Ever since coming home from The Netherlands and Belgium and being on a fabulous beer boat cruise organized by Bon Beer Voyage, I have been craving the quiche the fine folks on the boat served us for lunch one day. It was a broccoli and cashew quiche with mushrooms and onions. There was a pumpkin one too, but I figured I would try that another day. They made the quiche with puff pastry dough and I thought that was a fabulous idea. Softer and flakier than the standard dense pie crust.
I am not used to quiche so I didn't know how good this was going to be. It's not something we made in our house when we were kids. There is nothing to it yet it always seemed a little hoity toity. I have had it before and wasn't really impressed with it as it was always solid egg mass in a pie crust. Now that I've had it in the puff pastry, I had to recreate it. And it was made with less egg, so all you could taste was cumin, cashews, mushrooms, onions, and broccoli.
The originals: Pumpkin and Broccoli and Cashew
Mine came out more eggy and more dense than theirs because I used a deeper glass baking dish for it. I had to compensate with more eggs and cream. The recipe I am posting will be for a regular pie pan. So, it will look like the recipe doesn't match some of the the pictures.
Recipe:
Frozen Puff Pastry Crust thawed
1 lbs blanched broccoli
2 tbls olive oil or butter, plus 1 tbls
10 large button mushrooms quartered
2 cloves garlic
1 large red or white onion, chopped
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups dry roasted, salted cashews
2 tsps cumin
4 large eggs
1 cup of cream or half and half
1 1/2 cups of young gouda, shredded
Salt
Pepper
Preheat oven to 350°. Chop broccoli into smaller flourettes. Blanche broccoli in a pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes and then remove from water and set aside to cool.
Heat skillet on medium high heat with 2 tbls of olive oil or butter. Toss in onions, garlic and stir. Once the onions start becoming translucent, about 5 minutes, stir in the cashews and cumin until they get coated in the oil. Remove from heat.
In another skillet add one tbls of olive oil or butter and saute quartered mushrooms until they have shrunk by half and become tender. Remove from heat. Stir together with the onions and cashews.
**In the picture, I sauteed them together but the mushrooms produced a lot of water that did cook off but mellowed the cumin too much. Cook them separately and then add them together.
While the onions and mushrooms cook, roll out puff pastry and fit it inside a butered and floured pie pan with plenty of room left over for crust at the the tops. Take a fork and poke holes at the bottom of the pie pan a few times around the pan.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper to taste, and shredded gouda. Leave some gouda on the side for the top of the quiche.
Take the cooled broccoli and place half of the flourettes in the bottom of the prepared pie pan. Top the broccoli with mushrooms and onions mixture. The cover with half of egg and cheese mixture. Repeat this process and take extra cheese reserved on the side and top the quiche. Pinch down the top of the crust in a wavy pattern and make sure egg mixture is not too high for the crust. Brush the top of the crust with one beaten egg and a tbls of water or milk.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. To be sure the quiche is done, you want to make sure the center is cooked at least until 165° or 170°.
Let the quiche sit and cool for about 15 minutes. Slice and serve.
I just spent a spectacular weekend in New York. Did some pretty awesome food touring. I did bring my good camera down with me, but unfortunately there were some technical issues with the camera and I wasn't able to get high resolution images. I did have my iphone with me though. Sadly it's first generation and it just doesn't do any of these places justice. But we will get through it as best as we can.
A quick flight from Boston to NY and we took a tour of Union Beer Distributors as our first stop. One of the largest warehouses for craft beer. Then we were whisked off to grab a quick lunch at this amazing taco joint near the warehouse. Los Hermanos. A tortilla factory in Bushwick where they have begun to include making some tacos, quesadillas, and tortas.
A little carnitas and pollo tacos. These were delicious.
Then we went to the Astor Center for a quick class on cocktail infusions with oils and hydrosols and some distillation demonstrations. Taught by Dave Arnold, Director of Technology, FCI and Audrey Saunders, Mixologist and owner of Pegu Club.
This was a fun class to taste how you can distill flavors into alcohols like peanut flavored bourbon, and assam tea flavors with chocolate, and blue cheese flavors infused. To the instructions of how oils are to be used in cocktails and what exactly are hydrosols. Johnny Iuzzini, the Executive Pastry Chef of Jean Georges and from Top Chef: Just Desserts came and sat in on the class as well.
I thought Audrey Saunders was extremely knowledgeable and gave a great presentation. Dave Arnold was a crack up. Trying to focus on talking to the class while maintaining his distilling device. Shows how much I learned I can't remember the devices proper name.
We skipped the mingler after the class and went straight to Momofuku Noodle bar. All I am going to say is that we were treated very well here. The food is amazing. It's a ramen noodle bar with some off centered offerings that don't exactly fit with a noodle bar theme but still rock non the less.
Jars of pickled veg and kimchi.
Hamachi and Arctic Char plates.
Amazing beat salad with bacon and a yuzu yougurt and chicken wings.
The greatest thing on planet Earth. Pork Buns Momofuku style. Two pieces of pork belly with pickles and sauce wrapped up like a taco with a steamed bun. Un-fucking-believable. Trust me.
Spicy sausage and cashew ramen and Momofuku house ramen with pork, nori, fishcake, and poached egg.
The aftermath. We decimated our food. Great hospitality at Momofuku and amazing food. For some reason I didn't take pictures of dessert, but yes we did have some. Apple pie cake truffles, and pecan pie ice cream with spiced pecans at the bottom. Salty pecan pie ice cream was amazing, and the apple pie truffles were pieced of pie, battered and deep fried. Once again, simply amazing food.
Katz's Deli.
Saturday afternoon at Katz's Deli in the Lower East Side is a fucking mad house. It must said. It's organized chaos of rude, fat, pushy assholes all cramming in for a sandwich and a knish. But it's a classic iconic place and once you get a bite of that hot pastrami on rye, you would soon rather kick a kid in the eye just to get back inside and grab a sandwich. The place is legendary.
And yes it's the place where Meg Ryan had her orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally.
Psssht. You betta ax somebody. Hot pastrami on rye with mustard. Matzo ball soup and a sweet potato knish.
Sunday Morning we took an awesome tour of an underground train system found in Brooklyn to be the oldest in the world. Amazing tour and a great way to say you know Brooklyn inside and out. This was us going into the tunnel by the Trader Joes on Atlantic Ave.
After this we went to Prime Meats in Brooklyn for a late brunch.
Punch of the day and house made warm pretzels with butter.
Poached egg on mushrooms with bratwurst and toast, spaetzel and mushrooms.
Steak and frites and grilled German Leberkäse with eggs an frites. Note the orange yolk color of these beautiful farm fresh eggs.
Thick cut bacon.
Red cabbage and celery salad.
Prime Meats Manhattan. Probably the best Manhattan I have had in a while. Even Sara Hougaboom would approve.
A little Underberg never hurt anyone.
And some chocolate cake and creme brulee. And despite all this food, we didn't feel gross or weighed down after the meal. That's how you roll in Brooklyn. Full bellies full of fine food and amazing drinks. And then you are ready to rock it for the night.
Monday comes along and it's time for a radio interview on Cathy Erway's show Let's Eat In. Shane and Todd took the reigns for this one.
And since the radio station is at Roberta's, we stayed for some banging pizza.
And that is a fine way to eat through New York. One thing that is missing from this post is a special trip to Manhattan to Sushi Yasuda for some of the best sushi in America. That deserves it's own post though as there are so many pictures of the most delectable sushi I have ever had in my life.
After the Knighting ceremony of Todd and Jason Alstrom, Charlie Papazian, and Greg Koch by theKnighthood of the Brewers' Mash Staff (Belgian Brewers' Guild), we were invited to have lunch with Michel Moortgat of Duvel, the next day. We were told meet at a certain cafe and have some beers and then lunch.
We didn't know lunch was going to be such a fancy ordeal. I certainly didn't know as I showed up in capri pants with Chuck Taylor's on and no socks! My version causal and European casual should be explained in the fine print of all events we're invited to.
Also, in not being prepared for such an exquisite meal, this post is full of lame quality iPhone images. Had I known what we were in for, I surely would have brought my big camera with me. I did manage to get some fairly decent shots however. Enough that you will still be jealous and you will understand the general idea of how fantastic the meal really was.
We were then taken from the cafe to this gorgeous restaurant called Comme chez Soi.
It all began in 1926 when Georges Cuvelier, a brave inhabitant of the
southern Belgian Borinage region escaped the coal mines to open a small
restaurant in Brussels. A regular customer told him each visit : "Georges, in your restaurant we eat like at home." It did not take long for him to come up with the name "Comme chez Soi".
When the restaurant moved to its present location on Place Rouppe,
Georges Cuvelier's daughter married Louis Wynants, a pork-butcher from
the Flemish town of Tienen. Louis Wynants took the quality of the
kitchen to higher levels.
Their son was Pierre Wynants.
He studied at famous restaurants throughout Europe and met
Marie-Thérèse. From this union came two daughters, Laurence and
Véronique.
Laurence, the eldest, has married Lionel Rigolet, a young culinary talent who rapidly became a key element for the thouse.
The couple now has little Jessica and Loïc, a fifth generation...
They opened their famed private dining room to us, set in their kitchen to watch the chefs prepare the food and then serve it to us. On the walls were autographed placards from Leonardo DiCaprio, Catherine Deneuve, and Woody Allen to name a few.
We were given printed menus with the chef's signature on it. The lunch prepared for us was a sample from their regular menu only tweaked with beer.
We opened the lunch with pours of beers from Liefmans Kriek, and a new sweeter, fruitier, yet still tart Lambic from Liefmans. As well as being serves shrimp bites and mille-feuille of salmon.
Tiny, little shrimps rested in the center of these crispy rings. For such tiny shrimps, they packed quite a bit of flavor. Nice little decadent noshes with a very rich and fruity beer to kick things off.
Then we were served a trio of tastes. Melon sorbet, kriek gelatin, topped with Jamon Serrano or Jamon de Iberico. Don't quote me on the ham. It was a cured Jamon of some kind, but I didn't write down the exact name. Delicious non the less.
The center was a cool gazpacho with a prawn and cabbage topping. And the last taste was a cabbage roll with lamb. All fantastic with the Liefmans Kriek and the newer sweeter Kriek.
First course:
Marckerel fillet marinated with yuzu, squid salad with olive oil, and a coulis of sweet peppers.
Second Course:
Catfish with lemongrass, butternut mash, and baby carrot coulis.
Third Course:
Grilled chicken stuffed with shitake and tarragon and a Maredsous sauce.
Fourth Course:
Selection of Belgian and French cheeses with a beer glaze garnish. (Look at the detail in the beer glaze.)
Dessert Course:
Fruit Consomme with mint, and Kriek sorbet. (Kriek sorbet in a bath of fruit consomme with mint, a molding of fruit and gelatin with fruit leather on top, and a praline garnish.)
And last but not least, we were treated to "Delicacies" of Pate de Fruit, Chocolate filled with a soft passion fruit filling, housemade nougat, Macaroons, white chocolate, and filled micro pastries.
I would only be able to top a meal like this if I could return the favor for Michel Moortgat if I were to take him to Craigie on Main here in my neck of the woods. That's saying a lot.
I just got back on Sunday from an amazing trip to Belgium. It was a quick trip all about beer and business. My husband Todd and his brother Jason were knighted by the Knighthood of the Brewers' Mash Staff (Belgian Brewers' Guild) and kicked off the Belgian Beer Weekend.
These are just some random iPhone images snapped through out the weekend.
Chocolate shops were everywhere in Belgium. Not all of them were great and most were very touristy. But still chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, everywhere you look a chocolate shop. This place was right next to my hotel in the Center of Brussels. Also, some random mural. Seemed interesting amidst all the classic and old buildings.
Then we went over to the Grand Place where the festival was being held over the weekend. We just got into Brussels and were hungry and needed a beer. We went to a tourist restaurant called La Roy. It was a good choice. Fresh Duvel's with beautiful pours, rabbit in kriek sauce with cherries on the side and frites, and yes even pig bladder balloons everywhere for some weird tradition.
Beers at Moeder Lambic. Best beer bar in Brussels hands down we went back several times over the course of a few days. Val-Dieu Tripel, Cantillon Kriek, Val-Dieu Grand Cru, De Ranke XX. Grand plat de fruits de mer. Jean Hummler sent over massive plates of seafood.
Jean is also the kindest man in Belgium. Not only was he incredibly generous, but he recommended an amazing chocolate maker in Belgium named Laurent Gerbaud. He even scored some of that chocolate for me when I had no time to get over to the shop myself.
Beers at A La Mort Sabite. Jason got a Rochefort, and I got a large Duvel. Basically two Duvel's in one big glass. Super delicious.
After many beers, a trip back to Moeder Lambic, and a few whiskey-cola's, we then went to a bar called Cafe Bizon on Tom Peters of Monk's Cafe's advice.
After Todd and Jason were Knighted, the next day, we spent a glorious afternoon at Comme Chez Soi with Michel Moortgat of Duvel. We were seated in the kitchen for a private lunch cooked just for use using beer. Those pictures are for another blog post.
We then said our good-byes as the business part of the trip was over. We headed back to the Moeder Lambic for a few beers. Jean kindly treated me to a delicious cup of hot chocolate where he uses a light raw cows milk and 45% cocoa for a super rich and fantastic cup of hot chocolate.
Jean was a little mad at me for not being able to finish it all, but if he had seen the 6 course meal we had just had for lunch, then he would understand.
Some lame couple then ordered a Lou Pepe from Cantillon and decided after two sips they didn't like it. Jean brought the bottle to us. Plus he brought us an Oud Bruin made with chocolate malts and aged in apricot schnapps barrels. Too sour for me to appreciate, but Todd and Jason loved it.
And one last quick snap from my iPhone in Germany at the Frankfurt airport. Frankfurters and potato salad. A delicious snack with whiskey-colas to wash it all down.
Our first night hanging out in Brooklyn with good friends Shane Welch, owner and Brewmaster of Sixpoint Craft Ales. And Cathy Erway, food writer and author of The Art of Eating In. See her blog here. Not Eating Out In New York. Cathy spent two years of cooking at home and learning more about local foods and wrote a wonderful book about her experience. It must have taken incredible dedication considering the caliber restaurants of New York and the ones they took us to over the weekend.
Cathy stopped by a market to get cheese, crackers, dips, and fresh cherries. As well as some fresh raisin Challah bread to wake up to. Delicious snacks with some beers while Shane geeked out on music.
We also got to try some handmade paté de fruit from some good friends of Cathy. She has the hook up on all the good secrets of Brooklyn.
A few libations for the evening. It's not Westvleteren, just the glass wear.
That Sierra Nevada Torpedo behind these beers, then gets horribly disrespected. I cracked it open before I saw the other beers being poured. I said, "no problem I will stick it in the freezer for few while I drink this one." Of course you know, I completely forgot about it.
I cleaned it up, but it felt bad to waste a good beer.
Then I took some random shots playing
around with my new camera. I got a Nikon D5000. It's a fierce camera,
but I literally got it 2 days before Brooklyn. I think it will take me a
long time before I fully understand how to use it. still, I liked this
messed up images anyway. We had a chill night with great friends.
And I don't to forget my new best friend, Barley the dog. Shane adopted Barley from a shelter. It took a bit of her getting used to us, but by the end, she loved us as much as we loved her.
I went to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday last October. While visiting and imbibing on food, gambling, and copious amounts of booze, I had an ultimate Las Vegas experience that ended with me seeing Alice Cooper playing live for a packed bar called Aces & Ales.
I must preface this and say it was an epic day, but it certainly didn't end up like The Hangover. And it didn't up like the last time I was in Las Vegas and got married completely shit faced. Yes, that is a true story. I was married in Las Vegas 5 years ago. I am living proof that if you get married the way you want to, doing it for fun and happiness and not doing it for all the bullshit, other people, and all the planning, it will last much longer than the $20k to 100K weddings.
It went down like this. My birthday was on a Friday and I got the fuck out of dodge (Boston), to celebrate such a landmark birthday and headed to Las Vegas. I had fun, I ate filet mignon and drank wine for breakfast in bed on my actual birthday, drank a lot of booze and beer, won $400 bucks gambling, and went to Hubert Keller's restaurant for a fabulous, but bank breaking dinner at Fleur de Lys in Mandalay Bay.
The Saturday after my birthday, we decided to hold a pub crawl with the local BeerAdvocates. Before we headed out to Vegas, the bar owner of Aces & Ales Keri Kelli, sent us a beermail (email via BeerAdvocate) telling us he owned this great new craft beer bar off the Vegas strip and that we had to come visit. He said he loved BeerAdvocate and would love it if we came and saw his place. He added that he was the guitar player for Alice Cooper, and that Alice was playing in Las Vegas while we were visiting. He mentioned that Alice Cooper might come in and visit the bar. It turns out that rockers are big fans of craft beer. The hangers on and the groupies still latch on to the PBR and Bud Light, but Alice Cooper and his band drink good craft beer.
Only after I got back from Las Vegas, did local brewer Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Co., tell me that Alice Cooper had been into CBC and sat down and had his beers. He said they were great. The whole crew came in and sat down and asked a lot of questions and drank good local American craft beer.
I don't care if you like Alice Cooper or not, the fact that he is a craft beer drinker and that one of his band mates owns a craft beer bar is unbelievable.
So we started on the Las Vegas strip because there is really fuck all for craft beer on the Vegas strip. A few places and then we went outside of the strip. We wanted to get it over with.
We started at The Pub in the Monte Carlo where we were staying. I started knocking back cocktails because I am not a full day beer drinker. I can't or I will get too bloated to continue on. It's unpleasant to talk about but it's the truth of the matter. Mixing it up can be a bad thing, but in my case it keeps me on the same page as every one else and allows me to continue on all day.
The Pub was cool because we met a few BeerAdvocates from the area and one of our long time friends named Uncle Jimbo from Boston, whom happens to love Las Vegas, randomly flew out just to party with us.
We then made our way over to Mandalay Bay where The Burger Bar is located. That is one of the only places on the Vegas strip where craft beer can be located. Lots of the casinos have one or two imports like Duvel, but the strip is a craft beer wasteland.
Not only did The Burger Bar have Stone Ruination and DFH 90 Minute IPA, which despite being able to get almost anywhere, was truly a godsend on the Strip, but they also had a collection of the Firestone Walker series. Only true beer geeks can appreciate how rare and awesome tasting 10, 11, and 12 at the same time really is. They also offered an array of beer floats with different beers. I appreciated this because beer floats are great.
After treating ourselves right to a good base of grease and meat, we then headed off the strip over to the Freakin' Frog. This is a total craft beer oasis in the middle of the barren dessert.
And before I
forget, there was a pit stop before the Freakin' Frog at the Crown and Anchor
British pub. Interesting place. Crappy beers, football (soccer) scores, and video
poker machines. I kind of enjoyed it because I took time out to drink a
glass of red wine to settle my stomach after those burgers and play
some rounds on the video poker which it turns out I am pretty good at.
The Freakin' Frog also has a special room upstairs of the owners Adam Carmer's, private collection of tequila's, scotch whiskeys, bourbons, and other rare offerings which Adam generously offered us tastings of. I think my taste of the Rey Sol tequila, 100% pure blue agave, was like a $50 taster. Very generous indeed!
This part of the post will be a little bit tedious, but I urge you to click and enlarge each picture to see this rare collection.
The Monk.
The Tequila's. Some of the images came out a bit blurry, but you get the idea just by looking at them.
The Scotches.
The Bourbons and Rye's.
At this point it's fair to say we were all pretty well lit. Now we make our move to Aces & Ales.
We knew we were in the right place with a huge Deschutes barrel sitting outside.
So here is how this all went down. We show up and the bar is packed yet closed for a private event. We called the owners of the bar and they met us outside and ushered us into the packed bar. They took us off to the side in the VIP area for the night. They said "have whatever you want we'll be running around all night."
The next think you know, we got Stone Ruination's slammed in front of us with some Valley Brewing Co. beers, and bombers of Stone Smoked Porters. The place is completely mad and jam packed. All rocker types and they are looking at us like "who the fuck are you and why you are so special to sit in the VIP area?" So many groupie hoes around too, it was hilarious. We did meet some cool rocker guys who knew who we were and told us about how they will be opening a brew pub in L.A. soon. Good news for the L.A. area.
Bands are playing, Keri is on stage rocking out with some other groups. Next thing you know we were all kicked out of the VIP area because Alice Cooper was coming and he was going to make his entrance through that area. So we moved off to the side to the less crowded side of the bar. Sure enough, in walks Alice Cooper and he plays a few of his hit songs. It was incredible. He sounded so good live. He truly is a legend. And how awesome is it to be seeing a rock god playing live with a Stone Ruination in your hand? Life was good at that moment.
We went back to the hotel after this quick performance. We were going to hang out for a bit because Alice Copper left and the VIP room was opened to us once again. But then we heard it would be emptied out again because The Steve Miller Band was heading over. I would have liked to have seen that too, but we were all smashed and exhausted from a long day of drinking. Not that many stops, but some serious drinking.
A great time with great BeerAdvocates in Las Vegas. And the generosity from the Adam at the Freakin' Frog and Keri from Aces & Ales was unbelievable.
The next day was Sunday, which meant huge Las Vegas buffets to look forward to. Nothing better than being hungover and having booze to wake up to and a huge buffet. I love Las Vegas!
I celebrated my iconic 30th birthday last October in Las Vegas. I woke up to filet mignon and red wine for breakfast in bed and finished my night at Hubert Keller's restaurant Fleur De Lys in Mandalay Bay.
This was an intense chef's tasting menu all paired around a beer for a change and not paired around wine. They offered it with wine at first, but also let us know once we chose beer, that they would be offering up a regular chef's tasting menu paired around beer as well as their wine course. Finally fine dining is starting to get it.
For those of you who don't know, the Las Vegas strip is a craft beer wasteland. That is until you visit the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, also owned by Hubert Keller. A fabulous, low-key burger joint where you can a glorious offering of craft beers, and just about any kind of burger you want. Including their famous $60 burger, The Rossini. It's made with Kobe beef, sauteed foie gras, shaved truffles, Madeira sauce on an onion bun.
Yeah, it's like that.
After deciding I wanted something rich and fabulous to eat for my 30th birthday dinner, we decided on Fleur De Lys. Having recently seen Hubert Keller on Top Chef, I really liked him a lot. He had amazing skills, and a general nice attitude. For once I didn't see a disgusting egomaniac celebrity chef. I know that sounds rude, but most celebrity chefs are so full of themselves. I liked watching Keller, and he seemed like a decent guy. Again his skills were unbelievable. I would love to sit and watch him cook.
This was their 6 course chef's tasting menu prepared by Chef Steve Wolf.
It didn't matter what glorious food was about to be presented to me. They had Tripel Karmeliet and paired my entire meal around this beer. It was a little funny when our waiter informed me that it as a bigger bottle of beer since Todd had ordered his own beer, a Sierra Nevada Torpedo. I informed him that I am a BeerAdvocate and to please bring it on!
Amuse Bouche: Lobster avocado roll in a watermelon bath.
Light, delicious, and refreshing. Clean and finished with a slight hint of salt contrasting the sweet watermelon. This was so refreshing with the crisp, sweet Tripel Karmeliet.
First: Ahi tuna on fennel salad with ponzu sauce.
Fresh, delicate taste, salty ponzu sauce was the right balance with the sweet ginger cracker. Soft tuna, earthy greens, and crunchy cracker made for a wonder mix of textures.
Second: Maui onion cream soup with black truffle and duck ragout wrapped in a crepe and red onion puree with bordeaux.
Sadly my second image was blurred, but that doesn't change how decadent and amazing this soup was. So rich and creamy. The duck fat added a nice flavor to the soup while the black truffle was potent and added a wonderful dirty and delicious earthy tasting pop. The red onion pure was the best part in my opinion adding a nice sweet and rich backbone to the soup. Did I mention that this soup was rich?
Third: Veal and Yukon Gold Potato raviolis with sweet English peas and sunchoke foam.
A wonderful sweet and rich broth balanced by the earthy greens, sweet peas. This is the kind of thing that makes me kick myself for eating veal, but secretly coveting it at the same time.
Two negatives to this course. This was the point where the richness started to become almost too much and it only gets more rich as the courses keep coming. Also I am not a fan of foams on fancy dishes anymore. It's a neat trick albeit an overused technique. I get that it adds the right hint of a flavor you want to add to a dish, but it looks sloppy by the time it gets served. If they could do table side service of adding the foam while it's being presented, I think that could make all the difference. Delicious course, but the foam doesn't exactly make it look all that appetizing.
Fourth: Hamachi with black trumpet mushrooms, ginger foam, and tempura scallions.
More foam but at least this one looked more appetizing than the veal raviolis. The foam was very salty, but the raw Hamachi helped tame it. Another super rich broth course but the unbelivable part was that I couldn't stop myself from eating it all. I was getting a little too full at this point but I had one more main course to go.
I know an American not entirely used to super rich French foods, but this was almost too much.
Fifth: Colorado rack of lamb with harissa, caramelized red onions and potato puree.
The lamb was fatty and perfectly cooked. The harissa was not too hot thankfully. I can't handle too much hot spice. The potatoes were rich and creamy and delicious loaded with pure butter. Despite the potatoes being so rich, they were a nice contrast to the plate and a break up of the rich sauce.
I think at this point you can see why I am beginning to get too full with these fabulously decadent and rich courses. It was just about too much. I was beginning to feel sick-full instead of satisfied.
This will get better though...
Intermezzo: Coconut soup with large tapioca pearls, kiwis, strawberries, and fried plantains, and mango and coconut sorbet.
Like any chef worth their salt, they know when the situation is getting a little precarious. After all the rich and super decadent food sent out, this course came and like magic it erased the sickeningly full feeling.
This course was so light and delicious and a perfect way to cut the richness out of the picture. It was after this course, I was able to sit back and relax feeling comfortably full. If it wasn't for this course, I don't think I would have made it.
Dessert: Sauterne poached pears with fall spices over pressed walnut sable with toasted cinnamon ice cream with sesame crisp. Compressed trio of pears marinated in fino, port, and banyals.
Sauces: Vanilla Sauterne gel Port spice reduction
I had to have them write this course down. There was literally so much going on on this plate. Wonderful and light dessert course once again perfect and delicious after such an amazingly heavy meal. The pears were fantastic and simple. The walnut sable was a little bit odd and chewy, but flavor wise it was right on point and balanced.
This was a cool little culinary feat for a dessert. Simple tasting and refreshing, but a lot of techniques displayed.
But it didn't end there....
Homemade Madeleines with hot chocolate dipping sauce.
And with our check came a collection of nougat, pate de fruit, a chocolate financier, a lemon macaroon, and something I called a "Tower of awesomeness" in my notes about this dinner.
This was probably the single most expensive meal I have ever had with a check nearing $500 (I did buy two cook books on top of all of this food and it was my birthday), but without a doubt, one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. Everything was wonderful and expertly prepared. Even though I reached my limit with the rich foods, the coconut soup saved the day and reset everything leaving me completely satisfied with my meal.
Our waiter was delightful, helpful, and enthusiastic about beer and past beer dinners the restaurant has held before. I was thrilled to have heard about this place being open to and having hosted beer dinners before. It would be a dream of mine to host a BeerAdvocate sponsored beer dinner at Fleur De Lys. There would be nothing else that could even come close to something that awesome.
This was a fantastic culinary journey and well worth a visit if you happen to be in Las Vegas. And furthermore, they paired that whole amazing dinner around my beer. The beer worked with everything sat in front of me. It was incredible.
This was our first event after landing in Anchorage, Alaska. We literally flew into town, got showered up, and were back out for beer and food.
Billy Opinsky, the owner of Humpy's Great Alaskan Ale House, owns and shares a kitchen with another bar called SubZero Micro Lounge. Anyone who know beer in Alaska, knows Billy O. He is a kind and generous proprietor of two Anchorage's mainstay's and is extremely knowledgeable about craft beer. After our week in Alaska, I can safely call Billy O, my pal!
SubZero was the scene for the "Break Into The Cage" beer dinner. Billy Opinsky broke into his stash of rare offerings of Belgian beers kicking off a week of beer events for the Great Alaskan Beer And Barely Wine Festival. There were some excellent surprises in store and some other offerings that were not so much.
Welcome Beer:Castelain 2001 Blonde Biere de Garde, 6.4%, France
This one came out a little chunky, but tasted amazing for nine year old beer. I felt like it held up well.
The French are known for their farmhouse style ales. Very classic, wild farmhouse ales. As pretty as Biere de Garde's are though, I am looking forward to France finally competing with the Italians and making more varieties of craft beer. But having said that, I have never been to France. There could be a beer revolution going on there right now.
First Course: Artisan greens with pomegranate, tossed with meyer lemon, olive oil, and geuze, topped with gorgonzola and crispy pancetta.
This was an excellent pairing. The sour gueze went right to work on the earthy greens and the blue cheese. The pomegranate seeds added a touch of sweet tart to the plate. And of course the pancetta, that's always a welcome guest to any dish.
I liked this course a lot because reinforces the power of a good pairing. I am not a fan of sour beers. If the ph is off, they become undrinkable to me. It's not the flavors of them despite how funky they can be, it's the physical effects they cause to my body. Like instant heart burn. If they are too funky, they wild bacterias cause instant bloating. An uncomfortable issue to talk about with beers, and in the middle of a beer dinner discussion, but it still happens. These aged beers were certainly funky but I was able to handle them okay with food.
It proves to me that food and beer really change one and other. Beers you may not like, end up being wonderful with the right food. And once you accept that factor that food changes the experience all together, it reinforces a mantra that I have been repeating over recent months: You don't not need to give a person "training wheel" beers in order to make them a convert. People think non beer drinkers should be weened into beer versus giving them the best beers no matter what style they are. All it takes is an expertly matched pairing. The same can be said about me who has professed a dislike towards sour beers. Food changes everything for the better.
Second Course: Seared Foie Gras resting on red cabbage braised in Hanssens Kriek with a blackberry compote and fresh berries.
This was an amazing dish. Huge pieces of wicked soft foie gras. Absolutely sinful and artery clogging. Just the way I like it! The red cabbage and the blackberry compute was fantastic.
The beer was not so much for me. Despite it's gorgeous red color and crisp carbonation still hanging on, there was a funk going on that I just couldn't get passed. It was little rough on my esophagus as well. All the other geeks at the table were going bonkers over it. This was one I just couldn't agree with. I wound up drinking the Boon Oude Geuze with it and it worked just as well. Same basic principles of the high acid content cutting through the rich fats as well as the carbonation.
Despite a super funky beer, this course was amazing.
Amuse Bouche: Crostini with a gouda spread, spring onions and chutney.
Now this was a Cantillon I could handle. Cantillon is world renowned for their lambics and gueze's. But they are also know for being some of the most sour beers you can get. These are some of the worlds prettiest beers, but the some of the roughest on me. Luckily not this one thanks to aging rounding out all the dramatic sharp sour edges. Big lovely peaches and apricots in this muted sour beer.
It went perfectly with the little nosh of gouda crostinis.
Intermission Beer:Unibroue Edition 2005, 10% Abv, Dark Belgian Strong Ale, Quebec, Canada.
Sadly from this point on I can only post the picture from this beer dinner. I had to head back to the hotel and sleep. I had a headache so bad. We landed that afternoon and went right to the dinner. This was the kind of headache that wouldn't go away without a few hours darkness and sleep. Luckily I woke up feeling great the next and had a glorious breakfast of King Crab Leg Cakes Eggs Benedict. But bad luck for me, I missed the bread pudding dessert. Todd finished taking pictures for me.
Third Course: Deconstructed venison stew with root vegetables.
Beer:Thomas Hardy's Ale 1996 Old Ale 11.7% abv, England (Retired)
Fourth Course: Pistachio crusted lamb resting in Duchess de Bourgogne demi glace with potatoes au gratin.
I love bread pudding. What a shame I couldn't make it all the way to the end. But from everything I did have, it was an incredible meal. Todd said the rest of the meal was fantastic. I got to meet and hang out with some really great people. And I got to bad mouth Sarah Palin with some like minded Alaskans.
Thank you Billy O for kicking off our week in Alaska with an amazing beer dinner.
Back from a five day trip to Anchorage, Alaska. We were invited up for The Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival. Todd and Jason Alström were asked to be judges for the Barleywine competition. They were also invited to speak at The Great Northern Brewers Club. A massive group of homebrewers from the great state of Alaska.
There is a lot to say about Alaska. I really enjoyed visiting Anchorage even in January. It was pretty chilly outside but we missed the worst of it before we arrived and after we left.
Alaskans love their beer. They love big, bold flavors in their beers and they are not scared one bit of experimentation with their beers or styles be it professionally brewed, or concocted in their kitchens. Alaska has an an amazing beer culture. Everyone knows each other, everyone homebrews, and everyone supports their local beer scene with a protected pride in their home grown offerings.
They should be proud of what they have going on up there. I have never seen such a tight knit community of beer lovers. The people of Alaska are also some of the most generous, friendly, welcoming group of people I have ever met in my life. We were welcomed into their fold and treated like family members. I will forever be grateful for the way we were looked after and treated by the good people of Alaska.
The first thing we did when we landed in Alaska was attend a beer dinner at Sub Zero owned by Billy Opinsky. I am holding off on posting about that here in this post because it deserves it's own post.
The next morning we woke up refreshed and I, myself was finally free from a terrible jet lag induced headache, we decided we need a big hearty breakfast to set the mood right for our beer trek through Anchorage. I heard about this place down the road from where were staying called Snow City Cafe. I saw their menu online before we came up to visit. I had completely forgotten that Alaska is all about halibut, king crab, and salmon. When I saw that they have king crab cake eggs benedict, I would not stop until I tried them.
I had an excellent Almond Joy Mocha to wake myself up. And then I ordered the King Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. Picture came out a little dark, but it gets the message across.
These were awesome except for one thing. The poached eggs were hard boiled. I hate that. I want runny yolks with poached eggs. The king crab cakes made up for it. They were meaty with real king crab. That might sound strange to an Alaskan to say real bits of crab. Everywhere else you go it's faux crab meat. Or real crab meat that's mostly filled with more breading than actual crab meat.
Jason ordered an omelet and got a side of reindeer sausage. This is a very popular side dish for most breakfast joints in Anchorage. It tasted like smoked sausage but spicier and more rich in flavor. I haven't had reindeer meat before, but this was tasty.
We left this place very full and happy. It was snowing and the sun light doesn't come out until 10 or 11 am. It begins to set again around 2 or 3 pm. The best thing you can do for yourself if you are used to sunny situations is eat and drink yourself silly. It's a lot like Las Vegas. You never know what time it is, but who cares as long as there is beer?
We walked back to our hotel to get some last minute BA Magazine work done. While Todd and Jason were sorting that stuff out, I noticed that the hotel we were staying in was mentioned in some articles that it's haunted. Oh goody! Historic Anchorage Hotel.
The bottom picture are actual accounts that some of the guests have made about encounters with so-called spirits. One story reports that a couple came back to their room on the second floor and their door was blocked by a little kid sitting in the doorway. It turns out that there were no kids registered in the hotel at the time. Other stories say that the guests reported kids playing in the hotel when there were no kids registered. Apparently a little girl was shot in the hotel way back in the day and later died of a mysterious illness. Another little boy had drowned in a bathtub in the hotel.
Guest reports of seeing a man in a police uniform walking the hallways. The first police chief of Anchorage was murdered near the hotel in the 20's with his own gun and he refused to say who shot him in the back before he died.
The best story comes from the ghost hunters who came to the hotel armed with a tape recorder. The two ladies were talking in the recording, when you could hear loud breathing in the background. Then
a creepy voice said "don't move that." Then it said "chocolate"
and you could hear a chocolate bar wrapper being opened. Then the voice
said "do her!"
Yeah, I am not quite sure what "do her!" meant either but it's pretty damn hilarious. Hilarious in the sense that it happened to them and not me. I did have a sheer moment of panic however, leaving my room when I saw two little boys in their pj's just staring me from the other end of the hallway. I found their parents down stairs in their pj's too eating a quiet breakfast. The boys came and joined them. I relaxed after that.
This is from the hotel's website:
Our Haunted Hotel – Where Ghosts Are More than Just Stories
Curtains rumbling, shower curtains swaying, pictures flying . . . it’s
all par for the course at the Historic Anchorage Hotel. Stories of
ghostly happenings have been circulating at the hotel for many years,
all thought to be related to the death of the first Chief of Police,
Jack Sturgus. On February 20, 1921 at 9:15 p.m., Anchorage's first
Police Chief John J. "Black Jack" Sturgus was found shot in the back
with a bullet from his own gun, steps away from the Historic Anchorage
Hotel. It is rumored that his ghost returns to the scene of the crime
each year, haunting the location of his untimely death, seeking justice
for a crime still unsolved to this day.
Sightings
are so frequent that we keep a ghost log in which a number of our
guests have shared their encounters. In addition to the ghost of Jack
Sturgus, there are several different specters that past guests have
seen make their way through our halls and facilities. A more detailed
account of some of these ghosts were featured on Today MSNBC.com.
While
an abundance of paranormal activity may scare some, we can assure you
that the rich and interesting history of the Historic Anchorage Hotel
will make for an unforgettable stay.
Awesome, but kind of not. Good thing the people who were working in the hotel were once again some of the kindest and friendliest people. If I had seen a ghost, I don't think they would have minded if I sat in their laps curled up in a ball, sucking my thumb and crying for my mommy.
We tried a ton of good beers here. I found and fell in love with Specialty XXX. A Black Double IPA brewed for their distributors 30th anniversary. It was so hoppy and good. Dry finish, roasted malts still fighting to hang on amidst the onslaught of big hops. The perfect beer for me. I took a couple of the bottles home with me, but the bottles are barrel-aged.
We also tried Gluttony, a triple IPA and theoretical 200 IBU beer. Theoretical in the fact that the human palate can't really taste more than 100 IBU's. But supposedly this beer is about 200 IBU's. I tried the Kodiak Brown Ale as well and many other beers that afternoon.
*For the Midnight Sun crew: Hot Peach Cobbler is the winner for a food pairing with this beer. Peaches braised in tons of butter and brown sugar, a nice crumble on top of the peaches.... Pure vanilla ice cream with it. There is more that can be done. We came up with a few combinations, but I thought I would elaborate on the "I am thinking peaches" comment. I had it in the bottle after we got back and roasted malts were more apparent. Much bigger flavors than when I tasted Kodiak with a shot palate after drinking Specialty XXX.
Visit Midnight Sun's website and scroll through their profile of beers. It's a pretty stunning line up and some of the most creative beers from any brewery I have seen in a long time. Their beers are not just a couple of one off's that don't fit a certain mold. Their whole profile is off the chains.
One of the highlights was Bathtub Gin. A gruit style ale with juniper berries, grains of paradise, and other herbs. This beer was made by lead brewer Ben Johnson in honor of the Phish song Bathtub GIn.
Ben, I didn't know you were such a dirty hippy! That changes everything about our friendship.
If you haven't guessed, that's Ben on the label. Bathtub Gin was very cool. Crisp, dry finish, and big spicy nose and flavor. Again, very Alaskan with big, full flavor and a complete distortion of what is considered to be classic styles. I love it. They do what they want, make whatever beer they want, they don't give a shit about traditionalism because they don't have too.
Alaskans are living in their own quiet little world up there... Only it's not so quiet. They are making some noise up there and when you come into town, you either get on board or get out of town. It isn't hard to get on board with the delicious beers being produced up there. I love that kind of mentality. Who says you have to play by the same old boring rules? Midnight Sun is a perfect example of do what you want. Make the beer you intended to make no matter how big, or obscure, or undefined and the masses will follow you. It's so American, and I love it.
Later that day we made our way back to Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse. Owned by Billy Opinsky and shares the same kitchen with Sub Zero. Billy O had taken such good care of us during the whole time we were there. Taxiing us around, piling good food unto us to try. Like the amazing halibut fish and chips appetizer at Humpy's, and later treating us to sushi where we experienced White King salmon for the first time.
When we got to Humpy's we were in the mood for some beers we have never tried before and appetizers. Smoked Salmon spread, Alaskan oysters, and King Crab bites.
All of these choices were great choices for an afternoon snack. I will say that the salmon spread needed more salmon chunks in it to balance out the cream cheese, but it was very smokey and tasty. And Hallelujah they give you a good amount of bread to go with it. I can't stand places that give you dips or pate and only two pieces of bread or toast points.
The crab bites had good pieces of crab in it. Served piping hot and great with some squeezed lemon. Perfect Alaskan bar food.
Upon further inspection of their menu, we saw this little note on it.
I would like to see someone take this challenge on up close. You can see the challenge on Man v. Food here.
Later that night we went over to the Sleeping Lady Brewery for the Great Northern Homebrewers meeting. Todd and Jason were invited to be guest speakers at their meeting. Todd thought it would be around 40 people. More like 120 people were there. Armed with their homebrews, and fresh imperial stouts pouring from Sleeping lady Brewery, we had a good old drunken night.
Getting a little Double Wit Bier from the tanks at Sleeping Lady. Dennis Sessler, President of the Great Northern Homebrewers Club kicking things off with Dr. Fermento ("Dr. Fermento is the alter ego of Anchorage Press and The Celebrator Beer News beer columnist James Roberts.")
What are those two weirdos doing? Jason and Todd Alström.
That was our downfall right there. Jason and his multiple trips to get the Sleeping Lady Imperial Stout and Smoked Porter from Alaskan Brewing Co. The homemade meads certainly contributed a fair amount to our downfall as well.
Jamie Floyd from Ninkasi Brewing Co. in Eugene, Oregon with his geek tattoo of a D&D dice. You had to be there and hear Jason's reaction when Jamie mentioned his geek passion for D&D.
Uh oh. Here comes trouble. I am just kidding that is Barb Miller of Midnight Sun. She is the main reason we came to Alaska in the first place.
People were getting down to Tom Dalldorf's band the Rolling Boil Blues Band. The older gentleman in the picture was having himself a good old time. He was fun to watch.
There were a lot of homemade meads being tasted out and many homebrews being passed around. All I can say is that it is probably good for everyone including myself that I didn't take anymore pictures after this point. Alaskans throw down. We'll just leave it at that.
Here are a few pictures of the judging for the first round of the Barleywine Competition and the Winter Seasonal category.
Day one, first round Barleywines and Winter Seasonals.
Second day, round two, two tables one for Winter Seasonals and one for Barleywines.
The winner for Winter Seasonals: Glacier Brewhouse, Eisbock
The Winners for the Barleywine: 1st Place Lagunitas, Gnarleywine
2nd Place Midnight Sun, Arctic Devil
3rd Place Pizza Port, Blonde Bombshell Barleywine.
I did not take pictures of the festival itself for the two sessions I attended. It was quite a good time. A bit too crowded (much more room in the connoisseur session) and a bit too much puke on the sidewalks after the fact. But still a good a time. As I said, Alaskans like big, full beers. These people like to get crunked. It's my kind of town.
I also didn't get pictures of the incredible sushi we had at Sushi & Sushi or the tasting of all 18 beers at Moose's Tooth Pizza. That was certainly a good moment. Enjoying 18 different beers with Thai pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, and a McKinley meat pizza. That was heaven.
We ended our 5 day excursion back at Midnight Sun for a relaxing afternoon that spanned into the evening. We drank Good Mojo, Specialty XXX, more Gluttony, and Earth. We drank awesome beers, had good food, and said good-bye to our new found friends of Alaska.
I didn't get pictures with some of my new good friends in Alaska. Julie and Tim McDonald, Billy Opinsky (Humpy's, Sub Zero), Dena and Dennis Sessler, Ken and Shauna Pajak (Cafe Amsterdam), Barb, Mark, Ben, Gabe, Jeremiah, Gary, and Seth (Midnight Sun). All of these people made our trip to Alaska fantastic. The Generosity, the laid back and cool attitudes, the welcoming nature into their worlds. I have said it over and over again, I will forever be grateful for their tremendous hospitality.
Edit: I don't want to forget what a gem Tom Dalldorf is and what a terrific sense of humor he has. I knew we would get along good when he brought up the idea of prank calling Lisa Morrison!
I was told by several people, if you want to get the best buffet on the strip in Las Vegas it's either at the Belagio or at the Wynn. We went with the Wynn. We did not lose on this deal. And although I haven't seen the Belagio's Buffet, I feel confident enough to say that Wynn Buffet was the best.
The Wynn hotel is amazing. It's gorgeous, has all the high end shopping and beautiful gaming areas. The only problem I had with the Wynn is that you can't win on their video poker machines that well. Their Black Jack video poker removed the double down feature. Total bullshit and scam. Nothing was paying out for me over there.
But this post isn't about the gambling. It's about the food.
The Buffet at the Wynn is huge. It has a whole separate room for just desserts. Of course it has meat carving stations, but everything is super clean and steril and broken down into regions. Asian section, American food, Italian, ect.
Before we went over to the brunch, we stopped to have a drink at Up Parasol while waiting for a friend to join us. I was in the mood for a Dirty Martini and they made me the best Dirty Martini ever. It was so smooth and tasty and I could have had 50 of them.
Up Parasol is a beautiful lounge in the middle of the gaming area. It's bright, colorful, and comfortable with sofas and couches everywhere. The waitress was the friendliest person we had come across in Vegas. And that's saying something because everyone is cool in Vegas. At least to us anyway.
Our friend finally came and joined us and it was off to the buffet. Keep in mind it was a Sunday at noon and the lines to get into the buffet were long. It didn't take too long, but be prepared anyway.
They also offer a cool deal. For $60 bucks you can eat there all day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's a good way to economize while you blow all your money on gambling or drinking.
I went the hot route first.
Okay there is a lot going on on this plate. Let me break it down. Sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, french toast, pancake, waffle, eggs benedict, stir fried shrimp, cornish game hen in southwestern sauce and corn, pulled pork with cole slaw on corn bread, and a cheese and beef enchilada.
Every last bit of it was awesome! And you better believe I ate it all.
The cold route.
Shrimp cocktail, Mediterranean tuna ceviche, Tropical scallop ceiche (in cup), sushi rolls, Chow Shao Bao, and smoked salmon.
There was so much more food to be had, but my belly only had so much room. My husband managed to get some carved meats. Although I wanted them, I am glad I didn't get any carved meats. It would have sat like a lead brick in my belly and I wouldn't have been able to taste all the desserts we had.
Now for the dessert. A small disclaimer is that I did not, I repeat did not eat all that is pictured. I had a bite of each and shared. After the last two plates, there is no way anyone could eat all things I am about to show you.
Grasshopper Mint Slice and Banana Cream Slice.
Blueberry tart and Oreo Mousse slice.
Bailey's Panna Cotta and Hazelnut Chocolate Decadence.
Caramel, Chocolate parfait and Lemon Meringue Pie Parfait , Mango and Lychee Parfait with Tapioca Pearls, and Strawberry Parfait.
And Caramel and coffee ice cream. The coffee ice cream came highly recommended and was amazingly good and creamy.
After this we were the walking dead. Zombies who have succumbed to the dreaded food coma.
Recent Comments