New Beer Tuesday

I was so happy that I was able to get a bottle of Sam Adam's Infinium. I initially got it for Andy as a Christmas present, but he decided to share it with everyone on New Year's Eve at midnight. It chilled in my refrigerator all day, and I anxiously peered at it now and then waiting for midnight to pop the cork.

This was made in partnership with the world's oldest brewery, which is Weihenstephan in Germany. They followed the rules of the Reinheitsgebot by sticking to only four ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast. That's great and all, but the cool thing is that this the newest style of beer to be created while still following that law. Neat!

There's a lot more information about the beer on their website, so definitely check it out.

The average rating on Beer Advocate is a B-, it has 10.3% alcohol, and it was supposedly only brewed once.

Finally the time came, and we were able to enjoy this tasty treat. I was surprised at how thick the beer was, expecting it to be lighter and more bubbly. The color was a medium yellow, and it tasted delicious! It was pretty strong and perfect to sip on. For being thicker and potent, it was still refreshing and a great alternative to champagne.

I wish I had a picture of the beer in a glass, but picture-taking wasn't really my main priority on NYE! 

I definitely recommend purchasing a bottle...especially for a special occasion!

Yummy Filled Dumplings

During my espresso vodka induced haze on new year's eve, I whipped up some filled dumplings that were pretty freakin delicious. The five of us quickly tore through all of the frozen Trader Joe's appetizers that I bought so that I could stay out of the kitchen on NYE, so I pulled different items out of my fridge and got to work.

Into my Ninja went: tofu, chevre, spinach, garlic, Thai peanut sauce, salt, and pepper. Honestly, there could have been more stuff, but I didn't write everything down.

I blended the ingredients for a few seconds and then filled Nasoya wonton wrappers with about a tablespoon of the filling.

I wet the perimeter with dabs of water and just folded them into simple triangles - nothing fancy. 

I made four at a time to produce them quickly enough for my hungry guests. They probably steamed for about 4-5 minutes. They're done when the wrapper looks wrinkly and almost translucent.

I made a dipping sauce with soy sauce, fish sauce, more of the Thai peanut sauce, rice vinegar, and hot red pepper flakes.

Yeah! So good! They tasted amazing and were perfectly chewy. I liked how they weren't really one specific type of cuisine...more like eastern Asia meets random refrigerator leftovers. 

So pretty. I love the wrinkles. They look like Lieutenant Worf's forehead. (I googled Star Trek character with wrinkly forehead to find his name.) :)

These are so easy, and you really can put anything inside them. I've made these before with soy crumbles, cabbage...doesn't matter!

This is my first time writing out a recipe, so bear with me.

Yummy Filled Dumplings

Dumplings:

1/2 block extra firm tofu

Small handful spinach

3 Tbsp Thai peanut sauce (I used Target brand)

2 cloves garlic

5 Tbsp plain (or herbed...whatever!) chevre

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

20 wonton wrappers

Blend all ingredients (except for the wrappers) in a food processer...done!

Taste it and add anything that you think it needs.

Place 1 Tbsp of the filling in the middle of the wrapper.

Wet the perimeter of the wrapper with water and fold into triangle.

Steam for 4-5 minutes or until wrapper looks slightly translucent.

Dipping Sauce:

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1/8 cup soy sauce

4 Tbsp Thai peanut sauce

1 Tbsp hot red pepper flakes

Stir all ingredients and adjust to taste.

Enjoy! I think this made about 20 dumplings. I'm really bad about measurements, and I don't even own measuring spoons or measuring cups, so these are all guesses.

Try these using your own random fridge ingredients!