Brooklyn Beer & Cheese with Garrett Oliver

Last night, a small group of us gathered at Flatbread for an evening of beer and cheese pairings hosted by Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery and author of The Brewmaster's Table. I have to admit, prior to this event, I was skeptical about how well beer and cheese actually go together. What about wine?

Garrett started the evening by giving all of us a bit of background on the history of cheese and beer. He shared his feelings about the growing number food items in our grocery store that are FILLED with many too many ingredients to help preserve them. How long does bread stay fresh? Real bread only keeps for a few days. So what is the grocery store selling? Answer: A steamed product with no real crust. It's actually food coloring that makes the outside of the product look like crust on the loaves that seem to last forever. And then there are cheese, "singles." I can't even go there. Ew. OK, back to the history lesson. Cheese was originally made to capture milk so it wouldn't go bad before it could be consumed. Making beer was a way to capture clean water. Before there were water purifiers, there was always a concern that...a cow (for example) might wander into your river, DIE and contaminate your entire water source. Hmm...Beer and cheese have been dietary staples for hundreds of years. It just makes sense to pair them together.

Shortly after the introduction, we began to taste the beer...and then the cheese...and finally the beer and cheese together! I have a new appreciation for a person's ability to select a beer and a cheese that compliment each other. In one case, I really thought the beer was blah but, coupled with brined sheep's milk cheese, the combination was perfect!

We were also surprised to hear that despite all we've ever heard about the union of wine and cheese...people in the industry find it near impossible to successfully match a red wine with a cheese. Garrett told us that in one case, a Sommelier announced that, since he had lost in the past with red wine, he was going to cheat and serve his cheeses with Sherry. Garrett later said, "...and he still lost!" In many cases people pair wine and cheese together without much thought since a cheese course falls towards the end of a meal. They just look for what's left of the wine and go for it. In my opinion, that approach is still fine. I'm just glad to know that when I really want to taste something wonderful there are people out there who can guide me. 

Thanks for entering the contest at the Brewer's Festival Jay and Maegen...and winning!

Here are the pairings:

Vermont Butter & Cheese Chevre with Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Taleggio with Brooklyn Local 2

St. Andre Triple Cream with Brooklyn Local 1

Petit Basque with Brooklyn Brown Ale

Shelburne Farms 1 Year Old Cheddar with Brooklyn East India Pale Ale

Jaspar Hill Bayley Hazen Blue with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Maegen, moments after I missed the "cheese sniffing" moment. 

Brooklyn Brown Ale: the 4th of six pairings.

A few of The Critics.

The Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout was selected for the final pairing. 

The Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Sandwich is delish!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. So, why do I only partake in it on the weekends? I cherish my sleep. On most weekdays, my alarm goes off and I disregard it for a good 15 minutes or so before I actually start the day. That 15 minutes is all I really need to prepare a little something to eat before work. When I choose the few extra minutes of sleep, my breakfast is coffee. There's no compromising on that but, coffee loves a good companion, right?

Today, I decided to make a different kind of breakfast sandwich and I honestly think my day has been better because of it. No grumbling tummy or wishing the morning away in anticipation of lunch. Let's see if I can keep it up. 

Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Sandwich

wheat toast

1/2 banana

peanut butter

brown sugar

Bottle Shock

I watched the movie Bottle Shock last night. This is the story, (based on actual events) of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris." Fun! I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

"Sommelier and wine shop owner Steven Spurrier, a British expatriate living in Paris, concocts a plan to hold a blind taste-test intended to introduce Parisians to the quality wines coming from elsewhere in the world (and save his business in the process). He travels to the not-yet-famous Napa Valley in search of contestants for his Judgment of Paris taste test, where a chance meeting introduces him to floundering vintner Jim Barrett of Chateau Montelena. This twist of fate and the resultant oenological epiphany forever change their lives along with that of Barrett's son, Bo, as well as the fortunes of Napa Valley wineries and the global wine industry as a whole. "    

-Sundance Film Festival

ACTUAL "Judgement of Paris" Results:

1. Chateau Montelena 1973 United States

2. Meursault Charmes Roulot 1973 France

3. Chalone Vineyard 1974 United States

4. Spring Mountain Vineyard 1973 United States

5. Beaune Clos des Mouches Joseph Drouhin 1973 France

6. Freemark Abbey Winery 1972 United States

7. Batard-Montrachet Ramonet-Prudhon 1973 France

8. Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles Domaine Leflaive 1972 France

9. Veedercrest Vineyards 1972 United States

10. David Bruce Winery 1973 United States

Ingrid is just lovely today.

2009 North Shore Tennis Tournament

Our family gathers every summer on the first Saturday in August for a 2.2 mile fun run, tennis tournament and pot luck dinner. This year, the participants and observers enjoyed 10 full hours of play! Thankfully, it was the 4th (?) sunny day of our soggy summer and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was lots of fun to catch up with everyone and pretty neat to, "meet" the kids who had sprouted up during the past year. Chloe (Lori and Karl's daughter), Savannah (Nancy and Max's daughter), and Trent (Karen and Peter's son) ran a Lemonade stand throughout the day. They had a slow start but, as soon as the afternoon sun heated up, we all took advantage of their across-the-court delivery service. They ended up raising $130 for Karen's Caring Bridge Foundation. 

Matt Carlson was the big winner of the day. He received the, "Rabbit Award" for running the 2.2 mile circle the fastest in 12 min. 40 sec. He and Nancy Burcham were just barely defeated in a doubles tennis match against Peter Newman and Evan.  
There were roughly 85 people who attended the pot luck dinner after the finals match was over, complete with ice cream sundaes!

Here are a few of the tennis players in the mandatory post match picture pose. Ha!

In the end, we traveled back and forth (from our cabin to the court) a total of 4 times throughout the day to get food, drinks and of course to cool off in the lake with mom. There were lots of small moments that inspired me and others around me. We watched as family members young (10 years) and old (85 years) hit the ball over the net to each other. The quote of the day came from Dottie (a woman in her 80's) who said to her partner Josh (a UVM Rugby player), "OK, I'm going to hit the ball when it comes to me and you're going to run around. Got it?" Amazing. 

Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons

Last Friday, The Curley's invited a few of us over to help eat up some leftover veggies they had from their farm share. Maegen introduced us all to Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons, a recipe she found on a blog titled, "Eggs on Sunday." They looked just splendid with their cute little beet hats and tasted even better. They were a great start to our summer meal. Thanks Maegen!

Ingredients

4 medium beets, greens trimmed off and reserved (leave about 1 inch of stem on the beet)

a 4-ounce log of goat cheese (you may not use it all)

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 bunch (a handful) of chives

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the beets on a large rectangle of aluminum foil and fold the sides of the foil up around the beets to form a package. Before you seal the package, put a little bit of water in the bottom of the foil with the beets. Seal the package, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the chive oil: first, set aside a few chives to chop for garnish. In a blender or food processor, puree the rest of the chives together with the olive oil. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a container, pressing on the solids. You won’t use all the chive oil in this recipe, so you can save the remainder in the fridge.

When the beets are done, remove them from the foil and let them cool completely. You can then slip the skins off of the beets: do this carefully, so that you preserve the thin, long tails of the beets. Slice each beet across its diameter into 4 total slices (see pictures above), and set aside.

Using a sharp knife, cut 12 thin slices of goat cheese from the log, and set aside. Wash and spin dry the beet greens, then stack them (whole) on top of one another. Cut the greens crosswise into slivers, then use your fingers to gently mix the slivers together.

Make the balsamic reduction by placing the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan, bringing to a boil, turning down the heat just a bit and simmering until it’s reduced to a thicker, syrupy consistency, about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it – it goes fast! Set aside in a small dish while you plate the napoleon and greens.

Plate the beets and greens: Divide the slivers of greens among 4 plates, piling them in the corner of each plate. Construct a napoleon on each plate by layering the slices of beets and goat cheese. Begin with a beet slice, top with a goat cheese slice, and continue alternating the remaining 3 beet slices and 2 goat cheese slices, ending the layers with the piece of beet that has the tail attached. Basically, you’re reconstructing the beet, just layering goat cheese in between the slices.

Season the beet napoleon and the greens with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle the chive oil and balsamic reduction artfully over the greens and napoleon, sprinkle a few of the chopped remaining chives over the top, and serve.

The Zoo!

I've been out in Fort Wayne, Indiana for the past few days visiting with family. Yesterday, my Dad and I went to The Fort Wayne Zoo! I adore catching a glimpse of these exotic creatures up close but, in the past I've found that seeing the animals in captivity and living in less than ideal environments is heartbreaking. Dad and Jane said they were pleased with their experience at the FWZ in the past. So, off we went. 

These animals seemed to be living it up in their mud bogs, pools and leafy treetops! The zoo was in great shape and felt as natural as a zoo can feel. 

The kangaroos looked the most pleased with their surroundings. They were not confined by anything! There was a thin, low sitting wire around the perimeter of their living area. It wasn't electrified. Even if it was, these animals can jump up to 10 ft and could escape with one good leap. So, why aren't they confined? I asked the zookeeper and she said, "They seemed to have all they need: shade, food and companionship." My dad and I watched them and thought about it...we agreed. They probably were quite content.