Beerbanero Sauce

Essentially what we have here is a barbecue sauce that I made with Guinness and Habanero's. I was quite pleased with how this turned out. Had that classic barbecue sauce flavor with a nice kick to it with the addition of the habanero's. I just threw the sauce on some chicken breasts and baked them in my cast iron. Worked out really well!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, small dice
• 3 habaneros, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 cup Guinness 
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

Heat a medium sauce pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and habanero's, saute until  fragrant and the habaneros are soft. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until combined. Allow to cook until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Use a immersion blender (blender or food processor) and blend the sauce until smooth. Let cool and refrigerate or put it on your favorite protein.

Directions for BBQ Skillet Chicken

Heat oven to 375°F.

Pound the chicken breast thin, to about 1/2" and season both sides with salt & pepper. Heat a cast iron pan over medium high heat and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add chicken, skin side down, and saute until brown, about 5 minutes. Flip chicken over and top with BBQ sauce, transfer to the oven and bake until the Thermapen registers 165°F. Remove from oven, slice and drizzle with some more Beerbanero Sauce, Enjoy!

Happy Valley Cheesesteak

Well call up Pat and Geno down in Philly and let them know that there is a new cheesesteak in town. Then also let them know it was made by a diehard Pittsburgh Fan (LETS GO PENS!!). This is a pretty classic cheesesteak, but I did have to give it some of my own personal touches. I used some thinly sliced Delmonico Steak, sauteed onions, peppers, jalapeno (for good measure) and I made a Beer and Cheddar sauce. Of course, if I'm going to make a Pennsylvania sandwich, I better use some Pennsylvania Beer to make the sauce...probably my favorite cooking beer, Yuengling. I was really pleased with how this turned out...of course if I wanted to make it out of this world, I would have to give it the Pittsburgh touch by adding french fries and coleslaw...but I figured I'd just keep it simple. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup beer, preferably a lager
• 2 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 rounded tablespoon of all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
• Few drops of Worcestershire sauce
• Few drops of hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 Vidalia Onion, halved & sliced
• 1 Red Pepper, halved & sliced
• 1 Green Pepper, halved & sliced
• 1 Jalapeno, seeded, halved & sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 lbs Delmonico Steak, thinly sliced
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 hoagie rolls

Directions

Heat beer in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. In a separate bowl mix the cheddar cheese with the flour. Then whisk in shredded cheddar & flour mixture, spicy brown mustard, worcestershire sauce and hot sauce into warmed beer. Whisk until cheese is melted and smooth. Keep warm on low.

Melt butter in a large sautee pan over medium heat. Add in onions, peppers and jalapeno and sautee until caramelized, stirring occasionally for about 12-15 min.

For the beef, I asked the butcher at the grocery store to slice the delmonico steak as thin as possible (If they don't sell delmonico's, get a ribeye). Don't be afraid to tell them what you're using it for, that will give them an idea for how thin to make it. While the butcher did a good job, I actually ended up slicing the sliced steak into strips. 

Heat the olive oil in a large sautee pan, or use a griddle if you have one, over medium high heat. Add in the beef and sautee until cooked through about 7 min. Season the beef with salt and pepper.

Slice open the rolls and evenly distribute the beef into them. Add the caramelized onions, peppers and jalapeno and then top with a generous amount of the cheddar beer sauce. Have plenty of napkins on hand!

Since it's that time of year, I figured I'd post my favorite hockey goal of the season so far. GENO!! GENO!! GENO!!