Strange Tuesday Mardi Gras Beer and Chef Feast

I'm hosting another Craft Beer and Food Event in Denver this February.  This is going to be a ton of fun.  I would love to have you as guests.  The details are below:

BeerCraving, Strange Brewing and Chefzoso present:

 Mardi Gras Strange Tuesday Beer and Chef Feast.

Tuesday February 12, 2013

at Strange Brewing Company

1330 Zuni St

Denver, Colorado

6:00 pm sips and nibbles. Dinner Promptly at 7

Nibbles and Bits:

Creole Steak Crostini on Pils Malt Toast Points
Pickled Cajun Shrimp “Dunked In Dunkel”

K-Paul’s Cane Sugar and Cayenne Cosh Cosh Corn Beignets

Served with:

Farmhouse Ale and Munich Dunkel


Garden and Bayou:

Roasted Mirliton (Chayote) Squash & Grilled Hothouse Tomato Salad

with "crawdad" dressing

Served with: One Barrel Craft Creole Brew

Hot off the Grill:

Big Malty Soaked Pork Loin with Creole mustard,

andouille cornbread stuffing and pecan pork Sauce

over “hoppy but dirty” Rice

Served with:  Big Malty Winter Brew

Le Grand Finale:

Dried Cherry "Bombe” Banana Foster Bread Pudding

with vanilla bean custard sauce and crispy mint

Served with: Cherry Bomb Stout

$49 all inclusive

Reserve Seating only by Pre-Sale

This is a family style dinner with group seating.

CHEF N BREW FESTIVAL DENVER

Twelve of Colorado’s Craft Breweries team up with Twelve of Denver’s Top Chefs in a celebration of Culinary Art and Brewery Magic!

BeerCraving and Chefzoso present:

The Ultimate Beer and Food Festival

featuring:

-A plethora of local beers

-Watch and sample exquisite appetizers prepared by the region’s best Chefs paired with craft beer

-Sample Local Charcuterie and Cheeses

Join the Competition:

Your Vote Decides Best Pairing of Food and Beer!

Chefs and Brewmasters awarded for :

Most Creative & Best of Show, selected by our local celebrity judges

$39 ticket price includes beer and food

Hosted at The Oriental Theater – 4335 West 44th Avenue Denver, CO 80212

Participating Breweries:

Caution!

River North

Funkwerks

Crooked Stave

Our Mutual Friend

Wit’s End

Strange Brewing

West Flanders Brewing

Wynkoop

Elevation Brewing

Breckenridge

Hogs Head Brewery

Participating Chefs:

Elise Wiggins – Panzano

James Mazzio – Studio F

Samir Mohammad – Lala’s Pizzaria and Wine Bar

Chris Cina – Ghost Plate and Tap

Jensen Cummings – Row 14

Victoria Bittori – Crock Spot

Lucky Pie

The Kitchen Denver

Russel’s Smokehouse

Jax Denver

Tickets are on sale at chefnbrewfestival.eventbrite.com

Irish Colcannon

Ingredients

3 lbs of potatoes, roughly peeled and sliced 1/4"
1 cup milk
1 stick butter
1 head napa cabbage, green cabage or kale cut in 1/2" ribbons
¼ cup parsley, chopped
3 tbsp IPA
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Put potatoes in a cold pot of water and add 2 tbsp of salt.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes until fork tender.  Drain the potatoes in a colander.

Add butter and cabbage to the pot and cook until cabbage is tender, about 3 minutes.  Add milk and IPA and cook until warm.  Return the potatoes to the pot, add parsley, adjust seasonings and mash until smooth.  Serve with Sam Adams Irish Short Ribs.

IPA and Basil Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

4 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, roughly peeled and sliced ¼”  

3 tbsp salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbsp butter

¾ cup milk

½ cup New Belgium Ranger IPA

9 leaves basil, chopped

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions

Put potatoes in a cold pot of water and add salt.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15-20 minutes until fork tender.  Drain and return to the pot.

Sauté garlic in olive oil just until it begins to brown.   Add butter, milk, and IPA.  Cook until warm, then add to potatoes and mash them.  Fold in basil and serve.

Healthy Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup

Serves 3-5

Pancake Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp ground flax seeds

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups greek yogurt

1/4 cup blueberries

4 eggs(preferably free-range), whites separated from yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp coconut oil for cooking(in place of butter)

Directions

Heat oven to warm(approx 200 degrees).

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.  Add yolks, yogurt and 1/4 cup of blueberries.

In a separate bowl whisk egg whites until frothy and stiff(use an immersion blender if you have one).  Fold egg whites into the mixture.  

Stir just enough to combine but don't over-mix.

Heat a pan with coconut oil over medium heat. When pan is hot add about 2 tbsp of pancake batter for each pancake.  Flip when bubbles appear on the top.  Cook in batches keeping finished pancakes in a warm oven until all of them are ready.

Serve with blueberry maple syrup.

Blueberry Syrup Ingredients

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/4 cup blueberries

Directions 

Heat blueberries and maple syrup in a small sauce pan until boiling.  Serve with pancakes.

Butternut Squash Croquettes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butternut squash cut into 1/2" cubes and pulverized in food processor
1 egg
4 Tbsp flour sieved
1 tsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp hot sauce
1/4 cup green onion, green parts reserved for garnish
olive oil


Directions

Pulverize butternut squash in food processor, then add remaining ingredients and pureé until smooth but mixture still has texture.  Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add a heaping tablespoon of mixture to the pan, flatten and fry in batches until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Allow to cool on a rack then garnish with remaining green onions.

Try topping these with a little curry ketchup (1 Tbsp curry powder plus 1/4 cup ketchup) and sautéed shrimp for an easy, elegant appetizer.

Cilantro Hummus

Ingredients

4 raw garlic cloves or 5 roasted garlic cloves
¾ teaspoon salt
1- 15oz can garbanzo beans or chick peas
3 tablespoon well stirred tahini

3 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons water

¼ cup cilantro

1 tsp cumin

Directions

Puree all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.  You can add more olive oil or water to reach desired consistency.

Have New Age Craft Brewers Gone Too Far?

Recently i've heard more than a few people talking about how brewers have gotten a little too experimental.  I can see where they are coming from.  Take a walk through your local bottle shop and really pay attention to what is on the shelves these days.  You'll see Double IPA's, Tripel IPA's, Black IPA's, Coffee Stouts, Lemongrass Wheats, beers brewed with pumpkin, beers brewed with Yerba Mate and many more.  With so many different styles of beer available from a growing amount of brewers, it's easy to get lost when trying to decide on a beer.  It's not just the Americans who are making all these wacky beers either.  Belgians are now making Double IPA's and Barley Wines.

You may be surprised to hear that putting all these funky, often strange ingredients in beer is not all that new.  Belgians have been brewing using herbs, spices and barrel aging beers for centuries.  In Scandinavia there are many ancient recipes that call for different roots, barks and local herbs.  Believe it or not, hops have not always been a part of the brewing process.  What we are seeing a lot of today is the resurrection of ancient brewing traditions.  Dogfish Head makes a beer called Midas Touch, which is derived from a recipe from an Egyptian Tomb from 2700 years ago.  It's brewed with honey and  muscat grapes and has a very interesting flavor to it.

It is breweries like Dogfish Head that really push the envelope.  They're not afraid to try anything.  Experimentation is the only way we'll be able to keep our beer scene interesting.  If every beer brewed was supposed to appeal to every beer drinker out there we would be drinking some pretty boring beers.  Homogenization of beer in the 80's anyone?  As our palates expand and crave more flavor, the craft brewers of the world will be there to appease our taste buds.

I recently picked up a beer at a local bottle shop called Lambrucha by Vanberg & DeWulf.  The idea of the beer is a blend of lambic beer with kombucha - a fermented health drink.  I have to admit, I am a fan of both Lambic Beer and Kombucha to begin with, but never would I have thought to blend the two.  The resulting beer has a welcome tartness and fine bubbly carbonation.  It's a great spring or summer beer at 3.5% ABV so you can have a few glasses of it and spare yourself the nap afterwards.

I've been keeping track of all the beers I drink using BeerCraving.  This site helps you remember the beers you drink through pictures.  You can add tasting notes and even tag the place where you bought the beer to remember for later.  They'll be launching a beer app in January which will make it even easier to keep track of  the beers I drink.

So to all you highly experimental craft brewers out there, continue to make the most interesting beer you can think of.  I can't guarantee we'll like everything you produce, but we will admire the risks you take to further the craft.

TED Video: Mark Bittman on what's wrong with what we eat