Whole Wheat Beer Crepes with Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, and Spinach

I think we've almost made it to grilling weather, which means I'll be shelving my Sunday night breakfast for the lure of the charcoal grill. I've tried my hand at making a lot of whole grain breakfast foods - English muffins, biscuits, donuts, waffles, and pancakes so I feel good about moving on to flame-cooked meals. And so I present to you what may be my last hurrah, whole wheat beer crepes.

I'm especially pleased with this recipe because I was able to incorporate one of my homebrews, a California Common-style beer (a style defined by Anchor Steam), making a recipe that was multiple levels of homemade. Beer not only brings flavor to these crepes, but the carbonation makes them especially light. I used my California Common because it has a presence without taking over, meshing nicely with the whole wheat flour and providing the perfect canvas for savory flavors to shine. My basement is full of even more styles of beer I've brewed - hefeweizen, chestnut and apple ales, a pumpkin dubbel, a dry and sweet stout, an ESB, and a porter, all of which I could be appropriate choices with the right fillings. Make sure to choose a beer you really like that actually has flavor (read: no mass-produced American Adjunct Lagers) because it is what will make these crepes truly spectacular. With such a homebrew cache in my basement, this recipe is sure to make a reappearance, its next incarnation probably a dessert concoction filled with fruit and Nutella.

Like all of the recipes I've made before in this series, I made a big batch and froze the extras to enjoy for a couple of weeks. So far they've been two spectacular weekday breakfasts - the first time filled with cream cheese, strawberries, honey, and almonds and then second simply filled with peanut butter and banana. They can be enjoyed at room temperature, but a quick zap in the microwave turns makes for an especially warm and cozy meal.

Whole Wheat Beer Crepes
adapted from Epicurious
makes about 12 crepes

3 large eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup beer
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. Whisk the eggs until they are combined, then whisk in 1 cup of the milk and the beer. Add the flour to the liquids, sprinkling it over the surface as you whisk to avoid lumps. Add the salt and oil, then whisk the batter vigorously for 3 to 5 minutes so all is thoroughly incorporated. Let the batter site for 1 hour.

2. Heat a 10-inch skillet, perferably non-stick, over medium heat. Brush it with butter, and when it's hot but not smoking, pour a scant 1/3 cup of batter into the center of the skillet and rotate it so the batter covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, pouring out any excess batter. Cook the crêpe until it is just golden on one side, 1 to 2 minutes, turn it and cook until it is golden on the other side, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate, and keep warm by covering with aluminum foil. Continue until all of the batter is used. If the crêpes are thicker than you'd like, thin the batter with additional milk, whisking it in gently.

Sausage, Mushroom, and Spinach Filling with Dijon Mustard Sauce

makes enough for 2 crepes/1 serving

2 small sausage links, casing removed

4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 ounces fresh spinach, cut into smaller pieces if leaves are large

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, diluted with 1 tablespoon water

1. Preheat a pan over medium heat. Add sausage and break into small pieces. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking into pieces, until the sausage has rendered some of its fat. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted, 2 to 4 minutes.

2. Pour thinned mustard over sausage mixture and stir to coat thoroughly. Cook just another minute or two or until sauce is cooked down, but filling is not dry. Divide filling evenly between two crepes and serve promptly.

Beer-Braised Cabbage

Despite a decidedly English last name, I have a lot of German heritage. That, combined spending my formative years in Wisconsin, has left me with a deep love for the perfect pair of sausage and cabbage. Although sometimes my cabbage cookery can get a bit more exotic, there's still nothing better bratwurst and sauerkraut or slow-cooked cabbage and kielbasa. Unfortunately, there's not always time for fermentation or hours of braising when you've got a hankering for some cabbage (or one from your CSA box that needs to be used), but this recipe is the perfect solution to that problem. Adapted from a recipe from the paragon of precision cooking, America's Test Kitchen, this uses just a few common ingredients to turn cabbage into a flavorful side in just a few minutes. With so few ingredients, even the choice of beer is important here; more intensely flavored beers could become bitter in this recipe, so a mild beer is the best choice. Being the beer snob that I am, I still couldn't use a mass-produced American adjunct lager, opting instead for a mild craft beer (Three Floyds Pride and Joy Mild Ale). The butter and reduced beer make this silky and just a bit rich, but the mustard and vinegar accents maintain a sharpness that cuts through the fattiness of the accompanying sausage. As frigid temperatures being to make their entrance, this soul-satisfying dish will be most welcome at your winter table, the perfect excuse to indulge in some rich sausage and a frosty mug of beer.

Beer-Braised Cabbage
adapted from America's Test Kitchen Cooking for Two 2010
serves 2

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, minced
1/2 cup beer (mild American lager, etc.)
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 small head green or red cabbage (12 ounces), cored and sliced thin
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the beer, mustard, and thyme, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the cabbage and vinegar, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is wilted and tender, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Jim's Irish Brown Bread

I'm having some family over to watch the Packer game tomorrow and will be making reuben pizza. I'll have some corned beef and cabbage left over for reubens a bit later in the week, so I decided to make a loaf of Jim's Irish Brown Bread from My Bread to construct my reubens, as well as serve alongside some soup I plan on making this week. An added bonus is the fact that I'll get rid of the last, lonely Guinness that has been sitting in my refrigerator for months after purchasing a 6-pack for some cooking projects (I'm a local beer girl). Just like the rest of Jim Lahey's breads, this is incredibly simple and delicious. It's the last of his recipes I had bookmarked to try as soon as possible, but after all the wonderful breads I've made so easily from My Bread, you can be sure I'll be back to try more recipes sometime soon.

Jim's Irish Brown Bread
from My Bread by Jim Lahey

2.25 c. (300 grams) bread flour
3/4 c. (100 grams) whole wheat flour
1 t. (6 grams) table salt
1 T. (5 grams) wheat bran
1/4 t. (1 grams) instant or other active dry yeast
3/4 c. (175 grams) Guinness Stout, at room temperature (about 72 degrees)
3/4 c. (175 grams) well-shaken buttermilk, at room temperature
Additional wheat bran or flour for dusting

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, wheat bran, and yeast. Add the beer and buttermilk and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.

2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Using lightly floured hands or a bowl scraper or spatula, lift the edges of the dough in toward the center. Nudge and tuck in the edges of the dough to make it round.

3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran or flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.

4. Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F, with a rack positioned in the lower third, and place a covered 4.5- to 5.5-quart heavy pot in the center of the rack.

5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the tea towel and quickly but gently invert the dough into the pot, seam side up. (Use caution-the pot will be very hot). Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep chestnut color but not burnt, 15 to 30 minutes more. Use a heatproof spatula or pot holders to carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly.