Here’s tonight’s menu for a first-ever beer dinner from Triskele’s Restaurant, in Milwaukee’s Walkers Point neighborhood, featuring craft brews from the Upper Midwest – to reserve a seat, call 414-837-5950:

Prince Edward Island Mussels in Bison Blonde Lager w/Fresh Shallots and Fried Parsley
Served w/Water Buffalo Bison Blonde Lager

New Glarus ”Totally Naked” Cheddar Fondue w/Grilled Usinger’s Polish Sausage and Caraway Crostini
Served w/New Glarus Totally Naked Lager

Roasted Vidalia Onion Salad w/Fresh Chives and Bacon Vinaigrette
Served w/Central Waters Ouisconsing Red Ale

Grilled Beef Short Ribs w/Founders “Dirty Bastard” Scotch Ale-Tomato Glaze and Smokey Blue Cheese Potato Croquette
Served w/Founder’s Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

Dark Chocolate-Apricot Torte with Butter Walnut Brittle
Served w/Sand Creek Oscar Oatmeal Stout

Just in time for grilling with beer class at Larry’s Market tomorrow, Thursday, June 18 – a review and recipes for Father’s Day in the Milwaukee Journal’s food section- get a load of those big daddy beer chairs!

Mmm, taste-testing recipes for Thursday’s class at Larry’s Market in Brown Deer – am excited to be back teaching under the big tent in the beer garden – we’ll sample grilled Juusto bread skewers with pineapple and peppers in a brown ale glaze and other treats served hot from the barbecue. Just $25 per person, and for more information, contact Larry’s Market, 8737 N. Deerwood Dr., Brown Deer, WI 53209, 414-355-9650  or email – bigcheese@larrysmarket.com

Now that it finally feels like summer, Wisconsinites are out grilling in full force – and there’s even a Grilling with Beer competition set for Wednesday night in Appleton, at the Radisson Paper Valley hotel – featuring professional chefs from area restaurants and caterers. The cook-off is sponsored by Wisconsin Distributors, and will feature beers from Goose Island, New Belgium Brewing Co. and more. Chefs are being creative in cooking with beer, such as Big Tomatoes’ Fat Tire Brined Pork Eye with Pomegranate-Ale BBQ Sauce served with grilled sweet corn and poblano peppers,  or the grilled Goose Island Urban Shrimp with a 3-1-2 Punch.

I’ll be there, both as a judge and as a guest author, signing copies of The Best of American Beer & Food, and Grilling with Beer. Tickets are $15 – contact Brian Eschenbauch, 920-733-8000 x1511 for details.

Jim Javenkoski of Arcadia Ales and the James Beard award-winning filmmaker, Gaylon Emerzian, whose documentary, Living on the Wedge, is all about artisan cheese, will join Sara Hill of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board in a guided tasting at Provenance’s Logan Square location (2528 N. California Avenue, Chicago) from 7-9 p.m…wish I could be there! Here’s a write-up from Chuck Sudo and best of all, it’s free to attend and taste.

This menu from a Philly chef sounded both whimsical and wonderful – proving that craft beer and food pairings can be playful:
Philadelphia’s Supper restaurant is kicking off National Picnic Month on July 1 with a special Happy Hour, offering a dozen different modern interpretations of Deviled Eggs and special pricing on cans of Sly Fox beer.  The deviled eggs will be offered individually for $1 apiece or diners can order all 12 varieties for $9.  For $3 more, picnic-lovers can add a can of Sly Fox Beer, such as Pikeland Pils, Phoenix Pale Ale or Royal Weisse Ale.

Chef-owner Mitch Prensky’s unusual and classic interpretations of deviled eggs, a perfect picnic food, are at once innovative and familiar.  In keeping with the restaurant’s farm-to-table menu, Supper’s deviled eggs are prepared with locally sourced ingredients.  “Our deviled eggs are the perfect summer treat,” says Prensky, who counts more than 20 varieties of deviled eggs in his repertoire and uses top quality chicken eggs for his deviled creations.

The 12 tempting offerings will include:  Sriracha Deviled Egg with pickled daikon, carrot and coriander;  Pistou Deviled Egg with ratatouille;  Horseradish Deviled Egg with steak and Roquefort;  Deep-Fried Scotch Deviled Eggwith country sausage;  Wasabi Deviled Egg with uni and crispy nori; Saffron Deviled Egg with salt cod and roasted garlic; Black Truffle Deviled Egg; Chevre Deviled Egg with asparagus; Lobster Deviled Egg with dill crème fraiche; “Bacon and Egg” with braised bacon and Cheddar; Smoked Chile Deviled Egg with roasted corn-red onion salsa; Vadouvan Spiced Deviled Egg with roasted cauliflower and mint.

For more information about Supper’s deviled eggs or their National Picnic Month kick-off celebration, visit www.supperphilly.com.

Heading into a weekend filled with great beer events – a special dinner with New Glarus Brewing Co. at Bacchus tonight, and the women-only Pils Party on Sunday at the Sugar Maple – 5 great Pilsners, from classic Pilsner Urquell, to Victory Prima Pils, with a few surprises from my beer cellar.

Here’s the menu from Bacchus Executive Chef Adam Siegel for the New Glarus beer dinner with a few tasting notes about each pairing from me:

Dungeness crab and melon salad with fresh thyme, lemon and Espelette pepper, topped with crisped prosciutto -  NGBC Spotted Cow – this was an amazing match, with the mild ale highlighting the sweetness of the crab and melon

Strauss veal Tartare with a quail egg, with Parmigiano, orange gremolata and celery root remoulade – NGBC Totally Naked provided crisp carbonation, more of a textural contrast

Seared sea scallop with spiced rhubarb, fava beans, and Port wine syrup – NGBC Dancing Man Wheat brought up the caramelized sear on the scallop, but the rhubarb was a bit too sweet and served in a very generous portion…

Grilled quail breast with stewed apricot and foie gras sauce – NGBC Imperial Saison was wonderful with the quail alone, but the apricot was candy-sweet and made the ale taste very sour in comparison

Braised Shortribs with cumin, caramelized cauliflower and garlic spinach – NGBC Stone Soup, a strong golden ale modeled on a tripel, made the richness of the beef taste even better and its yeasty bite was a perfect foil for the garlicky greens

Lamb noisette with brown butter polenta, toasted hazelnut crumbs and sauteed artichokes – NGBC Fat Squirrel brown ale made a seamless match with the brown butter and lamb topped with toasted nuts

Creme fraiche panna cotta with strawberry soup, grapefruit and pistachio brittle – NGBC Wisconsin Belgian Red accented the slight tartness of the fresh fruit, although the brittle perched atop the panna cotta had absorbed a lot of moisture by the time we were served and was no longer truly a crisp brittle, more like a caramel

It was a huge crowd for the dinner – about 150 people, with about a dozen people from the local distributorship showing their support of the brand. Dan Carey spoke briefly about the beers, but spent most of the night circulating from table to table. The New Glarus Hilltop Brewery has its grand opening on Saturday  June 13, so that will be the next big party celebrating the end of two years of construction….