Pork Chops & Chicken

Taco Night @ Green Street

Just a quick post from dinner last night at Green Street. Wednesday nights are $4 dollar taco night at Green Street. And not just your average tacos either. Braised duck and oxtail tacos. Yeah, it's like that.

We started with their chicken and bacon croquettes and one of my favorites, their cheese plate with homemade chutneys and preserves.

The cheese plate comes with toasted cinnamon bread, apple chutney with rosemary, Jasper Hill Farm cheddar and Brebirousse d'Argental, a soft sheeps milk.

I greedily began to eat my tacos before I could take a picture of the whole presentation. But luckily I ordered two carnitas tacos. But Todd had a skirt steak taco which I missed. The taco in the very first picture is a carnitas. And this second picture is a grilled fish and carnitas.

Remember folks, these are only $4 bones a piece. Pretty sweet deal.

Green Street is also known for their awesome cocktails.


        
                                 

                                                               

Flora Vieja, Fort Washington Flip, and The Corazón. Tequila drink, applejack, and rum drink. 

This is how Wednesdays go at Green Street.

BeerAdvocate on Green Street Feat. Ithaca Beer Co.

For a while now I have been hanging out at Green Street with the owner and good personal friend, Dylan Black. It's become our local go to place with amazing food and drinks.

Dylan opened Green Street around three and half years ago and has transformed it from the Caribbean themed menu and sometimes salsa dancing, to a slow food movement restaurant. They have a short and sweet seasonal menu, a tight bottled beer list and good rotating draft list with a possible addition of 3 more taps, an amazing wine list with the price range between $32 and $58 dollars (no wallet busting offerings), and last but not least cocktails galore. The cocktail list is on a multi-page menu listed from A-Z. With cocktails being all the rage these days, Green Street has a strong footing in the Boston market for mixed drinks.

But this isn't about the cocktails, this is about the beer. Dylan would ask us from time to time, "What's hot right now for beer, and what would be a good fit for my restaurant?" After taking a few of our suggestions and having them work out well with Green Flash and Sixpoint, we decided the next step was to host a beer dinner at Green Street. Dylan Black has an amazing excitement and enthusiasm for learning about craft beers and working them in his restaurant.

After the American Craft Beer Festival we threw in June, I got to catch up with Eric VanZile the rep. for Ithaca Beer Co., I was reflecting on a great beer dinner they had at Cambridge Common which I was present for a few years ago. Eric had mentioned to me that that was the last time they had a beer dinner in the Boston area.

Perfect timing to welcome Ithaca back to the area and get Green Street's legs wet a bit with beer dinners. After playing around with a few concepts, this is what we came up with.

Chef Greg Reeves created the menu, while Dylan and myself hand selected the beers. A few special offerings thrown in by Jeff O'Neil "The Chief" and Brewmaster of Ithaca Beer Co.

Welcome to BeerAdvocate on Green Street Featuring Ithaca Beer Co. Some beer descriptions are via BeerAdvocate.com.

We welcomed everyone with a nice house made charcuterie set up with cornichons and pickled onions, fresh breads and butter and paired the welcoming course with Outdoor Harvest Ale. A pale ale that is about 5.9 to 6% abv.

 

The Outdoor Harvest ale was a bit cloudy and hazy, but had a nice fruity nose. It was lightly sweet, with big honey notes. The beer was also made with locally grown hops around Ithaca, New York. It complimented the charcuterie plate with the steel-y tastes from the meats. Salty notes mingling with sweet, honey notes from the beer. The pickled veg added a nice little pop of tart vinegar that the sweet malts immediately reacted to it and gave a nice little contrast at the right amount.



 
Definitely a great way to kick things off. Meat and beer.

[Eric VanZile tapping the cask of Flower Power IPA.]

Our second course was a passed course Tartare of Beef with capers and cornichons paired with Ithaca's Flower Power IPA on cask. An American IPA with a fairly robust hop character and 8% abv. This was one of the special offerings brought up by Jeff O'Neil. More amazing was that this cask got to us about 15 minutes before the doors opened up all the way from Ithaca, and had zero cloudiness or sediments floating around.

To me this was the most underrated pairing of the evening. Pairing food with hops can be a tricky business. Usually hoppy beers get paired with hot, spicy foods. It was definitely nice to see this paired with beef tartare. There were a little bit of pickled onions on these as well which added that same effect of a pop of tartness. The tartare was set in a gougère, a light and airy cheese puff. Together the beef and tangy capers allowed the malts of the beer to come through. The cheese gougère gave way for some of the spiciness from the hops to come out. As well as the steel-y, iron taste from the rare tartare played around with the hops like sweet malts do with hops. Good balance all around. This was what I called in my notes a "More and more" pairing because I wanted more and more. This was a near perfect pairing and again totally underrated as it was a small, amuse bouche and the cask was getting all the attention.

A slight snob moment for me is that I generally do not prefer hoppy beers on cask. I feel that the bitterness gets completely toned down and in some cases flattened or watered down. That didn't happen with this cask, but the hops were toned down a slight bit. The carbonation held up but was not as effervescent as it normally is on bottle or draft. Usually with casks they are meant to be served at around 50 degrees. At that temperature hops and malts are already opened up for you. This is an effect I do not like with hops on cask. I prefer my hoppy beers to be super cold to watch them open and blossom in my own hands. This cask was certainly cold enough, and hoppy enough, but in my perfect world no hoppy beers would ever be put on cask. Let me rephrase that, no Americanized version of hoppy or super hoppy beers would ever be put on cask. Ice cold draft and bottles only.

For the beer geeks who live and die for cask however, this was a real treat. And despite my thoughts on hoppy beers on cask, I actually did find the beer quite enjoyable. Flower Power has changed over the years. It wasn't always as hoppy or refreshing. Recently they upped the ante with this beer and kicked up the hops. It's a borderline IPA. Borderline by almost being a double IPA and having an 8% abv. My kind of IPA.

 

And we continue on with a second passed course.

Island Creek Oysters Rockefeller with creamed spinach and caraway bread crumbs paired with Gorges Smoked Porter.  An American porter, 6.30% abv.

  

Porters and oysters are a no-brainer pairing for a lot of people into beer and food pairings. It's the salty, sea taste oysters have coupled with the robust flavors of toasted or smoked malts. It's also typically light enough to be paired with sea food offerings. But the rich flavors of the oysters and beer tend to work marvelously together. 

In this case, the wonderful smoked flavors worked well the the caraway rye seeds from the bread crumbs giving off a slight anise flavor. Gorges is also light enough to be a session beer despite its huge smoked flavors. It's a misconception beer by its aroma and color. Looks heavy and smells heavy, but drinks fairly easily. Which is why it works well with something like oysters. Oysers with their big sea flavor, but light and meaty texture. Both the beer and oysters are a bit of a paradox, but in a good way. These particular oysters were extremely fresh and meaty. Island Creek happens to be one of the best names in the Boston area for amazing oysters.

Also the folks of Island Creek were in attendance and were very happy with the pairing. Nothing better than making the producers happy.

 
This was arguably the best course of the night. A wild mushroom and bone marrow bread pudding with a sherry, foie gras emulsification paired with the Excelsior Brute. An American wild/ sour ale made with vintage (aged) local hops, barley, wheat, corn, aged in oak with Brett and finished with three types of champagne yeast. 6.5% abv.

The bread pudding was a little more cake-y than pudding like but that didn't matter based on it's taste. It was super rich and had a good texture. Kind of like a cake-y corn bread but rich, buttery, and good herb flavor to it. The bone marrow added a unique depth to it with big flavor but wasn't the overall flavor of the bread pudding. The wild mushrooms were set on top. The sherry, foie gras emulsification was the most rich and decadent sauce I have ever had. It was delicious, fatty, and rich. Just perfect. The Brute was a sour with champagne yeast that gave it a good carbonation that helped cut right through the rich fats. This was a perfect pairing. The wheat and corn flavors could actually be tasted without the sour dominating the palate as the sour and carbonation worked on the fats. This allowed the sweet sherry flavors to come out and allowed the rich grains in the beer to come out. The hops were a vintage or aged hop varietal locally grown in Ithaca but we're lightly present in the beer. The frisee added a nice tough of freshness and a touch of a crunchy texture. Added a little bitterness and earthiness to over all rich pairing. Helped add some balance to the dish. 

For me this was a brett beer I could deal with. Brettanomyces beers usually do not sit well with me. Brett also has the propensity to be the dominate flavor in most beers it's in. With this beer, the brett was present, but was delicate enough to allow the other flavors to come out. Normally that is not the case. this is a sign of a good brewer. One who can balance the right amount.

And our last course served family style. Suckling pig porchetta with honey crisp apples, horseradish, and alyssa craig onions paired with Excelsior Eleven. A sweet, milk/lacto stout brewed with British, German, and French malts, American hops, and milk sugar, then aged for weeks on locally roasted Sumatra coffee beans. 7.5% abv.

Pay attention to that last bit. This is a beer aged on coffee beans not brewed coffee in it. Interesting twist.

Porchetta is a traditional Italian style way of serving pork. Here is a quick description from Wikipedia that pretty much says it all.

Porchetta /por'ket:a/ is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild. Porchetta has been selected by the Italian Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali as a "prodotto agroalimentare tradizinale" ("traditional agricultural-alimentary product", one of a list of traditional Italian foods held to have cultural relevance).

This was stuffed with a sausage made from the pig, stuffed, rolled with the tenderloin, covered in the pork fat, and roasted. Then smothered with the apple, onion, and horseradish sauce.

 
[The only shot of the beer I got for this course. I didn't realize that until I began to blog. The beer was served in a small snifter glass, and had a deep chocolate color.]

The meat was perfectly cooked. Nice and moist and the flavors of the onions, horseradish, and apples were perfect for the pork. The horseradish was a great addition as it gave a good pop to the already sweet apples and onions. This was a contrasting course with the coffee milk stout. The coffee flavors were bold and robust, and worked well with the apples and onions. The lactobacillus in the beer added a nice tangy touch to the beer which helped out with the fat on the pork. The beer itself was sweet and malty, with fruits and a dry finish. Dylan said it was like a burgundy wine with all the notes and flavors coming off of it. The dry finish seems to be a signature on a lot of Ithaca's beers. Nothing they make is cloying or lingers on the palate in an unpleasant way. 

This was the course I thought the Brute would work best with. I had enough of the Brute left to try both the Eleven and the Brute together and the Brute was way off. The pork made the Brute soapy and gave it a weird creamy texture. I thought the Brute would work based on the apples, but it was the fat, that ruined them from being perfect. So despite the strange elements of coffee notes, Eleven ended up the much better pairing. Again a contrasting pairing with a lot of flavor coming at you. But with such large portions you had enough time to figure it out and let it sink in.

 

And last but not least a small bite of the tres leche cake for Jason Alström as he was in the house and celebrated his birthday a few days early with us.

And later that night The Chief brought one of my favorites that I was really torn about using, Excelsior White Gold and Old Habit. You don't need me to describe the beers, as you can see the description clearly on the bottles.

For Green Street's first beer dinner, they really nailed it. The flavors of the food really complimented the beers. There were no wrong pairings or "close we'll let this one slide" pairings. At least according to me. And despite being the one who set this event up, I tend to be more critical of my own events. And not being the chef for the event, I can be more objective about it. All of the courses worked, and the food was incredible. 

I was extremely grateful to Eric VanZile and Jeff O'Neil for making the huge trek out and then back to NY again. Eric was off to Philly after this event. Jeff brought some nice treats for us including the Cask Flower Power, White Gold, and Old Habit.

I will look forward to working with Dylan Black and Greg Reeves again for another beer dinner.

Pickled Beets

[Image taken only one day after pickling.]

I was at the grocery store a few weeks ago buying ingredients to make the Founders Breakfast Stout Beef Stew when I panicked and bought a few bushels of beets. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I knew I needed to have them.

After asking around about what I should do with them, I decided the best thing to do was to pickle them. I found a fairly easy recipe from Alton Brown and adapted it.

Pickled Beets by Alton Brown

Roasted Beets:

6 medium beets, cleaned with 1 inch stem remaining
2 large shallots peeled
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 tbls olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients. 

Place into a foil pouch and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

*Roasting times will vary. Most people who have used this recipe found that they needed more than hour to roast the beets. I personally had to go longer.

Pickling:




Roasted Beets, recipe above
1 large white onion Frenched
1 cup tarragon wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water




Remove the skin from the Roasted Beets and slice thinly.



Arrange in 1-quart jars alternating layers with the onion.




In a small pot boil the rest of the ingredients and pour over the beets.



Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 7 days before serving.


 

A couple of things I tweaked for this recipe. I used a white onion and not a red onion like the original recipe calls for. I also used red wine vinegar and 2 tbls of chopped tarragon in the boil instead of tarragon wine vinegar and I did not strain it out. I also tossed the left over shallots and rosemary from the roasting in with the onions and beets for pickling. No sense in wasting it. It will add a robust rosemary kick to the beets coupled with the tarragon, but I liked the bold added flavors.

Founders Breakfast Stout Beef Stew

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.

Founders Breakfast Stout

Be advised that this is an overnight recipe. You have to marinate your meat overnight.

The Original Recipe

Parker's Beef Stew via Food Network

Founders Breakfast Stout Beef Stew

*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.

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.

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.

Mean Jean Meat Sauce (Spaghetti and Meat Sauce with Garlic Bread)

(I love that this picture shows hot steam coming from the plate.)

There is no real correlation to the name and this particular meat sauce. It entered my head and refused to leave. Mean Jean Meat Sauce is what this sauce will be called henceforth.

This is a meat sauce that I like to make from time to time. It varies with some of the ingredients, but you will notice the "optional" next to the ingredients I use or sometimes skip.

This is a recipe ideal for large families or for freezing copious amounts of leftovers. Be advised to have a pot or pan large enough to cook this massive recipe in. I use a large wok and still this sauce was almost too big.








Mean Jean Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2# ground Beef or Turkey
2 1 pound jars of Pasta Sauce (Prego ect.)
2 cans Stewed Tomatoes not drained (optional)
1 large White Onion
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
10 to 15 large White Mushrooms
1 to 2 Large carrots
2 stalks Celery
4 or 5 cloves of Garlic finely minced
1/2# Pancetta or a big chunk of a Prosciutto End (optional)
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 tbls. Chili Powder
1/2 tbls. Sage
1 tbls. Oregano
1 tbls. Basil
1 tbls. Italian Seasoning
1 tbls. Onion Powder
1/2 tbls. Garlic Powder
2 or 3 dashes Cinnamon (Optional)
1/3 cup Sugar (Optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

*A couple of notes before we start. The stewed tomatoes are optional. I add them because I like them in my sauce. If you build a base sauce without the pasta sauce you can add plain tomato sauce and tomato paste with the stewed tomatoes. Just spice the sauce heavily. It's much easier to use a premade pasta sauce though.

The Pancetta or Prosciutto end add a wonderful salted pork/ham flavor to the pasta sauce. It's totally optional but I find it works well. It was a tip given to me by a cook a few years ago that I have adopted and kept on with. You won't need much salt added to the sauce if you add this step to your sauce.

I also add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon to my sauce. The sugar helps tone down the acid in the tomato sauce. If you have heart burn you might want to think about adding sugar to your sauces. I add a touch of cinnamon for a unique angle to my sauce. It will make your sauce smell like cinnamon but does not overwhelm or dominate the sauce. Believe me when I say, I know how weird this sounds. It's just and interesting option that I happen to like when balancing the salty meats added to the sauce. Sweet and Savory.

Method:

 

Wash all vegetables. Peel carrots and thinly slice them. Slice bell peppers in half and empty the cores. Cut the ends from the celery. Finely chop the peppers and celery and place in a bowl and leave on the side for now. 

Next thinly slice mushrooms and place in a separate bowl an leave on the side.

Chop onions and garlic and very fine.

In a large pan or pot begin to cook ground beef or turkey on medium high heat with onions and garlic. Once the meat is fully cooked drain off any excess water and grease.

 

Reduce heat to medium. Add sauce, stewed tomatoes, spices, vegetables, and mushrooms.

Allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes. Then add pancetta or prosciutto end and allow sauce to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occassionally while simmering. Adjust heat to make sure you have a perfect small bubble simmer.

While the sauce is simmering begin prepping Garlic bread. 

Once the sauce has simmered, remove pancetta from the sauce. Trim the fat from the pancetta and dice the meat and stir the meat back into the sauce. 

Allow to simmer for a few more minutes and then turn the heat off of the sauce. Begin boiling your pasta adding some olive oil and salt.

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add a touch more olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking. Plate the noodles and cover with copious amounts of sauce. Serve with garlic bread.

 

Garlic Bread

1 large French Baguette

1 to 2 sticks of butter (I used two because my baguette was large.)

1 tbls chopped garlic

1 1/2 tbls Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion salt

Preheat oven to 375° Slice baguette in two inch pieces without cutting all the way through. Place baguette in foil and slightly wrap it up in foil.

Melt butter in microwave. Add garlic and spices and mix well. Drop a teaspoon of garlic butter between each slice of the baguette. Coat the top of the baguette with remaining mixture. Finish wrapping baguette in foil and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Modified Fish Tacos With Pineapple And Papaya Coleslaw And Sopa Fideo

Yep I made beer battered fish tacos. I am a bad ass.

I have decided to cook more verses baking sweets and desserts. I am through being intimidated with actual cooking. I can do anything in a kitchen, the harder it seems the easier it is for me. But for some reason I avoid cooking actual meals and bake instead. Silly.

So in an effort to take more control of my kitchen I made fish tacos. And even better, I modified this recipe for a much more suitable outcome.

For this recipe I will only link the original source. A lot of it is intact but I will reference every thing I have changed with an asterisk.

Also included in this recipe, is a recipe for Sopa Fideo. My brother-in-law used to make this all the time. I thought it would be good for a side dish to the fish tacos. That's why you will see other ingredients in the picture below.



Fish Tacos with Pineapple and *Papaya Coleslaw

   By Matthew Goudge and Modified by Candice Alström


Ingredients:

For the coleslaw: Make 2 hours in advance

*1 cup of cabbage, shredded (I used 2 cups coleslaw mix)

*1 cup of red cabbage, shredded

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

*1/2 cup canned cubed pineapple with juice

*1/2 cup fresh Papaya skinned and cubed or 1 half small papaya

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon mustard

 

Mix all of the ingredients for the coleslaw in a large bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours to let the flavors combine.

For the fish:

*Fresh Cod cut in to 6 to 8 two inch pieces

*2 cups all purpose flour

*2 cups  or one 16oz Tall Boy Narragansett Lager

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

Oil for frying

8 corn tortillas for serving

 

Mix the flour, beer, egg, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder into a bowl until it has the consistency of pancake batter. Dip each piece of fish in the batter and then put aside so the batter sets.

*I dropped the fish in the batter and left it in there until my grease heated to proper temp. The original recipe called for rice flour. I used the 2 cups and found my self still using all purpose flour to thicken the batter and actually make a real batter. The rice flour was gritty and terrible. I didn't mind it as much blended but it still had a gritty texture. Skip it and use regular all purpose flour. Just make sure your batter has the right consistency and is not too thick or runny.

Also, the use of Narragansett was the right beer for this batter. Something highly carbonated and tasty. So many people (Beer Geeks) think they have to use extravagant beers when cooking. You absolutely can, but why not drink the good stuff and use the cheap stuff for the cooking? Not that Narragansett isn't worthy of drinking. Unless you need a beer with a specific flavor, like when I used a raspberry beer for Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Espresso Ganache. But we're talking about a beer batter here. Blonde ales or effervescent carbonated beers work just fine. Narragansett is a classic cheap lager that tastes great and added good flavor for this batter. And being in 16 oz tall boys, it's perfect for the recipe calling for two cups.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees or medium high heat. Fry each piece of fish until golden brown and cooked, about 6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

For the sauce:

1/2 cup ranch dressing

3 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 teaspoons sugar

To make the sauce, mix the ranch and the taco seasoning right before serving the fish tacos.

Wrap the corn tortillas in a wet towel and microwave for 30 seconds to make them pliable. Use two tortillas to form the shell instead of one. Fill the taco with two pieces of fish then add a heaping pile of slaw and top with sauce.

 

 

Sopa Fideo

Ingredients

8 oz Fideo or Italian Vermicelli (I mixed the vermicelli with small pasta)
1 8 oz can plain tomato sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbls canola oil



In a small pan add canola oil and heat on medium to medium high heat. Add pasta to the oil and coat with the oil until pasta begins to brown.



Add half of the can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of chicken stock to the pasta. Add spices and stir. Cook until pasta has soaked up nearly all liquids.

Add rest of tomato sauce and stock and and simmer for ten minutes until thick and creamy like. Remove from heat serve hot.

Bad Ass Red Sangria

 

2 Bottles of Cabernet Savignon (the $5.99 el cheapo kind. I also try NOT to use blends like cab/merlot blends ect.)
1 orange sliced
1 lemon sliced
1 lime sliced
1 apple peeled, cored, and sliced or diced
2 cups of apple juice
1 1/3 cups of cranberry juice (2 cups if the wine is sweeter)
2 cups of orange juice
1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of triple sec (Edit: Cointreau and Grand Marnier work just as well. Grand Marnier is a little alcoholic hot though on the palate so play around with the measurements.)
1/2 cup to 1 cup or sugar (depending on how dry the wine is.)

*Fruits may vary from strawberries, blueberries, blood oranges, and pears. For this particular batch I used Pears, Oranges, Lemons, Limes, and Blueberries. I had Apples ready, but the Pear was enough and the pitcher was already too full for more fruit.

 

Slice citrus fruits and muddle with sugar and triple sec in pitcher.

Add wine and juices and apples and all other fruits and stir nicely. Let sit for 4 hours up to over night. Serve on ice with soaked fruit from the Sangria.