t the best idea for a solution. But who cares? It’s lobster.