Escolar and Warm Green Bean Salad

Here we have some Escolar from the Fish Guy. I pan-seared the fish on all five sides in a combination of Olive Oil and butter, with Garlic and Thyme resting in the fat to lend it's flavors. I paired this with a recipe I stole from the amazing Spanish chef, Jose Andres. Judias Verdes con Tomate y Cebolla or Green Beans with Tomatoes and Pearl Onions takes some great ingredients and simply brings them together for a wonderful side. Start by blanching the Green Beans for about three minutes (until tender) and then shock them in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Meanwhile saute about four pearl onions until soft and slightly browned. Remove the onions and add a slice of Jamon Serrano (tore into small pieces) as well as a couple of peeled cloves of garlic. Once the Garlic is soft and the Jamon has crisped, add a handful of halved Cherry Tomatoes and cook for another five minutes. After the Tomatoes have softened and given up some of their liquid, return the Onions and Beans to the pan, along with some Thyme and a little more Olive Oil. Bring the Green Beans back to heat, season with Salt & Pepper and serve.

We enjoyed our meal with a Sofie from Goose Island, but any Saisson or light Belgian-style beer would be awesome with this light dish.

Kobe Cheese-steak

So, I had a little Kobe beef left from the steaks from last week and thought I would toss together a quick meal for this Monday night. I caramelized some onions in a little butter and added some sliced green pepper towards the end - just softening and browning the peppers a little. Once the veggies reached the desired consistency, I removed them from the pan and added the kobe -which I had cut into half inch strips. I cooked the steak over high heat until just medium. Next I returned the pepper and onions back to the pan and made two even piles of meat and veggies. I shredded a little Gruyere over each pile and allowed the cheese to melt. The buns were warmed in a 200 degree oven for about 10 minutes, split and then topped with the meat, peppers, onion and cheese. We rounded out this dinner with a couple of ears of corn from the Dailey farm in Kokomo - care of my mother.kobe before the dice and heat

Kobe

Well, I have been quite the slacker here recently. While I have not really been updating here in the last few months, I have been busy consuming delicious treats. I have been enjoying beers from across the US with a fury, due to a new hobby (addiction) - trading. The US has many craft brewers through out nation and most only distribute to their immediate areas. I have linked up with like-minded beer geeks around the planet to trade for beers unavailable in our areas.
Also in the past few months I have continued to home brew - some recent batches have been a Back Alley Black IPA, Double Conjugal Imperial IPA and a Chocolate Molasses Imperial Stout that currently resides in a 2ndary fermenter with some meediuam toast American Oak cubes that were soaked in Templeton Rye for four months.
Culinarily, I have just recently had my mind blown by Schwa. Jen and I enjoyed a nine course dinner at this amazing BYO - which actually turned out to be eleven courses. Standout of the evening for me included a Ravioli filled with a Quail Egg as well as a Iberco Pork Collar dish that I will crave every day of my life.
On the home kitchen front, Jen and I recently made a nice dinner for one of our closest friends drooo's birthday. The evening included a nice progression of (mostly traded) amazing beers, such as Russian River's wild ale Consecration, a couple of selections from Duck-Rabbit, as well as a Rye Squared from Terrapin brewery out of Athens, GA. The Rye Squared was paired with our dinner: a rare grilled Kobe Sirloin along side Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Swiss Chard. The assertive bitterness and floral Hop flavors helped to cut throught the fatty richness of the Kobe. The steaks were grilled over high heat for about seven minutes and were seasoned with only salt, pepper and olive oil - purchase from the Fish Guy.

all photos by drooo check out more here.

Grilled and Braised Boar Rib Ragou with Wide Egg Noodles

The title really says it all. I came across some Wild Boar ribs at the Fish Guy and grilled them with a light rub. Had some left over, so later that same week I pulled all of the meat from the bones and braised them in some white wine, onion, garlic, grainy mustard and chicken stock. I then wilted in some red shredded cabbage and tossed it with some egg noodles and fresh basil.

grilled and braised boar rib ragou with wide egg noodles

Burton Baton - Oak Aged Imperial IPA

I've seen this around many times the past several years, but never realized what it was (Oak-aged 90 minute IPA). I noticed what I thought was quite a good hop aroma for a beer that has been aged and the flavor is smooth, but assertive. Based on my run-ins with other DFH beers, I would assume they probably dry-hopped in the barrel. This is a seasonal brew, so I suggest you get it while you can.
In related news I have heard DFH is going to start selling IPA 12 packs with 4 each of 60, 90 & 120min. It should be interesting to see the price though, since 120 sells for anywhere from $8-11 for one 12 oz. bottle.

Stout Weekend

Although the weather wasn't quite on the same page (unusually warm for St. Patty's weekend), these last few days have turned out to be quite a stout filled run (and a nice 4-day weekend for me). It is almost as if the stars had aligned for this one - My wife's sister and her husband came up for the extended weekend and knowing that they had just found the love for craft brew, a few trips to some of Chicago's brew destinations were in order; Founders released their Kentucky Breakfast Stout on Saturday (3/14) at their Grand Rapids brewery and Three Floyds (of the Munster Floyds) were releasing tickets for the opportunity to purchase their Dark Lord Imperial Stout at the upcoming festival of the same name.

I was unable to attend the Kentucky Breakfast release party, but reports came in that the allotment sold out in under an hour - my dreams of tasting this elusive double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout aged in bourbon barrels were fading. At about the same time we were making a trip to one of Chicago's mega-liquor emporiums and found that they will be receiving two cases of KBS on St. Pat's - the dream is coming back into focus.

Sunday evening we made the mandatory stop at Goose Island's original Clybourn location. Here we were introduced to their new menu (standouts for me including amazing Duck Rillets, Pork Sliders topped with Pickled Cabbage and Sriracha Aioli) as we were informed that they had ran out of their Dublin Stout - no worries they still had their Imperial Coffee Stout as well as their Night Stalker Stout.

Monday morning I found out that West Lakeview Liquors would be receiving one case of the KBS and allowing the public one bottle each. We added WLvL to our itinerary and headed to Piece brewery and pizza joint. Here we were treated to their delicious "New Haven style" pie and their Burn-out Smoked Stout - the flavor complimented the smoky quality of the roasted red peppers as well as the earthiness of the sauteed mushrooms on my pizza. Later that day I was able to obtain a couple bottles of the KBS at West Lakeview and found out that Whole Foods would be getting in a case on Tuesday as well & allowed me to reserve a 4-pack - the dream has been realized.

To complete the circle of stoutness, I awoke this morning at 6am to grab my two "golden tickets" for the opportunity to purchase a guaranteed allotment (yet to be announced) of Dark Lord bottles come April 25th. I am very much looking forward to Dark Lord Day. This will be my third year returning and if it is half as fun as the last two years, I am in for one hell of a day (no pun intended).

All this black-gold goodness and Goose Island's Stoutfest 2009 isn't until next weekend - $30 for 0ver 30 craft brewed stouts, I can't wait. And as I write this blog, the first KBS is opened, cheers!!!