LIFT A PINT FOR ST. PADDY

If you are a beer aficionado like me, you know that drinking green beer isn't the way to celebrate this beer drinking holiday. Green beer is just the crappy fizzy yellow beer with food coloring. That's no cause for celebration! Celebrate with the "most Irish" of all beers styles, the Stout.

My writing partner, fellow beer chick and dear friend - beer expert and author Hallie Beaune wrote a great article for The Rundown today for St. Patrick's day about, just that! Yummy Stouts really are the best beer to drink if you'd like to honor the Irish in all of us.

Here are the five domestic craft Stouts Hallie recommends on the Rundown with which to imbibe this fine St. Paddy's Day!

Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
A smooth, easy-drinking stout. Velvety on the tongue, with notes of mocha and a nice hop presence on the finish for balance.

North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Like a shot of espresso or a dark, bitter bite of cacao-heavy chocolate, this brilliant stout is intense. A perfect nightcap, at 9.5% alcohol, it'll send you home singing.

Bison Organic Chocolate Stout
Brewed in Berkeley, this sustainable stout lets you be truly green on St. Patty's Day. With notes of subtle Dutch chocolate, it won't knock you over the head with saccharine Hershey bar flavors.

Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter
Malt smoked over alder wood gives this beer a distinct flavor. Excellent when aged in a bottle (it mellows out the smokiness), so snag older vintages or store bottles in your closet for next year.

Deschutes Brewery's The Abyss
Aging in French Oak and Bourbon barrels gives this hard-to-find stout a depth worthy of its name. Savor notes of bitter chocolate, espresso, molasses and licorice before the 11% alcohol kicks in.

And make sure to check out the Rundown.

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BAM! BEER BRINED TURKEY!!

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is already here? No doubt the blog-o-sphere is blowing up with a flurry with perfect beers to pair with the Thanksgiving feast. But I thought I would post a recipe I found from our friend Emeril Lagasse!

When I lived in Louisiana, I soon came to realize that those Cajun and Creole chefs did things to turkey that very few outsiders would dare. Make sure to start this today as the turkey needs to chill out in the beer brine for 24 hours. Also make sure to use a good dark beer for the brine. It will add smokey,toasty, nutty, and yes chocolate notes to make your Thanksgiving bird unforgettable.

Beer-Brined Turkey with Turkey Giblet Gravy
From chef and author Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

2 quarts apple cider

2 cups packed dark brown sugar

2 cups kosher salt

1/4 cup black peppercorns

1 tablespoon juniper berries

4 bay leaves

Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon whole cloves

4 quarts (that's 10.66 / 12 oz bottles) dark beer
(Use a good one like Deschutes Black Butte Porter or Anchor Christmas)

One 8- to 10-pound turkey, neck and giblets reserved for gravy

3 cups chopped yellow onions

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

8 tablespoons (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 tablespoons Emeril's Original Essence

4 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Directions
Combine the apple cider, brown sugar, salt, peppercorns, juniper berries, bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves in a large pot or bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Combine the mixture with the beer in a 40-quart cooler, or large plastic container. Place the turkey in the brine and, if necessary, weigh down with heavy dinner plates to completely submerge. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Spread the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Add the turkey neck to the bottom of the pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove the turkey from the brine and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels and place on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan.

Combine 1 stick of the butter and the Essence in a small pan and melt over medium heat. Remove from the heat. With a pastry brush, baste the top and sides of the turkey with half of the butter. Roast for 30 minutes.

Baste the turkey with the remaining seasoned butter, reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. and roast for 30 minutes.

Baste the turkey with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Return to the oven and roast until golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 160 F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours longer, basting once with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock.

Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer to a platter or cutting board. Tent with foil and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Melt the remaining tablespoon butter with the olive oil in a medium heavy pot over medium-high heat.

Add the reserved giblets and cooked turkey neck, and cook, stirring, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add half of the vegetables from the roasting pan and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir to deglaze the pan. Add the remaining 3 cups chicken stock and any juices accumulated in the roasting pan and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, add the sage, and simmer briskly until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the neck.

In batches, pulse the liquid and solids in a food processor into a thick liquid. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing against the solids with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible and transfer to a gravy boat. Adjust the seasoning to taste.

To serve, carve the turkey and serve with the gravy.

Recipe copyright Emeril Lagasse, 2003.

Written by The Beer Chick, November 26, 2008

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BLOWING IT OUT OF THE WATER - BEER DINNER @ CRAFT LA

I had the pleasure of hosting a little beer pairing dinner for media this week for the National Beer Wholesalers Association at the fabulous Craft restaurant in Century City. Yes, its the very same Craft owned by Top Chef judge and nice Italian boy Tom Colicchio. Now that I've successfully name-dropped in typical L.A. fashion, I'll say that the real star of the night was nice Italian boy and fellow St. Louisan, Chef de Cuisine Matthew Accarrino!

He rocked it - experimenting with beer in his cooking with a Chimay Cinq Cent Guinea Hen Consomme with a Hop Foam that looked like a little beer (I paired this with a simple Sierra Nevada Pale Ale). He killed a Kampachi Sashimi with Hitachino White Ale Gelee and Crispy Hen of the Woods Mushrooms (paired with Unibroue Blanche de Chambly.) He marinated Pekin Duck in Deschutes Black Butte Porter for FOUR days before stuffing them into perfect handmade Pyramid Pasta pockets with spiced Pine Nuts!

Think Chef was done yet? Think again! The fourth course was delicious Roasted Suzuki (a Japanese Seabass) served on a bed of Mussels braised in Saison DuPont with Japanese Leeks & transparently sliced Dry Cured Chorizo. This was followed by our first course from genius Pastry Chef Catherine Schimenti: a Mothias Goat Cheese (hand-picked by cheesemonger and guest - one half of Hot Knives, writer Alex Brown.) The cheese, served with a delicately rolled Quince Crepe, Lambic Gastrique and baby Frisee paired perfectly with Cantillon Iris Gueuze. An INSANE pairing. (More about Gueuze and Goat Cheese to follow!)

If you're like me, then it'll come as no surprise to you that Chef Schimenti - a nice Italian girl? - then kicked some a-s-s with beer desserts! First she made a beer cake with Young's Double Chocolate Stout, which was topped with Salted Corn Nuts & a sorbet made from my favorite Kolsch, the Reissdorf Kolsch. It was paired with an Ice Cream Beer Float made with North Coast Russian Imperial Stout. So effing good.

Oh, and then we had Chocolate Truffles made from Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale......Oh, and then we had Pate de Fruit (pronounced like pah de fwee) that the chef called "Jello Shots" made from Lindeman's Peach Lambic.

The reason why I'm giving you an entire play by play is so that you can start getting ideas too! So you can start thinking outside the box as far as beer is concerned. So it can make a grassroots leap onto your fine dining menus!

Thank you so much Chef Accarrino, Chef Schimenti, Tobie Cancino, the NBWA, Nancy Piho, Patricia Bannen & Alex Brown for making this such a great night! Et Bon Appetit a mes soeurs en biere!

Written by The Beer Chick, October 22, 2008

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