Happy Birthday Julia!

Also, for those who didn't know yesterday was Julia Child's 100th birthday. I celebrated with lemon-plum cake.
Here is a sweet article about her and Paul's family vacation home in Maine.

Julia At Rest

Roasting

Dearest HotDishes, What can I say but I have missed you. Amongst the chaos of gardening season and summer shenanigans, you have been put aside but not forgotten. But tonight, after weeding and harvesting the tomatoes and slowly savoring a lemon plum cake and a Southern Tier UnEarthly IPA, I know it was time to return.

So here I am in August. One of the reasons I love August the best of all the summer months besides its more temperate temperatures is that my garden is in high productivity mode and eating is so much easier, fresher and cheaper! While these delicious veggies are great straight of the garden they are also wonderful ROASTED!! Last summer, I wrote about roasting peppers but the other night I discovered a new love roasted eggplant.

I had purchased some eggplant at the public market and promised Ron I would make him some eggplant parmesan (one of my most favorite summer dishes) but then I stumbled upon a recipe for roasted eggplant ratatouille in the fabulous book A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (side note: please read this book. It is lovely, entertaining and has some fabulous recipes) and so I decided to roast these eggplants and create a casserolesque concoction with said eggplant and a pile of other assorted vegetables on my counter. And we still have to come to best part! I made this along with Tuesdays dinner to be eaten on Wednesday, covered it with foil, popped it in the fridge and when I came home late from work Wednesday Ron had popped it in the oven and dinner was a mere 15 minutes away!

Weeknight Summer Vegetable Casserole

Slice 2 eggplants and toss in 2 Tbl of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Flip and cook another 10-15 minutes.

Cover the bottom of a 13x9 baking pan with tomato sauce (I used homemade you could also just use fresh tomatoes, a little garlic and some basil). Layer eggplant, sliced summer squash and any other veggies you find appropriate. Spread some about ¾ cup of ricotta cheese over veggies. Add another layer of sauce (or self-created tomato mixture). Add another layer of eggplant and squash. I ended with some freshly sliced tomatoes, some fresh ground pepper and of course a layer of mozzarella.

Bake at 350 covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 or until brown and bubbly.

We enjoyed this with a bottle of Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Semi-Dry Riesling and a 1990’s Nicholas Cage film.

PS I am slow roasting some tomatoes right now and if they are worth speaking about I will pass on the info!

'it's getting hot in here,' or 'YOLO'

can we talk about the weather for a second here? I hate the summer. specifically july. I don't mind summer nights, swimming, or a nice breeze, but this 95-degree-no-wind-no-rain-for-500-years thing really bothers me. NOW, mind you, I do not complain about the weather in any other month other than july, so I'm allowed to complain about july, right?

but I digress. every year around this time, I just get so sick of the summer and start craving things like warm soups and cardigans and going to the mall just to feel the big, soft, knit blankets at pottery barn that come out in the fall (am I the only one who does that? once I sat on the couch and put one on me. it was awesome). I hate making my kitchen hot though, so I eat sandwiches. a girl can only eat so many sandwiches though, which brings me to the point of this post (yes, there is one). I came across a great vegetarian jambalaya recipe on pinterest about a month ago and even though I wanted to make it right then, I didn't -- because I hate summer and I hate july and I want to sit at pottery barn with blankets on!! jambalaya is hot, spicy, uses the stove, and dirties dishes -- 4 things my sandwich-eating-self couldn't mentally deal with in july.

so I just thought about it a lot. a LOT. and then I got sick of thinking and sick of letting july win, so I just made the f-ing jambalaya already. I was all like, "live every day like it's your last! carpe diem! fight fire with fire! YOLO!" (okay not the last one, I'm not that cool. I just heard that on the 'streets' the other day and knew that's what all the cool kids were saying. thought I'd incorporate that into a post about jambalaya. obviously.). anyways -- standing over my stove, sauteeing sausage and peppers in my 100 degree kitchen was not fun at the time, but the resulting pot of amazingness was worth it. it will be better in January after I get back from pottery barn though.

this recipe serves 6 and it's vegetarian -- I added meat though (this particular time, I added andouille sausage, bacon, ham, and shrimp).

1 medium onion, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

1 pepper, in the color of your choice!, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp. olive oil

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 c. water

1 c. long grain rice

2 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

salt, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, pepper - to taste (I like it hot).

In a large skillet, saute the onion, celery, creen pepper, and garlic in oil until tender (add meat right ...NOW, if you want it in there). add the tomatoes, water, rice, soy sauce, parsley, and spices and stir and smile and sweat and love your jambalaya. this is a necessary step. once it's heated through, you can bring it to a boil and then bring it down to a simmer and cover it on the stove until all of the liquid is absorbed, OR transfer it to a baking dish and cover it and bake it for an hour at 350 degrees.

(*I apologize for the phone photo! my real camera died)

Also, pretending you're emeril lagasse while making jambalaya is absolutely a necessary part of this whole process, but I will let you use your own discretion with that. 

-Hannah

Dreams Really Do Come True

Last night, Tap and Mallet in Rochester, NY hosted a celebrity guest
near and dear to my heart.. the one, the only, Mr. Garrett Oliver.
Brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery. Author of The Brewmaster's Table.
Editor of The Oxford Companion to Beer. Yes, Garrett Oliver. The event
was a 5 course beer pairing dinner and it most certainly did not
disappoint. Let me preface this by saying that Mr. Oliver's book The
Brewmaster's Table has been a huge inspiration in my beer pairings and
the way he writes about food is my favorite form of poetry. When I
heard that Garret was coming to town and saw the menu for this dinner,
Allison and I immedietly rushed to buy tickets. For the next two
weeks, we read and reread the menu and the excitement mounted. On the
day of we spent an hour picking out an outfit classy enough for the
honor of dining with Garrett yet not too fancy to think that we were
stalkers. Finally, we arrived, found our place at the table, nervously
figeted until.. in walked the man, the myth, the legend. Dressed
impeccable in navy slacks, a white and blue striped button down, with
a navy Brooklyn blazer, Garrett strode in was handed a summer ale in a
tulip glass, tossed jokes about where he was seated and took his place
in the front of the room.



To start the evening the lovely crew at Tap and Mallet gave us a
veggie tray with some sort of phenomenal dip.. I believe it was an
aioli with a delightful lemon flavor and some herbyness.. I think it
was dill. This was paired with Brooklyn's Summer Ale, an English Style
Pale Ale. The whole experience was light and refreshing as was
listening to Garrett speak about some of his beer travels, some beer
history and the history of food becoming too over processed. He joked
about Kraft singles and Kenny G, holding the attention of the whole
room.



The first course was a Micro-Nicoise Salad with Cider-Dijon
Vinegarette. Now, I don't know about you, but I did not know what a
nicoise salad was until the plate arrived. On it was a few wedges of
iceberg lettuce arranged around and atop it were sliced potatoes,
green beans, hard boiled eggs, kalamata olives tomatoes, smoked salmon
and a spicy goat cheese all topped with a delicious vinegarette. The
combo of all these goodies was divine. I found myself pondering what
things would be best in the same bite.. salmon and potato, egg,
lettuce and tomato, goat cheese and green bean, egg and olive. Every
combo was a delight.. and the best part, The Beer: Sirachi Ace Saison.
Now, this past year I have been quickly developing a large piece of
heart and palatte for Belgian beers particularly saison and I will say
this is one of the better I have drank. The sirachi hops used to brew
this beer were apparently a fluke in hop breeding and were not totally
popular because they had a scent of lemongrass and dill. The smell and
taste of these flavors were present in this beer in just the perfect
amount to the point that I could sip it all the day long. With a nice
carbonation and refreshing flavor, this was the perfect match to the
salad. At this point in the evening Garrett introduced us to his new
word.. PreSad. He uses this to describe when you are sad before
something happens because you know the good state you are in is going
to end. For example, when they made Sirachi Ace as a specialty beer,
they were always PreSad just before it ran out, so they would make
more. Finally, they realized it was too good and they needed to make
it all the time. So, if you come across some, buy it, drink it, thank
me.



Next up, Pulled Pork and Kimchi Pierogies with a Spicy Chili Sauce
paired with Blast Double IPA. These were not what I expected but still
amazing. When I hear pulled pork, I always get excited. These did not
have the usually barbeque flavor of pulled pork in fact the pork
flavor was slightly masked by the Kimchi a Japanese cabbage salad, but
that was A-ok because the kimchi blended with the spicy sweet chili
sauce to give it this fabulous Asian flavor. As Garrett says, "some
people think that an IPA is not a good match for spicy food because it
accentuates the spice, but what's wrong with that" (loosely quoted). I
totally agree. This delightfully hoppy IPA brought out the great spice
and was a wonderful pairing.



The third course took us to lamb. Moroccan Lamb Chops with Mint Yogurt
Sauce paired with Mary's Maple Porter. Lamb is not my favorite meat
but this was cooked to perfection. It had a really nice spice to it
that was cooled by the mint sauce and I found myself gnawing the bone.
The Maple Porter was fermented with real maple syrup from the family
syrup farm in Syracuse of Mary (quality control girl at Brooklyn). I
would be proud to have this beer named after me. It was a really solid
porter with a subtle maple flavor but not a lot of sweetness. On their
own, the beer and food for this course were superb, however I can't
say they complimented each other. The coolness of the mint sauce was a
strange combo with the porter. The lamb with another sauce I think
could have matched well with the porter. If I may be so bold, I might
suggest scotch ale like we did at our beer dinner in the summer of
2011 with the lamb burgers with mint aioli.. but who am I.



Now.. The Jem. In every beer pairing dinner, I have experienced there
is always one pairing that wows everyone. Takes their breath away,
makes you think you could never eat that dish without the select beer
and vice versa. This was that pairing. Arancini with Tomato Gorgonzola
Cream Sauce paired with Wild Ale.

First, the food. Until I recieved the menu for this dinner I did not
know what arancini was, so I did what any person would do I googled it
and found it was risotto balls, breaded and fried. Immediately, I was
intrigued. This wonder grew when I was given some mushroom arancini at
the Wishing Well Restaurant in Saratoga last weekend (I may or may not
have pretended I was trying them for the first time 10x so I wouldn't
be judged). These were sausage arancini although that flavor was
masked by the little pocket of smoked mozarella in the center. Nothing
like a suprise pocket of cheese to win this girl's heart. The sauce
also added a divine flavor I can't even begin to describe. The beer is
a rare one of Brooklyn that is aged in whiskey barrels and fermented with Wild Yeast. It topped out at about 9% so it was
strong in both flavor and alcohol. The way it smoothly rolled across
your tongue was not something I will soon forget. The flavors of the
smoky arancini with the strong sweet ale played together so well that
I would be willing to arrange a play date for them at my table
everyday forever.
When we finally arrived at dessert, the Tap and Mallet chefs continued
to bring their A-game. Cheesecake Rangoons. Imagine little crispy
fried dough pockets filled with cinnamon cheesecake and smothered with
raspberry ganache. I literally had to lick my plate for this one.
Garrett paired this one with a Black Ops stout, a lovely smooth beer
that is bottle fermented with champagne yeast. After dinner, there was
a chance for autographs and photos with Garrett and then we all
floated home on a cloud and dreamed of the magic.

Gettin' Saucy

So I have been thinking a lot about ravioli lately and how I have a ravioli press and never use it. During this period of thinking, I came to the conclusion that chicken and olives would be a fab combo inside a little pasta pocket.. but what sauce to top it with?? So I pondered, googled, emailed my posse and came up with 3 very different yet interesting options. Then I shopped, chopped, simmered and taste-tested and here my friends are the results for any of you out there who also feel that the question of sauce is a pressing dilemma.

First of for the ravioli, I coated 2 chicken with the juice of 2 lemons and some pepper covered it in foil and baked it in the oven til tender and done. Then I carmelized 3 small onions and chopped 3/4 cup of green olives, chopped the chicken and combined the ingredients. For the pasta, I mixed 2 cups of flour, 5 egg yolks, 1 1/2 Tbl olive oil and 6 TBl of water into a nice little dough. Then rolled it out with my pasta maker. Unfortunatley my ravioli presser was too small to handle such a thick filling so I formed them by hand which was a little tricky. Then boiled them in salted water for 3-4 minutes.
Now for the sauce..

Lemon Caper SauceThis recipe was inspired by Hannah's Chicken Picatta Pasta posted a few months ago and all I can say is thank you Hannah for introducing me to the magic of capers.
Saute 3 cloves of garlic and 1 shallot in a Tbl of butter. Add 1 cup of white wine, juice of half a lemon, 1 Tbl capers. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced.

This was a very tasty and easy sauce to prepare, however with the ravioli it overwhelmed the flavor of the chicken and olive ravioli. Allison said it felt like the flavors were fighting in her mouth, battling to be noticed. We came to the decision that it would be really delicious over just regular pasta maybe with some shrimp or fish. It would also be delicious to just pour over fish to bake or cook.

Puttanesca Sauce
When I surveyed my cook friends about what sauce to make for these fab ravs, Allison promptly responded with Puttanesca which I never in a million years would have thought of but let me tell ya it was grand.
Cook 4 cloves of garlic in olive for a few minutes. Add some anchovies. I put in about 6 because I wanted to have that great flavor but I may have over done it.. so maybe less. Cook for 3 minutes. Add 1 and 1/2 large cans of whole tomatoes. I used the ones with garlic and basil for added flava flav. Add 2-3 Tbl of capers (cuz they're AMMAZING!!), 1 Tbl dried basil (fresh if you've got it), handful of fresh chopped parsley, and some pepper. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives. Simmer some more.

Again this sauce was amazing but the flavors just overwhelmed and we felt this would be great with strictly pasta but it didn't compliment the ravioli the way we wanted it to.

Spiced Tomato-Date SauceThis sauce was also inspired by another hot dish favorite, Megan's Date Me a Chicken. Now I immediately thought of date when I thought Chicken and Olives because of this dish and because I'm obsessed with dates. . not as obsessed as I am with capers but close.. actually maybe the same but in different ways... and actually as I write this I realize I probably should have added bacon to the raviolis to make them pair better with dates... but that's another story and another day.

Start by simmering 2 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic in olive oil. Add 6 dates chopped up. Cook til dates are soften. Add half a can of chopped or crushed tomatoes. I put in a little chili de arbol because I had it but you could easily through in a pinch of cayenne for the spice to this sauce. Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp coriander, and 1 tsp cumin. Cook down until it has thickened a bit and smells like a dream.

What can I say, Winner winner chicken olive ravioli dinner! This sauce not only was more delcious than expected but it mingled and complimented the ravioli bringing out a myriad of flavors dancing on my tongue. Hands down when I went to top my last ravioli, I chose this for seconds.
So there you have it the sauce competition of a lifetime. Maybe I need a life or maybe I'm living everyone's dream life.

Spring Market Inspiration

Nothing inspires me more to get wild in the kitchen than a morning at the Rochester Public Market. After weeks away, I finally was able to get there last Saturday. Clad in my weekend jeans and flannel with my fabulous woven basket, I wove my way through the crowds of shoppers scooping out produce and bargains seeking cooking inspiration. I always attempt to create a list before heading out to avoid buying way more food than I can eat in a week, but all those delightful vegetables always manage to seduce me. Just as I was ready to return home with chilled hands and a basket of onions, asparagus, peppers, grapes and other goodies, I was reeled in by a leafy bunch of greens.. fresh spinach and next to it radishes. I have never made anything with radishes but recently in my obsessive food reading they have been springing up everywhere igniting a fond curiosity. So what other choice did I have then to have the woman throw in a bunch of radishes with my bundle of spinach.
Monday night in an energetic burst I set about cooking three meals at once: Chorizo Red Pepper Omelet (Monday Dinner), Sweet Potato-Black Bean Veggie burgers (intended for Tuesday dinner but Chinese food won.. gonna try for Thursday) and Radish-Inspired Salad (Tuesday lunch). Here follows a fabulous recipe for a really tasty, healthy, and filling salad perfect for lunch to sustain you through a pre-vacation healthy eating week.. until you get sucked in by Sesame Chicken and eggrolls but.. that's a story for another day.

Radish-Inspired Salad
Cook 1/2 cup of quinoa with 1 cup of water until water is absorbed. Chill.
Clean a few cups of spinach and chop into bite sized pieces (You can use any greens you want. I used spinach because I had it; it's delicious; it's healthy).
Thinly slice 2-3 radishes (This task made me put mandoline up towards the top of my list of Kitchen Tools I Really Want/Need)
Place quinoa atop spinach. Top with sliced radishes and chopped pecans.
Mix 2 Tbl real maple syrup, 3 Tbl balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbl olive oil to make a dressing. Drizzle atop.
This is so yummy you won't even realize how healthy it is and you will probably want to lick the left over dressing out of the bowl.. just sayin'

Confessions of Love

One surefire way to know you've hit the jackpot with a new recipe is when people taste it and all they can say to you is, "I love you." Any compliments or praise are always accepted when you have spent time creating tasty concocations, but when all anyone can utter from in the midst of their taste bud bliss is those three magic words, you know you have really done something right.
This happened to me last Saturday when I whipped up a batch of cupcakes with a recipe I had ripped out of Bon Appetit 4 months ago and have carrying in my calendar ever since. This cupcake batter is created with butter, sugar and lemons which is always a sign that you're onto something divine then it has you slip a little pocket of jam right in the center for a surprise that is sure to delight. The recipe calls for raspberry jam; however, despite the fact that there are cases of delicious jams created by lovely sister, there was no raspberry. I searched through jars of blueberry mint, strawberry with drambue, peach and finally decided that plum would be most complimentary to this delicious buttery confection. And I must say when people ask you, "What kind of cupcakes are those?" and you can respond with, "Why they're Lemon-Plum," you just sound like a classy cat. So without further ado...

Lemon-Plum Cupcakes
Beat together until fluffy
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp lemon peel
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time.
Mix in 3/4 cup of flour
1 tsp baking powder
Then add 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl lemon juice
Mix in another 1/2 cup flour

Drop 1 Tablespoon of batter into 12 muffin cups. Drop 1 teaspoon of jam on top (I used plum but get creative with whatever you have). Cover with remaining batter. Bake at 350 for about 23 minutes.
When cool, frost. I used jarred frosting due to time constraints but any will do. Below was the one listed in Bon Appetit.
Beat together
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbl lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp lemon peel... They recommend doing this on 6 cupcakes then adding 1 Tbl jam to the others. Pretty fancy and they sure look lovely..
However, in this case, the taste alone will make these a smashing success!

Edible Cookbook

This Edible Cookbook is magnificent.

Wild Game Rub Down

I'm a lucky girl because once upon a last winter I was given a grocery bag full of venison cuts as a hostess gift (yeah you're right I hang with a hip crowd). So all winter long I have been looking for new and creative ways to prepare this venison. While browsing some recipes, I stumbled across one for dry rubbed steaks with beer gravy and felt the stars aligning in the perfect order. I had steaks in the freezer and some beer left in a growler that was just too flat for drinkin'... Dinner.
Here's how it went.
Dry Rub
1 Tbl of ground coffee
2 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl salt
1 Tbl ground pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika (if you don't own any buy some seriously.. you will love it and search for recipes to include it in)
1 tsp cumin

Rub your steaks down. I used 2 venison steaks but you can use this with beef as well if you don't know any generous hunters. You can rub them down the night before or in the morning.
When you are ready to cook, heat up 1 Tbl of oil in an oven proof skillet or pan on the stovetop. Place steaks in the pan and sear for about 3 minutes. Flip and place in the broiler. Cook until done. Your timing with differ based on size and type of steak so use a meat thermometer or slice them open to check.
These would also be pretty fab on the grill.

Sauce
When steaks are done, remove from pan and cover. Deglaze pan with 1  1/2 cups of dark beer. I used coffee porter because that's what I had the original recipe I found used stout. Stir together 1 Tbl melted butter and 1 Tbl flour to make a little roux-ski. Reduce beer for about 5 minutes then add roux to thicken a little more.
Cut steaks on the bias and pour beer gravy over top.
Warning: If you have beer gravy left because it's just to good to throw away, beware.. you will want to dip your finger in it and eat it for about 3 days after.

I served this with some fried garlic potatoes, lemon kale (simply steamed kale with some lemon juice, salt and pepper.. divine), and a good brew.

Home-Cured Duck Breast Prosciutto (DPB) with Beer and Cheese pairings

So....whats the best pick up line to use on your favorite cheese monger? "Excuse me sir, I made home-cured DBP seasoned with Juniper Berries, Bay Leaves and Smoked Paprika. Can you recommend a delicious cheese to go with that?". According to Dan there were jaws dropping. But more on that later.

Since it has been too long since I have posted I figured I'd come back swinging with an amazing home charcuterie recipe complete with taste tested cheese and beer pairings.

The following recipe is adapted from Mary Janes Farm magazine (Summer 2011) and improved upon with suggestions from Ian at DiBruno's in Philadelphia.

Home-cured Duck Breast Prosciutto

1/2 or 1/4 ingredients as necessary

Ingredients:
9 C. Kosher salt
4 Duck breast halves (I used D'artagnans Magret duck- the type of duck which is used to make foie gras and has a nice fat layer- which can be found at Wegmans or DiBrunos)
4 T whole black peppercorns
4 T juniper berries
4 whole dried Bay Leaves
2 tsp. Smoked Spanish-style Paprika

Special supplies:
Non-reactive container
Spice grinder (or spice grinding implement)
Cheese cloth
String (butchers string for trussing)
refrigerator

Curing process:
Find a non-reactive container. This is ideally glass or plastic and has a cover. Basically any food-grade plastic containers or glass baking dishes. Do not use aluminium or plastic that has been used for something other than food. Ie: any Tupperware or generic brand container you have lying around will do!

Pour salt into bottom of container to cover (approx 3 Cups). Place the duck pieces on top, skin/fat side up. Pour remaining salt over everything and press down to pack. Tightly cover with a lid and refrigerate 24 hours. I gave it an extra night due to time constraints and no harm came to those babies.

After 24 hrs (or 48), take out of the fridge and rinse the duck pieces lightly to remove larger salt deposits. They will be firm to the touch. Discard the salt in container. Pat those breasties dry with a paper towel and prepare to spice em up-akin to a dry rub.

Spice rub blend:
I recommend putting the whole peppercorns, juniper berries, bay leaves, and paprika in a coffee grinder or spice grinder or even mortar and pestle them. This will ensure their freshness and you can control the texture you end up with. Ian suggested (and I agree) that the spices be ground to a course texture...just a few whirls around the grinder. This is so that you can swipe the spices off after it's finished and your palette only has the rich gaminess of the duck to contend with instead of grappling with a whole lotta pepper. No thanks.

Lay each breast on a double layer of cheese cloth. Sprinkle both sides of the duck with the course spice mixture, ensuring full coverage. Fold cheese cloth around each breast like a package and tie ends tightly. Truss or tie packages shut and leave a length of string at the top of the package for hanging from the fridge shelving.


Clear a space in the fridge (I chose bottom shelf in the back) and tie bundle up to the racks so they hang freely. Place a bowl of salt water underneath or nearby for humidity support. Replace this salt water as needed (every few days). They will just hang there turning into the most delicious thing you have ever tasted.

After two weeks (of anticipation, tummy rumbling, and smelling juniper berries when you open the fridge), remove from fridge, unwrap from cheesecloth and use the textured cloth to wipe off and discard the coarsely ground spices from the meat. They served their flavoring purpose and we no longer need them. Now you may thinly slice and savor. For future reference, these babies will keep in the freezer for several months if wrapped well and in the fridge for about a week. But lets get to the tasting part.


So you're experiencing the mouth miracle that is a highly concentrated rich duck flavor. What do you choose to divide and conquer your taste buds with?

The boys at DiBrunos recommended a french sheeps milk cheese called Ossau Iraty from the Pyrenees region. This firm rustic cheese boasts flavors of meaty earthiness and is gentle and creamy with a smooth/rich finish. We tasted it after eating DPB, before, and together. All around well paired. Dinner was good that night.


My go-to beer pairing guru Allison Shuler suggested either a brown ale or piney pale ale to complement the DPB without overwhelming it. Dan and I picked up a mixed six pack of beers to try. We split the beers and tasted them with the DBP and cheese, making comments and rating them along the way while watching the super bowl. It's possible we have no idea what we're talking about but due to the comic content, our results are below. Ratings reflect the quality of the pairing, not the quality of the beer:

Stone Levitation Ale: Amber ale

Dan: "The ale surrounds and cradles the duck with a nice complement to its saltiness" 3 stars.
Megan: "The hoppiest flavors in the beer do not overwhelm the standout flavor profile of the DPB. Juniper and bay follow with a malty mouth-feel and aftertaste" 3.5 stars.













Southern Tier Brewing: Double IPA

D: "Turns the meat buttery" 4 stars.
M: "The hops combined with the DBP spices bring out a caramelized flavor, enhancing the meat" 4 stars.

Dogfish Head "Raison d'etre": Deep mahogany ale brewed with Belgian beer sugars, green raisins and a sense of purpose.

D: "The duck is too good for the beer and the beer is too good for the duck. It is a meeting of the minds that cannot be hosted" 0 stars.
M: "The flavors are too complex to complement the duck, just too strong separately. This paired will with the cheese though" 0 stars.

Ithaca Beer: Nut Brown ale

D: "Much bolder, adds a real beefy taste-enhances the meat flavor. This makes the meaty even meatier. An ultra-maximum flavor, i would say, quite right!" 3 stars.
M: "The pairing enhances the duck but makes the beer taste stale. Although the flavors do not overwhelm, they do not excite either" 2 stars.











Stone IPA: Golden Pale ale

D: "Fruity fiesta, SO FUN" 5 stars.
M: "The citrusy hoppy nature of this beer is to tonic as the duck cured in juniper berries is to gin. Sings....I think the caramel sweetness of the beer with the gamey depth of the duck is ideal" 5 stars.












Dogfish Head: Indian Brown ale

D: "Toasty-in a nice way, an outdoors-y feel to it. Strong way to finish a great game" 3.5 stars.
M: "An appreciated darker beer pair. Complementary as well as compound. Sultry when supplemented" 4 stars.













And there you have it. Dan's criticism class is really paying off and we have two clear winners from the pale ale to the brown ales. If you make this you have to call us and have us over. We'll bring the beer.

Braisin Overtures

What better way to start of the new year than a fabulous beer pairing dinner. If you made it to this event, you know the magic of some of these recipes. If you didn't make it, I recommend you make the chicken and prune sauce immediately and drink it with an Ommegang Abbey Ale (not optional) as soon as possible. Life changing seriously.

Appetizer
Clam Chowder paired with Hoegarden and/or Ommengang Witte Beer
This recipe was basically gleaned from an old hot disher featuring Megan Mae and Miss Lilly making fish chowder with NSync. I basically used that recipe but subbed fish for clams.. amazing.

Cheese Pairing
Gorgonzola paired with Sour Cherry Ale mixed with Belgian Wit
Both these beers were homebrews of Allison and mine and combined with the cheese the flavor combo was divine. It was hard to describe the flavor of the cheese beyond saying it tasted like a sheep in your mouth.. disgusted? don't be. try it and your mind will be changed.

First Course
Chicken with Honey Prune Sauce paired with Ommegang Abbey Ale

Rub chicken legs with ¼ cup brown sugar, 8 smashed garlic cloves, 2 Tbl rosemary leaves, 2 Tbl pepper. Squeeze juice of one orange over chicken and let marinate for at least an hour. Brown chicken legs in a pan with 2 Tbls of oil. Transfer to glass baking dish. Add ½ cup of white wine or Belgian beer.

Bake at 325 for about an hour or until cooked through.

Honey Prune Sauce

Soak 1 cup of pitted prunes in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Combine prunes with: 1 cup honey

                                    ¼ cup cider vinegar

                                    1 tsp ground ginger

                                    ½ tsp crushed red pepper

Simmer over low heat for half an hour and serve over chicken.

Second Course
Hungarian Meatballs paired with DogFish Head Indian Brown Ale

Meatballs

¾ lb. ground pork

¾ lb. ground beef

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

¾ cup breadcrumbs

¼ cup fresh minced parsley

1 T garlic powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp caraway seeds

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 eggs

2/3 cup of  milk

Combine all ingredients. Form into meatballs (1 to 1 ½ inch). Refrigerate for about 15 minutes so they firm up. In a large oven safe pan, brown meatballs on the stovetop with a few tablespoons of oil. Remove from pan.

Sauce

1 onion chopped

¼ lb cremini mushrooms quartered

1 Tbl minced garlic

1 red pepper chopped

1 heaping Tbl paprika

¼ tsp of each cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, dried rosemary, thyme, fennel seeds, and marjoram

¼ cup parsley chopped

In pan from meatballs, add above ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with ½ cup of white wine. Cook for a few minutes. Add 15 oz stewed tomatoes and 2 cups of chicken broth.

Bring to a boil. Return meatballs to a pan. Transfer to the oven and braise for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Remove from the oven and stir in ½ cup of sour cream. Serve over egg noodles.

Dessert
Bacon Rugelach paired with Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and/or a Gregor Biers Coffee Stout

for the bacon jam

1 lb of bacon

3 large chopped onions

½ cup  brown sugar

½ cup molasses

1 cup strong coffee

½ cup balsamic vinegar

¼ cup bourbon

1 tsp black pepper

Brown bacon in large saucepan. Remove bacon. Add onions and caramelize in bacon drippings. Add brown sugar and cook a little more.

Return bacon to the pan along with remainder of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 ½ hours or until reduced to about half. Blend in a food processor. Store in the fridge in a jar for up to 3 months or freeze.

Recipe courtesy of Mrs. Wheelbarrow blog.

Rugelach

8 oz  cream cheese

8 oz butter

2 cup flour

Combine above ingredients into a dough. Form into two discs. Chill overnight.

Roll each disc of dough into a 10 inch circle.

Spread with:    ½ cup jam

                        ¼ cup peanuts or walnuts

                        ¼ cup breadcrumbs

                        ¼ cup brown sugar

Slice discs into 16 wedges and roll up. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes until browned.

Once again we had a divine time stuffing our faces with delicious food and drinking good beers produced by well known breweries, new local breweries (Shout out to ROC Brewing Co.) and local homebrewers.
Brewfe is just a blink away :)