Beer for Dinner

• 5 to 6 chicken leg quarters
• 2 tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups parboiled rice
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) bock beer
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 can (16 ounces) red or pink beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Coat chicken all over with jerk seasoning. In a large pan with lid, warm oil over medium heat.

Cook chicken in two batches, turning frequently until well-browned, about 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Remove chicken to plate. Pour out all but two tablespoons of pan drippings.

Add onion, chiles, ginger, garlic and salt to remaining drippings in pan. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until onion is lightly browned. Stir in rice and cook for 1 more minute. Add beer, coconut milk, beans and half of cilantro. Return chicken to pot along with any accumulated juices.

Bring chicken mixture to boil, cover pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 to 35 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir in remaining cilantro.

Serves 4

Thanks to Lew Bryson

Labels: beans, chicken, chiles, cilantro, coconutmilk, garlic, ginger, jerkseasoning, oliveoil, onion, rice

Posted by Steve at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

• 2 cans Red Beans ( black-eyed peas also work )
• 1/2 pound smoked sausage ( the smokier the better )
• 1 medium to large onion, chopped
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped ( too much will make it bitter )
• 2 green onions ( if you have them )
• 1 rib of celery, chopped ( if you have it )
• 1 tsp minced garlic ( I usually get it in the little jar )
• salt, pepper, red pepper, tabasco (or just Tony's if you have it)
• thyme and parsley ( if you have them )
• a little beer ( if you're drinking one or have one handy )
• a little vegetable oil
• uncooked rice

Rinse out the Red beans in their cans and fill the cans with water, set aside. Chop up all that needs to be chopped up ( including sausage ) and get out your trusty deep black iron skillet or pot. Put enough oil to wet the bottom of the pot and start frying the sausage. After about a 1 min or so, season the sausage really well with the salt and pepper ( esp pepper ). When the sausage is about 1/2 done, stir in the onions, bell pepper, and celery. Stir fry it all until the sausage is done and the vegetables are limp. ( push the sausage to the side of the skillet if it cooks too fast and focus on the vegetables ). Pour in the beans and water, and add about another can of water ( cover all the contents and leave burner at frying setting ). Add the garlic, a few shakes of tabasco, a little ( about 2 tablespoons ) beer, a pinch of thyme, and about 1/4 cup parsley. While the mixture comes to a boil, start the rice on another burner.

Keep the Red beans at a raging simmer, and stir often. When the rice is done, the beans should be about done. Cook the beans down to the desired consistancy, and squash a few beans on the bottom for a more paste like texture. Serve beans over rice with a little more pepper sprinkled on top.

Serves 3.

Thanks to JoyofCookingGuide.com

Labels: beans, celery, garlic, hot, onion, peppers, rice, sausage, tabasco

Posted by Steve at 12:57 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

• 1 package chicken thighs (6 count)
• 1/2 package Hilshire Farms Polish Kielbasa (or other smoked sausage), sliced
• 1/2 bell pepper, chopped
• 5 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 large white onions, chopped (DO NOT use a food processor)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 2 cups white rice (regular white rice. NOT Minute rice!!!)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 12oz beer (Budweiser works fine)
• flour to coat chicken
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Rosemary
• 1 teaspoon Thyme
• A handful of chopped parsley (hard to put too much)
• Salt to taste
• Lots of cayenne pepper

Start off by washing the chicken and placing it skin side down on a plate (you can remove the skin if you want). Now, depending on how spicy you want it, coat the chicken with Cayenne pepper until very red (I use a LOT of Cayenne in mine). Don't worry about getting it too hot, since this is the majority of the pepper you are going to add and it will cook into the rest of the dish. Turn the chicken pieces over and lightly coat the skin side. Let sit for 15 minutes or so to soak it all up.

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large heavy cast iron or aluminum pot (don't use thin aluminum or stainless steel since the rice will tend to stick and burn if you're not really careful). Place the flour in a paper bag (season the flour lightly with salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, etc). Place a couple of pieces of chicken at a time into the bag and shake to coat.

Fry the chicken in the oil until golden brown. Don't worry about cooking it all the way through just yet. Remove the chicken. Now place the onions, celery, garlic and bellpepper into the pot (along with a bit more oil if necessary) and saute them until the onions are transparent, scraping the bottom of the pot often. Add the rosemary, thyme and parsley and cook for a minute or so.

Place the sausage slices, chicken, and a little water into the pot and mix well with the vegetables. Turn heat low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes (until the chicken is tender). Stir the mixture frequently, always scraping the bottom to keep things from burning (break the chicken up a bit with the spatula as it cooks. It should break up naturally as the dish cooks, but this just helps things a little).

When the chicken is cooked, add the washed rice and stir it into everything for a couple of minutes. Pour the warm beer and the water in and stir things for another minute or so. Taste it at this point and adjust the salt if necessary. Now, keeping the heat low, cover the pot and cook until the rice is tender (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour). Stir the mixture every now and then, scraping the bottom of the pot.

Thanks to joyofcookingguide.com

Labels: cayenne, celery, chicken, garlic, hot, kielbasa, onions, peppers, rice, sausage

Posted by Steve at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

• 5 to 6 chicken leg quarters, skin removed
• 2 tablespoons dry Jamaican jerk seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon peeled and chopped fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups parboiled rice
• 1 bottle bock beer (12 ounces)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 can red or pink beans (16 ounces), rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro, divided

Coat chicken all over with jerk seasoning.

In large Dutch oven or other large pan with lid, warm oil over medium heat. Cook chicken in two batches, turning frequently, until well browned, about 8-10 minutes per batch. Remove chicken to plate. Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons pan oil.

To drippings in pan, add onion, chiles, ginger, garlic and salt. Cook, stirring 3-4 minutes, until onion is lightly browned. Stir in rice and cook for additional minute. Add beer, coconut milk, beans and half of cilantro. Return chicken to pot along with any accumulated juices.

Bring chicken mixture to a boil, cover pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30-35 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. Stir in remaining cilantro.

Serves 6.

Nutrition Information, Per Serving: 620 calories; 20 g fat; 8 g saturated fat; 55 g carbohydrate

– from the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Kane County Chronicle

Labels: beans, chicken, cilantro, garlic, ginger, hot, milk, onion, rice

Posted by Steve at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post