Eat Local Challenge: Weekend's Eating

Saturday night was St. Arnold's Pub Crawl...can't get much more local than that! 5 local bars took part in the ramble: McGonigels Mucky Duck, The Hobbit Cafe, Mezzanine Lounge, and finished off at Stag's Head. St. Arnold's Oktoberfest was the featured beer. Great beer and a well run event. St. Arnold's does a great job supporting Houston events, and is dedicated to giving

back to the community.

Inspired I guess, St. Arnold's seemed to be the theme for Sunday's cooking.

Hatterman's eggs for breakfast, then I went to work baking some Beer Bread with St. Arnold's Divine Reserve #7, a Weizenbock beer. I grabbed the recipe from another blogger...quick and easy.

Here is her recipe:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour (I used half Stone Ground Wheat (from Texas!) and half St. Arthur's Organic Unbleached Flour)

1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

1 Tsp Salt

12oz. Beer

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

Egg Glaze:1 egg & 2 tsp (10 ml) water, beaten

Heat oven to 375F. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in beer and mix just until combined. Batter will be thick. Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan, brush with egg glaze if desired, and bake until golden brown and a tooth

pick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool 10 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Will keep for 1 to 2 days stored in a plastic bag or airtight container. May be frozen.

A St. Arnold's Inspired Dinner:

Chicken Burger with Sauteed Greens

The Ground Chicken came from Fran's Fryers. My husband mixed

in some local Texas-Texas Salsa and onion to keep the meat moist, since chicken is so lean.

We topped the burgers with our local Cheddar made with....St. Arnold's Divine Reserve 5, a Russian Imperial Stout. The flavors came together well. We topped the burgers with some Texas Mustard and Salsa. The Beer bread made for an excellent bun. The malty meizenbock added a wonderful richness to the bread...I can't wait to try some variations on this recipe.