A Trip to Munich's Oktoberfest plus Beer-Braised Brats and Beer Onions from Cleo Coyle

As Joyce Tremel mentioned on Sunday, with her Soft Pretzel and Beer Cheese recipes, Munich's traditional 16-day Oktoberfest is well underway now and will continue until October 5th.

While I've been to Germany and thoroughly appreciate their mastery at making some of the best beers in the world, I've never made it to an Oktoberfest. Attending this world-famous festival is on my (beer) bucket list. Is it on yours, too? Or have you been to it? Let us know in the comments.

In the meantime, join me now for a little 

video visit to this year's Oktoberfest! 

***********************

To watch the tapping of the first keg,
click the arrow in the window below...

If you do not see the video above, click here.

******

To join me for an Oktoberfest 2014
band stand concert, click the arrow
in the window below...

If you do not see the video above, click here.

*******

For more videos, directly from
this year's Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany,
click here and have fun!

And when you're ready for a food break, 
I've got an easy and delicious recipe for you...

But first...

A quick toast to my fellow 
crime-writing cooks...

Daryl Wood Gerber 

and

Sheila Connolly 

on their new releases today!
(Okay, Sheila's is officially next Tuesday, but
 I'm sure she won't mind an early shout-out.)

Happy Book Birthday to you both!

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

Beer-Braised Brats 

and

Caramelized Beer Onions

by Cleo Coyle


Cooking brats in beer is far from a new idea, but it is a great one, especially if you have a favorite brew! 

We like to butterfly our brats to allow more surface area to absorb the beer flavor, which is why you should use your absolute favorite suds for the recipe. No matter how special or expensive your beer, you don't have to worry, this method will not waste a single drop. It will all go into the infusion process. You'll see what I mean as we braise the brats in one pan, caramelize the onions in another, and use the delicious beer-brat braising liquid to infuse the golden brown onions with even more flavor. 

Then spread your favorite roll (pretzel, potato, or seeded Kaiser) with whole grained mustard, pour an ice cold glass of amber nectar, and you'll be in beer heaven. Follow this recipe, and we'll meet you there!

~ Cleo 

To download this recipe in a 

free PDF document you 

can print, save, or share, click here.

To download this free
recipe PDF, click here.

Serves 4

4 bratwursts (pre-cooked or uncooked)

3 medium or 4 large onions, chopped

12 ounces of your favorite beer

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 tablespoons butter

For serving: 

Fresh rolls (pretzel, potato, or Kaiser)

Whole grained mustard

Optional additions: Sauerkraut, creamy horseradish, pickles, your favorite pepper (banana, jalapeno, etc...)

Directions:

Step 1 - Cut each bratwurst down the middle but not all the way through. (In our photos, you see pre-cooked brats, but you can also use uncooked.) 

Spread the halves enough to flatten them but not enough to separate the halves. Note that brats curve slightly, like bananas. Be sure to cut along the inside curve before butterflying. Set brats aside and start cooking the onions.

Step 2 - In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the chopped onions and sauté over medium heat, stirring often.

Step 3 - While the onions are cooking, take out a second skillet. Add a bit of butter or oil. When the pan is hot, add the butterflied brats, warming/browning for about 5 minutes. Once brats are warmed/browned on both sides, add about 8 ounces of beer to the pan. 

You are not entirely covering the brats, just creating a shallow bath as shown in the photo below. 

Simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes, flipping at least once during the process. This is the cooking time for pre-cooked. If you are using raw brats, you will need to cook the brats longer. Raw meat should no longer be pink inside, and the internal temperature should reach 165 degrees F.  

When the brats are done cooking, turn off the heat under the pan and allow them to sit while you turn your attention to the onions...

Step 4 - Finish the onions: Continuing cooking the onions. After about 15 to 18 minutes of sautéing, the onions will have absorbed all of the fat in the pan. They will begin to caramelize, turning golden brown. If you need to add a bit more butter or oil to prevent them from burning before turning golden brown, do so. Do not move to the next step until the onions brown as shown or you will boil the onions instead of properly caramelizing them.

Step 5 - Once the onions have turned golden brown, add all of the liquid from the brats pan in Step 3. (We remove the brats from the pan first, putting them in a covered dish to keep them warm.) 


If for some reason you don’t have much liquid left in your brats pan, add a generous splash of fresh beer to the onions. Cook the mixture until the liquid is absorbed by the onions, about 3 to 5 minutes. 

Step 6 - Serve the brats and beer onions on pretzel rolls or potato rolls or Kaisers. 

We like to spread whole-grained mustard onto our rolls (as you see in the picture below). A bit of creamy horseradish is also delicious. Other possible additions include sauerkraut, pickles, and/or hot peppers. 

Click here for the free PDF, and
however you top your own beer-braised
brats and beer onion sandwich,
Marc and sincerely hope you will...

Eat with joy!

~ Cleo Coyle

New York Times bestselling author of

The Coffeehouse Mysteries

Yes, this is me, Cleo (aka Alice). 

Friend me on facebook here.

Follow me on twitter here. 

Learn about our books here.

***

Download a Free Title Checklist for
all 13 Coffeehouse Mysteries

(with mini plot summaries)
by clicking here.

Visit us our
online coffeehouse here.

Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries

Get a free title checklist,
with mini plot summaries,

by clicking here.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins

Today's blog was going to be about beets. Yup, a nice healthy salad with oven-roasted beets fresh from the garden. But when I told my mother my idea for the salad, she wrinkled up her nose like a Shar Pei. Nothing like enthusiasm to motivate a person. So, I took the hint, and baked something not quite decadent and very seasonal. These muffins are almost healthy because they contain pumpkin.

I have to admit that I love these muffins. They're so light! And they're just as good warm as they are cold. You can whip them up in minutes for overnight guests or just for fun on a brisk fall morning. The tops crinkle up a little bit because of the cinnamon swirl in them. No matter, that crinkly look is rewarding when you bite into a bit of sweetness.

This recipe was in MURDER, SHE BARKED. My Wagtail books always come out in December, so the season is a little bit off for books set in the fall. 

In the first book, Holly Miller visits the family inn on Wagtail Mountain where an employee has been murdered. The second book, THE GHOST AND MRS. MEWER, takes place a mere month later when Holly returns to move into the inn. She hasn't even unpacked her belongings when the Apparition Apprehender ghost hunting team arrives and trouble follows them!

Sweet Dog Barkery Cinnamon-Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins.

1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ cup regular sugar
¾ cup canned pumpkin

SWIRL

½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Fill cupcake pan with liners.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl and stir with a fork to mix. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs, and add the vegetable oil, ½ cup dark brown sugar, the regular sugar, and the pumpkin. Blend well. Dump in the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until just blended. Do not overmix.

In a separate bowl, combine the ½ cup dark brown sugar with the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

Fill the liners almost full. Add 1 teaspoon or so of the cinnamon-sugar swirl mixture to the top of each muffin. Using a cake tester or bamboo skewer, sweep through the muffin to mix the cinnamon into them.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

They look a little goofy but don't worry . . .

. . . because they bake up like this!

Oktoberfest Soft Pretzels, Beer Cheese, and a fun Giveaway from Author Joyce Tremel!

Please join me in welcoming author Joyce Tremel. Joyce hails from "Someplace Special," as we say back in Pittsburgh, PA. Today she's sharing two wonderful Oktoberfest recipes along with news of her brand new cozy mystery series. She also has a fun comment-to-win giveaway. More on that below. For now...

Take it away, Joyce!

~ Cleo Coyle

* * * * * * 

Author Joyce Tremel
Follow her on Twitter here.
Visit her on Facebook here.

I am so thrilled to be here! Thanks so much to Cleo for inviting me and giving me the first opportunity to let yinz guys (as we also say in Pittsburgh) read a little about my upcoming series.

My cozy series is called Brewing Trouble, and the first book, To Brew Or Not To Brew will be released from Berkley sometime in the fall of 2015. My main character, Maxine “Max” O’Hara is a brewmaster and in the process of opening a brew pub called the Allegheny Brew House in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. When she finds her assistant and chef dead in one of the beer tanks, Max is determined to find out who killed him. There are some quirky characters, like the woman who owns the bakery who’s a rabid Steelers fan, and a World War II vet who usually has something cranky to say (he’s my favorite). And of course, there’s Max’s love interest, a hunky ex-hockey player who becomes her new chef.

That’s enough about that. You’re here for the food, not my ramblings! Since Max learned how to brew beer in Germany, and it is Oktoberfest right now, I thought some homemade soft pretzels and beer cheese sounded good. I hope you agree!

The pretzels aren’t hard to make, but they do take some time. And they sure beat the ones in the freezer case at the grocery store!

* * * * * * * * * * *

SOFT PRETZELS by Joyce Tremel

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups warm water

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 pkg. or 2 ¼ tsp. yeast

4 ½ cups flour

¼ cup canola oil or melted butter

Directions: Combine water, sugar, and salt in large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top. 

When it starts to foam, add the oil and flour. Mix well. If you have a mixer with a dough hook you can use that, or just do it the old fashioned way, like I did. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic—about 5 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl. 

Cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm place until it doubles in size. This could take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 450F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly oil the parchment paper.

Fill a large pot with 10 cups of water, add 2/3 cup baking soda, and bring to a boil. (Note: be sure to use a large enough pot. The bubbles from the baking soda water kind of make a mess. Fortunately it cleans up easily!) While waiting for the water to boil, divide the dough into eight pieces (this makes big pretzels, if you want smaller ones, feel free to break into more pieces). 

With your hands, roll each piece into a rope about 2 feet long. Hold the ends and make a U, then cross the ends over each other and twist to make the pretzel shape. 

When all your pretzels are formed, put each pretzel one by one into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon or spatula and place on prepared baking sheet. 

Brush with a beaten egg, then sprinkle with pretzel salt (if desired). I left mine unsalted. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until they’re a nice, dark golden brown. 

BEER CHEESE by Joyce Tremel

Ingredients:

12 ounces shredded sharp cheddar

1 ½ tbsp. cornstarch

1 bottle of beer (12 oz.)—I suggest using a dark lager or a brown ale.

5 oz evaporated milk

1 tbsp Dijon or brown mustard

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Frank’s Red Hot-hot sauce (Really. Is there any other kind?)

Salt to taste.


Directions: Toss the shredded cheddar with the corn starch and set aside. Whisk together beer, half & half, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan. Heat until steaming, whisking frequently so it doesn’t scorch. Add cheese, stir until melted and bubbly. Add hot sauce and season with salt. Serve warm.

(Note: When I make the beer cheese again, I’m going to reduce the amount of mustard. It kind of overwhelmed the flavor of the cheese. I also think I may use two cheeses—cheddar and swiss—the next time just to see how it tastes.)

Since Oktoberfest 2014 runs from September 20th to October 5th, I suggest serving the pretzels and beer cheese with your favorite Oktoberfest beer. 

Prost!

Joyce Tremel was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers, but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. She lives in a suburb of Pittsburgh with her husband and a spoiled cat. Her debut mystery, To Brew Or Not To Brew will be released by Berkley Prime Crime in Fall 2015.

Visit Joyce on Facebook here.

Follow her on Twitter here.

Coming Fall 2015

To Brew Or Not To Brew

Someone doesn’t want the Allegheny Brew House to open, and Maxine “Max” O’Hara is determined to find out why.

With her brand-new brewmaster certification in hand, Max has been working twelve hour days getting the abandoned Steel City Brewery up to code, perfecting beer recipes, and learning the business. A lot of work, but she’s sure she made the right decision—until things start to go wrong. She’s not too worried until the minor annoyances get progressively worse. And when she finds the body of her assistant brewmaster and chef in one of the beer tanks, she knows that batch wasn’t brewed according to Reinheitsgebot.

Oktoberfest Giveaway!

Comment-to-Win These Fun Coasters

I don’t have books to give away yet, but I wanted to do something to thank everyone for stopping by today. So one lucky commenter will get this cute set of coasters from Crate and Barrel. 

Leave a comment on this blog 

by 12 Midnight Monday Night 12/29.

Winner will be announced here.
Good luck!

Pot-roasted Chicken with Apples: a perfect Fall combo

From Victoria Abbott aka Mary Jane and Victoria Maffini

First we’d like to salute our terrific Mystery Lovers Kitchen Colleagues: Sheila Connolly and Daryl Wood Gerber who will both be releasing new books next week.  Sheila is giving us Picked to Die, one of her terrific apple mysteries while Daryl is Stirring the Plot, from the delicious Cookbook Nook series. We thought of them both because of the apples and the cookbooks when we were working on this recipe.  We know they’ll do well. Hats off to you, friends!

This is our favorite family Sunday meal for Fall. We are always dragged out of summer kicking and whimpering, but Fall is a wonderful time for food and flavor, including apples. This time, the day was so dark, wet and dreary that for our Sunday lunch, we had the candles lit. It is a meal that makes you appreciate those dark days. We love it because we get to use our Dutch oven. 

And the cooked apples are silky and delicious. It’s also easy to make. It would make great leftovers, but we’ve never any to confirm this. Again, let me say, it passes the mother-in-law test with flying colors. 

 

Plus we were ready for a relaxing weekend after the release and launch party for The Wolfe Widow, the third in our book collector mystery series. 

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or dried)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons butter

4 apples, peeled and diced (We like Galas or Fujis for this recipe. You can get by with as few as two apples, but we love it this way)

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

½ cup chicken stock

1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pat chicken dry. Sprinkle chicken with thyme, salt and pepper.

 Heat butter over medium high heat in a Dutch oven or ovenproof pot large enough to hold the chicken. Brown chicken on all sides, about 2 minutes a side, until golden.

Remove chicken from pot. Add apples and sauté for about 3 or 4 minutes or until lightly golden. 

Add cider vinegar, chicken stock and bay leaf and bring to boil. Return chicken to pot,

cover and bake in the oven for 1 hour.

 Remove cover and bake another 15 minutes or until juices run clear. Cut chicken into 4 portions and transfer to a platter and serve with apples and sauce over. 

Pretty easy! It’s a rich and tasty main, so we add simple sides: a crisp green salad, fresh tomatoes, that kind of thing. But it does buddy up nicely with rice or potatoes.  You can see how it warmed up our room!

After this lunch and the lemon dessert (coming soon to a Mystery Lovers Kitchen near you) , MJ curled up with a good book: A Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh, research for our next Book Collector Mystery: The Marsh Madness, a work in progress.

Shall we meet in the reading corner on a dark and dreary day?

We hope you’ll be trying The Wolfe Widow, our September release.  Just be very careful if the doorbell rings.

Treat yourself: ORDER IT HERE!   

Walter really wants you to.