Appetizers: Beer-Boiled Valentine's Shrimp

Soup: Saint Lioba Beer and Mushroom Soup

Entrée: Alaskan Pale Paella

Side Dish: Asparagus with Honey-Garlic Sauce

Dessert: Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake

Beer-Boiled Valentine's Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 cups Beer

2 Small onions; sliced

1 Clove garlic

1 Bay leaf

3 Whole peppercorns

2 Celery ribs

2 teaspoons Salt

½ Lemon; quartered

2 lb Shrimp; cleaned & deveined

Directions:

Pour beer into a large pot and add onion, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, celery, and salt. Bring to a boil; simmer 10 minutes. Add lemon and shrimp to Budweiser beer. Simmer 12 minutes.

Remove from heat, let cool, and drain. Peel off shells and chill well.

Saint Lioba Beer and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons oil of choice

2 cups mushrooms, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

6 cans beer

1 bay leaf

2 eggs

4 tablespoons heavy cream

chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

grated Gruyere cheese

Directions:

Pour the oil into a soup pot. Add the mushrooms and onions. Saute them lightly for a few minutes over low heat. Add the beer and bay leaf and raise the heat to medium. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer slowly for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, in a bowl beat and blend well the eggs and cream. Add 6 tablespoons hot soup to the egg mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the soup, mixing well. Add the chopped parsley, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Reheat the soup over medium heat and continue stirring for a few minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve the soup hot. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top of each serving.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Alaskan Pale Paella

Ingredients:

1 bottle Alaskan Pale Ale

10 oz. water

8 slices bacon

3/4 cup chopped onion

5 cloves chopped garlic

1 chopped serano pepper (optional)

1 2/3 cup long grain rice

1/2 tsp saffron

9 oz. chicken broth

16 oz. can chopped tomatoes

1 chopped fresh tomato

1 dozen clams or other shellfish (oysters, crab, mussels)

12 oz. liquid from steamed clams/shellfish

2 Tbsp parsley, chopped

½ Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cilantro

1 tsp paprika (or Eritrean chili powder)

1 tsp salt (optional)

Directions:

Steam the clams and/or other shellfish in 6 oz. Alaskan Pale Ale & 10 oz. water until open. Set aside and reserve liquid.

Cook the diced bacon in paella pan or large pan with lid that is suitable for stove top and oven. Add onion, garlic and pepper to bacon and grease. Cook until soft. Add rice and saffron to pan and cook while stirring for 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and 12 oz. of the reserved steaming liquid and bring to a boil. Arrange clams/shellfish on top of rice mixture. Bake covered 15 - 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. or uncovered 20 minutes at 375 degrees F. Do not stir. Serve with Alaskan Pale Ale.

Asparagus with Honey-Garlic Sauce from the National Honey Board

Ingredients:

1 pound asparagus

¼ cup Dijon mustard

¼ cup dark ale

3 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon crushed dried thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon salt

Tip: Try this receipe with a porter ale for a boost in taste – also works as a glaze for baked acorn squash!

Guinness Stout Chocolate Cake

Stout Cake Frosting

1 pound milk chocolate chips

2 tablespoons salted butter

5 tablespoons stout

5 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 8-inch springform pans and dust with 1/4 cup cocoa.

In heavy saucepan or microwave oven, heat butter, Guinness and 2/3 cup cocoa until melted. Cool.

Sift dry ingredients together, add Guinness-cocoa mixture and beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Add eggs and sour cream; beat 2 minutes on medium. Pour batter into pans and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted into middle comes out clean.

Place pans on wire rack, cool 10 minutes, remove sides and cool completely before frosting.

Use a long serrated knife to even cake tops. with a flexible spatula, spread each layer with frosting, stack layers, and cover sides.

610 calories, 33 grams fat (49 percent of calories from fat), 96 milligrams cholesterol, 8 grams protein, 76 grams carbohydrate, 385 milligrams sodium.

Makes 12 servings.

Stout Cake Frosting

Soften chocolate chips and butter in double boiler until chips are soft but still hold their shape. Remove pan from above hot water. Using an electric mixer, beat chocolate and butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in stout and milk, one tablespoon of each at a time, until mixture is soft and shiny (you may not need all the liquids).

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