Garden Seedlings: getting ready for the 2014 gardening season by giving the seeds a head start under the grow lights.

General Tso’s Chicken: white meat chicken breast chunks dipped into an egg mixture, then rolled in cornstarch and fried in a wok before being smothered in a homemade General Tso’s sauce, mixed with homegrown peppers and organic broccoli florets, and served over rice with a flurry of sesame seeds on top. Served with Mikkeller ‘s Sichuan peppercorn brewed beer, Mission Chinese Food. This brew had a tropical fruity taste that soon warmed to a pleasant hot flavor that paired well with the dish.

Baked Penne with Five Cheese and Tomato Sauce: a rich mix of heavy cream, crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, pecorino romano, fontina, gorgonzola, ricotta, mozzarella, #homegrown basil, penne pasta, and butter; paired with a Leffe Brun.

Rosemary Honey Barbecue (BBQ) Chicken Pizza: home baked Homemade Pizza dough bottoms coated with a spicy Honey Barbecue / tomato sauce mix then topped with cooked onions, cooked homegrown peppers, chunks of chicken breast, various shredded cheeses, and fresh organic rosemary. Served with Stone Brewing Co’s To Go IPA, this hop bursted Session IPA went great with the spicy Barbecue Sauce.

Pastrami on Rye Sandwich: Home Cured beef brisket rubbed with the Fatted Calf  In The Charcuterie ‘s recipe for pastrami rub, Home Smoked and steamed over hardwood logs, then sandwiched in between slices of a home baked Austrian Alpine-style country loaf of wheat-rye caraway-coriander bread made with Hodgson Mill’s non-GMO verified, stone ground, whole grain, rye flour and baked in a newly re-seasoned cast iron camp oven. With a side of fresh chopped coleslaw sprinkled with celery seed and herbed baked “fries”. Served with Wild Beer Co’s MO; the tannins and fruity flavors in this oak barrel aged Old Ale brewed with wild yeast made for a great pairing with the smoked pastrami.

Nantucket Cranberry Pie: What better to pair with a home baked Nantucket Cranberry Pie than Allagash Brewing’s cranberry stout, Red Howes? This draft only offering is brewed with both the Red Howes and Early Black varieties of cranberries that gave it a slightly tart, dried fruit taste that went great with the pie.

Capn Crunch Coated French Toast Sticks and a Sunny Side Up Egg: home baked rich Whole Wheat sandwich bread sticks rolled in crushed Cap’n Crunch cereal and French toasted, then drizzled in USDA organic grade A dark amber pure maple syrup, with a modernist-style sunny side up egg coated in flavorful pressure-cooked brown butter, and strips of hardwood smoked bacon. Served with Mikkeller Beer and Anchorage Brewing ‘s Beer Geek BreAKfast, a oatmeal stout brewed with coffee and fermented in oak tanks.

Raccoon Tracks: Now that the weather is warming and the snow is melting, all the wildlife is out and on the prowl for food, including the raccoons.

Harvey Wallbanger Cake: a moist, custard enriched  home baked Harvey Wallbanger Cake made with fresh squeezed mandarin Orange Juice, Grey Goose vodka, Galliano, and infused with star anise; then drizzled with a Galliano and Vodka glaze. Served with (what else but!) a Harvey Wallbanger cocktail.

Learned a lot last weekend at Beer Advocate ‘s Extreme Beer Fest (EBF) sampling some fantastic brews, meeting great people, and savoring the food in Boston!

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