Thursday, November 3, 2016

October Pretzels and Bock

Nothing exciting about this month.  After being out of town for most of the month, we squeezed in another pairing using frozen pretzels (that weren't too bad) and Samual Adams Winter Lager.


Next month is Oatmeal Stout and Pumpkin Pie.  A little disappointed with the pairings lately.  Hoping next year the calendar has better pairings.

Here was our social media post:
Almost forgot to post October #beerfoodpairing from last Sunday. Pretzels and bock beer featuring @samueladamsbeer winter lager. @mike_canan @wcpo


Monday, September 26, 2016

September Beer Can Chicken and West Coast Lager

This was a new experience for sure!  I found some recipes that worked the same as cooking it upright but it just didn't seem right.  So I bought a holder on Amazon and went in search of how to do this.

Matt chose Anchor Steam Beer for our west coast lager.  It was one of my favorite beers!

 

I used this recipe I found online.  The comments were good so it seemed trustworthy.  The best part is drinking the half beer before you get started.  It removed the high pressure of worrying if this would work out.

The first step on the instructions said to pour half of the beer (I used Sam Adams Octoberfest for the chicken) into a glass and enjoy it.  Good thing because this was a project!  I washed the chicken, put it on the rack, applied the rub and put it on the grill.



Five minutes later it caught fire and had to be put out with the garden hose.


We continued cooking and it actually came out okay.


We enjoyed it with the last fresh corn on the cob of the season.

Here are our social media posts:

Twitter:
September #beerfoodpairing Beer Can Chicken and West Coast Lager with @AnchorBrewing Steam Beer. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Instagram:
September food/beer pairing was Beer Can Chicken and West Coast Lager featuring Anchor Steam Beer. @Mike_Canan

Facebook:
September food/beer pairing last night was Beer Can Chicken and West Coast Lager featuring Anchor Steam Beer.






Monday, August 22, 2016

August Watermelon and Wheat

What beer could be more perfect than 21st Amendment Brewery Hell or High Watermelon?

I rode my bike to Oxford Spirits Liquor Store to pick up the beer.  (It was the furthest from our home that we have ridden them.)

And we bought little round watermelons to make Watermelon/Feta/Mint and Watermelon/Feta/Basil skewers.  Basil and mint are both courtesy of our gardens. (I always wanted to cut a watermelon like this.)

This pairing was dessert after Thai Moo Kra Ta dinner.



Here are our social media posts:

Twitter:
August #beerfoodpairing Watermelon feta skewers with mint and basil with @21stAmendment Hell or High Watermelon. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Instagram:
August food/beer pairing was watermelon and wheat featuring 21st Amendment Brewery "Hell or High Watermelon" beer with Watermelon/Feta/Mint and Watermelon/Feta/Basil skewers served as dessert after Thai Moo Kra Ta dinner.

Facebook:
August food/beer pairing was watermelon and wheat featuring 21st Amendment Brewery "Hell or High Watermelon" beer with Watermelon/Feta/Mint and Watermelon/Feta/Basil skewers served as dessert after Thai Moo Kra Ta dinner.





Sunday, July 17, 2016

July pairing - Kölsch and Potato Salad

Our beer was Goose Island Summertime.  This was one of my favorite beers.  It was nice and summery.  The label reads:

  • The color of sunshine, with a light fruity aroma and a hint of fruity acidity, Goose Island Summertime is the perfect summer session ale. A Kölsch beer brewed in the traditional German fashion, you’ll find yourself enjoying and savoring each sip of summertime as much as you do those hot summer days and cool summer nights.

The best potato salad recipe to me is an old standby from the Betty Crocker Cookbook.  My cookbook is one that my dad gave me for Christmas in the early 1980's and I will use it all the time.  I also made deviled eggs with a recipe from that cookbook.



I made ribs using a recipe Paul gave me several years ago and I put in the family cookbook.  I changed it a bit so I could use the crockpot and not heat up the house.  We grilled them at the end to crisp them up.

Here is our finished dinner which also included fresh cantelope and strawberries.


Here was our Twitter and Instagram post:
July #foodbeerpairing "Kölsch and Potato Salad" featured @gooseisland Summertime. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Facebook post was:
July food/beer pairing was "Kölsch and Potato Salad" featuring Goose Island Summertime.


Next month is Kolsch & Potato Salad and Matt already knows the beer he wants to use Wheat Ale and Watermelon.  I have seen some cool ways to cut a watermelon so stay tuned!



Friday, July 15, 2016

I get these recipes from a calendar!

People ask me all the time how we decide what to pair.  I have a calendar from Red Cruiser.

I talked about a little bit in this post, but only regarding this year's calendar.  I did not have last year's calendar but now wish I could get a copy of it.


2015


2016


I'm also intrigued by the 2013 calendar.  Especially the S'mores and Porter.  May have to try that the next time we have a bonfire.  Maybe on a Friday call it #flashbackfridaybeerfoodpairing

Monday, June 27, 2016

June Picnic and Saison

This pairing took some time to figure out.  When I visited the farmer's market in Chicago last month I picked up some Underground Meats Finnochiona  and Brunkow's Baked Cheese.  Both items were incredible!  The following week the free Friday download at Kroger was Nabisco Good Thins crackers.  These were used for our "starters" tray.


Our Saison beer was Love Buzz by Anchorage Brewing.  The website describe it as:
A feeling overcomes, deriving of a most curious perplexity. A rich desire awakens to explore the contents of such delicate loveliness. Upon a deep connection with rounded lips, a bitter sweet complexity enters the soul…and so begins an amorous affair.
Heightened awareness envelopes the senses as the grandeur of such bold character develops. Caramel beauty exhibits itself, sprawling its full body widely upward, bubbling with excitement. Tantalizing effects of peppery bitterness grasps the tongue. Enchantment takes hold as a blanket of citrus slowly unfolds. As in any noteworthy love story, a subtle fruity sweetness of a rose emerges to the finish. A warm contentment grazes over, signifying a united marriage of balance and pleasure.
Fortitude has revealed itself to those who have encountered such an enriching experience. An experience so delectable, so defining, so unequivocal. An experience that is Love's Buzz.
Then we served fried chicken and cole slaw.


Dinner was followed with my favorite homemade peach pie with ice cream.  (This recipe is similar but mine has a lot more butter.


Here is the actual peach pie recipe card (in my teenage handwriting):

Here was our Twitter and Instagram post:
June #foodbeerpairing "Picnic & Saison" featured @anchoragebrew Love Buzz. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Facebook post was:
June food/beer pairing was "Picnic & Saison" featuring Anchorage Brewing Love Buzz beer.


Next month is Kolsch & Potato Salad and Matt already knows the beer he wants to use!


Sunday, May 22, 2016

May Carnitas and Black IPA


The beer Matt chose was Dubhe Imperial Black IPA by Uinta Brewing.  It did not disappoint and was as described:
    Toasted, chocolaty dark malts align with an astronomical amount of hops

Carnitas are like burritos but with pork.  I used a recipe I found online, doubling the spices and using a pork loin since I had one in the freezer.  I looked for pictures online to decide which toppings to use and settled on lettuce, onions, fresh cilantro, lime, salsa and cheddar.  They worked out well.

We served them with broccoli slaw and chips with guacamole (favorite recipe here).



Here was our social media post:
May #foodbeerpairing "Carnitas & Black IPA" featured @UintaBrewing Dubhe Imperial Black IPA. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

And snapchat for the day:



Next month is Saison & Picnic and we already have ideas!


Sunday, April 24, 2016

April IPA and Spicy Crab Cakes


After a busy day of spring yardwork, cleaning and projects, we grilled steaks and served them with crab cakes and salad.  We paired it with Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA.

Since IPAs are my favorite, it really hit the spot!



Here was our social media post:
April #foodbeerpairing "IPA and Spicy Crab Cakes" featured @GLBC_Cleveland Commodore Perry® IPA. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Sunday, March 27, 2016

March Roast Beef Sandwich and Brown Ale


We squeezed March in the night before Easter (similar to last year).  We made French Dip Roast Beef Sandwiches with Onion Strings.  Both great recipes we will use again.

I picked up the last Madtree Gnarly Brown six pack at Kroger and it paired well and tasted yummy!




Here was our social media post:
March #foodbeerpairing "Roast beef sandwich and brown ale" featured @MadTreeBrewing Gnarly Brown. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Saturday, March 19, 2016

I got the calendar!

So I bought the calendar.  I couldn't find any images online for some of the months so I went to the various websites selling it and found a good deal from Grommet.  Unfortunately it came but was missing December.  Fortunately they sent me a new one.

What really sold me was visiting the page calendar page and watching the video about the creator.  It inspired me to support her.

I found lots of other cool items that Redcruiser has for sale.


Monday, February 29, 2016

February ESB and Chips & Dip

What is ESB?  It is Extra Special Bitter which doesn't mean the beer is bitter.  It refers to a British style of beer and really confuses some people with the word “bitter” becayse “bitters” are not really bitter.

Beer advocate describes it as follows:
    ESBs are essentially more aggressive and more balanced Bitters, both in alcohol and hop character, but nothing overpowering. Color range will be similar, though leaning towards the darker end of the scale; dark golds to copper. Low carbonation. Malts tend to be more pronounced, often toasty and fruity, with maybe some notes diacetyl. And despite "bitter" being in its name, ESBs are not really all that bitter. They key to an ESB is balance.
We paired it with sour cream mixed with Lipton Onion Soup Mix, my favorite chip dip.  Lay's Wavy Chips are the best dipping chip so that's what we chose, of course!

Our beer was Christian Moerlein OTR (Over The Rhine) which seems fitting since we will be running in a Christian Moerlein beer race through Over the Rhine next Saturday.



As a special touch, we used our new Ginger coasters that Heather gave us in her memory.

Here was our social media post:
February #foodbeerpairing "ESB w/chips & dip" @moerleinbeers OTR and Lay's Wavy Chips by @fritolay. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

Sunday, January 31, 2016

January Pilsner and Bloody Mary

After seeing pictures and getting ideas for January's pairing, we decided to go for it!  And it was well worth it.  Probably the most fun we have had with the presentation of a pairing!

The weather was nice enough to grill out so our sliders were really good.

The end result was spectacular!


The only probably was the amount of alcohol involved.  We all felt pretty bad the next morning.  :)

Here was our social media post:
Bloody Mary and Pilsner #foodbeerpairing w/ @greatdividebrew Nomad. @WCPO @Mike_Canan

And I saved my Snapchat story!


Next month looks like ESB and Chips & Dip.  We just have the pictures from online since I don't have the actual calendar.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

January 2016 Special : Venison Chili and Madtree Thundersnow


Calendar or not, we can't decide...

Because we aren't sure about the calendar this year (mostly because it starts with two beverages so it isn't really beer and food but beer and drink), we decided to do some of our own pairings.  We are deciding on the meal and adding a beer that pairs well with it.

The first pairing of the year is Venison Chili and Madtree Thundersnow.  Because it is spicy (with nutmeg and cinnamon), it paired well with my chili (which also has those spices).  

The chili was made possible because of Dr. John (my nephew) who provided us with the meat.  Because Andy and Cartoon were in town, they enjoyed the chili with us.




Here was our social media post:
1st 2016 #foodbeerpairings Venison chili with @MadTreeBrewing Thundersnow was a hit! @Mike_Canan #creatingourown