A beer for our wonderful men and women of law enforcement, this stout is brewed with coffee beans and real doughnuts. The coffee compliments the roasted aromas of the barley malt. The doughnuts provide a lasting finish that leaves you wanting a whole box of those crispiest and creamiest of glazed doughnuts. Included are select pictures of the production. The grains were mashed with glazed and powdered sugar doughnuts and the beer steeped with freshly ground espresso at the end of the boil. This stout is very bitter with a touch of dough-nutty sweetness to balance and around 6.5% alcohol by volume. Given the high levels of sugar, alcohol, and tanning, this beer can age for quite some time. Vintage doughnuts anyone?
Carefully measuring the doughnut temperature for a proper mash
Glazed and powdered sugar doughnuts are mashed with the barley malt
Roasted coffee beans are added at the end of the boil to infuse
As the coffee & doughnut stout comes to a boil, a nice foam rises to the top, like the crema on a perfect espresso
The ability of food and beverage to transport the diner is truly amazing. A great dish will incorporate and excite all five senses, but insert some context, history, or emotion and a seemingly prosaic dish can become transcendent.
These are a specific regional style of tamale from South America (parts of Chile and Argentina) called humitas. Their hallmark is a husk and filling made from fresh corn, instead of dried husks and masa flour. This creates a very soft, pillowy texture when steamed. A bit of culantro and chile puree add to the authenticity. The humitas are topped with a dollop of whipped lime-sour cream and pepitas, spiced with ground cinnamon, coriander, and cumin, add an exciting texture.
It only fitting to enjoy regional foods with respective regional beverages. After all, the cuisine and the drink usually fueled the others’ evolution. A Chilean Carmenére has powerful fruit to hold up to the spice in the chile and pumpkin seeds. The spice notes add a compliment, and the acid level a nice contrast to the buttery corn puree.
And so with context, a traditional dish, created with precision and thoughtfulness, can transport you from the dinner table to the other side of the world.
These amazing photos are the work of Michael Boehmer.
Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!
Stone Soup from Mike Boehmer on Vimeo.
We’ve all heard the story of “Stone Soup.” The European folktale tells of a band of strangers who come into town carrying nothing but a pot. After kindly asking the townsfolk for any spare food they might have, they’re greeted with nothing but reject and humiliation. The strangers start a fire in the middle of the town and begin boiling a stone inside the kettle. Intrigued by what they might be cooking, the townsfolk shuffle over. They all provide a personal contribution in the form of meat, seasonings, spices, herbs, and vegetables. Before too long the stone soup becomes a hearty and flavorful stew incorporating the personalities of everyone in town, and the whole village eats as one.
But stone soup is not simply a folktale. A single restaurant in Oaxaca still makes a dish of pre-Hispanic origin. The restaurant is simply named “Caldo de Piedra” or “Stone Soup.” The soup they serve starts as raw ingredients, usually seafood, vegetables, and herbs, combined with aromatic broth. The items are placed in a dried gourd and burning hot river stones are added to the natural bowl. The stones boil the broth and cook the ingredients perfectly in front of the diner. This video demonstrates a modern, kitchen-ready version of Caldo de Piedra.
As I mentioned above, the traditional cooking vessel is a dried gourde but wood works just as well because both are natural insulators. Gourd or wood will expand and contract gently, without cracking and splitting, unlike glass or ceramic, and the heat from the stones is not quickly transmitted to the outside of the bowl, unlike metal. This technique is ancient. Before the invention of metal cookware, people boiled liquids with white hot stones added to a wooden or other natural vessel. This is the age old method of boiling soup and making wort to ferment beer.
The stones cook all the ingredients perfectly and lend an earthy, mineral character to the broth. The presentation is dramatic, the flavor is incredible. Considering all the current discourse (and my chosen association) with post-modern cuisine, pre-modern dishes like this connect the cook with ancient methods of food preparation, creating a better understanding and appreciation of food and eating.
This amazing video was shot by Mike Boehmer. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!
Donuts are amazingly versatile and there are no rules with this sweet American favorite. This is another transformational recipe: Donut ice cream. Ice cream is infused with donuts and then frozen into a donut shape. You can’t have donut ice cream without a thick layer of crunchy rainbow sugar sprinkles. Espresso shortbread gives textural contrast and, conveniently, looks like coffee grounds.
These stunning photographs were taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!
Introducing the first of a series of mouthwatering homebrews created by myself and my brewing partner Trevor. This is a Belgian witbier with a twist. Belgian wit contains a mash of about half barley and half wheat. Wheat gives the beer its characteristic lemony tang, bolstered by the addition of bitter orange peel and cracked coriander. We’ve added to this brew orange flower honey and a chamomile blossoms. The honey increased the alcohol to 6% by volume and adds body in addition to the enticing honey aroma. The chamomile is subtle but provides another interesting layer of flavor to this wit. Cheers!
This stunning photograph was taken by Mike Boehmer.
Mike is a Chicago-based photographer and a regular contributor to The Windy Pixel. Please visit www.mikeboehmer.com for more fantastic photography!
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