Cooking Posts - 2020

This will be my final backlog post since I revived this blog in Feb 2019!  From here on out, all  posts will be brand new content. In the meantime, please enjoy my cooking adventures and misc. food-related photos from the start of 2020 to present. 

French Onion Soup

Deschutes Brewery - The Abyss, 2017 Reserve

For Leah's 2019 Christmas present I got her two bottles of relatively rare craft beer. The first of the two was the limited edition The Abyss from Deschutes Brewery, an imperial stout aged in a mix of bourbon, wine, and oak barrels. It was outstanding, but not the absolute best of its type I've ever had (scroll down for that). 

From the Deschutes website: "A deep, dark imperial Stout, The Abyss has almost immeasurable depth and complexity. Hints of molasses, licorice, and other alluring flavors make it something not just to quaff, but contemplate."

From my own notes after tasting: "Aroma of leather, raisins, cherry, port wine. Jet black slick pour, thin brown head. Complex flavor, coffee finish." 4.5 / 5

Homemade Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Firestone Walker - Stickee Monkee, 2015

What a beer. The best barrel-aged expression I've ever had and truly a memorable experience. 

From the Firestone Walker website: "A Belgian Quad by recipe, but aging it in spirits barrels garners its own category: Central Coast Quad. A beer formulated to sit on the sweeter and malty side so that we could utilize it for blending. Turbinado brown sugar from Mexico and Belgian candi sugar add wonderful molasses flavor. It has a full body and lush texture with barrel expression all over this beer: toasted oak, coconut, leather, and cigar tobacco."

From my own notes: "Sweet, caramel, vanilla, raisins, port wine, leather. Super smooth, almost no head, coffee-brown color. Incredible." 5 / 5

Paella

Thanks to my wonderful in-laws for this delicious dinner!

Grillmaster

2 oz Añejo Tequila

2 tsp BBQ Sauce

1/2 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Agave Nectar

Chipotle Chili Powder & Salt (Rim)

I enjoyed reading a cocktail book from Casa Migos (the tequila brand famously founded by George Clooney) while visiting my wife's family at Thanksgiving. I had saved a few recipes that stood out to me, including this fun cocktail that incorporated barbecue flavors. 

Steak Salad

Manicotti

Sadly, due to the pandemic, we were not able to get together with my family for Easter this year. I still made a point of cooking the annual manicotti recipe, which was just a little less delicious without the company of my family.

Lemon Cake

One unexpected result of the quarantine has been an unfortunate uptick in mine and Leah's sweet tooth. Craving a dessert and remembering that we had a brick of cream cheese in the freezer, I made the executive decision to bake a lemon cake with lemon-cream cheese-buttercream frosting. It was absolutely stellar, and gave us sweet sustenance for 8 delicious evenings.