Take a look at this review of the Best of American Beer and Food - what pleases me most is the author’s decision to cook the recipes and post his feedback - actually tasting the food and pairings instead of conjecturing…

Join the Alexanders of Brickskeller fame, and myself, for a celebration of chocolate, both sweet and savory, and the flavors of craft beer. We’ll have a great menu, featuring the special Curry Ginger Carrot Soup recipe from Diane Alexander, sampled at the Great American Beer Festival!

We had a tremendous evening of RFD cuisine inspired by the cookbook, with special pairings selected from Dave’s cellar:Reception beer: Unibroue Quelque Chose 2002

Bittersweet Salad, with Carr Valley Cheese Co.’s Cocoa Cardona goat cheese, paired with Lost Abbey Red Barn Ale, a farmhouse style

Diane’s Ginger Curry Carrot Soup with Unibroue’s Ephemere Pomme

Cocoa-spice rubbed braised pork with Rogue Ales Hazelnut Brown and New Belgium La Folie

Chocolate Noir Cake with Bell’s Java Stout and New Glarus Brewing Co. Wisconsin Belgian Red Cherry Ale

and as a delectation at the end, we’ll have a toast with an import, JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale….truly a wonderful spectrum of pairings. 

R.F.D. Washington
810 7th St. NW
Washington, DC 20001
info@lovethebeer.com
202.289.2030

November 10

Join me at Bierkraft, 119 5th Ave., in beautiful Brooklyn for a book signing and tasting! I’ll be there on Saturday, 11/10, from noon to 4 PM. Both Grilling with Beer and The Best of American Beer & Food will be available…

November 12

Thanks to Sam Calagione, Devin Arloski, and Martin Ryan of the new Dogfish Head Alehouse in Falls Church, VA, for hosting me during happy hour. Come on over, buy a pint and the book, and meet me in the bar on Monday to get your copy signed, 11/12, 5-8 PM.
Dogfish Head Alehouse
6363 Leesburg Pike
Seven Corners Shopping Center
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 534-3342

In the opening of Aaron Copeland’s “Appalachian Spring,” there’s a wonderful set of “call and response” chords that progress in intensity and are so refreshing, repeated in variations throughout the suite. The music was a score for a ballet by Martha Graham and I think of pairing beer and food as live performance, subtly influenced by mood and environment. The right music will lift my mood and make me enjoy my environment - even when I’m stuck behind the desk. I listen to jazz and classical music when I write, and rock and roll when I cook. My bakeware is stored in the basement to make room for stereo speakers in the kitchen. Something about the clatter of pans and smoke from searing meats matches best with the English Beat or the Decemberists. But when I’m thinking about pairings, I think about flavor progressions that build in tonal intensity, the “call and response” of malt to caramel, of citrus to hops, of apple or banana yeast esters to warming spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.

Music supports a creative response and so I often listen while I cook, write and taste. The right mix of music will add so much enjoyment to dining - or become an irritant, as in canned restaurant music that repeats over and over, becoming stale and flat to the ears. It’s one of the key elements to consider in rating a pub, tavern or restaurant - because music will make a mood. And mood influences flavor perceptions, so does good music = good taste = good beer?

TimeOut Chicago writer Tim McCormick offers a succinct review of the book, with my favorite quote:

“Who it’s for An experienced cook with a taste for beer. Some of the recipes, while streamlined, are better suited for your inner Julia Child than your inner Sandra Lee…..

“We tried Pan-seared pilsner sirloin tips with herbed pecan orzo and shiitake–blue cheese sauce (recommended with a brown ale; we chose Dogfish Head’s Indian Brown Ale). One of the easier recipes in the book, it also proves that cooking with beer has added bonuses: Since we didn’t use the whole 12-ounce bottle, we were happy to polish off the remaining Veltins pils. And Saunders only says that “this rich beef dish pairs well with nut brown ale.” It’s up to us to figure out that a more caramelly ale like the Dogfish would cut nicely into the tangy blue cheese…”

McCormick got it right - it is indeed up to you to figure out exactly how you want to pair the dish with a beer style to your taste. For example, in the recipe below, some cooks might use less of the blue cheese in making the sauce, and add more shiitake mushrooms instead, making the dark lager a better alternative. It’s your palate, your kitchen, your choice, so have fun with it.

Pan-Seared Pilsner Sirloin Tips with Herbed-Pecan Orzo and Shiitake-Blue Cheese Sauce

This recipe was contributed by a finalist in the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s first Cooking with Beer Challenge, Veronica Callaghan of Glastonbury, CT, produced this rich beef dish that pairs well with nut brown ale or dark lager.

Sirloin Tips:

1 1/2 pounds trimmed beef sirloin tips

1 cup pilsner

1 cup beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Herbed-Pecan Orzo:

1 cup orzo

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 large shallot, peeled and finely chopped

2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced

3 ounces pilsner

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons flour

1/3 to 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Rosemary sprigs for garnish

1. Place sirloin tips in large zipper-lock plastic bag. Add pilsner, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Marinate at least 20 minutes.

2. Cook orzo in boiling water according to package directions. Drain and toss with butter, salt, and pepper. Stir in herbs and pecans. Cover with foil and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in large heavy skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Remove sirloin tips from marinade, reserving marinade for later use. Add meat to pan and cook 3-4 minutes on each side until slight crust is formed and meat is just browned. Remove meat to a plate and cover with foil.

4. Melt butter in same pan used to cook meat. Add shallot and mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until just tender. Stir in pilsner and cook until almost completely absorbed. Sprinkle salt and flour over mushrooms, stirring to coat. Pour in reserved marinade. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Reduce heat and cook, stirring frequently, 3-4 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

5. Return meat to pan, pouring in any accumulated juices from the plate, and cook 4-5 minutes for medium-rare, or until desired doneness.

6. Arrange Herbed-Pecan Orzo on large serving platter. Fan sirloin tips over orzo and pour sauce over top. Sprinkle with blue cheese and garnish with fresh rosemary.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Suggested pairing: American dark lager or nut brown ale

Thanks to Chef Brett Muellenbach of the Horse & Plow at the American Club, Kohler has started to embrace craft beer during its gourmet gala weekend, The Kohler Food & Wine Experience. I’ll be at the specialty gift shop, The Wisconsin Trader, for an afternoon of sampling and book signing for both Grilling with Beer and The Best of American Beer & Food. The Wisconsin Trader is located in the Shops at Woodlake Mall, (920) 451-2113.

Brasserie JO of Chicago, IL, celebrates craft beer and food with a special book signing event on Tuesday, October 30. We’ll have Gruyere fritters, the luscious Carrot Curry Ginger Soup, Roasted Salmon with Endive and other recipes from “The Best of American Beer & Food.” Hope to see you there!

Join Jeanne Carpenter, blogger at cheese underground, and myself in a guided tasting of artisan cheeses and American craft brews on Tuesday, October 16. Some of the highlights - Mascarpone cheese on slices of heirloom apples with a new limited release wheat ale, smoked Gouda with Furthermore’s Knot Stock (mmm, think pepper bacon!) and aged Cheddars with a flight of ales designed to bring out the bright tangy tastes. And I’ll have signed copies of the new cookbook available. Visit fromagination online or call 608.255.2430 to register.

“Food of the gods” is one interpretation of the Latin botanical name for cocoa, and at the Great American Beer Festival this weekend, I’ll be sampling chocolate recipes from the new cookbook. There will also be a surprise - chile vanilla truffles from a small chocolatier, kakao of St. Louis, MO. These sumptuous and spicy tidbits are handmade by kakao’s owner, Heather Wessels, and topped with real cocoa nibs. You can learn more at kakaochocolate.com.

Here are a few tips from a recent interview with Jeff Bearer of Craft Beer Radio - and if you have 30 minutes, you can listen to the entire podcast here.

Start with a beer in good condition, one that you’d enjoy drinking solo. If you like the taste of it in a glass, chances are you’ll enjoy the flavors in the finished dish.

Treat craft beer with respect - if you boil it vigorously, the flavors will change as the beer reduces, growing more intensely bitter. Use very hoppy ales in marinades and vinaigrettes which are left uncooked, for the truest flavor to the original. Otherwise, add alternative sweeteners, such as barley malt extract.

Since beer is really a “liquid flavor” when cooking with it, consider using thickeners to convey the tastes. Chef Nathan Berg of Native Bay uses unflavored gelatin to make a savory jelly with craft ales - I tasted the Central Waters Elder Weiss made into a jelly presented with candied hickory nuts - it melted in the mouth with a delicate tang of hops and made the nuts taste all the sweeter.

Though I don’t think it’s necessary to cook every dish served in a beer dinner with beer as an ingredient, I do think it is a good example of a classic pairing technique called “bridging.” A bridge is a garnish or ingredient or other flavor elements that meld together from the food, to the drink, to the palate. You can use the flavors of beer as a bridge or you can use foodstuffs. For example, to bring out the nuttiness in a brown ale, you could present a pilaf topped with toasted pecans, or to highlight Chinook hops, you could garnish a salad with slivers of fresh grapefruit. It’s a simple but effective tool in creating pairings with harmonious flavors.