Beer Pairing 2008

Ok so this time we were a bit more prepared. Farra and I decided on creating a space that was inviting enough so everyone could have a full and unique dining experience. We basically set up our home as an intimate little restaurant. The menu was planned in advance and we chose dishes that complimented each other as we guided you through the 5 course dinner.

Doing these dinners are so much fun for us and our friends because we all get to be together having some drinks, hand making food, catching up and learning from each other. The menu planning and pairing of the beers starts weeks in advance and the prep work starts a couple of days earlier. Farra and I work together in creating the menu. This year we decided on the following menu: We took from different cultures and traditional courses, which made pairing fun, too...

• Bigos: (a traditional Polish stew), fermented cabbage and seasoned with pepper, bay leaf, dried mushrooms and plums. In honor of our Polish friend and her sister who personally brought the sausages from Chicago and was questioned through the airport security for the lbs of sausages in her purse. This was paired this with a Polish beer called Zywiec. It's a pilsner with a toasty caramel aroma, crisp and balanced.
• Alaskan Amber Marinated Salmon with White Bean Puree and Spring Vegetables: I love making this salmon so much that I made it last year, as well. It is the easiest marinade and it packs a lot of flavor. You basically take ginger, garlic, soy sauce, finely chopped cilantro, and pour it over the salmon inside a bag. You let it marinate for at least 24 hours, then once its ready you pat it dry and toss it on the grill. By the time its done the whole backyard smells like ginger and the fish is moist and flavorful. Ballast Point sometimes makes a batch of their Big Eye IPA brewed with ginger. I have never had the opportunity to try it together but I bet it would be perfect. If not, a nice IPA would do as well. This time we paired this with North Coast Blue Star, an American wheat beer with a light body, fruity, with hints of citrus and buttery hops, it finishes off with a clean and refreshing taste. Some people are not a fan of American wheat beer (hefeweizen's), but this is a nice one especially during a hot summer day.

• Braised Short Ribs with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fried Onion Stack: This is one of my favorites, as well. I love meat, and the rich, smoky tenderness of the ribs is fantastic. We paired this one beautifully with Stone Smoked Porter, a full body, robust, rich beer, with chocolate and coffee like flavors followed by a smoky malt. It was a perfect pairing. The short ribs were marinated with chipotle, chile ancho, maple syrup and Starbucks Casi Cielo, which with its full body, cocoa aroma, and spicy flavors enhanced the overall taste of the ribs. The ribs sat on the roasted sweet potatoes and the crunchy onion stack. Lots of rich, toast, smoky, spicy flavors going on here.
  

• Greens with Stone Ground Mustard Vinaigrette and Croutons: I got to say Farra was right. We are so used to salads, or greens being served before a hearty course, but it makes so much sense, especially in a pairing dinner, to have it after the hearty course that way it cleanses your palette from all the richness of the ribs and preparing you for dessert! Needless to say this salad was wonderful and light after the ribs. The greens were from Chino Farms and were probably picked that morning or the day before. This course was paired with Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale: its a medium body ale roasted with soba ( Japanese buckwheat), it has a nice sparkle, a bit complex and fruit like notes.
  

• Chocolate bombs with Stout floats made with homemade vanilla bean gelato: Always a crowd pleaser. I mean who doesn't like chocolate, beer, and gelato? Farra made the gelato and the chocolate bombs, Rogue made the beer, not me. As I've said before I love Rogue beers, and this one was done with their Chocolate stout. Its a dark, full body, smooth, sweet, and decadent stout. The chocolate they use is imported, so that's gotta be good, right? It was definitely a great way to finish off the pairing.

The whole evening went really well. There were about 25 people there and I feel like we all learned a bit more about how great it is to make food from scratch and how it tastes even better. For me, its always a thrill to see people appreciate beer and realize how well it actually pairs with food. Beer can be simple, complex, sweet, bitter, hoppy, sour, rich, dark, etc.
Beer is the new wine!

We enjoy doing these dinners and every year we will continue to have the beer pairing around the same time as St. Patrick's Day, but for us its more of a celebration of food, beer, and friends.

We would like to thank everyone who attended this year and also to those who have joined us 2 years in a row. And, of course, I could not forget about the helpers, whom without your support, patience, passion, enthusiasm, and hands this would have been a bit more of a challenge. Thanks and hopefully we'll see you at the next one.

Juan & Farra