New Food Wednesday: July 27, 2011

WTF, Ice Cream?



Not just any ice cream...

Restaurant Review Monday: Café Berlin

Boring… Clichéd… Vacuous…

It would appear, at least to this reviewer, that the Grand Dame of Huntsville’s German culinary tradition has finally goose-stepped its way to irrelevance.  The food was uninspired.  The atmosphere and ambiance were marred by a small flock of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), which provided ample entertainment for my younger brother.  And our waiter, though attentive, wasn’t exactly the “sharpest crayon in the box.”  In short, it would seem that the final solution is for Café Berlin to close its doors!

Over the years my family has made it a tradition to celebrate our birthdays with a meal at Café Berlin, so I may justifiably argue that the golden era of this venue was waned.  The evening began without incident.  Our server was pleasant but overly chatty with a penchant for prattling.  However, by the time I placed my drink order I could see trouble on the horizon. 

As with most beer snobs, I try to pair good food with a beer that compliments or accentuates certain flavors in the dish.  In this case I had my heart set on the honey-orange duck breast, so naturally I gravitated toward the only hefeweizen they had on the menu.  It was from the mid-grade German brewery Tucher Bräu Fürth (commonly just abbreviated as Tucher in the States).  As a side note, the lack of acceptable German beers on the menu and the inclusion of domestic “beers” should serve as a true indicator of its authenticity. 

After the delivery of my drink, I was informed that the kitchen had “run-out” of duck for the evening, and having already consumed some of beverage I was forced to alter my selection in favor of the beer.  I finally settled on the honey-pecan crusted trout with German potato salad and a house salad with a balsamic-vinaigrette that our waiter assured me was excellent. 

Well our salads arrived, and I was a bit surprised to see an off-gray thick dressing coating my salad.  It turns out this was their idea of a vinaigrette.  The flavor of the dressing was fair, but was not transcendent and the croutons were exceptionally stale.  Imagine, stale croutons? 

Our entrées arrived shortly after the salad plates had been cleared.  As with most German restaurants in the U.S., the portions were gargantuan!  However, as any experienced diner will tell you, size isn’t everything.  The flavor of my trout was descent and the pecans added a welcome textural contrast.  But…the whole thing was cooked in far too much grease which immediately coated the palate.

Since it was a birthday celebration, our waiter informed us that we were entitled to a free piece of cake.  And when we asked what varieties they were serving, he nonchalantly informed us that they were on display and we could go look at them. 

Since the 1950s German food has been a gastronomic mainstay in Huntsville.  It is an unfortunate loss for the entire community that this beacon of upscale dining has fallen so precariously into oblivion. 

Eat good food.  Drink good beer.  And above all, stay classy.

Torta de Tres Leches

(Easy Mexican Milk Cake)

By: Sam Parks (July 2011)

This easy American twist on a Latin classic, combines the richness of ice cream in the body of a cake!  Topping this dessert with fresh berries or fruit takes the flavor to another level and will instantly transport you to the shores of Mexico.  OLE!

(shaped version of the Mexican Milk Cake, topped with toasted meringue and coconut)

Ingredients (Cake)

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (replace the oil with melted butter, replace the water with low-fat buttermilk, and add an extra egg)

2 tablespoons of rum

1 ½ teaspoon coconut extract

1 (12 oz. can) evaporated milk

1 (14 oz. can) sweetened condensed milk

1 cup half-and-half

Ingredients (topping)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon. vanilla

*can be topped with fresh berries (e.g. strawberries), toasted coconut,  or certain dessert sauces (e.g. blueberry)

Preparation (Cake)

1)      Prepare cake according to box directions in a 9 x 13 in. pan/ baking dish (adding extra egg, rum, and coconut extract to the batter prior to baking)

2)      Let cake cool completely

3)      Using a fork, punch surface of cake with tines until it is well aerated.

4)      Combine evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and half and half

5)      Pour milk mixture over cake and refrigerate for a minimum of 48 hours prior to serving

Preparation (Whipped Topping)

1)      Combine heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla

2)      Mix until soft peaks forms

3)      Spread evenly onto the surface of the cake.

*Topped with fresh strawberries and a blue berry dessert sauce this Latin dish is sure to please!

 

(Classic verstion of the Tres Leches Cake topped with blue berries and strawberries and served right out the pan)

(Tres Leches Cake served with simple blue berry sauce-Thanks to my trusted assistant Sue for her expert drizzle skills!)

Eat good food.  Drink good beer.  And above all, stay classy!

New Food Wednesday: July 20, 2011

A slice of lemon ice box pie? Caramelized ginger cake? Some new genetic apple hybrid?

Restaurant Review Monday: Sun Café

Sun Café

Ste 3, 930 Old Monrovia Rd

Huntsville, AL

(256) 585-1394

Hours: Mon-Sun 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Not the best…but not the worst…just there.

This is the most tactful way that I can describe my dining experience at Sun Café.  Admittedly this establishment is more affordable than some of the other Japanese restaurants in town; just remember that you only get what you pay for.  If you have the means, I would recommend I ♥ Sushi in Jones Valley.  The atmosphere is more relaxing, and the food is of a superior quality. 

Upon entering this little hole in the wall, I was greeted by the large face of some FAUX News anchorwoman who was trying to explain that the current problems with America can be solved by removing all of the Latinos, Asians, and Blacks…After managing to choke down the bile rising in my throat, I proceeded to the bar and was attended to by woman whom I can only presume was the manager.  She was brief in her remarks but not dismissive or rude, and her service was polite and prompt.

For my meal I ordered the seafood soup ($6.00 for a quart size) and the 6 piece spicy tuna roll ($4.50).  As a connoisseur of spicy tuna rolls, I thought that this would be an excellent way to judge the quality and skill of the tiny establishment.  However, I now think that I may want to reconsider this standard. 

The tuna for the spicy tuna roll was finely minced, mixed with a spicy mayonnaise and something that I can only hope was panko bread crumbs or tempura pieces, and then rolled in the standard fashion.  Its flavor was not un-palatable, but this mincing technique simply did not impart the satisfying firm texture and mouthfeel imparted by leaving the tuna whole.  I am not sure of origins of this method, and “who am I to judge Japanese culture?”, but from what I know about sushi preparation this was probably invented to accommodate squeamish Americans unaccustomed to dining on raw fish.  An ultimately, this is how it tasted…artificial and bland. 

The seafood soup was equally bland.  The broth was weakly flavored and artificially thickened using a more than generous amount of cornstarch (in fact it was not unlike runny Jello).  The squid, when you actually found a piece, was rubbery and severely overcooked.  The single scallop in my quart of soup was succulent and fresh, but I was left wanting more. 

Simply because something is foreign and new does not mean we should relax our standards.  I would encourage this establishment to focus more on the quality of its products. 

Eat good food.  Drink good beer.  And above all, stay classy.

Chocolate = Antichrist

Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte  (Black Forest Cake) No. 2

(cake No. 1 found it's way into the garbage disposal)

Chocolate is the Antichrist.

There I said it.  I can never take it back. 

Every foody, food blogger, and gastronomist on the planet has a nemesis.  Julia Child hated cilantro, Bobby Flay can’t stand lentils, and Guy Fieri disdains eggs…mine is chocolate.  I absolutely detest cooking with it.  I abhor melting it.  And I don’t go bananas over the taste.  Don’t get me wrong, I love a gooey chocolate brownie and go nuts for chocolate chip cookie dough, but it’s simply not my preferred poison; which is probably why my personal choice for birthday cake isn’t a cake at all but rather lemon meringue pie!

Chocolate seduces you with its luscious appearance and exotic aroma.  You take a bite, and the next thing you know you’re in a semi-conscious trance.  When you finally come to, everything in your kitchen is coated in a sickly, brown layer of sludge.  Your dishwasher is on its second cycle, after using every dish in the kitchen.  And you feel like you’ve gained 40 pounds.  Yep, sounds to me like the work of the Devil.

So when a colleague asked me to make his wife’s birthday cake this week, I was a little taken aback as to why out of my limited repertoire he would ask for my Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte  (Black Forest Cake).  But I suppose it’s tradition to have a decadent chocolate cake to celebrate one’s day of birth, so I semi-enthusiastically agreed.

After a quick trip to the supermarket and armed with my stained copy of the recipe for Bobby Flay’s German Chocolate Cake made on FoodNetwork’s Throw Down, I set out to make the best damn chocolate cake I could muster. 

Unfortunately, I have to admit that cake would eventually win this throw down.

In the preparation of the batter, my technique was flawless.  It was luscious, dark, and smelled of rich chocolate.  I even put a few dark chocolate chips and some aged rum in the batter to improve the flavor profile.  My pans were perfectly prepped with butter, parchment paper, and cocoa powder (if you’re making a chocolate cake cocoa powder often works better than regular flour).  My oven was pre-heated and ready to go.  After 30 minutes of baking, the cakes were done and had risen beautifully, like dense, dark soufflés.  It looked like everything was going as planned.

After approximately 30 minutes of cooling, I felt the cakes to check the temperature.  They seemed a little warm, but I’ve managed to cut warm cakes before and didn’t think twice. 

That was error number one.

My version of the Kirschtorte uses two 8 inch cakes cut into even sections for total 4 layers separated by three layers of filling.  As it would turn out, my cutting job was rushed and sloppy.  The layers were highly irregular, uneven, and one even developed an obvious crack.  But since I had to work the next day and it was already approaching 8:00 pm, I decided to ignore it and hoped that the filling would hold it together.

Enter error number two.

As I assembled the layers, I suddenly had the bright idea to put the cracked layer second to the bottom, again hoping that the filling would act like glue.

That was my third error.

After struggling with the uncooperative cake for what seemed like several hours. I finally managed to assemble the last layer onto the top.  As I turned my back to prepare the whipped cream frosting for the exterior of the cake, I heard a very unappetizing plop; almost like someone had taken a water balloon, filled it with Jello, then and dropped it behind me.  I froze, unable to look at what had happened. 

As I slowly turned around, my worst fears were confirmed.  The instability of the broken layer combined with the weight of the top layers had caused half of the cake to slide off the counter and land, not surprisingly, in a jumbled mess of chocolate, cherries, and whipped cream. 

So I did the only thing I know how to do in these situations.  I grabbed my chef’s knife from the counter and ferociously began chopping the remaining portion of the errant cake into a pudding-like mash of birthday wishes and festivities. 

That was error number four.

So now in addition to the cake on the floor, there was cake all over the counter and me!  My tiny apartment kitchen probably has about 3 square feet of counter space.  And every single square inch was covered in cake crumbs.  

This photo was taken from the entrance to the kitchen

 I managed to clean it all up, a Two Hearted Ale (Bell’s Brewery IPA) helped tremendously, and of course just when I’m walking out the door to go to back to the store and thinking that it can’t possibly get any worse, it starts to rain…Talk about cinematic irony right? (extra points if you can identify the movie)

Finally, at 1 am (8 hours after starting the project) I washed the last dish and went to bed. 

So needless to say Chocolate is the Antichrist!  From now on, I’m charging a chocolate handling fee.

Eat good food.  Drink good beer.  And above all, stay classy!

New Food Wednesday: July 13, 2011

Peanuts with caramel sauce? Raisins with toffee? The latest flavor of ice cream from Ben & Jerry's?
NOPE...

It's the common Japanese breakfast food Natto or as we would say in English, Rotten Soybeans!  Made from soybeans that have been treated with the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, this odd food has the bouquet of strongly aged cheese with a slightly nutty and savory taste. 

Drink good beer. Eat good food. And above all, stay classy!

Recipes: Semi-Sober Shepherds Pie

Okay...So with double shifts at the Nook this past weekend (one on Monday and one on Saturday), the 4^th of July, and watching my parents’ dogs the week somehow just slipped away from me.  For the one or two followers out there on the interweb, I sincerely apologize for the delay in my commentary. 

So without further ado, here is this week’s recipe.  This is a scaled down version of the Semi-Sober Shepherds Pie we featured Saturday July 9, at the Nook.  Enjoy!

Semi-Sober Shepherds Pie

B: SAMUEL PARKS (JULY 2011)

This is a classic recipe from the British pub scene.  While it’s bubbling away in the oven, you’re sure to see visions of well worn wooden tables, well scrubbed floors, and overstuffed chairs that seem to be molded to the shape of their favorite patrons.  In short, “Welcome to the UK!”

This dish combines ground lamb, ground chuck, and assortment of vegetables with a good helping of beer in a thick stew, which is then covered with a generous mashed potato crust and baked until the flavors of the hearty ensemble have become one. 

I know that this wonderful dish isn’t for everyone.  My father often refers to it as “lava pie” because of the way the sauce bubbles over, and he absolutely refuses to eat it.  For those whose only contention with this dish is the lamb, simply substitute it for ground chuck.  Though try the lamb, at least once, you may be surprised. 

INGREDIENTS

Filling

-1/4 lb. pancetta or un-smoked bacon, chopped into uniform pieces

-1 lb. lean (95/5) ground chuck

-1 lb. ground lamb

-1 large white or yellow onion diced into uniform chunks

-3 carrots peeled and sliced into disks

-2 parsnips peeled and sliced into disks

-4 tsp. tomato paste

-4 tbs. all purpose flour

-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

-2 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary

-2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

-24 oz. beer (preferably an Irish stout such as Guinness)

-1/2 fresh green beans (stems removed, cut into bite-sized pieces, and steamed or boiled until al-dente)

-1 cup frozen green peas

-salt and pepper to taste

Mashed Potato Crust

-2 lbs. russet potatoes (peeled and diced into 1 in. cubes)

-cold water to cover the potatoes in a large pot

-1/4 cup kosher salt

-6 tbs. butter

-1 cup milk

-salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.      In a large stock pot, place the potatoes and salt and cover with cool/cold water.  Heat on the stove on high until boiling.  Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until fork tender.

2.      Drain the potatoes in a colander and combine with the butter and milk.  Mash with a hand mixer until creamy.  Reserve mashed potatoes for later.  For extra creamy potatoes run the cooked spuds through a food mill or potato ricer prior to combining with milk and butter.

3.      In a large skillet on medium-high, cook the diced pancetta until crispy.

4.      When the pancetta is crispy add the ground chuck, and cook until browned.  Remove from skillet and drain off liquids/ fats.  Make sure to reserve some of the cooking fat in the skillet.

5.      Brown the lamb in the skillet.  Remove and drain off liquids.

6.      Place the lamb, beef, and pancetta in the bottom of a lightly greased large, deep casserole dish or similar oven proof baking device.

7.      Cook the carrots and parsnips in the same pan on medium heat (adding more oil if necessary) for approximately 3-5 minutes.  Add the onions and cook until everything is tender.

8.      Add the tomato paste to the pan, and mix until evenly distributed.

9.      Add the flour to the pan and continue to stir until slightly browned.

10.  Deglaze the pan with the beer, and cook until reduced by ½.  Add the Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, and thyme.  Stir to mix.

11.  Pour the mixture over the meats.

12.  Add the green beans and peas to the casserole and mix the contents just enough to combine.

13.  Cover the dish with the mashed potatoes (top mashed potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese if desired).

14.  Bake at 400 F for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes have browned.

Homebrewing Update

Found this in the NY Times Food and Wine section today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/garden/home-brewing-need-a-beer-hit-the-basement.html?ref=dining

New Food Wednesday

Thought I'd share this for today:

Green worms?  Green Spaghetti? Alien Bivalves? Who knows...

Read the blog post below from FoodBlogga on this strange Italian food.

what is agretti?

Note from an Interesting Conversation...

Occasionally for my day job I find myself reporting to the “Bureaucratic Mecca” of the known universe (aka Washington, D.C.).  Now as Huntsville only boasts a small to medium sized airport it’s often difficult to escape people from your childhood and minor local celebrities.  However, fate occasionally intercedes.

On this particular trip, I found myself sitting next to a truly remarkable individual for the 2 hour long plane ride.  Of the roughly 400 million residents in the U.S., only 100 of them can claim to be U.S. Senators.  And for a short plane ride I had a constituency of one! (sorry for the West Wing reference)

For 2 hours, this particular Senator and I discussed good food, experiences with French food, and of course great beer!  Politics never entered into the conversation.   

As the plane ride progressed, I thought that my idle conversations would begin to bore him.  How do we, as normal (run of mill) folks converse with people who are used to talking to presidents and prime ministers?  I couldn’t have been more wrong about my initial apprehension.  Either he was the pinnacle of good Southern manners, or truly interested.  The world may never know.  But the end result was a very interesting conversation.

It turns out that he was familiar with French Provence style cuisine. I couldn’t resist.  We shared a number of recipes ideas, food concepts, and tales of some of our favorite dishes.  It was in any event an eye opening experience.  And as a result we might have to step up our menu options at the Nook in the very near future (I’m thinking some kind of lamb!)  

And as the conversation progressed, I found myself wondering what it must be like to be in this man’s position.  Here was one of the most influential men in the country if not the world, and he was flying next to a 20-something wearing a bright red Hawaiian shirt prattling on about beer and food.   But what was truly remarkable was his understanding and approachable demeanor.  Perhaps it comes naturally to politicians, but I would prefer to hope this isn’t the case.

In any event, it was food and beer and our mutual experiences with both that brought us together.  For 2 hours he wasn’t a U.S. Senator and I wasn’t a mindless government drone with an overzealous passion for the culinary arts.  We were just two people, sharing an interesting conversation. 

 Many thanks to my understanding flying companion. 

As always, eat good food.  Drink good beer. And above all, stay classy.

Sam

Recipes: Bitokes a lá Russe with Mornay Sauce (Frensh style hamburgers served with a cheese-cream sauce)

BY: Samuel Parks (June 2011)

Officially introduced to Americans by Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle in 1961 with their work Mastering the Art of French Cooking, this burger (served sans buns) has all of the flavors of Provence, but with some uniquely Continental twists.  The introduction of corn meal to the recipe guarantees a well formed and crunchy exterior, while preserving the rich juices of the well seasoned meat.  Served hot and doused with a creative mornay sauce, this dish is guaranteed to please even the pickiest of eaters (just don’t tell them there is buffalo meat in the patty)

(serves approximately 6-8)

Ingredients

1 cup finely minced Vidalia onion (or about 1 large onion)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

----------

1 pound ground chuck (preferably a ratio of 80:20)

1 pound ground buffalo or bison (preferably a ratio of 90:10 or higher)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (finely chopped)

3 tablespoons fresh Italian or flat leaf parsley (finely chopped)

2 whole eggs

½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ cup panko bread crumbs

Kosher salt-to taste

Freshly ground black pepper-to taste

----------

1 cup flour

½ cup yellow corn meal

----------

1 tablespoon Butter

1 tablespoons Black truffle oil

1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil

----------

8 ounces beef stock

----------

Mornay sauce (recipe follows)

Directions

In a large non-stick skillet heat the 3 tbs. of butter over medium heat until melted and filmed over.  Add the minced onion to the pan and cook until tender (but not quite browned).  Removed from skillet and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl combine the ground chuck, buffalo, thyme, parsley, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and room temperature onions.  Using your hands, combine the ingredients until all of the spices and seasonings have been evenly distributed through the meat.  When properly combined with good bread crumbs the mound of meat should jiggle like a large blob of cow flavored Jell-O.

Form the meat into patties approximately 3-4 inches in diameter and approximately ¾ inch thick.  Make sure that the patties are formed well and evenly, as any variations in shape will greatly affect how the patty cooks. 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and corn meal.  Ensure that the corn meal is evenly distributed throughout the flour.  Drag the patties through the flour, making sure that each side is lightly coated. 

In a large non-stick or cast iron skillet combine the butter, black truffle oil, and olive oil.  Heat on medium-high to high until the oil is almost smoking.  Immediately add the patties to the oil in a single layer, it may be necessary to use two pans or to cook the meat in batches.  Cook for approximately 5-6 minutes per side.  Remove from skillet and cover with aluminum foil.

Return the skillet to the stove top, turn the temperature setting to high, and add the beef stock to the pan.  Making sure to scrap the sides and bottom of the pan, cook vigoursly for approximately 1-2 minutes, or until reduced by approximately ½.  Pour the reduced pan sauce (or demi-glaze) over the burger patties and let sit covered in aluminum foil for approximately 10 minutes.  This allows the flavors to more fully develop and for the juices to redistribute throughout the meat.

Serve hot and doused with a mornay sauce.

Mornay Sauce

Ingredients

(makes approximately 2 cups of finished sauce)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

½ cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese

½ cup finely grated gruyere cheese

Salt-to taste

Pepper-to taste

Paprika-to taste

Cayenne-to taste

Fresh Nutmeg-to taste

Directions

IMPORTANT-READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFOREHAND AS THIS RECIPE REQUIRES PRECISION

In a large pot or sauce pan heat the milk and heavy cream with ¼ teaspoon salt until almost boiling (make sure to stir frequently)

While the milk is cooking, in a separate large sauce pan heat the butter on medium-high until fully melted and filmed over.  Immediately add the flour and cook for approximately 1-2 minutes.  Once combined, immediately remove from heat and add the hot milk mixture to the butter and flour, beating vigorously with a whisk.  Cook over medium-high heat for approximately 1 minute. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with a fork.  Drop by drop, mix 1 cup of the hot cream sauce into the eggs.  Once the full cup has been added, continue to add more and more of the cream sauce to the eggs, until the egg mixture has almost reached the same temperature as the sauce itself.  Add the egg mixture to the cream sauce and cook over high for approximately 1 minute, stirring constantly. 

Remove the sauce from the heat, and add the grated/ shaved cheese.  Stir constantly until the cheese has fully melted. 

Season with additional spices to taste.  Serve hot.

Tales of a Beer-Centric Dinner: “the delirious bovine”

(Warning: this blog is not for the masses)

First, let me apologize for the delay in posting this commentary.  As a government worker drone, things tend to get pretty darn busy as we move into the 4^th quarter of the fiscal year.  Hopefully, this won’t become a habit.

BUT...

Last Saturday’s Beer Dinner at the Nook Tavern, in Huntsville, Ala., was a huge success!  Thank you to everyone who came to enjoy good food, great beer, and a classy environment. 

Other than some minor setbacks with the delivery of fresh asparagus to the area (which is odd given the vegetable is technically in season), the meal turned out beautifully and was only enhanced by the beer.

This week’s menu was actually based on the collective work of Julia Child, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholle, but don’t worry I think there were enough variations to please the cooking gods.  The dish was built around a reinterpretation of Bitokes a la Russe (or a traditional French-style hamburger doused with a maddeningly delicious, and dare I say delirious cheese and cream sauce.)  To contrast the richness of the burger, I relied on an old standby: citrus-butter asparagus with shallots.  And to round out the meal, we served baked potatoes to provide a starchy vehicle to carry the full flavor of the other items. 

Enter the beers...Each one was carefully chosen to compliment a different aspect of the meal. 

The slight spiciness and herbal qualities of La fin du Monde (by Unibroue) paired very well with the subtle spices of nutmeg in the mornay sauce while accentuating the flavors of fresh parsley and thyme in the hamburger steaks. 

To accentuate the rich roasted flavors of the cooked beef, we decided a malt-ier beverage was definitely needed...and for that we turned to one of the record holders for the maltiest beer in the world: The Celebrator Doppelbock (by Ayinger).  This beer conveys the subtle notes of caramel and molasses that tend to pair energetically with cooked meats (though more often with pork than beef).  However, I must confess that the Hazelnut Brown Nectar (by Rogue) would probably have elevated the flavor even more, by allowing the richness of the burger to shine through without accentuating the pepper, which was unfortunately a problem with the dopplebock. 

And as a good palate cleanser, we selected the Oktoberfest (by Paulaner).  The effervescent nature of the beer, scrubs the palate clean while not overwhelming one’s taste or making one feel full.  It does however, have a strong enough flavor that it is not an easily overwhelmed beer.  A true work horse!

(Recipes to follow...hopefully very soon)

Next week “the flushed friar” makes a comeback! (Saturday June 25, 2011, @ 5 pm)

Menu

-Hard Cider Brined Pork Chops with Tangy Mustard Sauce and Apple-Onion Chutney

-Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Candied Pecans

-Sweet Corn Muffins

Beer Recommendations:

Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

Paulaner Oktoberfest-Märzen

Have something you want to eat? Suggestions for Beer-Centric Meals? Visit the Beer Dinner event page on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=202272106473231

I’ll let everyone know how it turns out!

As Always, Drink good spirits, eat good food, and above all stay classy. -sam

Notes from a Beer Tasting (Beer 101)

Oasis in a Gastronomic Wasteland

Chapter Two: Notes from a Beer Tasting

(Warning: this blog is not for the masses)

Hopefully today’s entry will be slightly less pretentious than its predecessor...but I can’t promise anything.  Unfortunately, I am an overbearing, pretentious snob, who I’m sure some of my “good” friends would describe as a jack-ass.  And equally regrettable, is that this personality trait often finds its way into my writing...But I digress.

In labeling this edition, it suddenly occurred to me that I might have been overly hasty with my chapter designations.  Granted at the moment I feel a little like Winston Smith writing in his journal for the first time...Is anybody there?  Does anybody care?

And I digress again...Perhaps today wasn’t the best day to start writing this entry?

Here it is the real meat and potatoes.

For anyone who has only tasted beer from the American mega-brewers, you have not lived.  Good beer is like the Grand Canyon, it will never disappoint and it’s something that you have to experience in person!  Conversely, the carbonated horse piss flowing from such bastions of consumerism as Anheuser Busch and Miller/Coors is not entirely unlike filling the Grand Canyon with cement, and then building a Wal-Mart on top of it. 

The beer produced by these giants, is flavorless, odorless, and characterless; not unlike carbon monoxide, and you wouldn’t want that in your home.  Since completing my  transformation into a self-proclaimed beer snob, I have never understood how so many Americans can swear by such an un-American style of beer.  We are a loud, brassy people, full of ingenuity, invention, and gumption.  Shouldn’t our beer be the same?  Shouldn’t our beer scream “look at me!”  Shouldn’t it be able to compete head to head with those “silly” Belgian beers?  Shouldn’t it be able to beat up other beers as it walks down the street?

While the flavorless American-pilsner style reigns supreme at A-B and Miller/ Coors, a few craft breweries are reintroducing the American palate to what author and brewmaster Garrett Oliver calls “real beer.”  These real beers are full of life and dexterity.  They are brewed with care and skill.  They are in short, 12 oz. works of art and pint-sized masterpieces.  And this is what we tasted.

There are few things in life that go together better than sharing a good beer with a few friends on a hot summer evening in Alabama.  Except maybe pork rinds and chocolate pudding when you’re stoned out of your mind...on second thought it might be the best combination known to man. 

Everyone brought a different beer.  Some people brought summer ales (appropriately), some delivered India Pale Ales, there were one or two lagers, and even an enjoyable nut brown ale joined the fracas.  For a few short hours, my stereotypical two-bedroom apartment in modern suburbia was transformed into beer snob’s paradise. 

Like all wine and food tastings, beer tastings should be arranged so the most subtly flavored beers are consumed first, leaving those with a more pronounced essence and fuller body for last.  However, unlike the ubiquitous stuck-up winos, beer tasters actually get to swallow their beer!  This final act of "blasphemy," allows the full flavor of the beer’s bitterness to bloom across the palate.  Yes, bitterness can have a flavor...Try it sometime with a good selection of IPAs.  Does the bitterness taste like grapefruit or pine needles?  Does it have a peppery bite to it?  You’d be surprised what bitterness can taste like.

First up on our agenda, was the perennial classic Saison Dupont, which is a traditional Belgian farmhouse ale.  While this beer does have a certain peppery bite to it, I wanted the tasters to be able to experience the pure pleasure of a slightly funky, but well balanced beer.  This beer has certain vegetal flavors and a slightly tart character, which balances well with that oh-so-familiar Belgian sweetness.  A truly delicious beer that pairs well with almost any seafood.

  

Next we moved on to our selection of summer ales, including one of my favorites: Oberon by Bells.  Oberon is one of those special beers because its presence on grocery store shelves always means that summer is right around the corner.  There is nothing incredibly special about the recipe...it’s a Belgian style wheat beer flavored with citrus and a blend of spices.  Where it differs from the mass marketed “Blue Moon” (an A-B beer) is it’s balance and its body.  Oberon is incredibly balanced, and has a full body.  Making it the perfect beer to enjoy with a succulent grilled bratwurst.

Our second summer ale the Yazoo Summer Ale, actually turned out to be "the underdog, come from behind favorite of the evening."  While I have never really been a fan of this brewery’s products, this beer has forced me to reassess my position.  Perhaps it helped that this beer was semi-local, but for whatever reason it was an enjoyable change from the typical uninspired creations flowing from their kegs.  The beer was light and fresh, with a pronounced citrusy component.  Its bitterness was well balanced, though I personally would have preferred it to be slightly more “hoppy.”  A beer worth revisiting.

Next up was the only dud of the night, Summer Whacko from Magic Hat.  While Magic Hat’s Number 9 is right up there on my list of good craft beers...something was missing from the genetic make-up of this beer.  It was slightly astringent, not unlike a red wine that has decanted for too long and is starting to produce vinegar.  It was dry and unpleasant on the palate.  This beer is a define retard. 

After a quick break, we decided it was time to start the real drinking...and drink we did, with the surprising lager Wild Blue from Blue Dog brewery.  This beer was surprising not only for its flavor, but also for its alcohol content coming in at more than 8% abv.  Most blueberry/ fruit flavored beers can be disappointingly “fruity” with little balance...almost like a fizzy, alcoholic sweet tart (which by any other name would be pronounced ‘for-low-ko’).  Fortunately for this beer its fruitiness is matched by the strong presence of alcohol, making the final experience of this beer almost akin to that of a barley wine, with a crispness that can rarely be experienced in ales.

Since it’s now lunch time and I still have five more beers to review, I think I’ll stop boring the readers.  Also tested were the Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan, the Ommegang Abbey Dubbel, the Sweet Water Road Trip, the Straight to Ale Monkeynaut, and the Rogue Shakespeare Stout.  And since some of these are my personal favorites I promise to pay they the appropriate respect in another posting.

Don’t forget this Saturday at the Nook Tavern we have our weekly beer menu.  This week we are featuring the following:

“Buzzed Beef Stew” (an homage to Ms. Julia Child)

-“Carbonnades a la Flamande” (Belgian-style beef stew made with beer and onions)

-Parsley Potatoes

-Garlic Toast

Recommended beers include:

Brother Joseph’s Abbey Dubbel (Straight to Ale)

Yellowhammer Altbier (Yellowhammer)

Hazelnut Brown Ale (Rouge)

Irish Stout (Murphy’s)

I’ll let everyone know how it turns out!

Drink good spirits, eat good food, and above all stay classy.

-sam