I really like every beer I have tried so far from Green Flash Brewing.
Of those I am especially fond of, their Le Freak is a pretty cool beer.
However, their West Coast IPA is probably their flagship beer. “Extravagently Hopped”, is how they describe it on the website, and I’d agree, though not to the extent of some, cough, other Southern California brewers.
Still smarting from last week’s stew disaster, I decided to revisit, but with things I am comfortable with. Like Pork.
And Rancho Gordo Yellow Indian Woman Beans. Soaked the beans for a couple hours and set them to cook with some garlic and herbs.
Groceries for the stew.
Mmmm, Got some awesome country style spare ribs at Avedano’s. Check out that marbling!
And some kale and tatsoi from a friendly face at the Allemany Farmers’ Market.
Browned the pork, sauteed some aromatic vegetables, covered it with white wine, and put it in a 325 degree oven to simmer.
Also got some nice Chanterelles from Far West Fungii at the Allemany Farmers’ Market. Roasted those off.
When the meat was getting towards tender, I removed the meat from the bone, degreased the cooking liquids, and combined the now tender beans, braising greens, and roasted chanterelles. Covered again and returned to oven.
Yep.
That turned out tasty. Walnut Bread from the Noe Valley Bakery.
Oh wait, I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the beer. Navarro Zinfandel with dinner this time, instead of Cabernet Sauvingon.
With my new schedule, it’s kind of weird, I’m out of sync with what seems like the rest of the working world. Thursdays are the new “Fridays” and Fridays are the new “Saturdays”, and Sundays are the new “Monday”.
On Friday, I usually sleep in and spend my day doing errands, walking the dog, and then making dinner so I can have something ready for Mrs. Flannestad when she gets home from work.
On New Years, while at our friends’ house, we had worked together on making an excellent version of the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for Hungarian Beef Stew.
It was rainy and a bit cold last “Saturday”, so it seemed like a good day for Stew. Why not revisit the success of the Hungarian Beef Stew?
It turned out tasty, but a bit odd texturally. There was a gritty character I’ve never experienced with Paprika seasoned stews. Unpleasant. The only thing I can figure is that the Spicely Paprika, which I’ve never used before, is weird. Either that or the bottle was half sand.
Fortunately, the Broccoli Rabe from River Dog farms suffered no such textural problems. Sauteed/braised with chiles, anchovies, garlic, and raisins, it was quite delightful.
One of my favorite not too funky Saisons is Foret from Saison Dupont. It is truly a delightful beer.
To be honest, it has a double “nostalgia” factor which gives it extra resonance.
Back in the day, Slanted Door used to be on Church Street in San Francisco. One of Mrs. Flannestad and my favorite things was to go there and split a 750ml bottle of Saison Dupont (or two) with our dinner of shaking beef, spring rolls, etc.
Life has rolled on in the last decade or so. Slanted Door has moved (twice!) and gone on to tremendous success. Unfortunately, they no longer carry the 750ml bottles of Saison Dupont at Slanted Door, but we do carry the smaller bottles of Foret at Phan’s new Chinese Food and Cocktails venue Heaven’s Dog.
But why buy a small bottle, when you can buy a large one? As far as I can tell, the big difference between Foret and Saison Dupont is that Foret is organically produced. Stylistically they are quite similar, with all the wonderful hallmarks of a good Saison.
Not entirely a successful Friday Night Dinner, but the Foret from Saison Dupont and Cabernet Sauvingon from Navarro somewhat salved my failure with the stew.
First, I really like the spiffy Belgian Beer bottles that come wrapped in paper. They are just fun. Second, I am very fond of Maredsous’ Blonde Beer.
That said, Maredsous Brown was very good, but didn’t stick out in any particular way to me. There was no really interesting or unusual thing about it. Just a very good, well made beer. And that is fine, but I probably wouldn’t buy it again.
Port Brewing’s High Tide Fresh Hop India Pale Ale located at local bottle shop City Beer Store. I can never pass up trying a Fresh Hop beer.
All about the grapefruit in the nose and taste. Nicely balanced, though, and not sharp. Very drinkable.
Experimental Roasted Pumpkin and Apple Risotto with sage. Pretty tasty. Salad of Arugula and Persimmons. Portobello Mushroom Sausages.
My super hero wife was again away last weekend, this time in LA working on a ridiculously high profile project for what she calls “The Place”.
I had an evite to a fantastic party, but was feeling like I needed a bit of downtime.
Between B.A.R. certification, friends being in town, and birthday celebrations, recent events had gotten a bit off the rails. Too many blurry nights. I really needed a night at home with the dog and cats to regroup.
But I was just feeling too lazy to put together my usual bachelor dinner, a pot of jambalaya. Fortunately, bone-in chicken breasts were on sale at Good Life. I rubbed them with Gremolata, put a sage leaf under the skin, and draped some, (unfortunately not Boccolone,) Pancetta over the top and threw them in the convection oven at 375F. Then I covered some potatoes with water and set them to boil.
La Goudale appeared this week at our local grocery. Interestingly, the brewers claim La Goudale is based on, “…an original medieval recipe, Goudale is a historic name.”
I tend to like lighter Belgian Saisons and Singles, which seem to be relatively rarely brought into this country. Just kind of tired of overly “big” beers. You can keep your triples and your Imperials. Just give me something nice that goes well with food and doesn’t hit me over the head with the hammer of sweetness and alcohol. Goudale fits into this profile, being fairly dry, not overly sweet, or particularly strong. Initially not seeming overly complex, it did show some enjoyable subtleties of flavor as it warmed.
Pulled the breasts out when they hit 145F. Sauteed some sliced spring onions and spinach in butter. Drained and smashed the potatoes. Stirred the sauteed veg into them along with some sour cream.
Sliced the chicken breast and served it with the potatoes. Shoulda maybe made a pan sauce, but like I said, this was a lazy, bachelor dinner, not an impress the significant other kind of thing.
Something, I dunno, peaceful, about being in the bar after a busy night. You’ve taken care of all your closing responsibilities and are waiting for your cab or ride. Between when the dishwashers finish and the cleaning crew shows up.
While you’re there and contemplating the universe, or at least the small portion of it you experienced that night, you might as well have a beer, if you haven’t had a shift drink. Maybe the Carnegie (aka Pripps’) Porter? Nice stuff, vintage dated and from Sweden.
This is another beer from the Plump Jack Beer Club. I’ve belonged to this club for several years now, and the organizer never fails to find something interesting new for me to try. Rauchbiers are an acquired taste for some. Like Islay Scotch, the Malt is dried over an open fire, lending a smoky character. Being very fond of Alaskan Brewing’s Smoked Porter and Stone Brewing’s Smoked Porter, I was quite looking forward to this beer from the Les Trois Mousquetaires Brewery in Quebec.
Interestingly, the Trois Mousequetaires Brewery started when Imperial Tobacco of Canada shut down its Montreal locations, sending the three founders into a quest for a new source of income and inspiration.
The beer is nice, not as smoky as some German Rauchbier, but enough to take notice. According to the information I have, they use partly smoked malt and the beer is then cold aged and bottled unfiltered. Pours with a healthy head and is a bit on the sweet side. Nicely Porter-esque and a perfect accompaniment to a honking big slab of…
When I was heading home from work on Friday, I stopped at Avedano’s to pick up something to grill. Like the Plump Jack Beer club, Avedano’s never fails to have something interesting which inspires me to cook. It was truly far too hot outside to think of turning on the oven or even the stove top. They had some beautiful dry aged ribeye that I just couldn’t resist. Ribeye is just about my favorite easily available steak. Well, OK, bone in, thick cut ribeye is my absolute favorite. But since I was on my own for dinner, that would be a bit over the top.
Grilling steaks always reminds me of growing up in Wisconsin. My parents would often buy half a cow from the local butcher and then freeze most of the meat, giving us steaks and summer sausage for a good portion of the year. The old adage, “Dad Cooks Outside, Mom Cooks Inside,” always held true. While Dad got the coals going, Mom would peel and slice potatoes, chop plenty of onions and wrap them in foil with plenty of butter, salt, and pepper. These would then be cooked over the coals outside. When they were done, they would be spooned into a bowl. My favorite bits were always the browned and caramelized potatoes that stuck to the foil.
Nothing more than salt, pepper, and a little bit of olive oil, for a ribeye this nice! Not the best job of cross hatching, but not bad for cooking on a Weber!
Really that does seem like a lot of potatoes and a big steak. I hope I can finish them!
OK, well, I finished the potatoes. Half the steak will make a nice sandwich for lunch tomorrow!
Recently our local grocery has started carrying beer from a small Scottish Brewery called “Brew Dog”. Fond as I am of Stouts, I’ve been curious about their Rip Tide Imperial Stout.
Martin and James were bored of the industrially brewed lagers and stuffy ales that dominate the UK market. We decided the best way to fix this undesirable predicament was to brew our own beers. Consequently in April 2007 BrewDog was born.
Both only 24 at the time, we leased a building, got some scary bank loans, spent all our money on stainless steel and started making some hardcore beers.
We are dedicated to making cool, contemporary and progressive beers showcasing some of the world’s classic beer styles. All with an innovative twist and customary BrewDog bite.
Well, that’s cool.
With Mrs. Flannestad away for the weekend, I’d not done real well on the whole feeding myself front this weekend. Figured I should at least give it a go tonight.
Got some nice Salmon and Fingerling potatoes at Avedano’s. Fennel and Kale at Good Life. So… Thinly sliced fingerling potatoes, fennel, and chiffonade of tuscan kale. Some olive oil and cream. Idea is a quick gratin. Tossed in the oven at 400 F.
Salmon fillet, with a rub, garnish, I don’t know what you call it… Mustard, finely minced onion, thyme, tarragon, lemon zest, splash of vermouth, olive oil. We used to make a main course something like this at a restaurant I worked in.
Hm. Rip Tide is tasty, but more of a UK style Porter than an Imperial Stout. OK. But doesn’t quite have the backbone to stand up to the alcohol level.
Salmon on top of the mostly cooked gratin. Oven at 425 F.
Sorry for the focus. Really this was one of the more successful and interesting dishes I’ve cooked recently. Nice textural contrast. Crispy potatoes and kale at the edges. Delicious rich salmon towards the middle.
Just hope I can make it again once Mrs. Flannestad gets back!
To continue with the punch, maybe I should compare the beer making and punch making processes, and see if I can find parallels.
My rough understanding of the beer making process:
1) Grains are malted, which means they are allowed to sprout and begin to transform complex carbohydrates into sugars for use by the growing plant.
2) Malted Grains are dried and milled.
3) Malted Grains are slowly cooked in water to form a sweet solution (aka Wort).
4) Solids are removed from the solution, and the boil is continued. Hops, or other flavoring agents, may also be added to this solution at various points, for flavor and alleged preservative qualities.
4) Microorganisms (typically yeast) are introduced to the solution.
5) Microorganisms consume the sugars producing flavor, Carbon Dioxide, and, more importantly, alcohol.
6) The solution is racked off, maybe fined or filtered, and bottled in sealed containers, where it continues to ferment and produce alcohol, flavors and now most importantly, Carbon Dioxide. The Carbon Dioxide, with nowhere else to go, pressurized the containers and dissolves in the beer producing carbonation.
Pop the top! I’m thirsty!
Anyway, the whole Malting, Milling, and filtering off solids process is too much of a pain for most home brewers and many commercial brewers. They instead buy “Malt Extract” or “Malt Syrup” and start at step 4.
Punch Making Process:
1) A sweet flavored solution, also known as sherbet, is created by macerating and steeping flavoring agents in sugar and hot water.
2) The sherbet is combined with booze and citrus and allowed to mingle for a period.
2a) If this is a Milk Punch, the combined booze, sherbet, and citrus mixture will be fined by adding warm milk to the solution. The milk solidifies into curd, which is then removed, leaving the elements of the milk whey behind in the punch.
3) The punch solution is chilled.
4) The punch solution is diluted with water, soda, or champagne and served over ice.
As I mentioned, my e-quaintance Rob DeNunzio had previously experimented with making what he hoped would be a cocktail-like beer.
In addition, the theme of the upcoming dinner is “Italian Modernist” brewers. Italian brewers who are re-inventing what might be considered beer by many folks. Chestnut flavored beer, beers made with flowers and herbs, beers that nearly resemble negronis in their flavor profiles.
When Alex pestered me about making punch for the dinner, I think he just wanted some serious booze at a very beery party.
But when I started thinking about it, what could I do that would be in fitting with the theme? Stretch the idea of punch?
The first thing that occurred to me was beers like Chouffe’s N’Ice, practically a beer punch already, with its candy sugar, coriander, and curacao orange peels.
What if I went about it from the other direction?
Starting from my Bernal Heights Milk Punch I made some beer-like substitutions.
First I’m going to infuse (dry hop) the booze with hops. I’m also going to replace the tea in the sweetening syrup with hops. I’ll replace a portion of the sweetener with Barley Malt. Last, I’ll skew the flavoring spices towards those often used in some Belgian beers.
—
Cali-Belgique Pisco Punch. (with apologies to Stone Brewing)
750ml Marion Farms Biodynamic Pisco Style Brandy.
750ml Barbancourt White Rhum.
375ml Batavia Arrack.
1 Pineapple, chopped
6 lemons, peeled and juiced.
1 Quart Straus Family Creamery Whole Milk.
1 Pint Water.
8 teaspoons Cascade Hops.
4 pieces dried Clemetine Peel.
20 Whole Coriander Seeds, crushed.
8 Whole Cloves, crushed.
1/2 stick Cassia Cinnamon, crushed.
1/2 Pound Sugar.
1/4 Pound Malted Barley Syrup.
Place lemon peels in sealed container with rum and batavia arrack. Infuse for 48 hours.
Place pineapple in sealed container with Pisco and juice 4 lemons. Infuse for 24 hours.
Add 4 teaspoon hops to pineapple mixture and shake. Infuse for another 24 hours.
Boil water to a simmer and pour over 4 teaspoons hops, dried clementine peels, cloves, and cinnamon. Dissolve sugar and barley syrup in spiced solution. Cool and allow to stand for 24 hours.
Bring milk to 140-150 degrees F. Pour Pisco off of pineapple, attempting to squeeze as much juice/booze out of the fruit as possible. Pour warm milk into flavored Pisco, cover, and allow to stand for a half an hour or so.
Disturbing curd as little as possible, pour milk and pisco through a fine sieve.
At this point it will look kind of like “louched” absinthe. Filter again through a double layer of cheesecloth.
Remove peels from rum mixture and pour into pisco. Pour flavored syrup through fine sieve into mixture.
Pour all off into clean sealable containers and allow to stand at least 24 hours.
Rack punch off of any settled milk solids and filter through coffee filter or similar.
Bottle in clean sealable containers and chill.
Serve over ice or with a splash of soda.
—
About half way through this process, it occurred to me that I was making a compounded, flavored malt and alcohol beverage. Oh wait, isn’t that what Zima was?
I mentioned this to Rob and his reply was, “And just think? If it does turn out like Zima, you’ll be filling the sad vacuum it left behind.”
Well, it doesn’t taste like Zima, that’s for sure.
The longer steep time for the spices put those out front. A slight underestimation of the sweetening power of Malted Barley tips this punch towards the sweet side. The use of lighter alcohol makes this seem like, “wait, does it actually have any alcohol?” I could have sworn I put some in…
Oh right, the legendary dangerously drinkable Pisco Punch. See you next week.
When I last saw Alex he bugged me about making punch for an upcoming beer and food dinner we are both attending.
My initial intention was simply to make a batch of the Bernal Heights Milk Punch I’ve been making, but with Pisco instead of Brandy.
However, when I was thinking about the theme of the dinner, I remembered that the host had previously experimented with creating a beer that shared some characteristics with cocktails.
Which got me thinking, isn’t turn about fair play? What if I made a punch that shared some of the characteristics of beer and brought it to the dinner?
I have hops purchased with the intention of creating a hop bitters.
I have barley malt due to my obsession with obscure and unusual sweeteners.
Aren’t there some beers that share the characteristics of Punch?
Punch allegedly is a similar word to the Hindu word for “5″ or “hand”. Supposedly “five” or “hand” signifies the 5 elements of punch:
- Strong (booze!)
- Sweet (sugar)
- Sour (citrus)
- Weak (tea, water, wine, and/or ice)
- Spice (usually coriander, clove, cinnamon, or cardamom)
Wait a sec? I could almost be describing a Belgian Beer! Well, OK, a belgian beer and a shot. But still.
There might be something there!
