Pork Chops & Chicken

Pretty Things and The Armsby Abbey Present: The "50 Mile" Vegetarian Beer Dinner

I was invited by good friends Dann and Martha Paquette of Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project to attend another beer dinner with them featuring their beers. This concept was very unique and cool. It was called the "50 Mile" Vegetarian Beer Dinner. All of the ingredients used were found from farms with in 50 miles of the Armsby Abbey in Worcester, Ma. The awesome bar and restaurant of some of our other good friends Alec Lopez and Sherri Sadowski. They also own the Dive bar and soon to open a small bakery called Crust next to the Armsby Abbey.

Pretty Things is brewed in Holyoke, Ma. All of the vegetables were picked the day before and on the same day as the dinner. Freshly made cheeses were also found within the 50 mile range. As well as homemade ricotta cheese was made for the dessert course and the butters used in some of the dishes was hand churned by the owner Alec Lopez. Honey was used quite a bit and was found within the 50 mile range from local producers. This was a truly local dinner and fresh beyond belief. You will notice reoccurring themes with flavors and descriptions through out this blog post. Fresh, crisp, refreshing, earthy, sweet and naturally sweet. Between the freshness of the beers and excellent quality of the local produce it was a delicious meal.

This is the way you want to approach vegetarian if you are a hardened carnivore such as myself. The entire menu was filling, rich, flavorful, and you won't find yourself missing meat at all as impossible as that might sound. Best off all the pairings worked really well with beers. This was a scramble for the chefs and owners of the Armsby Abbey as they were getting fresh ingredients last minute. It takes a real knowledge of food to pull it off that close to the wire.

The menu:

The opening began as kind of a mixer. A way to meet new people instead of rigid times and courses. They set out in the middle of the restaurant a raw bar of fresh vegetables, pickled veg., fresh baked breads and crackers made with spent grains from Antul Aleworks, the freshly churned butter, and a goat cheese dip.

 

This course included: Patty Pan Squash from Morse Farm, Purple and Green Peppers from Woodstock Orchards, Cousa Squash, Summer Squash, Broccoli, Heirloom Tomatoes and Cherry Tomatoes from Berberian Farm. 

Served with a creamy chevre dip from Crystal Brook Farm. It was make with roasted heirloom garlic and basil.

House pickled yellow beans from Morse Farm. Cucumbers, beets, zucchini, summer squash, Anaheim peppers, and green beans all from Berberian Farm. They were pickled with Pretty Things Confounded Mister Sisyphus.

House baked french breads and warm brown breads as well as spent grain crackers and the house churned butter with local milk used, were set for this course. A raspberry, honey, and Anaheim pepper preserve was also presented. Honey used in the preserve from Honey Ect.

The beer paired with the fresh vegetable raw bar was Pretty Things American Darling - Good Time Lager. A 7% abv pale lager with Crystal and whole-leaf Hallertau hops in the kettle and dry hopped.

Very clean, refreshing, pale lager with gorgeous hop character. It was fairly humid on this day and starting out with the refreshing beer was a very nice way to kick things off.

{First Image via walknboston}

The joke about this beer is that it's supposed to be the un-lawnmower beer. Where normally after you have mowed the lawn and it's very hot outside you want an ice cold American Lager to slam back and not really take time to appreciate. Pretty Things thinks you should skip the lawn and drink the beer instead. Notice the label has overgrown grass and not freshly cut.

Please take note that all the labels of Pretty Things Beers are hand drawn by Dann Paquette.

My absolute favorite were the beets. In the very first picture of this post, I love how it came out nearly angelic and ethereal because these pickled beets were fabulous. I love how fresh and delicious they were, earthy and dirty tasting and fantastic. Ever since the L'Espalier Beer Monday Beer Dinner, I can't get enough of them. And knowing that they were picked the day before and now on my plate was a wonderful thing.

I also found the American Darling was a classic example of lightly hopped and freshly crisp ales work with simple things like fresh tomatoes and basil. Pale ales/lagers work just as well as Czech Pilsners. It's the same concept. The fresh hops, light but sweet malts and crisp carbonation allow the sweet flavors of these delicious tomatoes to pop. It's just so fresh and gorgeous you can't beat it. It's so simple and clean, it's the epitome of a classic and easy pairing. As simple as it is, there simply isn't a way to do this pairing any easier or better.

 

First Course: 

Arugula and Black Seeded Simpson from Berberian Farm, fresh nectarines picked at Tougas Farm dressed in a basil-honey vinaigrette made with Pretty Things American Darling and Wildflower Honey from Honey Ect. Topped off with Westfield Farms Classic Blue Goat Cheese and served a spent-grain crisp from Antul Aleworks. Paired with Pretty Things American Darling.

This course was paired again with the American Darling, but it was a simple transition and we only had 5 beers to work with. The nectarines were so tasty and ripe. Again this is where the hop balance and crisp carbonation balance with the sweet ripened nectarines, the earthy, raw, dirty, green taste of the arugula allowed for the malts to come out and play and sweeten the dish. The basil-honey vinaigrette was barely noticeable sadly, but all of the other flavors were fairly dominant for such a light dish. 

The goat cheese I have to admit was a little rough for me. The blue rind was completely overwhelming to my palate. But having said that, I have a sensitive palate to blue cheeses. The center was fine for me though as it still carried delicious fresh lemon and goat cheese flavors with the blue still permeating the center. The hops in beers are what make beer and cheese pairings so wonderful. The alpha acids cutting right through the creamy texture allowing the raw flavors of both the beer and the cheese to come out. From the grains in the beer to the grasses and leaves the goats fed on.

Normally for something so blue you would want to go bigger with the hops and malts. A double IPA for example. But in this case the rest of the ingredients helped tone down the cheese and make it all wonderfully balanced. 

The cracker was salty and a little buttery tasting, loaded with earthy tasting spent grains. A nice way to break up the textures on the plate.

I could have just had nectarines and American Darling for the rest of the night and been happy.

 

Second Course:

Creamy baked corn and chevre pudding. Featuring chevre from Crystal Brook Farm, green pepper from Morse Farm, butter/sugar corn and scallions from Berberian Farm topped with Cilantro.

Paired with Pretty Things Confounded Mister Sisyphus. A 7% abv golden ale with a bright orange color, loaded yeasts and bacterias, and Vienna-style lager malts, leafy hops and grains.

With no meat in sight, I was not complaining or missing it one bit at this point in the dinner. This corn and chevre pudding was delicious. Sweet corn sugars and salty cheese flavors from the creamy blended in goat cheese balanced this dish. The only issue with the dish for me personally was the cilantro. You either love it or you hate it. To me it was completely overwhelming because the flavors were so robust as the cilantro was very fresh. It was on top of the dish so thankfully I was able to push it off. That doesn't mean it ruined this dish. I was able to eat little bits of it with the dish and understand the flavor profiles and why it was used for this dish. Little doses are good for me, otherwise it would be like eating soap if there was anymore on it. For me anyway.

 

{First Image via walknboston}

Confounded Mister Sisyphus was a crisp clean beer made with Hungarian Balaton Cherries grown in Michigan. This beer initially had a light peppery taste going on for me. That is an effect that can be produced by some of the natural bacterias used in this beer.

{Eric and Ann Starbard of Crystal Brook Farm.}

The cherries were very subtle. Some can either taste while others might not get the flavors at all. Despite having fruit in it, Dann was careful not to make this a fruit beer. To me I noticed quite a bit of the cherries as it warmed closer to room temp. They became more pronounced and not overwhelmed by the strong flavors of the chevre and the corn. The sweet corn brings out the lager malts instead of trumping it. The beer also had a dry tannin finish that was able to add more depth to the creamy goat cheese. Again the same efect of the carbonation and hops cutting into the cheese and allowing that rich lemony flavor to come out. If you were lucky enough to have tried this beer or have a bottle of it you might be sitting on, enjoy while you can as Dann will no longer be making this beer. It's time for them to move on in their ranges of beer and add more to their profile.

Alec said we would be confused by this dish, as none of these flavors would seem like they would work at all. Goat cheese, cherries in the beer and hops, with sweet corn and cilantro. Yet somehow it more than worked. 

Mr. Sisyphus' Bed Time Story:

A gentle breeze blew through the forest. The leaves fluttered, and the ripe cherries on the Sisyphus tree bumped against one another. Then all was still. A tiny, contented sigh then came. It would only have been audible to a bird close by, or perhaps a child standing amongst the blossoms near the ground. But a sigh it was, and a most extraordinary sigh, for it came from Mr. Sisyphus.

If you stand at the bottom of the Sisyphus tree, close in beside the trunk where leaves surround you, and gaze up into its depths, you might notice that amongst all the cherries hanging there, one is not quite the same as all the others. Perhaps you will notice a tiny foot, a twig-like hand, or even, if your crane your neck, an eyeball twinkling there amongst the hanging balls of fruit. Unpluckable, never picked by hand, nor pecked by bird, nor pitted and preserved in a pie. Never to fall gently and bounce on soft moss, to be planted and grow again. For there hangs Mr. Sisyphus, the cherry who cannot fall.

Third Course:

Lightly seasoned, roasted corn bisque featuring sweet butter/sugar corn and leeks from Berberian Farm, heirloom breakfast onions from Rachel's Garden and an assortment of herb roasted potatoes from Morse Farm, served with squash fritters made with a variety of locally grown squash and Smith Farm extra sharp cheddar. 

 

{Image via uplandporter}

Paired with Pretty Things Jack D'Or. A 6.45 % abv American style saison. An American farm house style ale with a fairly big hop presence. The big hops being so typically American now. Oh and it's pronounced Jack "Door" not Jack "Dior." I know, that apostrophe makes it seem likes it sounds like the famed Fashion designer Christian Dior. But it's not. D'Or = Door.

More glorious sweet corn. A hint of mint added to this dish just to keep it curious. It added a barely there cooling effect to the hot corn bisque. The sweet natural sugars made the mint pop. The fitter was dipped in a batter with spent-grains and corn meal and added this unique raw grain character that was totally unexpected and quite delicious. The cheddar was lightly there but a nice hint of it in the fritter added a nice saltiness to the dish. 

This dish was hearty. I couldn't even imagine a meat course after this and we still had two more courses to go.

The beer again was fitting a pattern of fresh clean summery beers. An American Saison with beautiful hop characters that are rarely seen on sasion styles. Crisp and refreshing, Jack D'Or was the kick off beer to Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. (Not at all like Russian Budweiser! An inside joke that I am quite sure has mortified Dann as it has made it's way into this post.)

The pairing worked really well together. Potatoes, onions and grainy squash fritter all made the malts come into to play while the carbonation cleaned the palate and let the hops and sweet natural sugars of the corn play together on the palate.

Fourth Course:

Homemade whole wheat popover filled with locally foraged sauteed Black Trumpet and Chicken of the Woods mushrooms, house made butter, baby sweet onions from Morse Farm, carrot and parsnip mint puree and St. Botolph's blanched green beans from Berberian Farm.

Paired with Pretty Things St. Botolph's Town. A 5.7 % American brown ale ode to English-style, more specifically Yorkshire brown ales. The story of St. Botolph's Town is much better told through Dann and Martha. Read about it here.

First thing to say about this course was that the chicken of woods mushrooms tasted just like chicken with the same exact texture of sliced chicken breast. It even looked like chicken. It kind of freaks you out a bit. I can only imagine a vegan or strict vegetarian eating these. It tricks the mind. 

The popover was sweet due to the whole wheat flour. The green beans were by far my favorite, but had more of a butter taste than it did a beer taste. And more sweetness from the carrot and parsnip puree with mint. Though this time the mint didn't add that curious cooling effect it had on the third course. This course was rich and filling as the mushrooms texture tasted like and sat like chicken.

{First Image via walknboston}

The deep, rich malts on the beer and slightly dry finish really enhanced this dish. The sweet flavors from the carrots and parsnip mint puree brought out the huge roasted malts on the beer. The malts taste like rich bitter chocolate malts.

This is another course where I would have been happy with just the beans and the beer for the rest of the evening. My stuffed belly would have agreed but alas we had one more course to go.

 

The Palate Cleanser:

Freshly picked blackberries from Tougas farms. Blackberry sorbet made with honey and Confounded Mister Sisyphus.

 

Fifth Course:

House made ricotta sweetened with Wildflower Honey set in a crust of spent-grain and whole wheat flour, topped with caramelized peaches from Tougas Farm and a glaze made with Baby Tree served with a lavender infused whipped cream.

Paired with Pretty Things Baby Tree. A Belgian-style quadruple 8.7% abv made with California dried plums.

Starting with the fact that no sugar was added to this course, it filled a need for a rich sweet dessert after all the savory courses. The natural sugars of the peaches tamed the big bright malts of the beer. The ricotta tart had a very dry texture that wiped the slate/palate clean with every bite. I didn't like the texture at first but the cleaning effect it had gave way for the prunes to become more pronounced on the beer.

   

{First image via walknboston}

The lavender house made whipped cream and honey-Baby Tree glaze just made you want to dip your fingers in it.... Okay more like pick up the plate and lick it clean.

Baby Tree is one of my favorite beers from Pretty Things. It's a delicious Quad that is so fresh and drinkable. My palate has seemed to have left behind the big sweet malt bombs and sugary sweet Belgian candy sugar beers. So when something balanced and clean, not cloying comes along like this, I am all over it. Again the natural fruit sugars made this beer refreshing and delightful to end the evening with.

And to finish the night off a poem about the Baby Tree:

 

Participating farms:

Gibson Dairy Farm (Worcester, Ma.) Organic local eggs, cream and milk.

Berberian Farm (Northboro, Ma.) Cucumbers, beets, cousa squash, summer squash, zucchini, broccoli, arugula, black seeded simpson, scallions, parsnips, green beans, Anaheim peppers, dill, basil, cilantro, mint, butter/sugar corn, heirloom, beefsteak, and cherry tomatoes.

Michael Porter's Garden (South Grafton, Ma.) Fresh lavender.

Tougas Farm (Northboro, Ma.) Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, nectarines. 

Westfield Farms (Hubbardston, Ma.) Classic Blue Chevre

Morse Farm (Southbridge, Ma.) Patty pan squash, green peppers, baby sweet onions, yellow beans, heirloom garlic, carola, red creamer, yellow finn and yukon creamers potatoes.

Woodstock Orchards (Woodstock Ct.) Purple and green peppers.

Rachel's Garden (Moosup, Ct.) Heirloom breakfast onions.

Duhamel's Garden (Woodstock, Ct.) Carrots.

Smiths Farm (Winchendon, Ma.) Extra sharp cheddar.

Crystal Brook Farm (Sterling, Ma.) Chevre.

Honey Ect. (Princeton, Ma) Wildflower honey.

Antul Aleworks (Worcester, Ma.) Spent grain.

Wayside Inn Gristmill (Sudbury, Ma.) Whole wheat flour and corn meal.

 

Dann and Martha Paquette and Alec Lopez discussing the beers and farms and ingredients between each course.

Roasted Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Buttery Brussels Sprouts

Roasting a chicken is probably the easiest thing to do culinary wise. But since this was my first time roasting a chicken, I thought it was important to highlight it. A first is still a first after all.



Ingredients:

4 pound whole chicken
2 lemons
3 tbls Chopped Garlic
1 tbls Onion Powder
1 tbls Garlic Powder
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Sage
Fresh Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Lemon Zest

1 to 2 pounds fingerling potatoes

Preheat oven to 375°. Remove gizzards from chicken and rinse the chicken in cold water. Trim any excess fat or skin.


Pat dry the chicken completely including inside cavity.



Loosen the skin carefully from the breast in preparation for spice rub.

 

Place chicken in 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chicken with salt . Take one lemon and cut it in half and squeeze the juice liberally all over the chicken. Sprinkle with pepper. The lightly coat the chicken with a quick drizzle of olive oil.

*You may leave halved lemons in the pan while roasting. I started to do that as some of the pictures indicate, but once I added the fingerling potatoes, I didn't have any room for them.

Mix chopped garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder in a bowl. Coat the top of the chicken, the insides of the chicken cavity, and inside the skin.

Stuff the inside of the chicken with a small handful of fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage. Take second lemon and zest the rind over the top of the chicken.

For the potatoes:

1 to 2 pounds of washed and sliced in half fingerling potatoes. Boil in salted water for a few minutes. Drain the water and toss in chopped garlic. Shake rigorously in pan with cover on top.

Add potatoes to the roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Lightly sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice from the second lemon you used for the zest. 

Stick the pan in the oven and roast the chicken for 30 minutes per pound. since my chicken was a little over 4 pounds, I roasted it for 2 hours. at the half way mark I rotated the pan from it's original position in the oven.

Once it is done roasting, use a thermometer to check the chicken and make sure it is at least 175 degrees. Check at a deep set bone to be sure. Then cover with foil for 15 minutes to prevent the moisture of the chicken leaving and drying out the breast. Once the juices are sealed, remove from pan for carving. Remove potatoes to serving dish.

Brussels Sprouts:

1 to 2 pounds of washed and stemmed sprouts.

1/2 stick of butter

1 tbls chopped garlic

1 tbls seasoned salt

Wash brussels sprouts and peel off any bad top layers of leaves. Cut the base stems off. Place sprouts in a pot of water with at 1 to 2 inches of water. Add, butter, garlic, and seasoned salt. Cook for 10 minutes until sprouts are al dente.

Carve chicken and plate. Serve with potatoes and brussels sprouts and potatoes.

 

I have to pat myself on the back for this one. Again while it may be super easy to roast a chicken, the breast meat came out perfectly juicy. I normally do not like white meat or breast meat on chicken or turkeys when roasted due to it always being dried out. I always prefer dark meat for the flavor and juiciness. This time I didn't have to worry about anything. The meat on the breast was nicely flavored and perfectly juicy.

Beer Monday @ L'Espalier August 17

I originally wanted to title this post "Why fine dining restaurants should always be more receptive to beer." Why? Because they always far and away exceed their expectations with the parings. Master chefs and their knowledge of food and understandings of flavors are not far off from brewers hand crafting beer. It's a little more than just waiting for grapes to ripen.

Beer Monday is normally Wine Monday at L'Espalier. They offer a dinner with featured wine pairings. This particular Monday was dedicated to beer and was titled "Quit your wine-ing, it's beer!" This was put together by sommelier Erich Schliebe. Erich is also a lover of beer and working on learning more and exploring more of the world of beer.

An interesting note to make here, during the introductions for this dinner, he mentioned that part of the reason L'Espalier was interested in beer as one of the ways to liven up the restaurant and possibly help draw in a younger crowd. This is not the first time I have heard this. Upstairs On The Square in Harvard Sq. also went through something similar. In order to entice a younger, more hip crowd, they are finding themselves turning to beer to do it. We couldn't be more pleased to hear this. It's a good tactic to use. But for us, the folks who own BeerAdvocate.com, we think beer and fine food speaks for itself and should be the focus drawing in crowds of all ages. The explanation of fine foods and ingredients, the care and craft put into each dish should be the same tactic used when talking about beer and how it's made when opening up this new world to people.

 

We started our first course off with Victory Brewing Company's Prima Pils 5.3% abv. paired with Pastrami carpaccio with macaroni salad and roasted beets.

 

This is a perfect lighter offering to  a summer beer dinner. The beets were out of this world fantastic. They acted almost like a palate cleanser to the dish. I always forget how good they can be and this was a perfect reminder. And the splash of color always adds eye catching interest. The macaroni salad was simple and flavored with nice spices. The pastrami is made local from Chef Frank McClelland's organic farms where he is an advocate for locally grown vegetables, herbs and naturally cared for livestock. It was perfectly peppered and added right amount of salt balance to the dish.

 

Victory's Prima Pils has no doubt, been the beer of the summer. It's a near perfect American Pilsner. I emphasize American because the hop balance on this beer has a much bigger kick than a typical Euro pilsner despite being made with German and Czech hops. For me this is a good thing as I live for hops. But it's clean, refreshing, and served cold. All the things you want in a beer when it's so hot outside. Monday was particularly humid as well.

The hops in the beer worked well with the beets and and macaroni salad. Hops have the ability to cut right through fats and oils so this helped with the macaroni salad and the pastrami. The salt in the pastrami allowed the sweetness of the malts in the Prima Pils to stand up a bit more as well.

I didn't want this course to end as simple as it was. You don't need to be too extravagant when your working with easy summer ingredients.

Our next course was Westmalle Tripel 9.5% abv paired with Duck Leg Confit and sweet corn relish.

 

With duck being a fatty meat, and prepared as confit which is generally soaked in it's own rendered fat, it's easy to see why this pairing worked out. The effervescent carbonation in this case helps cut through the fats. In other circumstances it's the alpha acids in hops that cut through the oils.

The sweet candy sugars helped draw out the natural sweetness of the corn and red peppers. The light use of cilantro acted as a palate cleanser. But the fats of the duck actually brought out more of the very subtle hop notes on this beer. Hops are not typically the dominate flavors of a triple. The steel-y metallic malts and sugars are the dominant flavors coupled with the grains. This was a most excellent effect to the pairing. But an curious note was that the meat soaked in rendered duck fat was perfect with this beer, but the fatty skin actually didn't work as well. The skin is usually where all the fat is. But when I bit into the skin and sipped the beer the strong alcohols overwhelmed the palate. That is usually a sign of a bad marriage between the pairings. Curious that it was only for the one bit of the skin. Otherwise this pairing again hit all the right marks.

 

Westmalle Triple known as the "Mother of all Triples" is a classic interpretation of the traditional Belgian Trappist ales.

From their website:

The Westmalle Tripel is indeed called the “mother of all tripels”. This type of beer was first brewed in Westmalle abbey in 1934 when the new brewing hall came into use. The current formula has stayed practically unchanged since 1956, thus more than 50 years.

Usually a triple means it has triple the candy sugars added to it during fermentation. More sugars means more happy yeast and higher alcohol content as a waste product of the yeast.

This beer is one of the finest examples there is of a Triple. It's clean and not too cloying, crisp and refreshing.

The main course was presented with Weihenstephaner Hefeweissebier Dunkel 5.3% abv. paired with grilled lamb with red pepper pesto and pommes fondant.

This is almost a no brainer when it comes to brown ales and lamb. Deep dark, sweet malts (especially if they are roasted malts) in brown ales and the flavor of lamb is perfection to the palate. With dunkelweissen's you are getting more spices that come into play. The typical banana nose, and spicy flavors sweetened by dark malts played with this dish. The red pepper pesto was sweet and delicious. And this time the potato was the acting palate cleanser of the dish. 

There was one minor issue with this dish. The meat was slightly over cooked and a little dry. It was presented medium rare to more medium. It should have been served more rare. This did not effect the taste of the pairing and it still worked extremely well. 

 

As the label indicates, it is one of the oldest breweries in the world. Originally a Benedictine Monastery brewery, now a brewery owned by the freestate of Bavaria. It deserves more than a few sentences written about it, so read a little about them here: Total Beverage Solution.

This beer had all the classic hallmarks of a beautiful dunkelweissen. Hazy rich brown coloring, sweet banana nose and a creamy texture that made it close to banana pudding, but the caramel notes made it more like rich bananas fosters. 

 

Founders Cerise Cherry Fermentated Ale 6.5% abv. with Cherry clafouti with crème fraîche. 

All hail the season of the cherry. Cherries have been very popular this summer. From my friends on FoodBuzz geeking about getting new cherry pitter kitchen tools, to everyone baking their own Cherry Clafouti's, to my obsession this summer with Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream. It is definitely that time of year.

This dessert was perfectly balanced. The crème fraîche was nice and tart and a little sourish, almost like sour cream which I thought was so delicious with the sweet and buttery clafouti. Also the balance on the dessert matched really well with the beer as the exact same sweet and tart notes were happening with the beer. This dessert actually brought out more of the cherry flavors on the beer and tamed it's malts. It was also nice and light, nearly custard like with good plump cherries in it. Not nearly as heavy as it looks in the picture. Which was a good thing after the previous rich courses.

 

This lovely pink ale defines a big fruit beer. Made with Michigan tart cherries and loaded with big malts, it tastes almost like cherry pie filling. Not thick and syrupy though. That's certainly not a bad thing for me. The crème fraîche helped tone down a bit of the malts and allow more of the actual tart cherry flavors to pop. Took down that cherry pie filling taste and allowed it to taste more like a lambic sans the acid burn a lambic can leave on your throat if it's too sour. Quite enjoyable for me to say the least as I am too sensitive to unbalanced ph levels.

Over all this was a lovely pairing and a perfect way to end the night.

And once presented with a the check, they sent us lovely little house made jellies and chocolates. White peach jellies, like a pâte de fruit topped with a raspberry and thyme marshmallow. And house made mint chocolates.

 

When food is carefully thought out, from ingredients, to preparation and presentation, it's no wonder you can see why beer can be and very much is the perfect compliment. The same thought out carefulness that goes into these lovely dishes, is the same carefulness that goes into making craft beer. And with the range shown in this one beer dinner of the versatility and variety that can be accomplished with beer, it's no wonder it's foods perfect compliment indeed.

I challenge more fine dining establisments to reach out and be more adventerous with their pairings. It's cool, it's delicious, and makes perfect sense.

Southern Dirty Shrimp In Beer Sauce With Corn Bread

My first time cooking with shrimp and it was a massive success. This is a southern recipe. Deep down dirty south. Even though this is my own recipe, I kept it true to form until the end. I made a few slight modifications that in my opinion helped rock this dish. I added BBQ sauce and flour to thicken and add even more flavor to my sauce. "Dirty" can be a way to describe southern and creole food, a way to describe the south in general, and in this case it has a double meaning of dirty south and dirty hands. You have to peel the shrimp and getting glorious beer sauce all over your hands that must be licked off not wiped off with a napkin.

The reason this recipe came to be was excess skillet corn bread I made with Sticky BBQ Chicken. So to get rid of it, I decided Dirty shrimp would be the way to go. A long gone BBQ joint in Boston called the Linwood Grill was my inspiration for this recipe. They Made a PBR dirty shrimp bowl that was out of this world.

Also, the call to use Pabst Blue Ribbon proves yet again that there is a time and a place for every beer. I am sure many beer geeks will dispute that, but I haven't got time for their beer snobbery. Not when I made this awesome recipe.

Recipe for Knock Off House Of Blues Skillet Corn Bread. Make this recipe in advance as it takes a while to bake.



Dirty BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 # Shrimp uncooked (Peeled optional)
1 cup butter
1 white onion chopped
1 tbls. chopped garlic
splash of lemon juice
4 tsp. thyme
4 tsp. oregano
3 bay leaves
3 tsp Oldbay seasoning
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tbls. worcestershire sauce
16 oz or 2 cups Pabst Blue Ribbon (1 Tall Boy)
2/3 cup sweet and tangy BBQ sauce
1/2 cup flour or 2 to 4 tbls. cornstarch



In a separate bowl combine all dry spices.

 

In a large pot melt the butter and add the onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until onions become translucent. Add a splash of lemon juice and the worcestershire sauce to the onions while the onions are cooking.




 

Add the shrimp, spices and beer to the pot and simmer. By not peeling the shrimp, the beer gets trapped with the meat and holds on to the flavor better.



Let the shrimp simmer in the spices and beer until the shrimp becomes a little firm and pink. Once the shrimp is fully cooked, add BBQ sauce and flour and allow sauce to thicken a little bit. Remove bay leaves and rosemary stems.

 

In a flat bowl, place cornbread in the center and smother with shrimp and sauce. Serve hot and with lots of napkins. Don't be afraid to get your hands in it and peel the shrimp and lick the sauce off!

Sticky BBQ Chicken With House Of Blues Skillet Corn Bread

I have been craving the House Of Blues skillet corn bread for ages. I finally said enough is enough and I will try to make it myself. Their corn bread is a skillet bread with whole corn kernels, red peppers and rosemary. It's served with a maple-cinnamon butter. Word to the wise, make the corn bread ahead of the chicken. It takes a long time to bake and at a higher temp.

I wanted some Barbecued chicken too. It's oven baked because again all summer long my grill has been out of commission. But oven baked or not, this sticky chicken is delicious.



Sticky Chicken

Ingredients:

4 Chicken Thighs (rinsed, patted dry)
4 Chicken Legs (rinsed, patted dry)

Marinade:

1/3 cup Rice wine
2 tbls. Soy Sauce
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder

Sticky Sauce:

2 tbls. Brown Sugar
2/3 cup BBQ Sauce (I blended 3 different kinds for a unique taste)
2 tbls. Hoisin Sauce
2 tbls sweet and sour sauce
2 tbls. Honey
Garlic Salt to taste
Onion Powder to taste
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce



In a separate dish, take chicken and rub with salt and place in the pan. Cover chicken with rice wine and soy sauce. Liberally sprinkle chicken with Montreal steak seasoning. Lightly sprinkle chicken with garlic powder and onion powder. Place in the fridge for at least an hour. Make sure you flip the chicken mid way through marinating.



Preheat over to 375°. In a baking dish, line with foil and place the marinated chicken in the baking dish.



Whisk together all ingredients for sticky sauce in a separate bowl.



Liberally coat the chicken with BBQ sauce and place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.



Pull out of the oven and coat the chicken again with sauce and bake again for another 15 minutes. Or until chicken is at least 160°at the bone.







(This image of the corn bread is not fully cooked all the way. It was taken out of the oven for the knife test to see how much longer it needed cooking.)



Knock Off House Of Blues Skillet Corn Bread with Cinnamon Maple Butter


*2 cups Arrowhead Mills Corn Bread Mix
*1 1/4 cups milk
2 tbls canola oil
2 tbls honey
1 medium sized red bell pepper finely chopped
1 15 ounce can corn drained or 2 cups fresh corn
Fresh sprigs of rosemary
2 tbls canola oil

*This is the basic recipe for corn bread according to Arrowhead Mills. The corn and peppers add more moisture and will take longer to cook than what the recipe calls for. Also this recipe calls for two cups of the corn bread mix. I found I needed nearly 3 cups to thicken it up otherwise it was way too runny.

My skillet was also 10 inches and most skillet corn bread recipes call for 8 inch skillets. I had to play with my corn bread mixture to compensate.

The recipe also called for water in the mix, but milk is better so I substituted the water for milk.

 

Preheat oven to 400°. Mix all ingredients up to red pepper in a bowl. Make sure the batter is a thick consistency a tad thicker than pancake batter. Once batter is mixed, add corn and red peppers.



You can either add 2 tbls of canola oil to the skillet and leave in the oven while it is preheating or you can heat the oil in the skillet on the the stove top just until the oil begins to smoke from the skillet.

Once the skillet is heated add the corn bread batter immediately to the skillet. Top with sprigs of rosemary. Do not press into the batter. Stick in the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The moisture content may make cooking time longer so don't be surprised if it takes longer than the cooking time called for. Do the knife test and make sure it comes out clean when inserting into the corn bread. The edges will be darker than golden but not burnt.






Cinnamon Maple Butter

1 cup of butter softened
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbls Maple syrup
1 1/2 tbls brown sugar

Whisk all ingredients until nicely blended. Put in a large ramekin and chill for a few minutes then serve with warm corn bread.

 

 

Cambridge Brewing Company's Striped Bass Fest '09

A quiet Saturday evening spent at our local brewpub Cambridge Brewing Company. Last Saturday we went to check out their annual Striped Bass Festival. Main entrees all featuring striped bass and paired with the fine offerings of CBC's beers.

The menu:



The Beer Menu:



First beer: Jedi Mind Trick a "Belgian IPA" 7.5% abv. (This isn't the beer you were looking for.)





First course was the Striped Bass Ceviche with Mango, Chili, Lime, Watercress, and black pepper cracker paired with a flute of OM.



OM: 2007 strong blonde ale aged in chardonnay barrels with enlightenment added 9.4% abv.

This pairing was refreshing. Although you can't really see the seafood in the picture, the pieces of striped bass were plump and delicious and did not have strong fish flavors or oils. The OM was nice and delicate tasting despite being a 9.4% abv beer. Sometimes strong beers are overlooked when pairing things with seafood and fresh fruit. Technically this is a blonde ale which is on the right track for lighter foods, but the abv seems intense. However, it doesn't interfere or become too apparent when tasting this pairing.

Signs of bad pairings are when one flavor dominates the entire palate, the flavors clash too much, or the beer flavors are destroyed leaving nothing but the alcohol flavors from the food pairing.

The greens provided a bit of an earthiness to the pairing and the lime rounded everything out. The beer had spicy notes and the chardonnay barrel aging didn't leave an oak-y buttery finish. Butter flavors in beer a sign of diacytal in the beer and is not always a desired effect. Chardonnays tend to be oak-y and buttery. This beer was clean and spicy.



Todd Alström's first course was Mexican Spice Rubbed Striper Skewer with tomato rice, habenero tartar sauce paired with a wine stem of Reckoning.



Reckoning: 20th Anniversary beer. 100% Brettanomyces fermentation and conditioning in French oak pinot noir barrels 8.6% abv.

This pairing was actually off as far as matching the beer with the food. This beer didn't belong with these flavor profiles. The Skewer itself was delicious. The tartar sauce was not too hot despite being flavored with habenero.

The beer all by itself was delicious as well. I believe the flavors of the spices were too dominate for this beer. This is one of the bad pairings in which alcohol was the only thing you could taste. No subtleties of the pinot noir barrels and the brett was completely masked.

One description of Brett from Russian River Brewing Company:

What is Brettanomyces?

Brettanomyces (also known as Brett) is feared by most brewers and winemakers alike. In fact, there are some local winemakers who will not set foot in our brewpub in Downtown Santa Rosa due to our use of Brettanomyces. Brettanomyces is actually yeast, it ferments and acts the same as every other "conventional" yeast, it just has the propensity to continue fermenting through almost any type of sugar, including those natural sugars found in the wood in an oak barrel. Brett is very invasive and if not handled properly can become out of control in a winery or brewery, but, if used properly with care, it can add rich aromas and flavors of earthiness, leather, smoke, barnyard, & our favorite descriptor-wet dog in a phone booth.

Brett beers are usually not my style of beers at all. They wreak havoc on my body and I will just leave it at that. But I was frankly disappointed that this pairing didn't work. When there are styles of beers I don't like, I rely on food pairings to open up the beers true flavors and allow me to taste them more objectively. That's not a recommended tasting suggestion for everyone. Just how I personally prefer to open up to beers I normally may not like. Even if I don't like them I need to be able to understand them and food is the best way for me to do that.

The Jedi Mind Trick was still floating around and it wound up pairing better with the skewers.

The dinner pairing was Bacon Wrapped Striped Bass with green beans and Russian dressing paired with Imperial Skibsøl.



Imperial Skibsøl: A Danish strong dark lager beer with alderwood-smoked malt 6.3%.

The first sip of beer was off. It tasted exactly like root beer due to the left over spices and lingering flavors from the OM. I had to rinse with water for a minute to clear my palate. I was also laughing at the table sitting next to us as they sent back this beer and claimed it to be "too smoky." He was a pussy.

There are only two lines of thought with smoked beers. You love them or you hate them. I happen to be in the "I LOVE THEM" category.

For this pairing the bacon is the key that ties this pairing together. Again its a dark beer being paired with fish that typically isn't first thought of when pairing lighter foods like fish with beer. Bacon and smoked beers are a dream together. The Russian dressing wasn't overly sweet either it was tangy and allowed the sweetness of the dark malts to come through. The green beans added a nice crunchy texture.

This pairing was just all around fantastic. It was hearty and filling yet not food coma inducing. A hearty fish pairing that leaves you feeling good and satisfied and not like you need a nap immediately after.

The beer was so delicious and not overly smoked at all. Well not as smokey as a Schlenkerla Urbock, but along the same lines. Sweet, dark, roasted, and smokey malts with complex flavors yet very drinkable. I should have slapped the wuss next to me who sent his beer back because he thought was too smokey.



Todd's choice of main course was Grilled Garlic Marinated Striper with grilled corn on the cob, collard greens, mango salsa and grilled crostini paired with Biere De Miel. Grilled by the owner of CBC, Phil Bannatyne himself.



Biere De Miel: 2007 Belgian-style saison made with local honey from Mike Graney 8.8% abv.

This beer wasn't technically the right pairing suggestion. It was supposed to be offered up with the CBC Hefewiezen. The same general rules apply however when pairing the beers with this entree. Citrus flavors, sweet honey flavors instead of the fruity esters of the Hefewiezen, spices, and the same cloudy yeasty profiles. In combination with the sweet grilled corn, and mango salsa balanced with the light garlic flavors and the fish flavors. Not to mention the Biere de Miel is worlds better than the Hefewiezen. Not to impugn the Hefewizen but the Biere de Miel is worlds better.



Dessert was simple. A Honey Pound Cake with vanilla cream and braised peaches in Arquebus.

Arquebus: Since I have no picture of this beer though it looked very similar the Reckoning served in a wine stemmed glass, I thought I would give you the CBC description of this beer.

Two questions may have already arisen as you begin this reading; first, what is an Arquebus and second, what is a “summer barleywine?”

Well, this’ll be easier than you thought, and completely painless, I promise.

An arquebus was a primitive firearm which came into use in the 15th Century, and was a predecessor to the musket and rifle. A smoothbore with a flared muzzle, similar but more refined and accurate than its predecessor the Blunderbuss (ah, there’s the thematic association, Blunderbuss being our winter barleywine…) it was capable of piercing the strong, full-plate armor worn into battle.

Ok then. What, you continue to wonder, is a “Summer Barleywine?”

Well, in our continuing quest to change the way people think about enjoying and understanding beer and beer styles, we have created a barleymalt-based interpretation of a dessert wine, meant to be sipped on those sultry summer evenings on our patio. It is also brewed with local Cambridge honey gathered from hives within five miles of our brewery by apiarists Mike Graney and Dan Geere, plus white wine grapes of the varieties Viognier and Gewurtztraminer.

Our 2009 release is at once light and drinkable yet it boasts significant body, and it is almost syrupy smooth in texture without being cloying. Arquebus’ deep golden mien contains beautiful, complex notes of peach and apricot fruit, wildflower honey, toast and coconut oakiness, and soft, tannin-hinted, white grape notes. Malolactic fermentation in the barrel adds a hint of acidity to balance the sweetness of this beer’s finish.

Aged for eighteen months in French oak chardonnay barrels acquired from the Silverado and Chateau Boswell wineries in Napa, the residual flavors contributed by the wood offer a mellowness of character not provided by stainless steel fermentation, as controlled oxidation deepens its color, enhances its rich texture, and concentrates notes of fruit.

OG: 1.100/25.0*P FG: 1.016/4.0*P ABV:11.0%

This years batch was a tad more tart than I have remembered in previous years. It was absolutely enjoyable and paired well with the cake. Naturally the braised peaches in Arquebus worked well. I mention the tartness however, because it almost didn't work. A touch more and we would have had another mismatched pairing. The cake and cream had delicate flavors, and although this beer which is pretty fantastic and has it's own unique and complex flavors almost trumped the pairing with the tartness. Overall though it is as the description claims, perfect for relaxing on a patio on a nice summer evening. We happened to be seated on the patio of CBC. A nice way to end the evening.

A side not that made the night even more awesome, the menu items were priced and then the proper beer pairing with it were only priced 3 dollars more for a full pours of the beer. You don't see that anywhere. It made the event more economical.

Drink of the Summer: Chronic Iced Tea

Earl Grey iced tea, Germain-Robin brandy, Bärenjäger (honey liqueur), and lemon.

Brought to you by the lovely folks at The Green Street Grill in Cambridge, Ma.

Update: I originally posted that this was made with St. Germain Elderflower liquor. When I went back to order another one of these drinks I found that it called for Germain-Robin Brandy. Quite a different thing. But you can see where the confusion came in with the name. Not to mention everyone is using St. Germain now on their cocktail menus.