This post has been a long time coming. In a way I am kind of glad I waited to post about this dinner. It was over the summer time and with this colder fall season already in full swing, why not revisit a warm period of time with fun summery foods? Let's try to imagine full green trees, open windows, warm temperatures, and this fun summer event.
Aquitaine is very fun and very well respected bistro in the South End of Boston. Alexis Kimler-Gelburd, the general manager decided it would be a fun idea to expect our offer to partner up for our summer beer dinner series that took place at fine restaurants all over the city, all summer long.
Although Aquitaine is a wine bar, they love beer too. Their experience bartenders were excited for this dinner as well Chef matt who helped sculpt this delicious menu for us.
Aquitaine serves one of Todd's favorite burgers in the city. A few BA power meetings have taken place over a beer and a burger at Aquitaine. Not to mention regular dinner service at Aquitaine is insanely good. You can see the proof here.
Meeting Alexis and realizing how cool she is and how interested she was in hosting a beer event with us, we decided it was a perfect place to host a Summer of Beer Dinner. As some of you know, we stopped hosting themed beer dinners. No more working with rigid guidelines or themes, no one brewer to be featured, just a glimpse of what is seasonal, fresh, and what we love at that moment by way of beer and food.
**Please forgive the image quality. I left the house without my Nikon and captured the dinner withiPhone images.
Welcoming: Penn Weizen Cocktail
Aquitaine's version of a summer French Shandy. Made with Pennsylvania Brewing Co. Penn Weizen and St. Germain. (Yes, it's in a BBC glass. I will explain later in the post.)
Wonderful fresh Island Creek Oysters nicely fried with a good malt batter. Sweet and perfectly paired with the Summer Ale. The fresh oyster and it's sweet and tangy High Life mignonette was another way the beer balanced. Its vinegary tangy with the creamy texture of the oyster gave the beer a creamy yet fresh and effervescent quality. Oysters and this Summer Ale were made for each other.
Second Course: Pretzel Crusted Hake
Endive Marmalade and Coriander with a mustard broth.
Huge portion of fish with this course. Amazing flavors with the mustard broth and pretzel crust. Gorgeous, juicy fresh Hake. And of course a beautiful farmhouse ale from Great Divide. Cloudy, sweet, yeasty and spicy ale that worked well with the fish and coriander that tied it all together. We were all taken back a bit with the size of this course. Aquitaine was not stingy with the food or beer pours. This did mean we were in trouble for the next few courses though. Wide eyes for the rest of the dinner.
Although this picture may not reflect the size of this Boudin Blanc sausage, it was huge! House-madesausage and battered and deep fried like classic summer carnival fair. Fresh corn and pepper cool relish and Peeper Ale. The Peeper is an unfiltered hoppy pale ale with a little more gusto than a typical pale ale. Full bodied and very hoppy, just what the fatty corn dog needed and a little tanginess and fresh sweet corn to help with some added depth and flavors. This course may not seem like was all that or perhaps lackluster due to the images, but let me assure this was a massive course and perfectly fitting for a summer meal.
Chef Matt really liked stepping outside of the fancy box for a minute to create something fun. Poor Alexis had no idea where to get the red baskets they were served in. It is a French bistro after all, but it sure was fun stepping outside of the box. The diners seemed to really enjoy this course as well. Beer dinners do not need to be stuffy.
Obviously this was one I had a hand in choosing based on the beer. I have used Cherry Woods before andPechish Woods at the Journeyman Summer Of Beer dinner. I love this beer and we were fortunate enough to get some of the last bottles of it. Cherry Woods is a lightly sour ale with a huge Cherry Pie filling aroma and beautiful cherry taste. That color is gorgeous too. Chef Matt made some glorious brisket with a cherry bbq sauce and light summer picnic sides to go with it. The acids in the sour Cherry Woods and the fatty brisket were made for each other.
This was another course that the pictures are not doing it justice. It's brisket, man! It was delicious and a nice curveball to the diners with a lightly sour ale for the main course.
Dessert: Frozen Boilermaker
Irish Whiskey Ice Cream with a malt caramel swirl.
This was an Alexis course. She is from the Berkshires and loves BBC beers. She keeps them on the menu at Aquitaine. Her favorite beer and a perfect way to end the night. Their take on a beer float but going the extra mile with a delicious house-made ice cream. A lot of the people in attendance at this dinner were not BeerAdvocate's. We like it when this happens because things like a beer float really blow some minds. It's very simple and very easy to make and yet it seems to make a good statement every time. We love that Aquitaine really hooked this up too with the Irish Whiskey ice cream. The boozy sweet cream and the dry roasted porter added enough contrast to actually bring out the ice creams rich flavors and the deep rich and dry flavors of the porter.
One thing to note about this dinner was the speed in which everything was presented. The dinner began at 7pm and we were done by 9 or 9:30. We were not rushed by any means, but this was a beer dinner that just flowed nicely. Often times you end up with weird lag time between courses. Sometimes it can't be helped with the size of certain kitchens. But this dinner flowed with ease.
The portions of this dinner were big and the size of the beer pours were full. One thing people hate about beer dinners is high price tags and stingy portions. Aquitaine did not hold back and they made sure we all need wheelbarrows to take ourselves home with.
A fantastic dinner. Aquitaine really rose to the occasion with this beer dinner. I hope you were all able to get the gist of this dinner with my iPhone pics. It was such a good time.
On Monday, we hosted our final dinner in the summer series, Things We Love Summer of Beer at Toro restaurant in the South End of Boston. Things We Love is a beer dinner concept that was designed to shed beer dinner images. No longer do we work with one sole brewer and only their profile. We work with what we love at that moment and what we love to eat, fresh and seasonal. The idea is to gain a better inclusion of the restaurant staff, and a better idea of the restaurant itself. So many times, people leave beer dinners talking only about the terrific beer they just had. We want people walking out of our events thinking in new ways about beer and food together.
We wanted to shed themes and concepts to elevate the beer novices and foodies, and also bring down the beer nerd who demands the finest foods, rarest beers, but won't pay more than $45. The idea is to have fun and not work with impossible people or parameters. These our dinners, our favorites and our idea of fun. This can also include a wine pairing with the dinner, a battle of beer versus something, a beer cocktail... No limits anymore, but one rule, the main focus is the beer. You are being welcomed to sit at OUR table. To add any restrictions or rules about how it should be done changes the concept completely.
When I sat down with Jen Fields, the General Manager at Toro, we talked about our past histories in the restaurant world of Boston. Jen and I both used to work a crummy, yet popular hipster dive bar in Cambridge. We know our bartenders in this town. Boston has become quite the town for craft cocktails and craft beer. One thing that has never changed, is the need for cheap beer and shots of bourbon or fernet after a long day.
At Toro, head chef Jamie Bissonnette loves Bud Light Lime. So does a lot of the kitchen staff. If you are a beer nerd, this is probably cringe worthy to you. But this is burden of true Beer Advocate. It's not our place to tell anyone who they are or what they can and can't drink. It is a beer in their hands after all. It's obvious we advocate for better beer and will always do so, but the hardened beer geek must realize we are BeerAdvocate and not Craft Beer Advocate. This doesn't mean that we are in the pockets of Budweiser because we don't shamelessly rip them apart every chance we get. The arguments against them are stale, old and tired and no one is really saying anything new about the big bad beast that is Anheuser-Busch. Having said that, we would still defend and support a craft brewer long before the corporate beasts if problems arise. And at the end of a hard day in a hot kitchen, you want slamming back beers. And if BLL is their choice, so be it. They have earned the right to drink whatever they fancy.
When I sat down with Jen to discuss the menu for our beer dinner, I asked her what is everyone in here drinking right now, what do they love right now. And she mentioned Jamie's BLL affinity. This made sense to me, because at his other restaurant Coppa, also in the South End, he features awesome Shandy's on his cocktail list using stouts and 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon Wheat. It's called the Merman, with the wheat beer, and it's delicious and hilarious with the name proving there is a time and a place for every beer. Beer cocktails are fantastic. We even featured a French Shandy at the Aquitaine TWL dinner.
We got a consensus of what everyone wanted to drink. And Jen thought it would be funny and awesome to make Bud Light Lime Margarita as a welcoming drink since we told her that we LOVE beer cocktails and that they should feature one. She thought this would be a good way to kill two birds with one stone. Get Jamie's choice in there, make a beer cocktail, and be completely cheeky about it without having any pretensions at this dinner. One, Toro makes slamming cocktails with Andy McNees behind the bar. It's only right to have something fun. Jen, was also a bartender in this town and knows how to make a good drink, this was all her idea. Two, it's in line with our idea of featuring what we love with beer cocktails. Three, we made it into a cocktail and enhanced it.
Bud Light Lime Margarita; tequila, elderflower liquor, grapefruit and lime, with lime salt. We paired it with tempura rock shrimp that used BLL in the batter, lime salt again, shrimp mayo and charred jalapenos.
One person saw the dinner being advertised on their blackboard, and asked how much Bud was paying us and the restaurant to use their beer. Another person, a member of our website, actually turned it away at the dinner. Rude and silly if you ask me, but then again I tell no one who they are and what they can and can't like. Not to mention random tweets from judmental dickheads who weren't even there to to try it, but saw Todd's tweets about it. I find it ridiculous, all the kerfuffle one beer cocktail has spurned. Not to mention it tasted fantastic, made the beer quite enjoyable, and worked amazingly well with the pairing. His loss, not mine.
We are not in Anheuser-Busch's pockets, it's ridiculous to even have to say that. We have not, nor have we ever or will ever, sell out to AB. It was Jen's idea to highlight one of the most respected Chef's in Boston, Jamie Bissonnett's favorite, as well the the staff favorite. For the love of fuck it wasn't a big deal, but it had enough people's panties in a bunch that I felt like I had to say something about it.
The dinner was a huge success. We had so much food and beers, it was well worth it. And the next time we do a dinner like this or a tasting social, I will have no problem featuring a macro product if the timing and idea behind it, is right.
Once we, hosted an Aztec-themed beer dinner at Upstairs on the Square. We featured and incredible ceviche on a bed of avocado with Negra Modelo. There was an historic aspect to the beer, the style, and it worked out so well. In a Russian-themed beer dinner, Budweiser, sent me Bud made in Russia for the dinner. You see, beer is the number two drink in Russia behind tea. And Budweiser did this for us with no questions asked, no favors exchanged. It tasted very different from our Budweiser and it was really good and more malty. It was paired with corn belini's, boiled eggs, caviar, and creme fraiche. It was amazing to be honest. And you'd never know if you had such a deep snobbery, it prevented you from being adventurous.
I am not asking anyone to roll the way we do. You can do whatever you like, pair how ever you see fit. But we're having mad fun and keeping it real with what our friends and restaurants we like. When you see the pictures from the dinner, which I will blog about very soon, you will be jealous you missed an event like this. Hang your heads in shame if one light hearted beer cocktail prevented you from coming to this dinner.
Edited: I forgot to mention how when we started Things We Love with Hungry Mother in Cambridge, we featured a battle of the cheap beers at that dinner. 10 courses and one was a fried chicken course served in a paper basket with watermelon and cole slaw. We featured their shitty beer of choice which was Genny Cream Ale vs. our choice of Narragansett. We served it in paper cups to be cheeky that an upscale southern restaurant could stay true to it's down and dirty roots. Everyone had so much fun popping open the cans and hearing the simultaneous cracking from the cans. It was awesome, Narragansett won, and a whole room full of diners had fun. All done with "shitty" beers.
We also did our second TWL with Hungry Mother for a Valentine's day, and that time we featured a beer cocktail with Miller High Life. We had 40's of HL on the bar and made and awesome cocktail with Vida Mezcal, grapefruit 'concentrate,' beer syrup, Miller High Life, salt. It was awesome.
No one complained once during those dinners that cheap macro beers were being used. They served a purpose and ended being awesome and people loved it. They were fun, they tasted good, and they fit with our theme of having fun the way we like it.
I was sick and tired of beer dinners. Sick and tired of trying to come up with concepts for beer dinners. I had hosted a series of cool beer dinners in the past like the Aztec Beer Dinner, or Soul Food Brunch pairings, chocolate beer dinners, Russian beer dinners, even the now infamous Gallia Belgica.
All of those events were cool. No scratch that, they were amazing. But I now I am done with concepts or themes. I am done working with one sole brewer and only their line up of beers for beer dinners, and I am done with beer dinners that serve amazing food, but all anyone walks away with is, did they get enough of the geekiest beer being served that night.
I am through with coming up with beer dinners for beer geeks. A lot of them will never be satisfied and only want dinners that include full pours of Allagash Gargamel or something equally rare, they want the finest food to be served with it, and only want to pay $45 dollars max to be served like and eat like kings.
Sorry beer geeks, it's simply not about you anymore.
It's also not about the uber foodie either. I am frankly sick of them too. They don't have any idea about good craft beer (some of them anyway, not all of them), and they still turn their noses up at the idea that beer can be and is amazing with food.
Of course I am completely generalizing here, but you get the idea.
No Mas! No more creating dinners to suit other peoples needs. I wanted to create a series of dinners that highlight the things we love. From the restaurants, the chefs, the waitstaff, the style of food, and various beers. It may also include a wine versus beer tasting, a beer cocktail or spirit served with the meal, or even a beer battle itself!
The idea is to elevate the foodie to beer, and bring the beer geeks back down to reality with good solid beer and food offerings.
We had been discussing a possible beer dinner with Hungry Mother in Cambridge. A favorite restaurant who hadn't hosted a beer dinner before but was really contemplating the idea of working with us. I decided this was the right place to launch such an idea. Anyone who is local around here already knows Hungry Mother and how awesome they are. If you don't, drop whatever it is you are doing, shut your mouth, and go over there and have dinner immediately.
Their style is Appalachian-style southern food with local ingredients, and French techniques.
** When I say Appalachian, I mean App-il-lay-chin. The fine folks at HM will disagree with me until we are all blue in the face, but actually being from Virginia, and more the Appalachian Mountain chain extending way up into New England, I am right! Only in the deep corners of the south and the Blue Ridge Mountains do you call it "App-a-Latch-chan."
This is the kind of place that will serve you cheesy grits and bacon that will make your mama cry. They will serve it with a Hickory Dickel (Gingerale, George Dickel, a tiny hint of liquid smoke, and a bacon lardoon garnish. They will serve you a gorgeous country-style gnocchi with peas, mushrooms, and bacon, but serve you a Genesee Cream Ale with it. This is exactly our kind of place.
Together with Todd and Jason, myself, Alon and Rachel Munzer, Barry Maiden, John Kessen, and the various waitstaff and barkeeps, we created a fun menu to showcase the fun stuff Hungry Mother likes to create, and we all had a hand in picking our favorite beers for this menu. Beers that WE loved and it didn't have anything to do with whether they were super rare or super generic. It's all about what we love and what we wanted to share with our friends and patrons.
I want to highlight that at the very bottom of the menu listed all the things Hungry Mother loves.
Things We Love: BeerAdvocate, Deep Ellum, The Gallows, Carolina Chocolate Drops, East by Northeast, pizza, opera, Dylan & Mira, our lawyer, Jamison Farm, Tetris, Anson Mills, Eastern Standard, Muddy Pond sorghum, bourbon, hot dogs, Ridgeway Blue, rainbows and puppydogs, Kanye, days off, snood, golf, ukuleles, drinking, Strangeways Here We Come, (ex) data synapse, Joe-Joe's, Brazil, Hulu, bonfires on Wiborgs Beach, boo ya later.
We welcomed everyone to dinner with southern specialties of house made dilly beans, boiled peanuts, and homemade chips.
*Click to enlarge any image.
Great social foods to pick at and get introduced to your table. We sat a lot of people together in groups. The Dilly beans were spicy and tangy, the chips were crisp and addicting. I will take the word from everyone at the table that said the boiled peanuts were fantastic. They ate them all! I am a southerner who who doesn't care for boiled peanuts. I know, it's pure blasphemy. But it's a classic none the less and perfect for the table.
We also opened up with a beer cocktail of Campari, sorghum syrup, and Smuttynose Star Island single.
First course:
Miss Lewis' Tomato Aspic with Deviled Quail Egg and Bacon.
Beer: Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project American Darling, 7% abv
I think this was my favorite course. The aspic was soft and extremely flavorful with tomatoes. The deviled quails egg was cute and packed just the right amount of pop of creamy texture and flavor contrast for the beer. The bacon was just an awesome hint for the plate that tied every thing together. Really, who can deny a lovely piece of bacon? They should have had a piece of bacon on every course served for this dinner.
The beer was perfectly fresh, crisp, and delicious. Just a tad too hoppy for the aspic though. Not enough to clash, but while pilsners and lagers are excellent for tomatoes, the added hop bite of American darling, almost proved to be to much. But as a hop head, I never mind big hops.
HM always offers a pork plate of some sort. This was the perfect portion size for wonder flavors and two different variations of pork. Paired with the most classic beer for pork, Schlenkerla Marzen larger. Smoked beers are made for pork dishes. It's a simple pairing but packed full of flavor and proved during this dinner why we love it.
Third Course:
Catfish Caveach picholines, capers, poblanos.
Beer: Allagash White, 5.2% abv
Caveach is basically a method of pickling fish. It was fantastic catfish too. It had a lovely earthy rustic taste to it and the Allagash White really went perfectly with it. The tangy capers and vinegars tastes were smoothed out by the lovely and soft flavors of the wit bier. The soft texture and hearty flavors of the catfish were fantastic.
Fourth Course:
Shrimp and Grits with HM tasso, cornbread croutons, and rosemary.
Beer: Cape Ann Fishermans IPA, 5.5% abv
You can't have a real southern meal with out grits. HM always has a grit offering in some way. Shrimp and grits are a classic southern, soul food offering. These grits were slow cooked, creamy and deliciously buttery. The shrimp and sauce was extremely flavorful and worked well with the malty IPA. Malty and hops are good for rich sauces like this. I really didn't want this course to end.
Fifth Course:
Fried chicken picnic with "kohlslaw", compressed watermelon, and Texas Pete.
Beer: Narragansett vs. Genny Cream Ale
Yes! Yes, we did go there with fried chicken and cheap beer at a fancy beer dinner. Genny Cream Ale is a favorite of the HM staff, and Narragansett is a Todd favorite. We thought, why not battle them out and see which cheap beer is the favorite among crowd?
The best part of this was serving the chicken in paper baskets and the beer served in cans with paper cups on the tables. As soon as the beers were delivered, the cracking noises in sync around the room from the cans was amazing. It was super fun and had everyone engaged. I have never seen that many smiles for cheap beer in a long time. It goes to show you that there is a time and a lace for every beer. Only one person wasn't really thrilled with the cheap beer choices because he prefers Budweiser for his cheap beer of choice. I am a PBR girl myself, but I didn't let that stop me.
Before I announce the winner, lets talk about the food. Compressed watermelon? Yep vacuumed sealed so that all the juices compressed further into the melon. Sprinkled with salt to give it an awesome contrast to the insanely sweet and delicious melon. The "kohlslaw" was light and creamy and packed a delicate hit of flavors.
The fried chicken was perfectly southern. Juicy and that right bit of nearly burnt skin flavor. It tasted just like my mom's pan fried chicken and no one beats my mom's chicken! I was surprised to find out it was not pan fried. Close enough though. They deep fried it in a deep fryer but set the chicken high in the fryer like it was pan frying.
Winner: Narragansett!
But winner by a slim margin. The way it worked for me and a lot of people tended to agree was that the Genny Cream Ale was perfect right after the grits and worked extremely well with the "kohlslaw." But it was the 'Gansett that over took every thing by working perfectly with the watermelon and fried chicken.
Very fun course.
Sixth Course:
Pulled Jamison Lamb with hominy tortilla, corn and tomato chow chow.
Beer: Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, 8% abv
Wonderfully tender lamb. Flavor explosion with the southwest-style flavors perfectly matched with the malty and bitter Hop Rod Rye. This was one of the best matched courses with the beer. Unfortunately this was also the course where we all realized that this we may have been in over our heads. We still had desserts and cheese coming!
Seventh Course:
Meadow Creek Grayson with green tomato and sour cherry jam, crystal malt, and house made beer bread.
Originally we had planned for the beer to be Cerise from Founders. The reason being is that that beer tastes exactly like cherry pie filling! Something so southern, and cherries were in perfect season. However, there was none available and I think it worked out for the better.
Cisco Cherry Woods was available. It too had a delicious cherry pie filling taste, but with a much more crisp and delightfully sour bite to it. Not too sour where it burns your throat going down. It was very enjoyable and delicious. I am not usually a fan of sour ales, but this is one I very much enjoyed and could drink more than one glass of.
The sour notes and carbonation cut right through the cow's milk cheese allowing for an excellent pairing.
The beer bread was homemade and soft and the sour cherry jam was actually pretty mild. I think most people were expecting more of a cherry pop to the jam, but it was soft and mild because of the green tomatoes. If if had been more sour, the beer and jam would have over powered the pairing. I really enjoyed the sweet little accent of the crystal malt sprinkled on the plate as well.
Eighth Course:
Chocolate cake, sorghum buttercream, Benne brittle.
Beer: Left Hand Milk Stout 5.2% abv
Yes!! Chocolate cake covered in chocolate. A sesame seed brittle on top and Left Hand Milk Stout served in coffee cups. I loved that detail. HM has such cool flare.
This cake was rich and balanced by a lovely sorghum buttercream filling. It was very reminiscent of a New England whoopie pie. Rich chocolate flavors, butter sesame brittle, and rich, bitter, chocolate-y beer.
When we realized we were in trouble with the lamb course, this surely sent us all over the edge. And we still had one more to go.
Taza is a local favorite of HM as it is with many local shops and restaurants. It's a natural fit for those shops and restaurants who keep it local and source ingredient from their area and local producers. I am personally not a huge fan of Taza Chocolate, but just for this once I didn't mind it. The cookies were soft, buttery, and had that perfect balance of salt by being topped with sea salt. Sweet and salty always works. The cookie dough covered up the flaws I normally find in Taza Chocolate.
The cocktail was a nice way to end the night. We were all so full and in full on food coma mode. The cocktail was soothing and settled our full bellies.
And there you have it. Hungry Mother's first beer dinner showcasing their favorite things with a combination of our favorite beers. From the details of the paper in the fired chicken course, to the mini mason jars filled with gorgeous tomato aspic, to the coffee cups filled with milk stout, they really knocked this one out of the park. For their first ever beer dinner, they really seemed to get it. Look for more events with BeerAdvocae and Hungry Mother in the future. I know I certainly can't wait to work with them again.
The idea that having a fun and a well received beer dinner without serving the most rare and geekiest of beers was made abundantly clear with the super fun fried chicken course. A successful event that proves we need to listen to ourselves more. Trust our own ideas and go with what we know works and what we love. It's up to you to come with us or not. As you can see, if you don't, you might be missing out on some really amazing food and some real good times.
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.
I found this amazing recipe for "Texas Gravy" from an user on FoodBuzz called Don't Burn The Garlic. It called for beer, duck fat, and bacon in this recipe. I was completely down for trying this recipe.
My interpretation of this came out more like a Cincinnati-Style chili. I tweaked this recipe a lot by the spices. It calls for some heat to this chili and I toned it down quite a bit because I am a wuss. I didn't use cocoa chili powder like the recipe called for. I added actual cocoa powder, a touch more chili powder, and I added regular paprika to make a substitution.
I used different a beer for the chili than Dos Equis. I used Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout. I wanted a richer and more in-depth flavor for my chili. Using the recommended Mexican lager is not a bad call, but again I preferred a much richer sauce. Black lagers would work really good with this recipe as well. I toyed with the idea of using Chatoe Dirtoir from Rogue. A huge Black lager that pours and drinks like a nice big stout.
Feel free to
play around with the beer for this recipe. I ended up going with the smoked stout over the black lager, but a
smoked porter would have worked just as well. You can also use things
like coffee stouts or porters, and chocolate stouts would be great for this
recipe too. The recipe called for 10 strips of bacon, but I don't think this recipe will be altered enough if you used an entire 12oz package. I used what the recipe called for but wished I ended up using the whole thing.
The recipe calls for using Garam Masala as a secret spice ingredient. I found out that using the recommended 4 tsp was way too much. I would recommend starting with 1 to 2 tsp. of it to start. You can always add more if you think it needs it.
Finding rendered duck fat wasn't easy either. Whole Foods did not carry it nor did the local Harvest Co-op market. Star Market didn't carry anything like it either. I had to get it from a local restaurant that I knew was using it for some of their menu items. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on it, it's highly recommeded. It's rich, aromatic, and flavorful.
Look how glorious it looks in the above pic. All I needed was 1 tbls. and I got a take out size soup bowl amount of it. I will have to come up with some other way to use the rest of it before it goes bad.
***Asterisk indicates where I tweaked the original recipe.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean ground beef
*1 12oz. package of hickory smoked bacon cut in 1/4's
4 sweet bell peppers - mixed colors chopped
2 Vidalia onions chopped
4 cloves of fresh garlic
4 cloves of roasted garlic mashed
1 tbls. rendered duck fat
2 tbls. soy sauce
4 tbls. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbls. Liquid Smoke
1 12oz bottle of Dark Horse Brewing Co. Fore Smoked Stout
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
*1 15oz can of red kidney beans, drained
*2 15 oz cans of cannellini beans, drained
Spices:
*2 tbls.
dried Greek oregano
*2 tbls. chopped Fresh Sage
2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. crushed
black pepper
4 tbls. Chili Powder
3 tbls. Smoked Paprika
*1 tbls. Paprika
*2 tsp. Ancho Chili Powder
*2 tsp. Garam Masala
*2 to 4 tbls. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
*2 tbls. Garlic Powder
*2 tbls. Onion Powder
*2 tbls. Chipotle Powder
*2 to 4 tbls. Cumin
*4 to 5 small Bay Leaves
*2 tbls. Dried Basil
*2 tbls. sugar (optional)
Prepare 4 cloves of Garlic in foil with olive oil and place in preheated oven set at 350°. Takes about 20 minutes give or take to roast garlic. Check on it often and don't start to cook the onions until the garlic is done roasting.
Chop up peppers and onions ahead of time and place in two separate bowls and set aside.
Heat skillet on medium to medium high with 1 tbls. duck fat. Add ground beef and brown. Do not over cook it. Set aside and leave it in the duck fat.
In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy . Remove the bacon and leave a few tbls. of the bacon grease. Add the chopped onions to the grease and cook for 5 minutes, until tender or soft.
Add fresh chopped garlic and roasted garlic to the onions.
Next add the bell peppers, cut up fresh sage, and bacon to the onions.
Add the beer and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add ground beef, beans, tomatoes, the spices, as well as the soy sauce, liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and cover. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 1 hour. Add pinch of cinnamon and sugar while simmering. Remove bay leaves before serving.
*My tomatoes are clearly stewed tomatoes. I accidentally told my husband to pick those up at the store instead of diced tomatoes. Use the diced like the recipe calls for, though the stewed were just fine.
This recipe
makes for a very spicy and rich chili.
To truly serve this Cincinnati-Style, serve over cooked spaghetti noodles, top with cheddar cheese, chopped white onions, and a side of sweet buttered corn bread.
This chili was great the next day as left overs for chili dogs!
My husband Todd, loves tacos. So much in fact he has invaded Green Street with very own special taco night which features beer he loves, maybe a new beer release, or a rare beer offering paired with a special taco of the evening.
Every Wednesday, Green Street features Taco night. $4 gourmet tacos of shredded duck, carnitas, and sometimes fried oyster tacos or braised oxtail tacos.
Last night our good friends Dann and Martha Paquette of Pretty Things released their newest beer, Fluffy White Rabbits. A spring offering of a hoppy Belgian-style tripel.
That last image was taken by Jim Kowalczyk (Uncle Jimbo).
This was paired with a braised rabbit taco with a carrot slaw and toasted pine nuts by Chef Greg Reeves.
Also on hand was the über sought after Feburary 27, 1832 Mild Ale. An historical recreation of a British recipe of an English Mild relived through Dann Paquette.
And this is what happens when good times are being had and good friends are together. Dann Paquette of Pretty Things, David Ciccolo of The Publick House & Monk's Cell and American Craft, and Todd Alström of BeerAdvocate.
That would be me that Todd is giving the stink eye to in the last picture.
[Kate Baker, Suzanne Schalow, and Sebbie Buhler. Good image that isn't one of my bad images via Sebbie.]
It wasn't a total loss, but I really screwed this one up. This beer dinner however, was just too good to not to write about despite my shoddy pictures. So I am going to blog it anyway and hope that you all don't mind.
A good friend of mine, Sebbie Buhler of Rogue, came up to Boston to do a beer dinner at Cambridge Common. The ladies of Cambridge Common, Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow, also great friends, just keep cranking them out. Beer dinner after beer dinner. And this happened to be a spectacular dinner I was lucky enough to catch.
My whack pictures of Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow. Sebbie Buhler and Suzanne Schalow.
A beer brewed in honor Captain Sig from the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch. This is a nice and bitter beer. Spicy, malty, big hops, and it's plenty bitter. Very tasty and easy to drink. I liked it a lot. It was my first time having this beer before. I had been wanting to try it ever since I heard about it because I am big fan of Rogue and the show.
My picture is so pathetic. It's painfully obvious I am not a photographer or possess zero photography skills, but I am not sure why I snapped a blurry pic and then moved on.
First Course: Garlic, cheddar, and andouille sausage soup.
What a wonderful soup! Man this thing was creamy, chock full of garlic and sausage. The Dead Guy ale was perfect. Not too hoppy or bitter, very balanced with the malts. They were made for each other. The soup was very filling and delicious. Perfect for the winter months. I really need to get the recipe.
Look at that beer shot. Same thing again, blurry. Does that delicious beer no justice. Let's forget about that bad shot with another good pic of the soup.
Second Course: Baby spinach toasted hazelnuts, cranberries, and crumbled blue cheese.
It's as though I really hate the beer with the kinds of pictures I took.
Actually, this was the best pairing of the night. Rogue Hazelnut is a delicious brown ale, but if you have ever had it before, then you know how delicate the hazelnuts are. It happens to be more robust on bottle than it is on draft. But again it's not a dominating feature of the beer.
Once I took a sip of the beer and tasted mostly the roasted malts, I figured nothing different because this is the kind of beer it is. But once I had a bite of the spinach, this beer opened up in huge ways. The hazelnuts completely popped out. Not just a little bit either. It was like drinking an actual hazelnut nectar. I believe it was the earthiness of the spinach. Yes the salad had hazelnuts on it, but if you notice the picture, there wasn't enough on that plate to do dominate the palate.
I used this beer once before for a chocolate and beer dinner. And sitting around with the chefs of this restaurant, we tasted the beer and decided that the best way to make the hazelnuts pop out was to just do a simple butternut squash puree with only vanilla added. Served with it was a piece of Selles sur Cher goat cheese rolled in cocoa nibs. The premise was to have beer, cheese, and chocolate in every course. Well this worked for pronouncing the hazelnuts and it was delicious. But this salad pairing far exceeded the butternut squash as far as making the hazelnuts pop.
Third Course: Pork chop with black lager mushroom jus, scalloped potatoes, and haricot vert.
So naturally when I finally manage to get a clear shot of the beer, it's so black you can't even tell. And the clear shot of the beer meant, bad shot of the food. You can't see the delicious pork chop smothered in amazing mushrooms.
Luckily, Sebbie managed to capture a much better picture.
There was a choice for entrees and naturally I had to go with the pork chop. I did it solely because of the name of my blog. That and it just sounded awesome. Of course it was awesome. The gravy was amazing, the au gratin was creamy and fantastic. This was straight up comfort food and I ate every bit of it.
The beer was unbelievable too. Another Rogue beer I haven't had before. This is a black lager that drinks like a big old stout. You wouldn't know it was a lager at all. The brown head, the very black body, and big robust flavor and nose. No this thing couldn't possibly be a lager. But it sure was.
Chatoe Dirtoir purposely misspelled, and proudly labeled GYO (Grow Your Own). From their press release:
Available on draft and in serigraphed 22oz bottles, Wet Hop Ale is
brewed using two First-Growth hops, Independence and Revolution, from
Rogue's Micro Hop Yard in the Wigrich Appellation. Each hop will be
brewed the day they are harvested by John Maier, Rogue Brewmaster.
After brewing, they will be blended, bottled and kegged.
2010
Chatoe Rogue products will use Rogue Micro Farms' Independence,
Revolution, Liberty, Freedom, Newport, Rebel and Alluvial hops from the
Wigrich Appellation and Dare, Risk and Dream malts from the Tygh Valley
Appellation. Chatoe products will include Pinot Envy Ale, Dirtoir Ale,
Single Malt Ale, and OREgasmic Ale.
Dedicated to Independence, a
200 barrel brew of Wet Hop Ale is made using 3,000 pounds of wet hops!
To view the Hop Yard web cam, and get more information on Rogue, Rogue
Micro Farms and additional pictures of the harvest visit www.rogue.com
or call 541-867-3660.
It was delicious, creamy, drank like a big stout, and worked wonderfully with the pork chop and potatoes au gratin. Total comfort food with an amazing new beer. You would not recognize this beer to be a black lager.
Sebbie's beer! That is Sebbie on the bottle. A delicious and very bitter chocolate stout. My first time with this beer I thought it was too bitter. Now that's all I want in beer is nothing but bitterness. Bitter like my soul.
[image via Sebbie]
Normally when I host pairings, I try not to pile the same flavors on top of the same flavors. I like to push the envelope and explore different ranges. But sometimes you got to go with what works. This is one of those cases, chocolate on chocolate. A no-brainer. The beer is made is imported dutch chocolate, and was paired with a big sweet chocolate cake. Unbelievably good yet again with this pairing.
What happens to the beer with a big sweet cake is that it tones down the beer in such a way it becomes more drinkable. Sometimes stouts are so big, you can only have little bits at a time. There is such a thing as very filling beers. But there is a reason big, decadent, rich chocolate cakes work with big rich stouts. They balance each other out. Not to mention the rich chocolate enhances the roasted malts on the beer allowing it to be roasted, chocolatel-y, coffee, bitter, and fantastic!
Well done Kate and Suzanne. Another successful beer dinner in the bag even if my pictures didn't do it justice. And hanging out with Sebbie late after the dinner until the bartenders kicked us out, was the highlight of the evening.
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.
It's fall again and it's beginning to get cold. New England certainly brings the cold. It seems like everyone is ready and has been waiting all summer for fall. The foods, the colors of the leaves changing, the smell of fall and fire places. It's my favorite time of year. I am ready for fall and all it has to offer. I had a real bad hankering for a rich beef stew. I have never made one before, and like all my cooking adventures, I have to go big. So I made a rich beer stew made with a stout. Founders Breakfast Stout. A chocolate, coffee, oatmeal stout with 60 IBU's, and 8.3% abv. Word to your mothers!
I am roughly following a recipe I found online for my stew. I am going to show you the original recipe but what you see on my post here is the modified version. Anything with an asterisk next to it on the recipe I post has been modified from the original.
The biggest modification to this recipe is the beer. I substituted out the red wine for the beer. The beer I chose is a robust, American/Imperial (double) stout with high IBU's (international bittering units). The complex flavors make for a unique twist on this recipe. The deep cocoa flavors and roasted malts are really amazing for a rich stew. The meat ended up holding on to all of the hoppy bitterness. The vegetables were the sweet contrast to the dish. Also the huge flavor profile on this beer with the vegetables added almost a hint of ginger coming out despite not using any ginger at all. A very good and unique reaction I didn't quite expect.
If you don't want to use something as robust or as bitter as this beer, and believe me it might be too much for some, there are plenty of lighter variations to choose from as well as using porters, brown ales, and Belgian dubbels.
Get a good read of the reviews first to understand why I chose this beer and if this will be the right one for you to use.
*2 1/2 pounds of sirloin tips cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes *2 12oz bottles of Founders Breakfast Stout *3 to 4 whole cloves of garlic, smashed *3 to 5 bay leaves *1/2 tbls onion powder *1/2 tbls garlic powder *1 tbls Worcestershire sauce
2 cups all-purpose flour kosher salt freshly ground black pepper olive oil 2 yellow onions, cut in 1 inch cubes 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1 1/2 inch chunks 1 pound small potatoes halved or quartered 1 tbls minced garlic 2 cups or 1 (14 1/2 oz can) chicken broth or stock 1 large (or two small) branch of fresh rosemary 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes 2 tbls Worcestershire sauce 1 10oz package of frozen peas
*The original recipe called for chuck stew, but my meat man had very little offerings by way of chuck stew. I told him I was making a stew and he said sirloin steak tips would work well for stews. Do what the original recipe says and use chuck stew, but for this particular recipe it's sirloin tips. It worked just as well.
Place the beef in a bowl with beer, garlic, and bay leaves, garlic and onion powder and worcestershire sauce. Lightly toss the meat around with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Combine
the flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper.
Lift the beef
out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves and
garlic, saving the marinade.
*Chop carrots, potatoes, and onions before your begin to brown your meat.
In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in
the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of
olive oil in a large pot and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5
to 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly.
Place the beef in a large
oven-proof Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding
oil as necessary. (If the beef is very lean, you'll need more oil.)
Place all the beef in the Dutch oven.
Heat
another 2 tablespoons of oil to the large pot and add the onions,
carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat,
stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
Place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven over the beef.
Add 2 1/2
cups of the reserved marinade to the empty pot and cook over high heat
to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a
wooden spoon.
Add the chicken stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes,
Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper.
Pour
the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a
simmer over medium heat on top of the stove. Cover the pot and place it
in the oven to bake it for about 2 hours, until the meat and vegetables
are all tender, stirring once during cooking.
If the stew is boiling
rather than simmering, lower the heat to 250 or 275 degrees F.
Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.
Serve with warm brown bread and butter.
A couple of things to take notice of. I did not use a proper dutch over for this recipe as you can see in the pictures. I have one, a gorgeous La Creuset. But sadly I only have one and it simply wasn't big enough for this recipe. I used a 9x13 pan because I did not have anything else big enough. And I merely covered it in foil. Still cooked it at 2 1/2 hours. I had a little bit of marinade left over before baking it off. Instead of stiring it up because the pan was so full, I cooked it for an hour and let some of the marinade reduce a bit and then added the remaining marinade to coat the top of the stew. I then transferred the stew to big serving dish where I added the peas.
The flavors from this stew are very big, bold and complex. The beer has oats, chocolate, and coffee in it. The meat retains a lot of the beer's bitterness which I found to be wonderful. Also the bloody iron taste and chocolate flavors from the meat are to die for.
The sun-dried tomatoes were a nice touch to this dish. The carrots, peas, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes added the perfect balance of sweetness to this dish. The original recipe does call for mushroom, but I went ahead and skipped that step. You can easily add celery to this dish as well to make it a bit more classic.
The marinade had a bit of a boozy smell, but with the fresh garlic permeating the entire fridge, that boozy smell comes and goes. You will get big wafts of garlic, chocolate, coffee, and sometimes alcohol. Same aromas once cooked, but much deeper and richer.
And as always, the longer the stew sits, the better it gets. Leftovers will be divine and some of the initial bitterness will tone down a bit. But not too much.
Make sure you serve yourself a pint of the Breakfast Stout to go along with it.
One small disclaimer, a few of my pictures came out blurred. Sometimes I can't tell with my digital camera until I have uploaded them. Forgive my shoddy photography.
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