The Craft Beer Cookbook: 100 Artisanal Recipes for Cooking with Beer

Excerpted from The Craft Beer Cookbook Copyright © 2013 by Jacquelyn Dodd and published by F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Photographs by Jacquelyn Dodd.

I was recently asked if I'd like to review a copy of Jacquelyn Dodd's The Craft Beer Cookbook: 100 Artisanal Recipes for Cooking with Beer (Amazon affiliate link).  Beer AND Cooking? Hell yeah! I spend more time watching Food Network and Cooking Channel than most people, and you all know I've had a beer or two. So why not see what the book has to offer? Right, no reason. I accepted.

Based on the book's title, I knew that I was going to find 100 beer/food recipes. I really like the way the Table of Contents is organized, and it was eye-catching to see "BREAKFAST" as Chapter 1. Glancing through the three pages of recipe titles, I saw dozens of awesome sounding dishes that I hope to try to recreate. Chocolate Chip and Smoked Porter Pancakes, Jalapeños and Bacon Beer Cheese Dip, IPA-Marinated Pork Chops with Stout Cherry Sauce, and Maple and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Beer-Glazed Salmon are just 4% of them!

Excerpted from The Craft Beer Cookbook Copyright © 2013 by Jacquelyn Dodd and published by F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Photographs by Jacquelyn Dodd.

I already mentioned the attractive food names, but they are nothing in comparison to the terrific photos of the actual dishes. I only wish there were a photo for each one! Between trying to make some of my favorites and that game where I try to take a better photo than the original professional one, this could be a challenge! I had a fun discussion with the book's author a few days ago on those subjects. Jacquelyn, aka @TheBeeroness, was very supportive, approachable, and optimistic about my abilities!

Each recipe has an introduction, something to make you want to try to make it yourself. The ingredients and instructions are easy to read and follow. One thing you won't find are specific beer brands to buy. You will find "smoked porter" or "IPA" or "wheat" beer instead. A section called "Choose the Right Brew!" accompanies each recipe to help explain the choice and what to look for in a beer. Some might find not having an exact product name in mind intimidating, but if you go to a beer retailer, you will find some beer geek employees that are happy to make recommendations.

Another thing I liked about this book is that the ingredients are very approachable. You will not look at these recipes and say, "I'm not going to try that because I need to buy 10 things that I'll never use again." The one ingredient you will probably need to buy is the beer though, so do some planning before you start cooking.

Excerpted from The Craft Beer Cookbook Copyright © 2013 by Jacquelyn Dodd and published by F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Photographs by Jacquelyn Dodd.

I'm personally going to try the Chocolate Chip and Smoked Porter Pancakes I mentioned above; then the Porter-Braised Pulled-Pork Sandwiches with IPA Jalapeño Slaw; and third, the IPA Watermelon Ceviche. I'll only have 97 more after that!

Great book, fantastic photos, delicious sounding names, simple to follow instructions. Now all that's left is to make the food! Check out this book!

Excerpted from The Craft Beer Cookbook Copyright © 2013 by Jacquelyn Dodd and published by F+W Media, Inc. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Photographs by Jacquelyn Dodd.