Pennsylvania Dutch Style Chicken Corn Chowder with Cracked Corn Porridge Bread: there’s nothing as warming as a delicious Beer Pairing with some home cooked comfort food to thaw the body and rejuvenate the soul (after finishing the day off shoveling show). This Pennsylvania-Dutch inspired meal went great with Pennsylvania’s own Troegs Beer’s La Grave, a well carbonated, bottle conditioned Belgian Tripel that was able to cut through the rich, flavorful, pressure-cooked chicken stock.
Lobster Roll: three live lobsters, cooked, picked, and combined with mayonnaise, herb infused butter, celery, apples, and tarragon; lovingly sandwiched in-between home baked whole wheat rolls (made with Jovial Foods organic einkorn four, Old Bay spice, and clam juice), then garnished with homegrown (in a cold frame) micro-greens and strips of homemade Old Bay tomato leather.
Buckwheat Linzer Cookies: Santa gets enough Milk And Cookies, give him what he really wants for Christmas Eve 2014, Beer And Dessert! These flavorful and (more) healthy whole grain cookies show off one of the best aspects of Home Canning, being able to savor the taste of fresh, early summer berries even when in winter’s icy grip; and what better to pair with the sweet flavor of local strawberries than New Glarus Brewing’s Strawberry Rhubarb.
“Jewish” Apple Cake: this moist, dense (dairy free, so it can be served with a meal containing meat) cake is the perfect way to end the Hanukkah 2014 season. While some of the olive oil was left in the recipe (a traditional custom for Chanukkah), most of it was replaced with sweet homemade Apple Sauce (canned earlier in the fall at the peak of apple season, in preparation for winter) making for a healthy, tasty dessert. Served with The Wild Beer Co’s Ninkasi (Iduna Cru), a New Zealand hopped, Belgian-Style Saison, with Wild Yeast and Somerset apple juice.
Pastrami On Rye Sandwich with Matzo Ball Soup: What better way to kick off Hanukkah 2014 than with some inspiration from Jewish-style deli fare? While not necessarily seasonally traditional, with Cold Season already in full swing, some tasty matzo ball Chicken Soup may be just what the Dr. ordered; accompanied, (of course) with some homemade, home smoked, spicy, hand cut pastrami slices to get the party started. All washed down with Shmaltz Brewing’s Hanukkah Chanukah a Dark Ale (think unspiced Winter Warmer) with the toasty malt backbone to stand up to the spiced-smokiness of the sandwich, making for a great holiday Beer Pairing.
Black And Tan Cookies: What better way to celebrate National Cookie Day 2014 (Dec. 4th) and the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition (Dec. 5th) than with some home baked Black And White Cookies with a Beer Pairing twist?
A homemade, moist, cake-like shortbread cookie made with butter, lemon zest, Wholesome Sweet’s organic sugar, lemon juice, eggs, Anson Mills flour, baking powder, and milk, topped with: white icing made from 10x sugar and Yuengling Beer’s Yuengling Lager; and a Dark Chocolate icing made with dark cocoa powder, Mast Brothers “Brooklyn Blend” dark chocolate (73% cacao), vanilla, and Yuengling Porter. Accompanied with a dip of Black And Tan Ice Cream (Belgian chocolate ice cream swirled with salty caramel ice cream) from Yuenglings Ice Cream. All washed down with a glass of Yuenglings Original Black And Tan. As a result of prohibition, Frank Yuengling started Yuenglings Ice Cream Corporation; after the end of Prohibition, he returned to running Americas Oldest Brewery full time.
Mushroom Ravioli: What better way to commemorate Black Friday 2014 and Allagash Brewing’s brewery release of Midnight Brett than with a delicious Beer Pairing celebrating both using bottles from the Oct. 16. 2013 batch? An earthy mushroom filling of diced Royal Trumpet Mushroom, maitake, and portobello (all from Phillips Mushroom Farms) combined with creamy melted cheese from The Farm At Doe Run, a pinch of homemade basil salt, and freshly ground black pepper all enveloped in homemade 100% whole wheat pasta dough and then garnished with homegrown scallion greens, mushroom slices, and mushroom sauce. The rye and midnight wheat in the Midnight Brett Ale went great with the earthy mushroom taste; while the beer’s fruity, sour berry side contrasted nicely.
Homemade Bobbie Sandwich and Spiced Butternut Bisque soup: the solution for all your Thanksgiving 2014 leftovers: homemade stuffing (made from a mix of homebaked spelt, Jovial Foods organic einkorn, whole wheat, and rye bread) with homegrown sage, and moistened with homemade turkey stock; cranberry sauce; tender pulled wine and herb basted turkey breast; all lovingly tucked into a “Stuffing” roll: home baked whole wheat baguette rolls, spiced with homegrown sage, homegrown parsley, and other stuffing spices (so as not to require too much additional bread on the sandwich); spiced Butternut Bisque soup made with a puree of roasted home grown heirloom butternut squash, molasses, brown sugar, freshly ground ginger, cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg, cream, and cardamom before being garnished with droplets of homemade cocoa balsamic vinaigrette (with fresh homegrown rosemary, cocoa powder, Navitas Naturals USDA Certified organic Non-GMO raw Cacao Nibs and naturally sweetened with honey). Paired with turkey’s natural buddy, Biere De Garde, in the form of Lost Abbey’s Avant Garde Ale, a craft beer with both the earthy and herbal/floral flavors required to pair up with any traditional Thanksgiving meal.
Stuffed Rabbit: a young whole D’Artagnan rabbit de-boned and stuffed with: wine-soaked tart cherries, bread crumbs from home baked sandwich bread, thyme flavored chopped rabbit liver, homegrown leeks, organic rosemary sprigs, butter, and chard; all rolled in hardwood smoked bacon and slowly baked to perfection. Served with a side of homegrown asparagus and Jester King Brewery’s Mad Meg for a great beer pairing.
