Yep it's a mouthful of a title, but its quite possible the greatest thing I have ever made. I am sure I am not the first person to think of a banana bacon bread, but this sort of evolved for me from scratch.
I had a package of bacon that I needed to use up. I was originally going to crisp up the bacon and make chocolate covered bacon. Just to have around as a snack. Why not? But then I had some bananas that needed to be used. Banana's for some reason, do not last more than a day or two in my apartment without going brown. Banana bread was obviously on the table and then I thought, what if I crumbled bacon into the banana bread? What if I made a sour cream banana bread? And what if I put honey pecans on top? Later, in a last minute decision, I put two pinches of kosher salt into the glaze to add a double punch of sweet and salty like the bread itself. And that's how it happened. That's how the greatest creation of my life came to be.
I didn't expect this recipe to be so coveted. A bunch of people have asked for this because I told Mario Batali I was planning this on twitter. Thanks to his RT, and some friends on FB, the recipe is going up now. The pics were taken with an iphone since it was only an experiment. Forgive the quality.
Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins | Active Time: 20 mins | Makes: 1 (9-inch) loaf
This banana bread starts as a thick, tangy batter full of mashed banana, and emerges from the oven with a golden-brown crust and a moist, almost cake-like texture.
Game plan: We tested this recipe using a stand mixer, but it could easily be made by just stirring all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 very ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup sour cream
**Added Ingredient: One package of bacon cooked crispy, and crumbled.
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour, tapping out the excess. Whisk together the measured flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl to aerate and break up any lumps. Set aside.
Place the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Add the bananas and sour cream and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
Turn the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, the top is golden brown, and the bread is pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 1 hour.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the perimeter of the pan, invert to release the bread, and cool completely on the wire rack before serving.
** Once it's cooled, place on a large serving plate or cake display with plenty of room for honey pecan glaze to drizzle over the top and sides.
Notes:
I tweaked this recipe by using 3 bananas and a little more sour cream. Be mindful of the baking powder. I used a brand new tin of baking soda and it caused the batter to spill over a bit while it was baking. So, put your banana bread pan on a sheet pan to catch anything in case it does spill over.
**Added Ingredient: 2 pinches of kosher salt or large granualed sea salt.
Chop half cup of pecans and leave some peices whole.
In a heavy saucepan, add the butter (chopped into 2 pieces), sugar, and honey. Bring these to a boil over medium-low and stir frequently until the sugar is dissolved.
**Turn off the heat. Toss in the pecans and salt and stir. Allow to cool but still be slightly runny so you can pour over the top of the bread.
Spoon the mixture on top of the cooled banana bread leaving most of the larger pieces on top of the bread. Allow it to drip down the sides.
Realizing that I had everything for that sandwich in my pantry, I whipped up my own little copycat version. Granted the bread isn't some glorious rustic sourdough, and the cheese is just a mild shredded cheddar and not some awesomely aged, rustic farmhouse cheddar. It still did the trick. Served with a little leftover potato and leek soup I made few days ago.
Whole Foods 12 Grain Bread My Friend's Mustard Rye (Sixpoint Righteous Rye Beer) Applegate Farm Prosciutto Mild Shredded Cheddar Cheese Dried Turkish Figs Trappist Mango and peppr jam
Todd's birthday dinner at a very special new place in Union Sq., Somerville called Journeyman. A new restaurant focusing on local and fresh daily offerings. This restaurant is tucked away in a small nook next to the Independent in Union Sq. A great spot for beers before or after dinner.
Journeyman is the project of a handful of food-loving friends who believe that fine dining should be a comfortable, intimate, and delicious experience. We’ve created a small, refined restaurant that serves elegant but unpretentious food and drink with relaxed and respectful service.
Our food comes from local farmers and artisans, often people we know and respect in our personal lives. We grow edible herbs and flowers in our window garden, and are working to become an active member of the Union Square Community by supporting as many local producers as we can, including some neighborhood favorites like Taza Chocolate and Pretty Things beer.
Our beverage program focuses on the strange and wonderful back alleys of production, featuring wines made in traditional ways in unusual areas, beers brewed with special care all over the world, and a wide selection of superb aperitifs and digestifs. We bring in our teas from Upton, and our coffees from Counter Culture, and the selection rotates regularly.
When I first heard about Journeyman, I met a guy name Seth Hill, their beverage buyer, who told us about this new place opening and it was going to be very small with maybe 35 seats and a menu that changes every day to every couple of days based on what is available and what was sourced locally from the area markets and surrounding farms. Cocktails, wines, and he assured us good beers too. Sounded right up our alley.
The restaurant is a very large open space from floor to ceiling but still small enough and intimate enough for a small restaurant with only around 35 seats. Open kitchen that kind of feels like a kitchen in someones apartment. Simple decorations and boxes of herbs next to the window. Great location.
We were most impressed with the pricing. You can do a 3 course, 5 course, and 7 course tasting in both meat or vegetarian for $39, $65, and $85. This is very reasonable for fine dining. Especially with locally sourced foods. You won't that anywhere with this kind of quality. Also, we were most impressed that they advertised on their website that not only do they pair the courses with wine but beer as well. Most places will accommodate you with beer, but never make mention of it unless you ask. Our fine dining in this city really appreciates beer and we as BeerAdvocates, couldn't be more thrilled. Our constant questions for restaurants are why would you feature the finest ingredients on your menu, the finest wines, the finest spirits, but only have a minimal and lame selection of beers?
Here is there beer list from Monday night.
Started off with a Bushnell Spritz, a cosmo with a sugar cube and bitters topped with champagne (Dope yo!) and Todd had a Pretty Things American Darling.
We opted for the 7 course tasting. Why not jump right in? It's new, the waitstaff was super friendly and fun, why not indeed?
First Course: Butternut squash puree.
Simple, elegant and very fresh. Not spiced to hell with nutmeg and allspice either. Just tasted like gorgeous warm squash. Look at that gorgeous orange color. So many times you see butternut squash soup and it's pale yellow and loaded with cream.
Obviously it didn't suck. This is what every plate we were served looked like when we were done.
House-made breads with butter served on a slate rock. Nice touch.
Second Course: Wilted spinach salad.
A sort of deconstructed salad with lots of veg and purees. I don't recall what everything on the plate was, but it was so tasty and delicious that believe me when I say I decimated this course. The colors once again really stand out and make for a lovely presentation.
Third Course: Celeriac Broth with Oysters and Chorizo.
THIS!!!! This course was so unexpected and so awesome. It was very simple yet the flavors were so unique and fantastic. Loved this course. Spicy chorizo which I believe is house-made with fresh and amazingly soft and delicate yet fatty oysters.
Fourth Course: Cod and onions.
Soft poached cod with leeks, spring onions, braised onions, pickled onions, and a ravioli with caramelized onions. This was another unexpected yet fantastic course. The cod was so deliciously soft and flavorful and the onions were perfect. Each adding their own unique tastes to the plate so that each bite was different.
Fifth Course: Charcuterie Plate and Pork Belly Raviolis.
A split in offerings for both Todd and I. Their menu was rotating in and out of things so we picked a few different choices here. Awesome rillette (center right) and lamb (bottom of pic) on the charcuterie plate. The real winner here though is the pork belly raviolis with (I think) a clementine reduction and onions. TO DIE FOR!!!!
Sixth Course: Foie Gras with persimmon and grapefruit foam.
Who does that? Who serves two huge slabs of Foie like that? Not that I am complaining mind you. Delicious, chilled, biting fresh grapefruit foam to help add acidity to the fatty foie. Rich and delicious just as you would expect. Just a bit too much for us though. We did the tackiest thing and asked if we could take it to go. No way I wanted to waste it, but after a few bites I could feel my heart slowing down.
Seventh Course: Lamb two ways.
Braised and grilled with butternut squash ribbons, eggplant, chickpea puree, fresh green chick peas, and roasted chick peas.
Middle Eastern inspired and simply presented. Loved this course. The lamb was delicate, soft and perfectly cooked. The chick peas added various textures to the plate and the squash ribbons added a hint of sweetness to the plate. Delicious and again simple.
Vino with dinner and Todd had Oerbier from De Dolle. Todd was a happy man to have that this foie and lamb course.
Intermezzo: Lime sorbet with coconut.
This course is a bit fuzzy for me forgive me. I was reaching food coma status at this point. It had limes and coconut but I can't remember what the foam on top was. That doesn't make it less tasty or mean that it's a forgettable course, it just means I was enjoying the shit out of myself.
Dessert: Semolina Cake
Whole grains and semolina cake with coffee foam, rice pudding, lemon sauce, and sorbet. Off the top of my head I forget what the bruleed sauce was. Might have been vanilla. Once again things we're getting a bit food coma fuzzy for me.
This was a very nice and clean dessert. Lot's of flavor pops that all seemed to work in harmony despite how contrasting they were in comparison to one and other. As the Official Chocolate Advocate, I am saying that not every fancy restaurant has to serve you a big rich chocolate dessert to feel like you were treated like absolute royalty on this culinary adventure.
They paired this course with an awesome sparkling pear cider. I haven't had a more aromatic, and fresh tasting cider before. I really dug this and will have to find out where to buy it. It was the exact right pairing for this dessert.
Treats: Lapsang Souchong Tea Custard with butter cookies and brownies.
Word is bomb!!! That tea custard was phenomenal! Normally that tea is too smoky for my liking but this was subtle tea and smoke flavors on a custard. It was awesome. I couldn't stop eating it. And a natural fit with the small brownie and cookie bites. Awesome ending.
Amazing meal. So well excecuted, extremely friendly staff, just an awesome time. I can't wait to go back and visit them. The prices were good, the restaurant is cute and intimate like being in someone's loft. Very inviting. The chefs, Diana Kudajarova and Tse Wei Lim are also interested and maybe doing a beer event. More on that soon!!!
I was sick and tired of beer dinners. Sick and tired of trying to come up with concepts for beer dinners. I had hosted a series of cool beer dinners in the past like the Aztec Beer Dinner, or Soul Food Brunch pairings, chocolate beer dinners, Russian beer dinners, even the now infamous Gallia Belgica.
All of those events were cool. No scratch that, they were amazing. But I now I am done with concepts or themes. I am done working with one sole brewer and only their line up of beers for beer dinners, and I am done with beer dinners that serve amazing food, but all anyone walks away with is, did they get enough of the geekiest beer being served that night.
I am through with coming up with beer dinners for beer geeks. A lot of them will never be satisfied and only want dinners that include full pours of Allagash Gargamel or something equally rare, they want the finest food to be served with it, and only want to pay $45 dollars max to be served like and eat like kings.
Sorry beer geeks, it's simply not about you anymore.
It's also not about the uber foodie either. I am frankly sick of them too. They don't have any idea about good craft beer (some of them anyway, not all of them), and they still turn their noses up at the idea that beer can be and is amazing with food.
Of course I am completely generalizing here, but you get the idea.
No Mas! No more creating dinners to suit other peoples needs. I wanted to create a series of dinners that highlight the things we love. From the restaurants, the chefs, the waitstaff, the style of food, and various beers. It may also include a wine versus beer tasting, a beer cocktail or spirit served with the meal, or even a beer battle itself!
The idea is to elevate the foodie to beer, and bring the beer geeks back down to reality with good solid beer and food offerings.
We had been discussing a possible beer dinner with Hungry Mother in Cambridge. A favorite restaurant who hadn't hosted a beer dinner before but was really contemplating the idea of working with us. I decided this was the right place to launch such an idea. Anyone who is local around here already knows Hungry Mother and how awesome they are. If you don't, drop whatever it is you are doing, shut your mouth, and go over there and have dinner immediately.
Their style is Appalachian-style southern food with local ingredients, and French techniques.
** When I say Appalachian, I mean App-il-lay-chin. The fine folks at HM will disagree with me until we are all blue in the face, but actually being from Virginia, and more the Appalachian Mountain chain extending way up into New England, I am right! Only in the deep corners of the south and the Blue Ridge Mountains do you call it "App-a-Latch-chan."
This is the kind of place that will serve you cheesy grits and bacon that will make your mama cry. They will serve it with a Hickory Dickel (Gingerale, George Dickel, a tiny hint of liquid smoke, and a bacon lardoon garnish. They will serve you a gorgeous country-style gnocchi with peas, mushrooms, and bacon, but serve you a Genesee Cream Ale with it. This is exactly our kind of place.
Together with Todd and Jason, myself, Alon and Rachel Munzer, Barry Maiden, John Kessen, and the various waitstaff and barkeeps, we created a fun menu to showcase the fun stuff Hungry Mother likes to create, and we all had a hand in picking our favorite beers for this menu. Beers that WE loved and it didn't have anything to do with whether they were super rare or super generic. It's all about what we love and what we wanted to share with our friends and patrons.
I want to highlight that at the very bottom of the menu listed all the things Hungry Mother loves.
Things We Love: BeerAdvocate, Deep Ellum, The Gallows, Carolina Chocolate Drops, East by Northeast, pizza, opera, Dylan & Mira, our lawyer, Jamison Farm, Tetris, Anson Mills, Eastern Standard, Muddy Pond sorghum, bourbon, hot dogs, Ridgeway Blue, rainbows and puppydogs, Kanye, days off, snood, golf, ukuleles, drinking, Strangeways Here We Come, (ex) data synapse, Joe-Joe's, Brazil, Hulu, bonfires on Wiborgs Beach, boo ya later.
We welcomed everyone to dinner with southern specialties of house made dilly beans, boiled peanuts, and homemade chips.
*Click to enlarge any image.
Great social foods to pick at and get introduced to your table. We sat a lot of people together in groups. The Dilly beans were spicy and tangy, the chips were crisp and addicting. I will take the word from everyone at the table that said the boiled peanuts were fantastic. They ate them all! I am a southerner who who doesn't care for boiled peanuts. I know, it's pure blasphemy. But it's a classic none the less and perfect for the table.
We also opened up with a beer cocktail of Campari, sorghum syrup, and Smuttynose Star Island single.
First course:
Miss Lewis' Tomato Aspic with Deviled Quail Egg and Bacon.
Beer: Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project American Darling, 7% abv
I think this was my favorite course. The aspic was soft and extremely flavorful with tomatoes. The deviled quails egg was cute and packed just the right amount of pop of creamy texture and flavor contrast for the beer. The bacon was just an awesome hint for the plate that tied every thing together. Really, who can deny a lovely piece of bacon? They should have had a piece of bacon on every course served for this dinner.
The beer was perfectly fresh, crisp, and delicious. Just a tad too hoppy for the aspic though. Not enough to clash, but while pilsners and lagers are excellent for tomatoes, the added hop bite of American darling, almost proved to be to much. But as a hop head, I never mind big hops.
HM always offers a pork plate of some sort. This was the perfect portion size for wonder flavors and two different variations of pork. Paired with the most classic beer for pork, Schlenkerla Marzen larger. Smoked beers are made for pork dishes. It's a simple pairing but packed full of flavor and proved during this dinner why we love it.
Third Course:
Catfish Caveach picholines, capers, poblanos.
Beer: Allagash White, 5.2% abv
Caveach is basically a method of pickling fish. It was fantastic catfish too. It had a lovely earthy rustic taste to it and the Allagash White really went perfectly with it. The tangy capers and vinegars tastes were smoothed out by the lovely and soft flavors of the wit bier. The soft texture and hearty flavors of the catfish were fantastic.
Fourth Course:
Shrimp and Grits with HM tasso, cornbread croutons, and rosemary.
Beer: Cape Ann Fishermans IPA, 5.5% abv
You can't have a real southern meal with out grits. HM always has a grit offering in some way. Shrimp and grits are a classic southern, soul food offering. These grits were slow cooked, creamy and deliciously buttery. The shrimp and sauce was extremely flavorful and worked well with the malty IPA. Malty and hops are good for rich sauces like this. I really didn't want this course to end.
Fifth Course:
Fried chicken picnic with "kohlslaw", compressed watermelon, and Texas Pete.
Beer: Narragansett vs. Genny Cream Ale
Yes! Yes, we did go there with fried chicken and cheap beer at a fancy beer dinner. Genny Cream Ale is a favorite of the HM staff, and Narragansett is a Todd favorite. We thought, why not battle them out and see which cheap beer is the favorite among crowd?
The best part of this was serving the chicken in paper baskets and the beer served in cans with paper cups on the tables. As soon as the beers were delivered, the cracking noises in sync around the room from the cans was amazing. It was super fun and had everyone engaged. I have never seen that many smiles for cheap beer in a long time. It goes to show you that there is a time and a lace for every beer. Only one person wasn't really thrilled with the cheap beer choices because he prefers Budweiser for his cheap beer of choice. I am a PBR girl myself, but I didn't let that stop me.
Before I announce the winner, lets talk about the food. Compressed watermelon? Yep vacuumed sealed so that all the juices compressed further into the melon. Sprinkled with salt to give it an awesome contrast to the insanely sweet and delicious melon. The "kohlslaw" was light and creamy and packed a delicate hit of flavors.
The fried chicken was perfectly southern. Juicy and that right bit of nearly burnt skin flavor. It tasted just like my mom's pan fried chicken and no one beats my mom's chicken! I was surprised to find out it was not pan fried. Close enough though. They deep fried it in a deep fryer but set the chicken high in the fryer like it was pan frying.
Winner: Narragansett!
But winner by a slim margin. The way it worked for me and a lot of people tended to agree was that the Genny Cream Ale was perfect right after the grits and worked extremely well with the "kohlslaw." But it was the 'Gansett that over took every thing by working perfectly with the watermelon and fried chicken.
Very fun course.
Sixth Course:
Pulled Jamison Lamb with hominy tortilla, corn and tomato chow chow.
Beer: Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, 8% abv
Wonderfully tender lamb. Flavor explosion with the southwest-style flavors perfectly matched with the malty and bitter Hop Rod Rye. This was one of the best matched courses with the beer. Unfortunately this was also the course where we all realized that this we may have been in over our heads. We still had desserts and cheese coming!
Seventh Course:
Meadow Creek Grayson with green tomato and sour cherry jam, crystal malt, and house made beer bread.
Originally we had planned for the beer to be Cerise from Founders. The reason being is that that beer tastes exactly like cherry pie filling! Something so southern, and cherries were in perfect season. However, there was none available and I think it worked out for the better.
Cisco Cherry Woods was available. It too had a delicious cherry pie filling taste, but with a much more crisp and delightfully sour bite to it. Not too sour where it burns your throat going down. It was very enjoyable and delicious. I am not usually a fan of sour ales, but this is one I very much enjoyed and could drink more than one glass of.
The sour notes and carbonation cut right through the cow's milk cheese allowing for an excellent pairing.
The beer bread was homemade and soft and the sour cherry jam was actually pretty mild. I think most people were expecting more of a cherry pop to the jam, but it was soft and mild because of the green tomatoes. If if had been more sour, the beer and jam would have over powered the pairing. I really enjoyed the sweet little accent of the crystal malt sprinkled on the plate as well.
Eighth Course:
Chocolate cake, sorghum buttercream, Benne brittle.
Beer: Left Hand Milk Stout 5.2% abv
Yes!! Chocolate cake covered in chocolate. A sesame seed brittle on top and Left Hand Milk Stout served in coffee cups. I loved that detail. HM has such cool flare.
This cake was rich and balanced by a lovely sorghum buttercream filling. It was very reminiscent of a New England whoopie pie. Rich chocolate flavors, butter sesame brittle, and rich, bitter, chocolate-y beer.
When we realized we were in trouble with the lamb course, this surely sent us all over the edge. And we still had one more to go.
Taza is a local favorite of HM as it is with many local shops and restaurants. It's a natural fit for those shops and restaurants who keep it local and source ingredient from their area and local producers. I am personally not a huge fan of Taza Chocolate, but just for this once I didn't mind it. The cookies were soft, buttery, and had that perfect balance of salt by being topped with sea salt. Sweet and salty always works. The cookie dough covered up the flaws I normally find in Taza Chocolate.
The cocktail was a nice way to end the night. We were all so full and in full on food coma mode. The cocktail was soothing and settled our full bellies.
And there you have it. Hungry Mother's first beer dinner showcasing their favorite things with a combination of our favorite beers. From the details of the paper in the fired chicken course, to the mini mason jars filled with gorgeous tomato aspic, to the coffee cups filled with milk stout, they really knocked this one out of the park. For their first ever beer dinner, they really seemed to get it. Look for more events with BeerAdvocae and Hungry Mother in the future. I know I certainly can't wait to work with them again.
The idea that having a fun and a well received beer dinner without serving the most rare and geekiest of beers was made abundantly clear with the super fun fried chicken course. A successful event that proves we need to listen to ourselves more. Trust our own ideas and go with what we know works and what we love. It's up to you to come with us or not. As you can see, if you don't, you might be missing out on some really amazing food and some real good times.
For a while now I have been hanging out at Green Street with the owner and good personal friend, Dylan Black. It's become our local go to place with amazing food and drinks.
Dylan opened Green Street around three and half years ago and has transformed it from the Caribbean themed menu and sometimes salsa dancing, to a slow food movement restaurant. They have a short and sweet seasonal menu, a tight bottled beer list and good rotating draft list with a possible addition of 3 more taps, an amazing wine list with the price range between $32 and $58 dollars (no wallet busting offerings), and last but not least cocktails galore. The cocktail list is on a multi-page menu listed from A-Z. With cocktails being all the rage these days, Green Street has a strong footing in the Boston market for mixed drinks.
But this isn't about the cocktails, this is about the beer. Dylan would ask us from time to time, "What's hot right now for beer, and what would be a good fit for my restaurant?" After taking a few of our suggestions and having them work out well with Green Flash and Sixpoint, we decided the next step was to host a beer dinner at Green Street. Dylan Black has an amazing excitement and enthusiasm for learning about craft beers and working them in his restaurant.
After the American Craft Beer Festival we threw in June, I got to catch up with Eric VanZile the rep. for Ithaca Beer Co., I was reflecting on a great beer dinner they had at Cambridge Common which I was present for a few years ago. Eric had mentioned to me that that was the last time they had a beer dinner in the Boston area.
Perfect timing to welcome Ithaca back to the area and get Green Street's legs wet a bit with beer dinners. After playing around with a few concepts, this is what we came up with.
Chef Greg Reeves created the menu, while Dylan and myself hand selected the beers. A few special offerings thrown in by Jeff O'Neil "The Chief" and Brewmaster of Ithaca Beer Co.
Welcome to BeerAdvocate on Green Street Featuring Ithaca Beer Co. Some beer descriptions are via BeerAdvocate.com.
We welcomed everyone with a nice house made charcuterie set up with cornichons and pickled onions, fresh breads and butter and paired the welcoming course with Outdoor Harvest Ale. A pale ale that is about 5.9 to 6% abv.
The Outdoor Harvest ale was a bit cloudy and hazy, but had a nice fruity nose. It was lightly sweet, with big honey notes. The beer was also made with locally grown hops around Ithaca, New York. It complimented the charcuterie plate with the steel-y tastes from the meats. Salty notes mingling with sweet, honey notes from the beer. The pickled veg added a nice little pop of tart vinegar that the sweet malts immediately reacted to it and gave a nice little contrast at the right amount.
Definitely a great way to kick things off. Meat and beer.
[Eric VanZile tapping the cask of Flower Power IPA.]
Our second course was a passed course Tartare of Beef with capers and cornichons paired with Ithaca's Flower Power IPA on cask. An American IPA with a fairly robust hop character and 8% abv. This was one of the special offerings brought up by Jeff O'Neil. More amazing was that this cask got to us about 15 minutes before the doors opened up all the way from Ithaca, and had zero cloudiness or sediments floating around.
To me this was the most underrated pairing of the evening. Pairing food with hops can be a tricky business. Usually hoppy beers get paired with hot, spicy foods. It was definitely nice to see this paired with beef tartare. There were a little bit of pickled onions on these as well which added that same effect of a pop of tartness. The tartare was set in a gougère, a light and airy cheese puff. Together the beef and tangy capers allowed the malts of the beer to come through. The cheese gougère gave way for some of the spiciness from the hops to come out. As well as the steel-y, iron taste from the rare tartare played around with the hops like sweet malts do with hops. Good balance all around. This was what I called in my notes a "More and more" pairing because I wanted more and more. This was a near perfect pairing and again totally underrated as it was a small, amuse bouche and the cask was getting all the attention.
A slight snob moment for me is that I generally do not prefer hoppy beers on cask. I feel that the bitterness gets completely toned down and in some cases flattened or watered down. That didn't happen with this cask, but the hops were toned down a slight bit. The carbonation held up but was not as effervescent as it normally is on bottle or draft. Usually with casks they are meant to be served at around 50 degrees. At that temperature hops and malts are already opened up for you. This is an effect I do not like with hops on cask. I prefer my hoppy beers to be super cold to watch them open and blossom in my own hands. This cask was certainly cold enough, and hoppy enough, but in my perfect world no hoppy beers would ever be put on cask. Let me rephrase that, no Americanized version of hoppy or super hoppy beers would ever be put on cask. Ice cold draft and bottles only.
For the beer geeks who live and die for cask however, this was a real treat. And despite my thoughts on hoppy beers on cask, I actually did find the beer quite enjoyable. Flower Power has changed over the years. It wasn't always as hoppy or refreshing. Recently they upped the ante with this beer and kicked up the hops. It's a borderline IPA. Borderline by almost being a double IPA and having an 8% abv. My kind of IPA.
And we continue on with a second passed course.
Island Creek Oysters Rockefeller with creamed spinach and caraway bread crumbs paired with Gorges Smoked Porter. An American porter, 6.30% abv.
Porters and oysters are a no-brainer pairing for a lot of people into beer and food pairings. It's the salty, sea taste oysters have coupled with the robust flavors of toasted or smoked malts. It's also typically light enough to be paired with sea food offerings. But the rich flavors of the oysters and beer tend to work marvelously together.
In this case, the wonderful smoked flavors worked well the the caraway rye seeds from the bread crumbs giving off a slight anise flavor. Gorges is also light enough to be a session beer despite its huge smoked flavors. It's a misconception beer by its aroma and color. Looks heavy and smells heavy, but drinks fairly easily. Which is why it works well with something like oysters. Oysers with their big sea flavor, but light and meaty texture. Both the beer and oysters are a bit of a paradox, but in a good way. These particular oysters were extremely fresh and meaty. Island Creek happens to be one of the best names in the Boston area for amazing oysters.
Also the folks of Island Creek were in attendance and were very happy with the pairing. Nothing better than making the producers happy.
This was arguably the best course of the night. A wild mushroom and bone marrow bread pudding with a sherry, foie gras emulsification paired with the Excelsior Brute. An American wild/ sour ale made withvintage (aged) local hops, barley, wheat, corn, aged in oak with Brett and finished with three types of champagne yeast. 6.5% abv.
The bread pudding was a little more cake-y than pudding like but that didn't matter based on it's taste. It was super rich and had a good texture. Kind of like a cake-y corn bread but rich, buttery, and good herb flavor to it. The bone marrow added a unique depth to it with big flavor but wasn't the overall flavor of the bread pudding. The wild mushrooms were set on top. The sherry, foie gras emulsification was the most rich and decadent sauce I have ever had. It was delicious, fatty, and rich. Just perfect. The Brute was a sour with champagne yeast that gave it a good carbonation that helped cut right through the rich fats. This was a perfect pairing. The wheat and corn flavors could actually be tasted without the sour dominating the palate as the sour and carbonation worked on the fats. This allowed the sweet sherry flavors to come out and allowed the rich grains in the beer to come out. The hops were a vintage or aged hop varietal locally grown in Ithaca but we're lightly present in the beer. The frisee added a nice tough of freshness and a touch of a crunchy texture. Added a little bitterness and earthiness to over all rich pairing. Helped add some balance to the dish.
For me this was a brett beer I could deal with. Brettanomyces beers usually do not sit well with me. Brett also has the propensity to be the dominate flavor in most beers it's in. With this beer, the brett was present, but was delicate enough to allow the other flavors to come out. Normally that is not the case. this is a sign of a good brewer. One who can balance the right amount.
And our last course served family style. Suckling pig porchetta with honey crisp apples, horseradish, and alyssa craig onions paired with Excelsior Eleven. A sweet, milk/lacto stout brewed with British, German, and French malts, American hops, and milk
sugar, then aged for weeks on locally roasted Sumatra coffee beans. 7.5% abv.
Pay attention to that last bit. This is a beer aged on coffee beans not brewed coffee in it. Interesting twist.
Porchetta is a traditional Italian style way of serving pork. Here is a quick description from Wikipedia that pretty much says it all.
Porchetta /por'ket:a/ is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged
carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled,
spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually
heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild. Porchetta has been selected by the Italian Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali as a "prodotto agroalimentare tradizinale" ("traditional agricultural-alimentary product", one of a list of traditional Italian foods held to have cultural relevance).
This was stuffed with a sausage made from the pig, stuffed, rolled with the tenderloin, covered in the pork fat, and roasted. Then smothered with the apple, onion, and horseradish sauce.
[The only shot of the beer I got for this course. I didn't realize that until I began to blog. The beer was served in a small snifter glass, and had a deep chocolate color.]
The meat was perfectly cooked. Nice and moist and the flavors of the onions, horseradish, and apples were perfect for the pork. The horseradish was a great addition as it gave a good pop to the already sweet apples and onions. This was a contrasting course with the coffee milk stout. The coffee flavors were bold and robust, and worked well with the apples and onions. The lactobacillus in the beer added a nice tangy touch to the beer which helped out with the fat on the pork. The beer itself was sweet and malty, with fruits and a dry finish. Dylan said it was like a burgundy wine with all the notes and flavors coming off of it. The dry finish seems to be a signature on a lot of Ithaca's beers. Nothing they make is cloying or lingers on the palate in an unpleasant way.
This was the course I thought the Brute would work best with. I had enough of the Brute left to try both the Eleven and the Brute together and the Brute was way off. The pork made the Brute soapy and gave it a weird creamy texture. I thought the Brute would work based on the apples, but it was the fat, that ruined them from being perfect. So despite the strange elements of coffee notes, Eleven ended up the much better pairing. Again a contrasting pairing with a lot of flavor coming at you. But with such large portions you had enough time to figure it out and let it sink in.
And last but not least a small bite of the tres leche cake for Jason Alström as he was in the house and celebrated his birthday a few days early with us.
And later that night The Chief brought one of my favorites that I was really torn about using, Excelsior White Gold and Old Habit. You don't need me to describe the beers, as you can see the description clearly on the bottles.
For Green Street's first beer dinner, they really nailed it. The flavors of the food really complimented the beers. There were no wrong pairings or "close we'll let this one slide" pairings. At least according to me. And despite being the one who set this event up, I tend to be more critical of my own events. And not being the chef for the event, I can be more objective about it. All of the courses worked, and the food was incredible.
I was extremely grateful to Eric VanZile and Jeff O'Neil for making the huge trek out and then back to NY again. Eric was off to Philly after this event. Jeff brought some nice treats for us including the Cask Flower Power, White Gold, and Old Habit.
I will look forward to working with Dylan Black and Greg Reeves again for another beer dinner.
(I love that this picture shows hot steam coming from the plate.)
There is no real correlation to the name and this particular meat sauce. It entered my head and refused to leave. Mean Jean Meat Sauce is what this sauce will be called henceforth.
This is a meat sauce that I like to make from time to time. It varies with some of the ingredients, but you will notice the "optional" next to the ingredients I use or sometimes skip.
This is a recipe ideal for large families or for freezing copious amounts of leftovers. Be advised to have a pot or pan large enough to cook this massive recipe in. I use a large wok and still this sauce was almost too big.
Mean Jean Meat Sauce
Ingredients:
2# ground Beef or Turkey 2 1 pound jars of Pasta Sauce (Prego ect.) 2 cans Stewed Tomatoes not drained (optional) 1 large White Onion 1 large Green Bell Pepper 1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper 1 Large Red Bell Pepper 10 to 15 large White Mushrooms 1 to 2 Large carrots 2 stalks Celery 4 or 5 cloves of Garlic finely minced 1/2# Pancetta or a big chunk of a Prosciutto End (optional) 2 Bay Leaves 1/2 tbls. Chili Powder 1/2 tbls. Sage 1 tbls. Oregano 1 tbls. Basil 1 tbls. Italian Seasoning 1 tbls. Onion Powder 1/2 tbls. Garlic Powder 2 or 3 dashes Cinnamon (Optional) 1/3 cup Sugar (Optional) Salt and Pepper to taste
*A couple of notes before we start. The stewed tomatoes are optional. I add them because I like them in my sauce. If you build a base sauce without the pasta sauce you can add plain tomato sauce and tomato paste with the stewed tomatoes. Just spice the sauce heavily. It's much easier to use a premade pasta sauce though.
The Pancetta or Prosciutto end add a wonderful salted pork/ham flavor to the pasta sauce. It's totally optional but I find it works well. It was a tip given to me by a cook a few years ago that I have adopted and kept on with. You won't need much salt added to the sauce if you add this step to your sauce.
I also add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon to my sauce. The sugar helps tone down the acid in the tomato sauce. If you have heart burn you might want to think about adding sugar to your sauces. I add a touch of cinnamon for a unique angle to my sauce. It will make your sauce smell like cinnamon but does not overwhelm or dominate the sauce. Believe me when I say, I know how weird this sounds. It's just and interesting option that I happen to like when balancing the salty meats added to the sauce. Sweet and Savory.
Method:
Wash all vegetables. Peel carrots and thinly slice them. Slice bell peppers in half and empty the cores. Cut the ends from the celery. Finely chop the peppers and celery and place in a bowl and leave on the side for now.
Next thinly slice mushrooms and place in a separate bowl an leave on the side.
Chop onions and garlic and very fine.
In a large pan or pot begin to cook ground beef or turkey on medium high heat with onions and garlic. Once the meat is fully cooked drain off any excess water and grease.
Reduce heat to medium. Add sauce, stewed tomatoes, spices, vegetables, and mushrooms.
Allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes. Then add pancetta or prosciutto end and allow sauce to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occassionally while simmering. Adjust heat to make sure you have a perfect small bubble simmer.
While the sauce is simmering begin prepping Garlic bread.
Once the sauce has simmered, remove pancetta from the sauce. Trim the fat from the pancetta and dice the meat and stir the meat back into the sauce.
Allow to simmer for a few more minutes and then turn the heat off of the sauce. Begin boiling your pasta adding some olive oil and salt.
Once pasta is cooked, drain and add a touch more olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking. Plate the noodles and cover with copious amounts of sauce. Serve with garlic bread.
Garlic Bread
1 large French Baguette
1 to 2 sticks of butter (I used two because my baguette was large.)
1 tbls chopped garlic
1 1/2 tbls Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion salt
Preheat oven to 375° Slice baguette in two inch pieces without cutting all the way through. Place baguette in foil and slightly wrap it up in foil.
Melt butter in microwave. Add garlic and spices and mix well. Drop a teaspoon of garlic butter between each slice of the baguette. Coat the top of the baguette with remaining mixture. Finish wrapping baguette in foil and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
I don't know what comes over me when I get ideas to bake things at 1 am. I should learn to tell myself that it is okay and they can wait until tomorrow, but when I got to make something, it has to be done right away. Well I got the urge last night and made Krispy Kreme donuts. I was originally going to make Chocolate Eclairs. I probably should have after realizing too late that my kitchen wasn't hot enough to proof my donuts and they wound up taking a few more hours to make versus 2. Live and learn.
Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups flour.
Beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Stir in remaining flour until smooth.
Cover and let rise until double, 50-60 minutes.
*I don't have a proper donut cutter. I used a biscuit cutter and an attachment from my pastry bag to cut a hole in the center.
(Dough is ready when indentation remains when touched.) Turn dough onto floured surface; roll around lightly to coat with flour.
Gently roll dough 1/2-inch thick with floured rolling pin.
Cut with floured doughnut cutter.
Cover and let rise until double, 30-40 minutes.
Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350°.
Slide doughnuts into hot oil with wide spatula.
Turn doughnuts as they rise to the surface.
Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side.
Remove carefully from oil (do not prick surface); drain.
Dip the doughnuts into creamy glaze set on rack then when slightly cooled spread chocolate frosting on top.
Dip in sprinkles or other toppings after chocolate if desired.
*Forgot to snap a pic of adding the powdered sugar.
Creamy Glaze: Heat butter until melted.
Remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
*I only had a few ounces of milk chocolate. My images reflect that I had to use cocoa powder and butter and sugar to compensate. Then I added the amount of butter the recipe called for. I didn't get a shot a of the finished product though. I can say that the way I made this glaze, it tasted just like hot fudge glaze. A most excellent effect.
Chocolate Frosting: Heat butter and chocolate over low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency.
As we continue walking through the famed Borough Market of London, we stumble on to some more gems.
Starting with Buffalo Mozzarella. A personal fav.
This Tea was the best cup of tea I had in London. Granted, I did not sit down and have proper tea while visiting. The Earl Grey was superior. And it was perfect for the chilly stroll through the market.
The Flour Station Breads.
Nice little spread of apple juices and ciders and other fun things.
Topolski Polish Sausages.
Those sausages reminded me of this classic clip.
From Poland to Switzerland. Lovely Swiss cheese.
Pie Minister Perfect Pies. "Yum... Yum... Put a Pie In Your Tum."
Smoked Salmon and spreads.
Boston Sausages. Since 1852.
And last but not least, lovely French cheeses.
The Borough Market is a must see while visiting London. You can get delicious sandwiches being made right there for you. We had grilled ribeye sandwiches. And right next to the sandwich stand was a Jamaican stand with some good looking meat pockets and jerk chicken. And those are only 2 small places. There are loads of places to stop and pick up a snack. The whole place is amazing.
Right around the corner from the Market is a great bar called The Rake. I had to take a picture of this sign outside of the bar being from Boston and all.
Also there is a tourist pub called the Old Thameside Inn, around the corner that was a lovely little stop for a quick pint over looking the Thames. We stumbled on to it when we saw this ship.
[Blurry pic taken after a few pints of beer at The Rake. I realised I came in from the back entrance and missed this shot. It looked okay after I snapped it. LOL]
Click all images to Enlarge.
It has taken me awhile to come back and tend to my blog. My deepest apologies for that. But with this post, it should more than make up for the hiatus.
While traveling in London, England, we were told by several friends and locals to make sure we stop by the Borough Market by the London Bridge. The London Bridge is not the iconic image that you normally see. That is called the Tower Bridge. It's down the street a bit from the London Bridge area.
We knew we were headed to a food market, but didn't expect the wonders that lay ahead with cheeses, meats, breads, sandwiches, and candies. This place is a foodies dream. Tons of good local products. We were there on a winters day and it was absolutely packed. Apparently, it gets much more crowded and more vendors are usually available in warmer months.
Upon arriving, we came across the glorious cheese section. First up Is Gorwydd Caerphilly Cheese from Wales. A raw cow's milk cheese. And Marcel Petit Comte from France. An aged Gruyere, cow's milk cheese. Both of these are world class, amazing cheeses.
Up next is Ubriaco from Italy. A.K.A. Drunk Cheese. A cow's milk cheese and covered in crushed grape skins or grape pomace. And Borenkaas. Big bold dutch cheese. A raw cow's milk gouda.
Fresh meats. Although check out the slab of meat in the center left. Looks a little aged. Also I snapped a shot of some chocolate bars. Notice the Skulls on the Mole Poblano.
Fresh cold water oysters. Along with my husband Todd Alstrom, who loves them and couldn't resist a quick shot of one with some mignonette.
Fresh breads and more cheeses. H.S. Bourne Cheshire cheeses. Very nice cheeses. The smoked cheese looks so awesome. I just want to make a smoked cheese soup out that wheel. And the chive cheese, cow's milk, the one in the last pic with the green flecks in it was really tasty.
Organic meats and Stichleton a raw cow's milk stilton.
Whose bright idea was it to tempt us all with chocolate truffles in giant piles and mounds. And candies as far as the eye can see?
And last but not least, some more meats, sandwiches and a sign that pretty much says it all as far as temptation goes.
So this concludes part one of the Borough Market. There is much more to come. Stay tuned.
This is a massive post about all the things I have taken pictures of recently but didn't do a step by step preparation pictorial for. Basically it's just pictures of awesome things I have made and felt like sharing. Let's jump in shall we?
Click the images to enlarge.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.
Brownies. Regular and Puffy Applesauce Brownies.
Pizza. Peppers and Pepperoni, Cheese and Mushrooms.
Deep Dish.
My Famous Honey, Buttermilk White Loaf.
Truffles. Dark Souls: Espresso and Bittersweet chocolate truffles rolled in unsweetened cocoa powder. Ghetto Fabulous: Courvoisier, Semisweet chocolate, rolled in powdered sugar.
German Chocolate Cake.
Turkish Coffee Pudding With Khalua Whipped Cream.
Cookies. Pecan Sandies.
Chocolate Chip with dried cranberries and almond extract.
Sugar and Snickerdoodles.
Chocolate Chip and Pecan.
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce. And yes I make it so big I have to cook it in a wok.
Pies. Bourbon Apple
Sweet Potato Pie with Streusel topping and Caramel Drizzle.
Mississippi Mud Cake with Bourbon Espresso Glaze.
Pumpkin Pie with Toffee and Walnut topping.
Fig Jam and Mascarpone Cookies.
Double Layer 7 Layer Bars.
Okay this post is big enough now. I hope you enjoyed scrolling through some of my past baking and cooking experiences.
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