March 17, 2012

Guinness Brownies

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Guinness Brownies

Guinness Brownies

March 17: Feast Day of St. Patrick

Slainte! St. Patrick’s Day is a time to celebrate Highlander’s heritage. He has traced his ancestry to the Ulster-Scots (Scots-Irish). Today is also a time to eat brownies boozed up with beer from Dublin, Ireland—Guinness. The dry Irish stout, mixed with a “trinity” of chocolate (unsweetened, semi-sweet and white),  makes this dessert dense and delicious! Shake some shamrock sprinkles on top for an edible emerald color contrast. Get into the “spirit” of St. Patrick’s Day and indulge in Guinness brownies.

Recipe

(Adapted from Detroit News)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • ¾ cup unsweetened/baking cocoa powder (we used Nestle Toll House brand)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 ounces (8 squares) of unsweetened chocolate (we used Baker’s brand)
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips (we used Nestle Toll House brand premiere white morsels)
  • 6 tablespoons butter (we used Kerrygold brand Irish unsalted butter)
  • 1 cup sugar (we lessened the amount to ¾ cup)
  • 4 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cup Guinness beer, room temperature
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used Ghirardelli brand)
  • candy shamrock sprinkles (optional)

Directions

Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with foil. Mist with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside. Melt together the unsweetened chocolate squares, white chocolate chips and butter. 

Guinness Brownies

Stir until smooth. Beat the eggs. Add the sugar. Mix in the melted chocolate. 

Guinness Brownies

Gradually add the flour-cocoa mixture. Stir in the Guinness beer and blend well. The batter will be thin. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with a spatula.

Guinness Beer

Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool completely. Slice with a plastic knife. While the brownies are still warm, sprinkle candy shamrocks (optional). Yield: 24 square brownies.

Guinness Brownies

Notes 

  • The background in the final food photo above features Highlander’s family tartan, a plaid with green, blue and white colors.
  • Instead of the shamrock sprinkles, dust the Guinness brownies with powdered sugar before serving.
  • Search our blog for more brownie and Irish-inspired recipes.

 

December 10, 2011

Lager Chicken Wings

Posted by HI Cookery under 12 December | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Lager Chicken Wings

 Lager Chicken Wings

December 10: National Lager Day 

Islander’s Uncle Ernie B. loved lager for pau hana time and parties. His particular favorite was Primo beer, one of a few Hawaiian-style lagers made on the islands (a brewery used to be near his house in Aiea, Oahu) with a touch of sugar cane from the local plantations. So he and his other beer buddies were disappointed when Primo was discontinued for a decade.

“Hawaii’s original beer” has an interesting history. The Honolulu Brewing and Malting Company was formed around 1898 and launched the Primo lager brand in 1901. Prohibition during 1920-1933 halted operations. Since then, Hawaiian Brewing Corporation, Schlitz and Stroh brewing companies, respectively, acquired ownership of Primo. In 1997, Stroh stopped manufacturing the beer and, two years, later was bought out by Pabst.

Pabst brought back Primo in 2007. The lager sold in-state is produced on Kauai by Keoki Brewing Company, which was later  acquired by Hawaii Nui (formerly Mehana) Brewing Company. Today, Primo is an iconic beer brand and is a sponsor at surf contests and supporter of Hawaiian culture conservation organizations.

For National Lager Day, we used Primo beer and Hawaiian honey in a marinade to make Lager Chicken Wings. Okole maluna!

Recipe

(Adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients

  • 8 chicken wings
  • 2 cups lager (we used Primo Hawaiian beer)
  • 1 tablespoon honey (we used Big Island Bees brand Macadamia Nut Blossom flavor)
  • pinch of salt (we used Hawaiian black lava salt)
  • 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Soak wooden skewers in water then spear them through the chicken wings. In a bowl, pour the lager. Season with salt.

Lager Chicken Wings

Add the honey, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Lager Chicken Wings

Grill the chicken wings, basting with a bit of the liquid from the marinade, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Or broil the chicken in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, basting occasionally with the marinade and turning once, until cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the chicken from the grill or broiler onto a platter. Remove the skewers (optional) and serve hot.

Lager Chicken Wings

Notes

  • We halved the recipe above to feed just the two of us. Other chicken pieces (legs, thighs, breasts, etc.) instead of wings may be used with or without skin.
  • The original recipe for Lager Chicken Wings is a bit bland. Seasoning the skewered meat with salt (we use Hawaiian sea salt) and pepper during grilling helps to improve the taste somewhat. Also brushing lightly with soy sauce (we use Aloha Shoyu brand) adds flavor and a brown beer coloring to the chicken.