Breakfast Stout Ham and Beans

This dish came together as a challenge to match an extremely full flavored beer with a can of beans. The beer in question was Founders' Breakfast Stout, this brew is a Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout & weighs in at a hefty 8.3% abv. I started off by browning some cubed ham, diced carrots and a diced onion. Once the ham was browned, the carrots had softened somewhat and the onions had become translucent, I added a little minced garlic and a dash or two of sweet paprika and let this cook for another five minutes or so. I then added the drained can of Great Northerns and a handful of shredded cabbage and allowed this mixture to come to heat over medium flame for another five minutes or so. Next comes the stout, I added about a quarter of a 12 oz. bottle, and a table spoon of Grainy Mustard to the beans and increased the heat until the liquid came to a boil & then I reduced the heat and allowed this mixture to simmer for five or ten minutes, until the liquid had reduced into a thick sauce. Finally I folded in a little chopped fresh Parsley & served alongside a glass of the Breakfast Stout.

Pan-braised Boar Roast with Duckfat-fried Potatoes & Roasted Broccoli

This Roast (from my wife's cousin) was seared in a skillet & braised in the oven with the help of some onions, apples, white wine, chicken stock, garlic and thyme. We served the roast with a little of the pan jus, roasted broccoli and some Yukon gold potatoes, pan-fried in duck fat. I really can not suggest this method for the potatoes enough. The duck fat gives a slightly sweet crispness to the potatoes that really is wonderful. Duck fat can be ordered online from D'artagnan and is a welcome replacement for olive oil in almost any pan-fried dish.