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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Fish And Chips with Beer Battered Onion Rings: wild caught cod fillet dipped in a Yuengling Beer’s Traditional Lager batter served in a newspaper cone, on a bed of home baked basil and tarragon spiced French “fries” and Beer Battered Onion Rings, garnished with lemon slices and dipping sauce filled spoons of (left to right) malt vinegar, homemade vinegar and Old Bay flavored mayonnaise, and ketchup. Paired up with an English classic,  Samuel Smiths Taddy Porter.

Reuben #Pizza: home baked Homemade Pizza dough bottoms with; (front) Rachel / Reuben toppings of homemade thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, Home Cured Home Smoked pastrami, and topped with Swiss and other cheeses; (rear) a Spring-time vegetable pizza with baby spinach, homegrown fresh and dried herbs, feta cheese, whole milk mozzarella cheese, tender whole pod sugar snap peas, and ricotta cheese. Served with Yuengling Beer’s Bock Beer, the malty sweetness in the beer went great with the pastrami, providing some contrast to the meat’s smoky, spicy flavors and balancing out the tart sauerkraut.

On the way to EBF; the weather looks like it should be better than last year.

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Double Crust Apple Pie: old fashioned double crust apple pie. home baked pie made from a 75% whole grain crust bottom and a white flour top, filled with organic Pink Lady apples, fresh lemon zest, ground cardamom, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, and sanded with turbinado cane sugar, garnished with its natural companion, vanilla ice cream. Served with The Wild Beer Co ‘s Iduna Cru, a beer brewed with Sumerset apple juice, champagne yeast, New Zealand hops, and wild yeast for a great Beer And Dessert pairing.

Corned Beef and Cabbage: inspired by Fatted Calf ‘s recipe, and in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, home corned beef brisket infused with peppercorns, mustard seeds, sugar, coriander, juniper, whole cloves, curing salts, and bay leaves; with boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, and cabbage drizzled with vinegar; served with home baked lemon and current scones; accompanied with a Scottish Traquair House Ale. This malty scotch ale / wee heavy was brewed at the oldest inhabited house in Scotland in a 1738 copper kettle and then fermented in unlined oak barrels giving it enough power to hold up against the strongly flavored beef.

Chicken Parmesan-Style Burgers: homemade ground chicken burger, made with parmesan cheese, homegrown basil, onion, and parmigiano reggiano; then coated with bread crumbs, topped with marinara sauce and baked to toast the whole milk mozzarella cheese; sandwiched in between homebaked half wholegrain hamburger buns rubbed with melted butter and sprinkled with sesame seeds; with a side of homemade potato salad made with the pickling juice from home canned bread and butter pickles. Served with Otter Creek Beer ‘s Citra Mantra, a self proclaimed India-style pils lager full of citra hops taste.