Bangers and Mash- Featuring Long Ireland Celtic Ale

So this past weekend I was Jamming out to a Celtic Rock Concert- the first official party of St. Patty's Day. I am not Irish in any way, but I love beer. (You guys know this, I know). Anyways the name of the band was Bangers and Mash and the featured Beers were from Long Ireland Brewing Company. That concert basically designed mu St. Partrick's Day post for all of you!

The band was awesome (I love me some Celtic rock) and so was the beer. I've had Long Ireland's Breakfast Stout before but they make a great Celtic ale and that trumps the stout for me. I LOVE it. Nothing fancy, just a great Irish Red Ale, but done really well. Way better than Killian's Irish Red. So I researched some classic Bangers and Mash Recipe and I think this is a great twist on it.

Super easy and super delicious. I threw in plenty of onions so you could justify it by saying you had one serving of vegetables.  After the onions caramelized I threw in some Celtic Ale and that is when the magic happens. Add just a little vinegar and let it reduce and you got yourself a kick-ass St. Patty's Day meal. Bonus points for pairing it with a pint of Long Ireland Celtic Ale!

Why is this a Foodgasm?

Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food and add some great sausages atop that with a beer and onion gravy- well you just hit the jackpot at the end of the rainbow. I reduced the fat in the mashed potatoes with a little light butter and some nonfat Greek yogurt and lowfat milk. You will not be able to tell the difference. Remember reduced fat is always better than fat free. As for the bangers, I can't help you there, not making my own sausage. But I used Trader Joe's Bangers you should be able to find them in store right now! So this is not the lowest of fat dinners, so eat with caution and try and control yourself even though this is seriously delicious! 

Who wouldn't wanna be Irish for this dish?! Erin go Foodgasm!

Lemon Pesto Chicken

Why is this a Foodgasm?

So I am already sure you know the foodgasm that is pesto. Especially fresh pesto (PS- fresh pesto is so easy to make it is criminal to buy the stuff. Seriously!). So I recently was making pesto and wanted to add my own spin to it, just a little spin by adding the zest and juice of one large lemon. Just the simple addition of lemon to pesto brightened it up and brought out some more complex flavors. It's like summer as a sauce. That is what I imagine summer would taste like: bright, light, fresh and earthy with some pep in it's step.

I learned the joy of pesto from my chef obsession Fabio Viviani. What I like to say about pesto is like he says, I can give you some measurements, but you gotta go by the how thick you want it. Also take into account the more oil, nuts and cheese you add the more fat that sauce is gonna have. The awesome thing about this recipe is that not only does the lemon add flavor but some of the liquid in this recipe is from lemon juice and that adds NO FAT! YAY!

Great South Bay Blood Orange Pale Ale Chicken with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

 

Why is this a Foodgasm?

I took a different approach with this recipe...I let the beer decide what it wanted to be. I started with a local fave Great South Bay's Blood Orange Pale Ale. With this beer it has been love at first sip- crisp, light, just the right amount of orange flavor and so easy to drink! I wanted to make sure to get in some of my awesome local long island beer. I love the local craft beer scene. Immediately I thought orange chicken, kinda like the one you get from a Chinese place, but healthier and with local craft beer twist (seriously is there anything better??). 

I knew this recipe needed to happen, but how did I execute it. So I kinda went the route of Chicken Fracaise, but made a beer reduction syrup with this. The results were AMAZING! Sweet, but not syrupy sweet and it was light. It paired perfectly with these easy lemon roasted potatoes! You must try this recipe and please do try and get your hands on this beer- you will not be disappointed!