04 April


Hawaiian Beer Bread

Hawaiian Beer Bread

April 7: National Beer Day

Although we are not big beer drinkers, we still enjoyed visiting the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. Both tours featured historical displays, views of the huge kettles and tanks in the production rooms, high-speed packaging centers, free drink samples at the bars and gift shops with branded merchandise. We did not buy any beer cookbooks there but found many recipes online. In our adaptation of a quick bread recipe, we used Hawaiian beer. As an alternative to imbibing, bake beer bread for a buttery buzz on National Beer Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 12-ounce beer at room temperature (we have used Kona Brewing Co.’s Fire Rock Pale Ale and Longboard Island Lager and Primo Island Lager before)
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ cup sugar (we used C&H brand, granulated white)
  • ¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

Directions

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together several times in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar. Add the beer and blend the batter well.

Hawaiian Beer Bread

Pour the batter into a well-greased loaf pan. Pour the melted butter on the top.

Hawaiian Beer Bread

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for an hour. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Take the bread out of the loaf pan and blot out the excess butter with paper towels. Put on a wire rack to cool for about 30 minutes before slicing.

Hawaiian Beer Bread

Notes

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu

April 4: National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day

At a get-together with our Ukrainian friend, Olga W., we sampled regional Russian cuisine, such as pierogi, borscht and Chicken Kiev. She mentioned that by adding ham and cheese to the rolled chicken cutlets, Chicken Kiev becomes Chicken Cordon Bleu. While the recipe sounds French in origin, this “blue ribbon” dish is actually a 20th century American invention inspired by European roulades and breaded meats. We baked instead of fried our version of Chicken Cordon Bleu and coated it in panko for a crunchier texture. It is a nice change for a chicken meal and most appropriate to make on National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from WiseGeek)

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts, thinly sliced and pounded to ¼-inch thick
  • 4 slices ham
  • 4 slices Swiss or Gruyère cheese
  • ¼ cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
  • 2 teaspoons thyme
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • olive oil

Directions

Prepare the chicken. Place the ham and cheese on top of each slice of chicken. Tightly roll them up, securing with a toothpick.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Make an assembly line of flour, egg and panko (pre-mix the panko with thyme and garlic powder). Dredge the chicken in the flour, then egg and finally panko. Place in a baking pan with the seams side down. Drizzle some olive oil over the chicken.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink inside. Remove from the oven. Discard the toothpicks before serving. Serve whole or slice in half to expose the ham and melting cheese.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Notes

  • Sometimes a little gravy is poured over the chicken before serving. To make the gravy, bring ½ cup chicken broth to a boil in a suacepan. Reduce the heat and whisk in 1 cup heavy cream. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little dried oregano to taste. Stir until the gravy is thickened. Spoon over the Chicken Cordon Bleu.
  • Read about the background of Chicken Cordon Bleu on the eHow and Food Timeline websites.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

April 2: National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

The peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwich is the quintessential school lunchbox meal. It is quick and easy to prepare, transports well in a paper sack or lunchbox, is affordable and environmentally-friendly. PB&J sandwiches are so popular that one survey says that the average American will have eaten 1,500 of PB&J sandwiches before graduating from high school!

Highlander ate PB&J sandwiches often as a kid. And once in a while, Islander did, too, as a break from her bento boxes. Sometimes, we still pack PB&J sandwiches for picnics and road trips or make them when we are lazy to cook a lunch on the weekends.

For some North American nostalgia and for National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, make and eat a PB&J sandwich.

Recipe

  • Two slices of bread (white or wheat)
  • Peanut butter
  • Jelly (grape, strawberry or another favorite flavor)

Directions

Spread peanut butter on side slice of bread. Spread jelly on the other.  Sandwich together. Slice diagonally or cut off the crusts, if desired.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Notes

  • Learn more about the history of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich from The Food Timeline website.
  • Peanut butter and jelly is a classic combination on many snacks besides sandwiches, such as cookies, cakes, bars, tarts and candies.

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