Pork Chops & Chicken

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.

Mascarpone And Fig Jam Cookies

The first time I made these cookies I nearly died when I tasted them. This is a really simple recipe for cookie dough using mascarpone cheese which adds an awesome richness to the cookies. Like sour cream cookies but better.

This recipe comes from ItalianFoodForever.com. There is no permalink for the recipe but you can do a search under cookies and its there for reference.

Mascarpone and Fig Jam Cookies by Deborah Mele

1/2 Cup Or 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Brought To Room Temperature
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Softened Mascarpone Cheese
2 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Fig Jam, Or Jam Of Choice

Beat together the butter and sugar until light. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until smooth.



Add the mascarpone cheese, and beat until smooth.



Sift together the dry ingredients, and fold them into the butter mixture, mixing just until combined.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place sheets of parchment paper, or silicone baking liners on two cookie pans.




On a lightly floured counter or board, roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Using a blunt round object like the end of a wooden spoon, create an indentation in the center of each cookie.




Place the cookies 2 inches apart, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or just as the cookies begin to color.


 



While still warm, use the spoon to redifine the circle, and then carefully spoon a little jam into each cookie.




Let sit at room temperature until the jam is set. Store in an airtight container.

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.

Creamy Coconut And Marcona Almond Ice Cream

The desire to make an awesome, creamy, coconut ice cream stems from the very first batch of ice cream I made and screwed up. It all started with getting a brand new ice cream maker for Christmas last year. I also had a can of coconut milk I needed to get rid of. So naturally I thought okay coconut ice cream.

So I found a good looking knock off recipe from Ben and Jerry's using their sweet cream base and adding coconut cream to the base. Yep coconut CREAM which I totally dismissed and thought cool my coconut milk will work and I had sweet shredded coconut to mix in it.

Low and behold there was too much water and I ended up with a sort of sweet coconut sorbet instead. Tasted great, but too much water content.

I have been determined to make this again and redeem myself. I finally have. This batch came out the creamiest, and fluffiest ice cream I have made to date.

Ben And Jerry's Coconut Ice Cream

Sweet Cream Base I

2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 can (15 ounces) coconut cream, such as Coco Lopez

3/4 to one cup sweetened flaked coconut

3/4 to 1 cup large chopped Marcona almonds

 

The first thing I did was soak 3/4 cup flaked coconut I intended to blend into the ice cream in the coconut cream. I sent my husband out for the ingredients and he came home with unsweetened coconut. No biggie. I just let it soak for about 10 minutes before mixing. If you use sweetened coconut, skip this step and add the coconut with the almonds at the end.

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.




Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more.




Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add the coconut cream and blend.




Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

I added 3/4 cup to roughly one cup of chopped Marcona almonds after the churn. This is so much liquid from the base that if I added anything else, it would have spilled over the sides. So blend well then transfer to container and freeze for a few hours until firm.

Makes generous 1 quart.

Variations:

Coconut Almond-Add 3/4 cup roasted whole almonds (salted or unsalted) after the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before its done), then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

Coconut Chip- Add 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips after the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before its done), then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

Coconut Rum-Whisk 2 tablespoons rum, preferably dark, into the cream mixture before transferring it to the ice cream maker. Complete the recipe as directed.

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

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

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

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

The menu:

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

{First Image via walknboston}

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

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

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

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

 

First Course: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Second Course:

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

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

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

 

{First Image via walknboston}

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

{Eric and Ann Starbard of Crystal Brook Farm.}

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

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

Mr. Sisyphus' Bed Time Story:

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

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

Third Course:

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

 

{Image via uplandporter}

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

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

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

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

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

Fourth Course:

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

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

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

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

{First Image via walknboston}

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

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

 

The Palate Cleanser:

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

 

Fifth Course:

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

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

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

   

{First image via walknboston}

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

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

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

 

Participating farms:

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

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

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

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

Westfield Farms (Hubbardston, Ma.) Classic Blue Chevre

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

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

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

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

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

Crystal Brook Farm (Sterling, Ma.) Chevre.

Honey Ect. (Princeton, Ma) Wildflower honey.

Antul Aleworks (Worcester, Ma.) Spent grain.

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

 

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

Roasted Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Buttery Brussels Sprouts

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



Ingredients:

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

Lemon Zest

1 to 2 pounds fingerling potatoes

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


Pat dry the chicken completely including inside cavity.



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

 

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

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

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

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

For the potatoes:

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

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

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

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

Brussels Sprouts:

1 to 2 pounds of washed and stemmed sprouts.

1/2 stick of butter

1 tbls chopped garlic

1 tbls seasoned salt

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

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

 

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

Beer Monday @ L'Espalier August 17

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

From their website:

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

Southern Dirty Shrimp In Beer Sauce With Corn Bread

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

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

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

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



Dirty BBQ Shrimp

Ingredients:

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



In a separate bowl combine all dry spices.

 

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




 

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



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

 

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

Sticky BBQ Chicken With House Of Blues Skillet Corn Bread

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

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



Sticky Chicken

Ingredients:

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

Marinade:

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

Sticky Sauce:

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



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



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



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



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



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







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



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


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

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

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

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

 

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



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

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






Cinnamon Maple Butter

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

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