December Milk Stout and Chocolate Chip Cookies

What a year!  We finished the year of the beer pairings tonight with a milk stout by Left Hand Brewing and chocolate chip cookies (like we needed more cookies in our house... not!).

The beer paired well with the chocolate in the cookies and we felt like it was a great way to end the year.

And with special guest, Andy Clark!

Here was our social media post:
Last 2015 Beer Pairing @lefthandbrewing Milk Stout and Chocolate Chip Cookies, great combo! @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer 

We haven't decided if we will continue with the calendar or try something different for 2016.  Stay tuned!

November Bière de Garde and Leftover Turkey

We had to wait until after Thanksgiving for the beer pairing this month.  Now that we have our leftover turkey it's time to use it up!

I made a casserole that my mom used to make and I'm not sure that she had a recipe.  I seem to recall that she put it together, it tasted good, and it was something she made again.  I'll just call it Mom's Potato Chip Topped Turkey Casserole.

The ingredients are turkey, onions, celery, sliced water chestnuts, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and potato chops.  I tear apart the turkey, chop the onions, slice the celery, coarsely chop the water chestnuts and cube the cheese; stir in a really small amount (2 T?) of mayonnaise.  Put it in a greased casserole dish and top it with crunched up chips.  Bake at 350 degrees until hot (and the cheese is melted).

It is really yummy and is a little different from plain leftover turkey made into sandwiches or ate with leftover mashed potatoes and stuffing.

Our beer was tricky.  Matt picked out Bière De Mars - Grand Reserve Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales with the help of Beer Advocate.  The beer actually tasted a little like wine.  It was pretty pricey so we bought one bottle (for almost $15).

It was a good pairing.  We liked the beer quite a bit and it paired well with turkey.

Here was our social media post:
November beer food pairing @JollyPumpkin Bière De Mars and Turkey Casserole @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer

And Mike Canon at WCPO included us in his online story.

See you in December for Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk Stout.  It sounds like a dessert that should include ice cream. Stay tuned.

And the new calendar is now available online!  Join me in 2016 for beer and food pairings!

October Black IPA and Blue Cheese Wedge

This month's pairing of Black IPA and Blue Cheese Wedge was another new beer and new recipe.  I viewed several recipes and choose to just top the wedges with a combination of my favorites:

Bacon
Tomato
Green Onions
Blue Cheese
Blue Cheese Dressing
Optional almonds and cranberries

Our Beer was 21st Amendment Back in Black.  When we looked it up the story behind was interesting:

Inspired by Paul Revere’s midnight ride, we rebelled against the British style IPA, embraced the more aggressive American version and then recast it in bold, brave, defiant black. Our Black IPA is a Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the expected.

Here was our social media post:

October beer food pairing Black IPA and Blue Cheese Wedge @21stAmendment Black in Black @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer 

And the new calendar is now available online!  Join me in 2016 for beer and food pairings!

September Fish and Chips and Double IPA

This month's pairing was perfect for a football Sunday afternoon!

We made Breaded Baked Tilapia, a recipe from Taste of Home which never disappoint.  Add to it chopped salad (similar to cole slaw) and steak fries.  Fish and Chips!

The Double IPA Matt chose was Christian Moerlein's Bay of Bengal Double IPA which WCPO did a story about last month, "Christian Moerlein's Bay of Bengal Double IPA roars back into Cincinnati."  (I think the name probably has something to do with the Cincinnati Bengals.)

Loved the beer but sadly the fish recipe was not a keeper.

Although we had hoped to plan a field trip and invite friends to Mac 'n Joes for this pairing, we decided to do it at home.  Time ran out before I leave for my next trip out of the country and this day was the only day we had left.  Homecoming and football make it impossible.

Here was our social media post:

September beer food pairing Double IPA with Fish & Chips @moerleinbeers Bay of Bengal @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer 

See you in October for Black IPA and Blue Cheese Wedge, a combo we are sure to love since we love IPAs and love blue cheese!

August Grilled Corn on the Cob and Helles

This pairing ranked at the top!  We were a little skeptical about grilling the corn because it has never worked well for us.  I found this recipe online and it was perfect.  No soaking in water, no removing silks before grilling, just put on a hot grill and turn often until outer husks are burnt.

We served it with  pork loin ribs that I cooked in the crockpot.  I coated them with lemon juice, salt, pepper, oregano and paprika.  The meat fell off the bone making them a little hard to grill at the end.  They were perfect.

Matt sent us on a beer run (armed with my newly downloaded Beer Advocate app) and we found  Weihenstephan Original Premium beer.  It turns out it is made at the oldest brewery in the world dating back to 1040 (no, that is not a typo, almost 1,000 years ago!).  The beer was lighter than expected and pretty good.

Here was our social media post:
August beer food pairing Helles & grilled corn on the cob @weihenstephan original premium @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer

See you in September for Fish & Chips and Double IPA.  Can't wait!

Special Event: Beer and Pizza at Lori and Victor's

Friday night we were invited to Lori and Victor's for a Beer and Pizza tasting.  Everyone brought a six-pack of craft beer.  We brought Revolution Anti-Hero IPA.

  

Their backyard was so cool!  She had a big tub of ice with lots of beer!

But the best was their pizza oven in the yard.

They made lots of different pizzas!

 

We tried lots of different beers!

 

July Shish Kabobs and Farmhouse Ale

This was one of our favorite pairings.  First because the food and beer choices were great but also because we shared it with our neighbors.

We made the kabobs early in the day and left them to marinate in a combination of Soy, Teriyaki, Worcestershire sauces with garlic powder and pepper. We used peppers, purple onions, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes and beef.

Then we went to swim in Bob and Trina's pool.

We told them about dinner and we all went to our back patio later in the afternoon and grilled the kabobs.  We served them with rice and cucumbers mixed with onions, tomatoes and vinegar.

 We served it with one of my favorites, Boulevard Tank 7.

 

Here was our post:
July beer pairing, kabobs and farmhouse ale @Boulevard_Beer #Tank7 @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer


And this is the article about us this time:

	WCPO Reader Suzanne Clark shares her kebab/farmhouse ale pairing - Story - WCPO.com WCPO Reader Suzanne Clark is our most active when it comes to the beer/food pairing. She paired kebabs with a Boulevard Brewing Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale ... Flag as irrelevant
See more results | Edit this alert

See you next month for Grilled Corn on the Cob and Helles.

June Lobster Rolls and Kölsch

This month we had Lobster Rolls and Kölsch.  It was a nice combination although we liked the beer better than the meal.

I found a recipe for lobster roll that was rated high.  I made coleslaw and fries to round out the meal.

The beer was Great Lakes Lawn Seat Kölsch which was really good!  It has a cool history on the back of the bottle.

And we posted: Lobster rolls and @GreatLakesBeer Lawn Seat Kolsch for June beer/food pairing. @Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer

And here is the article Mike posted about my pairing:

NEWS
	WCPO Reader Suzanne Clark's lobster roll and kolsch look yummy WCPO I have not done the June beer/food pairing of lobster roll and kolsch yet. We may do that on Thursday. But reader Suzanne Clark tried the pairing. Flag as irrelevant

May Black Bean Burritos and Smoked Porter

We barely squeezed this paring in but it was a good one!

Matt picked up the beer last night at Jungle Jim's.  He chose Stone Brewing Company Smoked Porter which looks heavy but we found it to be perfect.

After some contemplating between buying Chipotle burritos or buying frozen ones, I decided to tackle them myself and it was well worth it.

I used this recipe using the recommendations of the May 5, 2004 comment and adding Rotel, corn and some other ingredients including cumin and chili powder.

While waiting to wrap the burritos I used the genuine Mexican tortilla warming cloth that Andy bought me while on a mission trip in college.  It is hand made and embroidered and is even more beautiful than it looks in the picture.

I realized while they were cooking that I didn't know how to fold them so I googled it and found this great tutorial which result in perfectly wrapped burritos.

And here is our final pairing along with our post!

Black bean burritos and @StoneBrewingCo Smoked Porter
for May beer/food pairing. Read my entire story
at mybeerfoodpairings.blogspot.com
@Mike_Canan @WCPO #9beer

Special Event: Flights and Bites at Red Roost Tavern

I got a Twitter message from Mike Canan this week inviting us to the Flights and Bites event at the Red Roost Tavern with Chef Chad Goudie in Cincinnati.  I was super excited!

The event was a blast and I hope to go to more like it!  Everyone was talking about the Beer/Food Pairings calendar so hopefully more people will participate!

I met Mike for the first time.  I also met his wife and she said they were thrilled the first time I posted my pairings after his article.

When we arrived, we were served this Madtree Brewing Lift beer.

 

 Mike and me right after our arrival

 

Our placesettings with a description of the food and beer pairings

 

Dinner Food and Beer pairings

Madtree Sprye with Lobster Slider
Madtree Amber with Ballpark Slider

Madtree Gnarley Brown with Brisket Slider

Chef Goudie with Mike Canan

Chocolate Sandwich with Ice Cream for dessert
served with Madtree Axis Mundi beer.