Category: Beer/Drinks

Irish Car Bomb Cake

Now, I know the whole Irish Car Bomb shot is in terrible taste because of PIRA terrorism, but it’s so delicious that I ended up not caring. Plus, if I’m ordering one of these things I’m most likely too drunk to consider Irish history. I’m not much of a baker, but this sounds absolutely delicious. I want one of these for my next birthday(March 15th). Actually, I want one of these things tonight, damnit. I’m actually going to have to get out my measuring cups for this one. What a travesty.

For those who don’t know – -the drink is made by filling a shot glass half full of Irish Cream, then floating Irish Whiskey on top of that before dropping the shot glass into a half-full pint glass of Guinness and chugging it as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t curdle in the glass. It is a variation of a boilermaker and for some reason whoever invented it thought it was a good idea to name it after a common form of Irish domestic terrorism of the time, which — understandably — pisses the Irish off to no end.

Chocolate cake with guinness, filled with chocolate ganache with just a touch of Irish whiskey, and then topped with an uber rich Irish Cream butter cream frosting. The whole thing is incredibly rich and decadent. I made a layer cake — the base cupcake mix poured into to 8 inch round cake pans, baked for 15 minutes at 350, then lowered to 300 for another 10 until done in the middle — then doubled buttercream to ensure I had enough to go around. If you make cupcakes, go with Deb’s proportions for sure. If you go the route I did and make a layer cake you could probably get away with not doubling frosting sinceit is incredibly rich, but you might have to really stretch a single batch of the frosting to get the cake covered.

For the recipe, head over to:

http://biscuitpusher.blogspot.com/2009/02/irish-car-bomb-cake.html

edit:

My girlfriend found this rather disgusting, so I felt that I must include a recipe that is more to her liking.. Gin and Tonic Cupcakes.

June 24, 2009
Seriously, Bacardi?

Sometimes when I see advertisements, I try to picture in my head a round table of executives listening to the advertising departments’ recent ideas. I also try and think of the other ideas that get left behind when they pick an awful idea such as the following…

Apparently this is Bacardi’s new Hebrew advertising campaign. According to Copyranter, Israeli ad agency McCann Digital launched the “Get An Ugly Girlfriend!” site in Hebrew and English along with a Hebrew-only facebook group to promote the fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages. The site suggests that like Bacardi Breezers, ugly friends come in several different varieties and women can use them to appear more attractive in social situations, such as at the beach:

Or at the mall…

Or even a BBQ…

While I find this kind of funny, it’s also a little ridiculous. Bacardi is somewhat of a large company, so it’s confusing as to why they would release this campaign and not expect a bunch of bitching from women’s groups. It’s also really confusing that they chose to market this concept to women instead of men.

I do have on question though. Will people do anything for money? I can imagine casting sessions for this advertisement:

Casting guy: “So Sally, we are making an advertising campaign telling women to get ugly girlfriends to stand next to if they want to pick up some more studs. We think you’re perfect for the role of the ugly girlfriend!”

Sally: “Am I getting paid?”

Casting guy: “Yes, you will be paid $750”

Sally: “Ohhhh sheeeeit, that’s my car note, collections payment, diapers for the twins, and a bottle of Goose to celebrate. I’m in!”

June 23, 2009
Beer and Burger Tasting at Sidetrack

Last night the girlfriend and I headed over to Sidetrack Bar & Grill , which I like to call God’ s gift to Ypsilanti, for a beer and mini-burger tasting. They had five pairings of beer and a selected food item. This is the first one of these they’ve had but rumor has it that they might be planning on holding them either monthly or bimonthly. If they had these things weekly I would be there. In fact, if they had them every day I would probably be there at least 5 out of 7 days. Great beer, all of it local, food, and music.

Thanks to whoever organized the write-up for this. A lot of this information about the beers came from that.

There was a bluegrass band playing live music the entire time. In fact, we were there about an hour after the tasting ended and everyone had filed out and the band was still playing.

The first pairing was Full Circle Kolsch from New Holland Brew Co in Holland, MI with “Spread The Love”. Spread The Love was a spread made with Gorgonzola cheese, apricots and bacon with pieces of pita bread. Kolsch was a very light beer and was very different than any other German beer I have had in the past. I have come to associate German beer with bitterness(not a bad thing), but Kolsch was definitly a light, soft beer. Not a beer I would normally drink, but a nice pairing to begin the evening. The spread was absolutely delicious. I love Gorgonzola cheese. The mixture of the sweet from the apricots with the smokiness of the bacon made this a very enjoyable dish.

The second pairing was Olde Number 22 from Arbor Brew Company in Ann Arbor, MI with a Sidetrack mini burger topped with roasted red pepper and feta. Olde Number 22 is an Alt which was brewed in German brewpubs as a reward to loyal regulars. At a time when German brews were priced according to alcohol content, brewpubs would brew a secret alt that was richer, maltier, and higher in gravity. They served it unadvertised at the regular alt price exclusively to the regulars who new to asked for it. Number 22 was a very dark but drinkable ale. The finish was very clean and it went very well with the mini burger, which is always fantastic.

The third pairing, which was my favorite was Two Hearted IPA from Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo and a handmade black bean mini-burger topped with Oaxacan cheese, guacamole and salsa verde. I honestly feel like starting a campaign to force Sidetrack to add this to their regular menu. This was by far one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Two Hearted is exactly what you would expect from any Bell’s. I have yet to taste a beer from them that I did not enjoy. As Bell’s puts it, Two Hearted is “well suited for Hemingway-esque trips to the Upper Peninsula. It has a large amount of hops which gives it a nice spice and went very nicely with the spicy black bean burger.

The fourth pairing was Smoked Stout from Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall, MI with Sidetrack’s mini burger topped with blue cheese, caramelized onion and bacon. This was quite the heavy pairing. Dark Horse’s Smoked Stout is brewed with all malted barley and peat malt(smoked malt). This beer is incredibly full bodied with chocolate, roasted barley flavors, and a smokey finish that almost resembles BBQ. I enjoyed this pairing but was beginning to get pretty damn full. The BBQ pork quesadilla I got before the tasting sure didn’t help. There was a representative from Dark Horse Brew Co. who talked to us before the pairing and explained how they make the beer.

The final course was Coco Loco Stout from Arcadia Brewing Company in Battle Creek, MI with shortcake topped with fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Wow. I have never had Coco Loco, which is a milk stout, before this and I was very impressed. It is a combination of three different chocolate malts, cocoa nibs, and 63% cacao bittersweet chocolate. It has a very creamy quality almost like a milkshake, and went incredible with the strawberry shortcake.

All in all, I was VERY impressed with the entire evening. We had a great time learning about beer, sampling beers, and eating great food. If you are not on their mailing list, visit their website for a schedule of events, coupons, and other goodness.

Sidetrack Bar & Grill
56 East Cross Street
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
http://www.sidetrackbarandgrill.com/

May 14, 2009