Source: Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.迷你倉Dec. 18--W ith only a week left before Christmas, it's easy to get stressed as well as excited about Christmas dinner.This year, perhaps it's time to try a more casual approach -- a little less white tablecloth and more gastropub. You don't have to go too rustic. But try dishes such as short ribs or lamb shanks that don't require quite as much precision and attention as a perfectly timed standing rib roast or immaculately seared seafood.And what to drink with the more forgiving, but flavorific food, crack open a beer or three.You are living in the Napa Valley of brews after all. That means that local chefs and brewers have done some of the thinking for you when it comes to pairing."To me, beer is every bit as complex as wine, in most cases more so," says Ian Clark, owner, chef and brewer at Bru Handbuilt Ales and Eat. "It really kind of demands a complex food to be paired with it as well."And you don't have to stop there. You can also use some of those complex and interesting brews in your cooking.Clark likes to use his Citrum IPA, which is brewed with lemon zest and juniper to prepare seafood. It forms the steaming liquid and broth for his wood-cooked mussels, which are served over smoked pasta. The IPA also serves as a poaching liquid for shrimp.Clark brines chicken and turkey in beer and also uses it as a basting liquid. He adds it to stock to make soups.Tony Hessel, executive chef at West Flanders Brewing Co., also makes extensive use of beer brines. The restaurant's chicken wings, for example, are brined in West Flanders' Belgian-style Angry Monk. Perhaps one of the more interesting brined dishes on the menu is the coffee-brined chicken. Although the coffee, a single-origin Mexican from Conscious Coffees gets menu billing, another important element of the brine is beer, either in the form of Lionheart Stout or Woodshed Smoked Porter. As you might expect, those are also the best pairings for the chicken dish, which Hessel says can also be made with duck or turkey.While a rich country pate that Hessel makes doesn't contain beer, it does have a pairing: the restaurant and brewery's Trippel Lutz.One dish that doesn't seem very beer-centric is salad. But Clark makes a Winter Caesar with roasted kale, a Parmesan crisp and preserved lemon that, like the seafood, pairs marvelously with Bru's Citrum IPA.Hessel, who spent decades at The Med, before joining West Flanders, dresses a pomegranate and orange salad with a vinaigrette that adds sour ale to the vinegar. Like the pate, that salad is paired with the Trippel Lutz.As the work of these chefs and brewers food demonstrate, making beer an integral part of Christmas dinner isn't any less sophisticated or flavorful than the typical fare. And the approach has something to appeal to everyone at the table."Nowadays, saying you don't like beer is like saying you don't like color," says Darin McGregor, national marketing director for Avery Brewing. "There are so many varieties. It's super approachable and diverse."But also a little less formal, which might be just the idea to raise a glass to this year.Winter Caesar Salad4 ounces kale (tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and charred under the broiler)1 ounce Parmesan, shredded (placed in a circle on parchment and baked at 350 until golden and cracker-like2 ounces dressing (recipe below)2 slices of preserved lemon (recipe below)A few slices of quick pickled onions (recipe below)Salt and pepper to tasteDirections: Toss the warm, charred kale with 1 ounces dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Place the dressed greens in the center of the plate. Drizzle the remaining dressing around the plate. Place a few slices of quick pickled onions and preserved lemons on top of the greens and the Parmesan cracker on top. Add fresh cracked black pepper and serve.Makes one large salad.Tip: Pair with Bru's Citrum IPA, which is brewed with lemon zest and juniper berries.Source: Ian Clark, BruCaesar Dressing3 lemons charred and juiced1 anchovy1 egg yolk1 cup olive oilSalt and pepper to tasteDirections: Place juice, egg yolk and anchovy in the blender. Puree and slowly add olive oil until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.Source: Ian Clark, BruQuick Pickled Onions2 red onions sliced11/2 cups red wine vinegar1/2 cup water1 cup sugar1 cinnamon stick2 cloves5 peppercornsLarge pinch of saltDirections: Bring everything bmini storaget the onions to a boil. Let cool slightly and pour over the sliced onions. Let cool before using.Source: Ian Clark, BruPreserved Lemons2 lemons, sliced thick1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup waterSalt to tasteDirections: Slice lemons thick and blanch 3 times in boiling water with a pinch of salt. Once blanched, combine lemons, water and sugar and slowly cook down until liquid is thick. Cool before use.Source: Ian Clark, BruCoffee-Brined Chicken1 quart cold-pressed Conscious Coffees (single origin Mexican)1 quart Lion Heart Stout (or Woodshed Smoked Porter2 quarts water2 bay leaves1 tablespoon black peppercorns1/2 cup kosher salt1/4 ounce fresh thyme2 Wisdom Farms' whole chickens, 31/2 pounds eachDirections: Wrap bay leaf, peppercorns, and thyme in cheesecloth. Heat water and salt in a pot to a quick boil. Turn off and add cheesecloth sachet.Place in a 5 gallon bucket and add cold coffee and stout. Cool completely.Add chickens, making sure there is plenty of space between chickens and brine. Refrigerate and brine for 48 hours.In a smoker or grill smoke chicken lightly for 1/2 hour using applewood or cherry smoking chipsTo roast: Heat oven to 350. You can either cut the chicken into pieces or leave whole. If you leave whole place 1/4 ounce of thyme in the cavity of each and roast for 45 minutes until done.Note: You can substitute duck or turkey for the chickenTip: Pair this dish with West Flanders' Woodshed Smoked Porter or Lionheart StoutSource: Tony Hessel, West Flanders Brewing Co.Chicken Liver Pate1 pound chicken livers, well-trimmed1/4 pound onion, thinly sliced1 tablespoon garlic chopped1 each bay leaf1 teaspoon fresh thyme1 teaspoon losher salt1/4 teaspoon curing salt1 cup water1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature1 tablespoon Cognac or sherry1/8 teaspoon white pepperDirections: In a medium saucepan, combine the chicken livers, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the livers are barely pink inside, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.Discard the bay leaf. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the livers, onion and garlic to a food processor; process until coarsely pureed. With the machine on, add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until incorporated. Add the Cognac, season with salt and pepper and process until completely smooth. Scrape the pat? into 2 or 3 large ramekins. Cover the pat? with a thin layer of melted butter, in mason jar and refrigerate for up to 1 week.Serve with cornichons, pickled onions, both sweet and spicy mustard and bread or crackers.Tip: Pair with West Flanders' Trippel LutzSource: Tony Hessel, West Flanders Brewing Co.Sour Beer Raspberry Vinaigrette1/2 cup sour beer (see note)1 pint fresh raspberries1/4 cup red wine vinegar1 each bay leaf1 tablespoon agave1 tablespoon Dijon mustard11/2 cups canola oil1 orange, juiced and zest chopped fineDirections: Macerate raspberries with sour beer, red wine vinegar, raspberries and bay leaf for 1 week.Pulverize the raspberries and strain through a fine sieve.Add agave and mustard to the vinegar and whisk well. Slowly whisk in canola oil until completely emulsified.Season with salt, pepper, orange zest and juice. Jar and refrigerate.Note: (Sour beer is a beer style characterized by an intentionally acidic, tart and sourtaste. In theory any style of beer may be soured, but in practice the most common styles that are soured are Belgian lambics, gueuzes, and Flanders red ale (although not the ale of West Flanders in Boulder).Source: Tony Hessel, West Flanders Brewing Co.Orange-Pomegranate Salad with Pine Nuts and Chevre1 ounce arugula1/2 ounce frisee2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds1 orange, cut into supremes (peeled segments)1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted and tossed with salt, pepper and nutmeg1 ounce Avalanche Cheese Co. chevre3/4 ounce sour beer vinaigrette (see recipe)Salt and pepper to tasteDirections: Toss all ingredients together except vinaigrette and salt and pepper.Slowly drizzle in vinaigrette to desired dressing. Season with salt and pepper.Makes 1 serving.Tip: Pair the salad with Trippel LutzSource: Tony Hessel, West Flanders Brewing Co.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.) Visit the Daily Camera (Boulder, Colo.) at .dailycamera.com Distributed by MCT Information Services儲存
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