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Craft beer is currently experiencing a renaissance in the U.S., a fact that Holl discusses in the introduction and Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery and editor of The Oxford Companion to Beer, brings up in his foreword. After describing the robust brewing scene that existed in this country at the turn of the 20th century, Oliver writes, “Over the twentieth century we turned cheese into plastic, bread into chemical sponge, and beer back into water. They called it ‘progress,’ but something was missing: flavor. . . . American beer became simple fizz, largely flavorless, another highly engineered modern food product, sparkling the most pallid yellow.” In the 1980s, however, interest in both beer and food began to increase again. “Today, the United States can boat the most vibrant beer culture in the world,” Oliver writes. “So the question is simple: we’ve got great beer and we’ve got great food—how do we put them together and have a good time doing it?”
The answer, of course (according to Oliver), is this cookbook. And you could certainly do worse: the book is beautifully photographed, the recipes are clearly explained and mostly fairly simple, and Holl’s brief descriptions of the featured breweries are well written and to the point. The recipes are from brewpubs, breweries, chefs, and “beer-centric restaurants” from all over the country, and cover a wide range of categories, including brunch, appetizers, sauces and spreads, salads, sandwiches and burgers, soups and stews, entrees, side dishes, and desserts. There’s a solid 300 pages of recipes, each featuring beer pairing suggestions and a paragraph about the brewery that created the dish, followed by several pages of suggested road trips and beer festivals.
Sat 9/14, 3 PM, Anderson’s Two Doors East, 123 W. Jefferson, Naperville, 630-355-2665
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a large baking sheet.2. Mix the spent grain, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the olive oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the oats, cranberries, and walnuts, and mix until thoroughly incorporated.3. Roll walnut-size balls of the dough in your hand and place two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to three days.
