Oktoberfeast

I made some German food and reported on it at my beer blog Bottles and Cans, but you can read it all here:

Cooking w/Beer: Stovetop Brats
Last night we had what I am calling the "Oktoberfeast." This was a meal featuring German potato salad and some Brussels sprouts mixed with sour cream and bacon. There was an excellent Oktoberfest beer from Avery, but I'll post more on that later.


Now, I've made beer brats before, but this was different. First of all, I cooked the sausage in some water. One good tip I picked up was to poke some holes in the brats so that they would not explode. After the water evaporated, I browned them in the dry pan before adding some onions to cook in the remaining fat. Once the onions were browned, I tossed in a cup of beer and let it simmer.


Usually, I go for a high quality beer, but this time I went a little askew. The beer of choice was a Burger Beer, leftover from my sister's visit over a month-and-a-half ago. It's cheap and stays good forever in a can, but most importantly, it's a German style lager. There really is nothing special about the beer, but I did taste the same yeast as was in my much more expensive and better tasting Avery German style beer.


Get It Together: The Kaiser and the Oktoberfeast
I planned a dinner the other night consisting of stove top brats, German potato salad, and Brussels sprouts with sour cream and bacon. These foods made my "Oktoberfeast" complete...well, almost.

With fall comes a new set of seasonal beers. There are the porters, stouts, and pumpkin beers for sure, but I love a good Oktoberfest. Not being the biggest fan of lagers, I struggle to find a good Oktoberfest brew. Great Lakes out of Cleveland, OH makes a good one as does Bell's. However, Great Lakes doesn't distribute here and the Bell's Oktoberfest was sold in rather limited quantities.

Luckily, Avery's The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest hit the shelves here in Columbia this fall. This beer actually reminded me a lot of the cheap, rice-based Burger beer I used on the brats, but it had something more. The yeasts of these two beers was where similarities began and ended. The Kaiser is a thick, syrupy malt bomb that matches the greasy intensity of even the most German meal. If I see this beer ever on a menu at a restaurant, I'm ordering the brats and kraut every time.

Beer Meatloaf and Pumpkin Beer Bread

Over at my beer blog, I posted something on cooking with beer. I made a meatloaf that insures your loaf doesn't dry out (along with adding some flavor) and a pumpkin bread that is basically pumpkin beer with self-rising flour (plus a few other things.

You Scream, We All Scream

R and I have been ice cream-making fools as of late. My mom gave us the ice cream attachment for the KitchenAid mixer for our birthdays. (Remember that R is older than me.) So, we've put it to good use.

Actually, R has put it to good use. She's made lavender, chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla (with real vanilla bean) ice cream so far. All have been excellent. It's not Jenni's, but it's good. And R made it all.

Until now.

I made a ice cream with Bell's Expedition Stout using a recipe from Perfect Scoop. The original actually called for Guinness Stout which is little on the weak side for me. An imperial Russian stout like the Bell's Expedition is more than twice as alcoholic and infinitely more flavorful.

Due to the extra alcohol, the ice cream was soft, but it was very good. Chocolate, roasted malt, hops, coffee all assaulted my taste buds. It was great for my tastes, but R complained of bitterness. That may have been the hops. Pairing this ice cream with some vanilla would probably cut the bitterness.

So, for your own Bell's Expedition Stout ice cream, here's what you do:

1. Turn to page 32 of Perfect Scoop.
2. Follow the directions using high-end, organic milk chocolate and substituting a Russian imperial stout for the Guinness.
3. Mix and chill.
4. Drink the rest of the beer.
5. Churn in your ice cream maker. (Here, Ziplock bags, salt, and ice will probably not do.)
6. Freeze.
7. Enjoy.

Summer Beer Project

This post originally appeared on my blog, but I thought I'd reproduce it here...

One of my favorite pastimes of the summer (well, any season really) is the consumption of beer. Each year, I get hooked on a particular beer or other recreational beverage (mojitos come to mind) and am always on the lookout for something to both quench my thirst and lighten my mood.

I was thinking about this summer's drink du jour as the sun decided to visit Misery today. What will be this summer's drink? Will it be an old stand-by or something new. I've decided to explore the possibilities throughout the summer. But before this project begins, let me cover a few favorites or possible winners for the summer.


Cream Ales
This is a style that I barely knew existed. Then my mom delivered some New Glarus this evening, including some of their cream ale Spotted Cow. Cream ales are top-fermented beers that go through an extended period of cold-conditioning or lagering. The Spotted Cow I had tonight was light and refreshing, perfect for summer.


Summer Beer
This one will have beer purists gagging, but it's a good option if you want refreshment and alcohol without the heaviness of several beers. First, you fill a typical pint glass about 2/3 full with an unfiltered wheat beer. Boulevard Wheat works the best for this. Then, pour in a shot of vodka and top it off with lemonade. My friend TJ introduced me to the summer beer a summer or two back. Apparently, it's a big thing in Lawrence, but I won't tell if you won't.


Stout Float
I love ice cream. I love stouts. However, until I came to COMO, I would have never put the two together. Somehow, it makes sense. This is a drink with which I may have to experiment. Should I use dry stouts or over-the-top imperial stouts (like the Dogfish Head World Wide Stout that nearly knocked me on my ass this evening)? This could be either the most fun of the summer drinks or the most disappointing.


Oberon with Orange Slice
Here's another drink that makes beer purists gag, but I swear by this combination. It was customary in Columbus to toss a slice of orange into a wheat beer, but none compare to Bell's Oberon. The best part might be eating the orange slice at the end.


Dogfish Head Festina Pêche
This is the first beer that cannot be had in Misery, but a quick trip to Illinois will make this terrible reality go away. This is one of the few beers I've had that is light enough, low enough on the alcohol (4.5% ABV), and features just the right amount of fruit to be a one-and-done summer drink. It has rather complex layers of flavoring with a touch of sourness that satisfies after one bottle. I still have three of my four-pack, waiting for warmer weather.


Negra Modelo with Lime
Mexican drinks are often synonymous with summer. I prefer the darker Negra Modelo with a slice of lime. The trick is to see whether you can properly get your lime from the neck of the bottle to the bottom without spilling it all over the place.

I realize that these drinks are beer-specific, but I write about beer. What are you willing to try? What do you think will be this summer's drink du jour? Let me know if you try any of these suggestions. Leave me something in the comments.

Early Turkey Planning

Here is a preliminary menu for the big day...

Starters:

• Assorted Cheeses from World Harvest
• Bubble & Squeak (because Ashley's dying to try it - vegetarian)

Dinner:

• Cornbread dressing (not vegetarian)
• Smoked turkey (not vegetarian)
• Sweet potato casserole (non-marshmallow variety)
• Spanish smashed potatoes with kale (veg)
• Vegetarian dressing
• Vegetarian gravy
• Collard / mustard greens (cooked with vegetarian Vietnamese broth, ghee, and Ethiopian spices)
• Roast root vegetables
• Groundnut harvest stew

Dessert:

• Sweet potato pie with spicy dark chocolate
• Possibly some other pies, cakes, etc.

Drinks:

• Single malt scotch (Lagavulin?)
• Bourbon (Maker's Mark, Woodford Reserve?)
• Żubrówka with apple juice (as always)
• Achel Trappist Extra
• Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout
• Schlafly Reserve Barley Wine Style Ale
• +Some seasonal stuff and IPA's
• Wine? (It depends on what everyone brings. We may go here for some supplies as well.)

Did I miss anything? I may start a wiki and then everyone can contribute without searching their Gmail for the discussion.

Update: I have now created the wiki. If I missed anyone or if any regular DV posters want in on the recipe action, let me know. You will need to respond to the invite in order to access the wiki. Again, if you want in on the action, send me an email at my Gmail account. (My blogger username is the same as my Gmail account.)

Bell's Makes Misery Tolerable

I lazy and didn't want to post this twice, but R and I attended a beer dinner last night. Check my post at living in misery for all the details.

Autumn Is a Time for Beer

Actually, every season is a time for beer. I just wanted to make some suggestions for the fall season and all the fine beer hitting the shelves.

First of all, the pumpkin beers are out. I normally do not like fruit or vegetable-based beers, but this is an exception. I would also like to point out that I have only found one pumpkin ale up to snuff. Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale is by far the best I've had. Somehow they have created a beer that actually tastes of pumpkin and nutmeg and cinnamon and all that without skimping on the alcohol. The beer comes in at 8% ABV. That's no trick, friends. That's all treat.

I also have a Southern Tier Pumpking sitting in the fridge waiting to be consumed. I will have to get back to you on that as I make my way through some other noteworthy beers in my stash.

Besides the pumpkin ales, one should look to the many brands which make an Oktoberfest beer. An Oktoberfest beer is basically a marzen, a German style of lager that's dark and full-bodied. Every brewery and their sister has a marzen available come September. However, only a few stand above.

My pick for this year comes from the masters of the lager: Great Lakes Brewing. Their Oktoberfest is a chocolaty brown with just enough bitter to not infringe on the beer's crispness. No one makes better lagers than Great Lakes, no one.

Another cool addition to the Oktoberfest crowd this year is Coney Island Brewing's Freaktoberfest. The color is the strangest I have ever seen in a beer. The beer pours almost a bright, hot pink color. The head is straight on pink. I think they were going for blood red, but they made a super marzen in the process.

Finally, every season has a one-time only seasonal release. The fall brings us Bells Hell Hath No Fury Ale. It's described as an American dubbel, whatever that is. Just know that it's rich, dark, and intense. Snatch it up quickly as only a small batch has been brewed. Plus, it's kind of pricey.

Be on the lookout for my next beer report for the winter months. There will be plenty of stouts and porters to go around for sure. Also, I will be posting the sweet potato casserole for anyone who is interested.

Still Here

Just thought I'd let you all know that we are still here in Misery.

Also, I wanted to start a discussion on Thanksgiving. I know that several of you are planning on attending the whatever annual Native American genocide day or whatever we're calling it now. Maybe we could all post ideas for food items, recipes, and drinks for this little shindig.

We will smoke a turkey as is our usual contribution. I will also provide my sweet potato casserole (which we actually had tonight for dinner). I'm sure there will be more to add to the menu as the event draws nearer.

As far as the drinks, I have a start on that already. I have been aging some special beers from Schlafly Brewing out of STL. They made a limited edition Stout (brewed in bourbon barrels) and barley wine that actually improve with age. Also, I'm sure there will be some bourbon and scotch floating around the Dingo-Early household come November.

So, start posting menu ideas and recipes for the big event. Even if you are not able to attend, I'd like to hear what people are planning for the second-best meal of the year. (R's Polish feasts on Christmas Eve are decadent.)

My Beer Life

I've been getting into the fancy beers here in Misery. Check out our new website for Columbia Beer Enthusiasts. Then you should all plan your visits around upcoming beer tastings.

Gluttonous in Seattle

We just returned from our travels to Seattle and have a lot of food-related news to share. We actually ate very well, despite this post's ominous title. Most of my gluttony took the form of beer of which R was unable to enjoy. Anyway, here's my report:

Thanks to our having locals to point us in the right direction and our own experiences in Seattle, we were able to enjoy what has to be the best bits of Seattle cuisine. From breakfast joints to sandwich shops to the best beer the Emerald City has to offer, we fully enjoyed our trip...gastronomically speaking.

Our two breakfasts out were dominated by interestingly eggy creations. Bainbridge Island's Streamliner Diner provided us our first taste of a Seattle breakfast. R enjoyed the pesto-infused green eggs (sans ham) while I enjoyed a fennel-heavy omelet with lots of sausage. However, the coffee was weak (and apparently not very plentiful) and the potatoes were terribly underdone.

Luckily, we opted for breakfast out on Saturday as well. We landed at the delicious Portage Bay Cafe in the U-District. It was a tough decision, but we both went with omelets. I stuck with my Italian sausage-in-omelet trend by ordering the omelet filled with andouille sausage, basil, asiago cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes. R chose the salmon omelet which include a DV favorite, Manchego cheese.

We also enjoyed some sweets along the way. I slurped on a dark chocolate milkshake from Mora Iced Creamery. Although the ice cream was not as creamy as Jeni's, it's flavor was nearly as intense as Jeni's best. Then I had a bag of donuts from Daily Dozen Donuts of Pike Place Market fame. Usually, I order a half dozen donuts covered in cinnamon and sugar, but they were cleaning out the day's batch for $2 a bag. It was disappointing, but I will be back.

The highlight of the sweets had to have been at Theo Chocolates. We were unable to get in for a tour, but that was soon forgotten as we sampled several of the bars Theo had to offer. R picked up several of the 3400 Phinney bars and other Theo confections.

This vacay was also as close to a beer vacation as I have ever experienced. If there is a west coast IPA I haven't tried, I don't know what it is. I had more Stone Ruination IPA's than maybe ever. I had similar IPA's (and even doubles) from the likes of Elysian, Elliott Bay, McMenamins, Dogfish Head (not west coast), and some others I don't recall. Plus, I returned to one of my semi-regular haunts in the Elysian Brewery on Pike for a bartender's sampler that included a nice hefeweizen, odd pomegranate pale ale, a Guinness-like stout, a rich barley wine, and really bitter ESB.

The highlights of the beer portion of the trip were our visits to Bottleworks and its pub, Brouwer's Cafe. First of all, the pub was ridiculously well-stocked. There were something like 60 or 70 beers on tap, plus another 200-300 in the bottle. Need I say more? I had a Lagunitas Maximus IPA that was super hoppy and pleasantly bitter. There was even a good ginger beer for R that was surprisingly spicy and not sweet at all. I continued my support of Lagunitas by purchasing a bomber to take home along with a Laughing Buddha Mango Weizen. Additionally, I had to purchase more Stone Ruination for immediate consumption.

In order to drink beer, one must visit several bars. Besides the aforementioned bars at Elysian and Brouwer's, I was able to enjoy several local joints that probably are left out of the average travel guide or tourism brochure. There was the Viking Tavern in Ballard which featured a retro style that's been well-kept and a nice selection of local brews on tap. An old YMCA camping pal took me out to Capitol Hill's Linda's Tavern with it's hipster vibe and animal heads protruding from every wall. We also spent some time in West Seattle where West 5 is located. this cocktail lounge had that hipster, retro feel along with some kick-ass nachos and more IPA.

Maybe the best food we had on our entire trip was found at Salumi. You have not lived until you have a sandwich at Salumi. We arrived about 20 minutes before they opened at 11:00 AM to find ourselves at least ten people from the door. Once inside, we discovered a very narrow storefront with a counter of Italian ladies hastily slicing salami and piecing together sandwiches on olive-oil soaked breads. R opted for one of the various salami's on said bread with some moz. I went with the hot sandwich of chunked pork, onions, and peppers. It all smelled and looked so good that I nearly forgot to take a picture before taking a few bites.

Although we didn't have the greatest Thai food or took full advantage of all the fresh fish, we did consume quite a bit of what Seattle had to offer. It helped to have such knowledgeable and generous hosts in M and A. Now, I will fight off a cold and detox for a few days.

Genocide Celebration Pictures

Here are a few pics from our Genocide Celebration...
Scenes from the Waffle House...
R made a phone call to J to make our meal at the WH feel "traditional".
The only thing we smoked was the turkey...and some short ribs...and a neck or two.
Here's the spread. Besides the turkey and short ribs, we enjoyed sweet potatoes, roasted root vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls (not throwed), goat cheese and squash turnovers, butter-pecan Brussels sprouts, and a delicious squash soup. (Plus some beer.)Here was my attempt to eat with Jack. It's hard to tell, but Jack discovered that the starch from mashed potatoes makes an excellent styling jell.Finally, there were no more than four options for dessert! There was the apple pie, sweet potato pie (Bodhi's favorite) with bourbon whipped cream, cheese pie, and chocolate ice cream. It was more than I could handle. We pretty much wore pajamas the rest of the weekend.
Of course, none of this meal would have been possible without the many contributions by our friends J & J (R's colleagues in Rhet/Comp) who brought the beer, rolls, soup, turnovers, ice cream, and their best creation, Vered. S & J brought Jack, green bean casserole, pies, some cheese, and mashed potatoes.

It was strange not having many of you with us for this edition of the Genocide Celebration, but the company and food we did have helped make this a successful fourth Thursday of November.

Best Pumpkin Beer Ever

Although I am not a fan of most of their brews, Schlafly has recently released an excellent pumpkin ale. It has a rich flavor that screams "PUMPKIN PIE!" If you want to try some, get it before it's gone. I bought some Saturday and our store is already out.

Stuff Ben and Ashley Should Consider Consuming When They Visit Misery

(In no particular order...)

1. Booches - Greatest burgers you've never eaten. This is what God would want White Castle burgers to taste like. They're cooked on a 100-year-old grill and served on wax paper. Washing down with a Boulevard Wheat or Pale Ale is preferred.

2. Flat Branch Beer - The food at this brewery is not that great, but the beer is decent. I particularly like the KT Trail Pale Ale (although, it's no Columbus PA). We can even take a growler home, if it pleases our guests.

3. Chartruese - I recently stumbled upon the Blue Fugue and figured that Ben and Ashley would love this place. The Fugue features a mysterious shot of happy called the Chartreuse that's spiced by some French monks.

4. BBQ - There are plenty of places to get some BBQ in Misery. My local favorite is the Buckingham. Smoked, dry-rubbed meat is their speciality, but I love me some smoked sweet potato.

5. Thai by the River - Down by the muddy banks of the mighty Missouri, there's a little stand that serves fresh doses of the most authentic Thai in COMO (which actually isn't saying much). Cooper's Landing is at the end of a long dirt road that features its own Thai kitchen and beers by the bottle.

6. Ragtag - Although the Ragtag isn't known for its food, the flicks are good and indie. I do enjoy sucking on a spicy dog and sipping a Bells during the intermission while the Ragtag staff change the movie reel. If we're lucky, we might get to see this guy sing old-timey before the showing.

There's more to our new home than these six highlights, but I thought everyone would want to know what their missing this weekend.

Summer Drink Alert!

I know that the summer is almost over, but I was recently introduced to a new summer drink at a private, outdoor screening of The Muppet Movie. It's known as "Summer Beer".

Fill a glass with about 3/4 of an unfiltered wheat beer. Boulevard's Wheat works the best, but I'm sure any good wheat micro will do. (However, I would not waste Bell's Oberon on such a drink.) Then, almost fill the glass with lemonade. The guy who introduced me to the drink used lemonade from one of those frozen concentrate things which has to be better than the sugary packet mix. Top it off with a shot of vodka. Again, I wouldn't waste the good vodka for this drink. Finally, stir and serve. Ahhhhhhh. Refreshing.