Brassneck Brewery & Yolks Food Truck - The Reclaimed Wood of Heaven

Fill and Enjoy at home (picture courtesy of Brassneck)

It's not often that Fondue Voodoo hands up the kitchen utensils and let someone else do the cooking. Primarily because 1. I'm cheap  2. I'm picky  3. Bentley the not-so-wonder-dog controls my every move.

That said, in an unusual turn of events I scurried away with a good friend for tasty Chicken and Waffles and a few tiny sips of Brassneck beer flight. We knew we were in the right place when out front of the brewery was "Yolks" the cutest tiny baby blue food truck and the intoxication waft of fried chicken & waffles floated like holy incense in the East Van air. With those glorious scents surrounding us, we knew exactly what to order...free range and organic chicken and waffles & a stick of truffled hash browns. As soon as the doors opened to Brassneck we were distracted by the unexpected beauty inside. The reclaimed wood, warm brass accents, apothecary like display of beautiful boston rounds and unbleached cotton totes for your brew. From the smallest attention to the details to the partnership of great food trucks like Yolks this pared down version of simply good offerings makes for a comfortable, community minded approach to a gathering place...with good food and beer and good company.

Heavenly Combo (picture courtesy of Yolks)

Yolks: Firstly, I had the good pleasure of having a chance to chat with the Dad of the Yolk's chief. Clearly he held a tremendous amount of pride for his son's accomplishments. Yeah dad! We talked about the food of course and he offered some insight in the use of a sous vide to cook the chicken prior to frying and the home made ketchups and mustards Yolks specializes in. Personally, I thought the truffled hash brows on a stick, just lightly salted, were like an adult savoury lollipop. The complimentary flavours and textures of the crunchy & savoury chicken and the sweet and tender (but not chewy) waffles were a match made for drinking with beer. Food was stellar!

Brassneck Flight: We tried a flight and as I'm not currently a drinker, I only sipped and sniffed my way through a flight of Passive Aggressive ale, Joe's Barn Sasion, Prohibition style corn ale and the Imperial Stout. The brews were bold and assertive for a brewery so new, they offered well developed flavours and an impressive amount of body. My friend is a big fan of the passive aggressive, with notes of grapefruit & pine and a smooth malt base, while the Imperial Stouts malty coffee notes and warm dark chocolate flavours impressed me the most.

Looks like my Bentley! (picture courtesy of Brassneck)

What we liked best: the opportunity to gather with family, even kids & a real live dog to share in 2 terrific ventures that genuinely support the local community. This atmosphere opened up the way for conversation among the "diners" which is how I had the good luck to learn more about how terrific Yolks truck people are.

We loved the interior and how the smallest detail speaks to simplicity and the honestly of Brassneck's product. We loved the "choose- your-own-adventure-beer-flights and the beautiful interior that embraces simplicity and natural beauty. I hope we can go back soon, even thought that means one less home cooked meal, and have a chance to learn more about the brewing process. And of course, more truffled taters on a stick.

Get out there and enjoy!
Go here for Brassneck
Go here for Yolks

yours in wintery glow - Fondue Voodoo

Beer Marshmallows! Yup you read that right.

Our ingredients including DDC's Aphrodisiaque.
Beautiful Vancouver in the background

We here at Fondue Voodoo like to see great craft beer put to use, primarily put into our beer glasses where it can go to a very good cause, our bellies.

While sitting in front of a wood fire late one night with my stout nightcap in one hand and a slowly roasting marshmallow in the other, booze induced fireworks of imagination blasted off in my head...ok so maybe more like a click of a burnt out lightbulb, but that's hardly the point...and so beer marshmallows were born.

Choose a good, heavy flavoured stout or porter so that the beer shines through.

In multiple trials we've used these solid offerings with great success, Dieu du Ciel's Péché Mortel or Aphrodisiaque, Powell Street Craft Brewery's Dive Bomb Porter and Parallel 49 Brewing Company's Ugly Sweater. Yeah, product testing is the worst... ;)



You could let your beer go flat first so that all you get is the beer flavour, but we prefer to enjoy our marshmallows with all of the beers bubbly characteristics so we left it fully carbonated. You will thank me later when you have your first beer marshmallow burp while giggling to yourself...

What you will need:

• candy thermometer
• 1 large bottomed, well greased baking dish or cookie sheet with tall edges
• 1 cup stout or porter, divided into two 1/2 cup portions
• 3 tbsp gelatin powder (equal to 3 packets or about 12 sheets)
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites (I prefer to use dried egg white powder for this)
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or 1/2 stem vanilla pod, seeded (optional)

Dusting powder for the set marshmallows

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 1/2 cup corn starch

Mix the icing sugar and corn starch together in a bowl and set aside for later use.

Powell Street's growler dispensing great
beer and wisdom

Add gelatin to 1/2 cup of the beer in the bowl of your stand mixer, gently stir and set aside.

Pour the remaining beer into a large heavy stock pot together with the white sugar, corn syrup and salt. Warm the sugars over medium low heat and occassionaly stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Once dissolved, increase heat to medium, and slowly bring to a boil. Do not stir during this stage. Allow the sugar mixture to boil until it reaches 118 degrees celcius (245 farenheit), just between a soft and hard ball on your candy thermometer.

Immediately, and very carefully! pour the hot sugars over the beer and gelatin in your stand mixing bowl and incrementally, but swiftly, turn it to high. Add the vanilla to the mixer and continue to whip the sugars and gelatine on high until it almost triples in volume and lightens in colour, approximately 10 minutes.

Almost there...

While the sugar mixture is being whipped, beat your egg whites in a separate bowl until they reach stiff peaks.

At the 10 minute mark add the egg whites and continue whipping until they are incorporated, about 1 to 2 minutes.

As soon as the egg whites have been incorporated pour into the greased baking dish and use a greased spatula to spread. Use some of the cornstarch and icing sugar mix to lightly cover over the marshmallows.

Place in fridge to set for 4 hours.

Parallel 49's Ugly Sweater dude gives the thumb's up

Once the marshmallows have set, remove from fridge and place on a cutting board dusted with the icing sugar and corn starch mix. Cut the marshmallows into cubes and generously dust each cube in the icing sugar mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to sit for 3 to 4 hours to dry.

Once dried, put the marshmallows in a sealed container in the fridge. These are best within the first few days but can last for up to a week...trust me, there won't be any left...

In terms of serving you can have them as is, but we have also experimented with covering in chocolate and cashews, melting in hot chocolate, floating in a morning coffee for a breakfast beer chaser and charring with a blow torch which was both recklessly fun and delicious.

Now be careful kids, these surgery pillows of beer joy are additive, for good beer karma be sure to spread the joy around - your friends and family will approve.

Ants on a Log - Now for Adults

Warning - this post may contain nuts, deliciousness and double entendres.

Occasionally the Fondue household has a snack attack - which often ends in a salty sweaty mess of stale nachos and questionable salsa.  Ants on a log seem too childish to indulge in, and yet too delicious to give up on. Who doesn't like peanut butter? (blahblahblahAnaphylactic shock).
In the best interest of matching adult behaviour with childhood memories, peanut butter is getting a make over.

March sunshine in Vancouver is the best.

Get some:

• Clean, trimmed and dry celery ribs
• 1/2 c Organic peanut butter
• 1 TBSP honey 
• 1 TBSP Sriarcha hot sauce - or your favourite pepper based hot sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp splash of fish sauce or soya sauce
• Nuts - salted peanuts, cashews, almonds walnuts 
• optional: cilantro & 1/4 tsp powdered garlic

Assembly - this is the easy part
Pile the peanut butter, honey, hot sauce, lime juice, fish sauce & optional garlic powder into a bowl and stir to incorporate.
Stuff your celery ribs with the spicy peanut butter topping.
Place the nuts securely in the peanut butter and place cilantro artfully on top.
Serve the remaining peanut butter with apple slices for a sweet salty spicy taste sensation.
This snack attack is great with a delicious Driftwood White Bark Witbier.
I wouldn't have been a happy child if I could have drank Driftwood with my after school snack.

Stout Infused Mushroom Lentil Shepherd's Pie

St. Patrick's day is by far one of the best celebrations of a Saint that has ever existed since the Pagan's were throwing party's...those guys did it up right. But celebrating with beer and parades, random strangers demanding kisses a la "Kiss me I'm Irish" T-shirts and silly green costumes gets a Fondue Voodoo seal of approval. We celebrate the best way we know how with beer infused veggie shepherd's pie, until the Pagans comeback...

What you will need:

humble beginnings

• 2 cups diced mushrooms (mixture of cremini and trumpet or others of your choice)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 cups green cabbage
• 1 TBSP oil, best choice - coconut oil
• 2 cups mashed potatoes
• 1 cup lentils (see cooking instructions below)
• 3 bay leaves 
• 1 bottle (340 ml) stout. We used St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout by McAuslan Brewing
• 3 TBSP mushroom powder
• 1 TBSP umami paste (can be substituted with 1 TBSP tomato paste or 1/2 TBSP anchovy paste
• 1 cup veggie/mushroom broth
• 3 TBSP tomato paste, or more depending on your preference
• 1 tsp rosemary powder
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tsp oregano
• crack of pepper
• 3 TBSP beurre manie
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 TBSP freshly chopped herbs such as flat leaf parsley

Prior to starting, have on hand 2 cups of mashed potatoes, warmed up with speed up the process.
To cook the lentils first rinse with cold water, drain and then place in a stock pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches and add bay leaves. Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for 10 minutes. Once cooked pour into strainer and rinse with cool water.

Chow time

In a separate stock pot add the oil and gently sauté the onions, carrots, celery and cabbage for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and then add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Remove from pot and add the mushrooms. Sauté until browned. Deglaze the pot with the stout. Add the stock, mushroom powder, umami paste and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in beurre manie to make a lightly thickened sauce. Bring back to the heat and bump the heat up to medium to thicken - it should just cover a spoon slightly. Add in the mushrooms, vegetables and lentils back to the pot.

Once the mushroom-vegtable mixture is heated through pour into a casserole dish and cover with the mashed potatoes. You could proceed to bake for 20 - 25 mins to heat all the layers evenly, or place on top rack under the broiler until the potatoes are browned.

To serve, scoop a 1/4 cup of peas on the dish and then add a layer of the Shepherd's pie on top. Finish with herbs, cracked pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Shepherd's Pie Beer Pairing: Best to pair this meal with the same beer as you used for the deglazing. An oatmeal stout works great here as the creamy oatmeal and toasted malts balances perfectly with the richness of the mushrooms and lentils.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Guest post from Jar Head:

Cold dark winter nights call out for a hearty soup. This soup definitely is the ticket, the earthy, meaty flavours that the wild rice and mushrooms will stick to your bones and warm you up from within.

What you will need for the rice:

• 1 cup wild rice
• 4 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp baking soda *
• 3/4 tsp salt

* Baking soda breaks down the pectin seed coating of the rice and also lowers the temperature necessary for Maillard reaction (browning) to occur. This leads to a nuttier tasting wild rice and a deep brown more complex stock which we will use to enrich the soup.

What you will need for the soup:

• 1 TBSP unsalted butter
• 600-700 grams of cremini mushrooms
• 1 leak chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2/3 cup brown ale (such as a Belgian Dubbel like St. Bernardus Prior 8)
• 4 cups low sodium broth
• 4 TBSP dried mushroom powder (we used a mixture of cremini, matsutake, chicken of the woods and bear's tooth mushrooms)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup minced chives or green onions
• 1 TBSP umami paste (can be substituted with 1 TBSP tomato paste or 1/2 TBSP anchovy paste)
• pepper

Start with making the rice. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring the water, bay leaf, salt and baking soda to a boil over medium-high heat in a stock pot. Add the rice and return to a boil. Cover and transfer to the heated oven and bake until rice is tender - approximately 35-50 minutes.

Strain through a fine mesh strainer and reserve the liquid which we will use for our soup. Top up the liquid with water until you have 3 cups.

For the soup, first make a slurry of cornstarch and 4 TBSP of the stock you plan to use - set aside for later use. Next melt the butter over medium high heat in large stock pot. Do this next part in stages, add the mushrooms, garlic and leaks to form a small layer on the bottom of the pan and sauté until browned - feel free to use the ale to deglaze as needed. Remove the mushrooms from the pot once browned and start with a fresh batch, continue until all the mushrooms are browned. Return the cooked mushrooms back to the pot and add in the stock, remaining ale, mushroom powder, thyme and umami paste and bring to a hard simmer. Add the cooked rice and the cornstarch slurry and stir until the soup thickens. Stir in the sour cream and serve topped with green onions.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup Beer Pairing: A dark brown ale works best here with the meaty flavours of the mushrooms. We went with the St. Bernardus Prior 8 which is a strong abby Belgian dubbel which we also used for deglazing the pot.

Coq au Vin - Chicken Swimming in Wine & Bobbing for Mushrooms

Chicken swimming in wine

We here at Fondue Voodoo tend to enjoy our beers more then our wines, see my beer reviews at Beer Advocate here. Having been gifted wines we must preserver and endeavour to put them to good use.  Since it just happened to be dark, wet and cold outside (rain in Vancouver...who knew) my thoughts went to stew, specifically my take on Coq au Vin. Traditionally you include bacon and skip the potatoes, carrot or celery but I don't follow follow instructions well...

Here's what you will need:

• 3lb Whole free range chicken - butchered into parts (we gave the wings and part of back to the Hell Hound)
• 2 medium onions (chopped into large chucks)
• 1 extra large clove garlic (coarsely chopped)
• 2 carrots (diced)
• 2 stalks celery (diced)
• 5 small potatoes
• 1 1/2  cups brown mushrooms (quartered) 
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh herbs (thyme, savoury etc)
• 3 cups red wine (such as merlot or cabernet sauvignon)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup crushed tomates
• 2-3 TBSP olive oil
• Flour for coating chicken
• 3 TBSP beurre manie

Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then coat lightly in flour. Heat the oil in a large cast iron casserole dish (such as le creuset) and brown the chicken in batches on both sides over a medium high heat. Remove the chicken and set aside.

Reduce the heat, fry the mushrooms. Once browned remove and set aside. Next, add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and then add the garlic and fry for about 1 minute.

Add back in the chicken, mushrooms, bay leaves, herbs, crushed tomatoes, red wine and stock. Bring to a simmer making sure all ingredients are well covered with the liquid. Once the broth has come to a slow boil turn the heat down and cover. Allow to simmer go for 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and tender. 

Remove the chicken and set aside once done. Taste the sauce and season as necessary. Remove from heat and whisk in beurre manie to make a lightly thickened sauce. Bring back to the heat and bump the heat up to medium to thicken - it should just cover a spoon slightly. Serve the sauce over with fresh herbs.

Coq au Vin Beer Pairing: You need a strong heavy beer to pair with this meal as anything light will not hold up to the red wine sauce. Belgian Strong Dark Ales or Belgian Quadrupel's would work great here as they have rich flavours of dark fruit, earthiness and spices that are reminiscent of red wines. We went with Unibroue's La Terrible which was a great match (my review here).

Multigrain Beer Bread

Guest post from Jar Head:

There is nothing like a good home made bread. This one uses multiple grains and beer which results in an amazing crust and taste.

Use a dark beer for this recipe such as a stout or a porter.  I love to use St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout which is an amazing beer and adds an enormous amount of taste when paired with dark fruits (reviews here).

What you will need for one 2 pound loaf:

Soaker

• 3 TBSP grains (quinoa, polenta, millet etc)
• 3 TBSP rolled oats, buckwheat etc
• 2 TBSP wheat bran
• 1/4 cup water

Dough

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1.5 TBSP brown sugar
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP yeast
• 3 TBSP cooked riced (brown is best)
• 1/2 cup chopped dark dried fruit (figs, dates, prunes or cherries)
• 1.5 cup beer (room temperature)

Combine the soaker ingredients the day before you plan on making the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature. If you cannot do the night before heat the water to a slight boil and pour over the grains and let sit for about 2 hours.

Add all of the dough ingredients together in a large bowl with the soaker. Mix well until you get a rough ball. Kneed by hand for about 12 min (or 8-10 by machine). The dough should be tacky but not sticky. Add a few drops of water or a bit of flour to get the right consistency. If using a machine kneed for an additional 2 min by hand at the end. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and let ferment for 90 min until doubled.

Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Gently form into a rectangle and fold one side halfway over. Do the same for the other 3 sides. Place seam side down on a floured surface and cover with plastic wrap to rise for 45 to 60 min.

Preheat the over with a large heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) at 500F. Remove the pot from the oven and carefully drop the dough into the pot seam side up. Place the hot lid onto the pot and place back into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, if the bread is golden brown it is ready. If the dough is still white you can remove the lid and continue to bake for another 10 to 20 min. Bread is done when it is golden brown and makes a hollow sound when thumped at the bottom. Internal temperature should be 185F to 190F.

Let rest 1 to 2 hours before slicing.

Sugar and Spice - Maple and Pepper Baked Salmon

Veggie-vores look away, meatitarians get ready to swoon.

This marinade is dead simple and will not your fishnets off. Adapted from Bob Blumer's recipe here.

Your needs:

• Suitable marinating bag (should be air tight) 
• Salmon or arctic char (fillets or steaks)
• Marinade - equal parts maple syrup and soy sauce ( ~1/4 cup each) 
• 24 hours for a fridge nap.

Combine the soya sauce & maple syrup in the bag, slip the fish in and close the bag being sure to squeeze out all the air. Now, for a 24 marinate in the fridge.

Place the marinated fillet on parchment lined cookie sheet and liberally cover with cracked fresh pepper - use much more then you think is necessary - it mellows out when cooked.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 min until firm in the centre. Don't forget the booze, we went with Russell's Wee Angry Scotch Ale (my review here), it's neither wee nor angry, it's fantastic.

Mushroom Sheperd's Pie

I wish I could shepherd mushrooms. I'd wander through the highlands whistling to keep the flock steady and stand watch to protect against  the mushrooms natural enemy, hippies.
But I'm just an office drown. Copy making, pencil pusher, spending company money the best way I know how. Lunch was the best opportunity to spend time daydreaming of being a wandering sole while I chowed down on mushroom shepherd pie.

1 onion chopped                        3 cloves garlic
2 carrots small chopped            2 stalks of celery
3 cups brown mushrooms         1 cup shitaki mushrooms
1/2 c.  cooked pearly barley     1/2 c. lentils
2 c. shredded cabbage
Gravy    1/4 c. powdered mushroom      1.5 c stock
              1/2 bottle of dark beer              1 TBSP cornstarch
              1/4 c. cream             Rosemary, thyme, oregano
Mashed taters

• Fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and remove from the pan 
• Fry the mushrooms on high heat, 
• Add the cabbage and allow to cook for a few minutes 
• Add the veggies back in along with the cooked barley lentil mix
• Gravy - Add the beer and allow to deglaze
• Add stock, the herbs and mushroom powder
• Bring to a low boil
• Mix the cornstarch with a little water to make a slurry and add, stir to incorporate
• Lastly top up with a little cream
• Slop all of that into a WARM casserole dish and top with some yummy mashed taters. 
• Bake at 400 until the potatoes get a sun tan. 

Serve with Gulden Draak - Belgian strong Ale and get tipsy on one bottle of beer. Good times.

a sin of the flesh

Nature forgive me, for I have sinned.
It's been a decade since my last confessional and frankly, back then, I was praying to a false god, Santa Claus.
ME: Santa, I promise to be good if you just get me a cabbage patch doll...?

It's the flesh, it's too tempting. I ate of the flesh and I'll eat it again, looks like it's vegetarian hell for me. If you want to join me there here's the best way to do it.

Glorious Sockeye Salmon. Bake salmon with fresh herbs, lemons, salt and pepper.

Fresh salad of baby pea shoots...OMG I'm eating babies too smother those babies with great olive oil, vinegar - try apple cider or raspberry and some more herbs. More herbs lemons and green onions on top

Drink with beer.
But why not wine?
Cause I said so.
If your feeling generous to yourself and your dinning companions try this beer, Chateau Jiahu, it's name alone would make anyone feel like a certified sommelier but its the complex intermingling of fruit, honey, yeast and floral bouquet with make you forget your sins of the flesh (link here).

Piece (of cake) be with you