My buddy Mike Beech (of
Strength and Beer) and I have been talking for a while about doing a coursed out meal with wine and/or beer pairings. We got the opportunity to do just that this weekend at a friends' house warming party.
SIDEBAR: As mentioned in "
Red Wine Garlic Sausage", I did get a chance to take down my own venison last Sunday, and I was successful! I got a 2-2.5 yr old doe from 75-80 yards out. What an intense experience. I cannot wait to get out for more. I'll do a blog about just the deer later, but I bring it up because it was the 4th course.
So in this particular case, I came up with the menu first. I didn't really want a "theme" so much as I wanted to feature several different techniques. Once the menu was in place, Mike spent a couple weeks tasting beers and wines to match each course. I know right? Poor Mike.
And awaaaaayyyy we go!
Course #1: Herbed Spring Mix with Goat Cheese, Almonds, OrangeBeer #1: Ommegang Rouge, Flanders Red Ale, Cooperstown, NYWine #1: Verdemar Albariño, 2009, Riaz Baixas, Spain
You may remember this salad from the classic "
Crevettes L'Orange", except that I have replaced the gorgonzola with goat cheese. The goat cheese is much more mild. The almonds were toasted slices. The orange was supremed. The dressing was minced shallot, fresh squeezed orange juice, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper shaken in an old spaghetti sauce jar - this results in a superior emulsification of the ingredients.
Mike killed it on the beer pairing here. The interesting part about the beer in this course was the amount of acid it had. It really went perfectly with such a tart salad. The wine was really good, but wasn't quite there with the salad. It wasn't a bad pairing or anything, just not perfect.
Course #2: Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Beer #2: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, India Pale Ale, Milton, DE
Wine #2: Chateau Routas Rosé, 2010, Provence, France
Honestly, this was my first gumbo. I can't believe that's true, but it is. Aside from not thickening up as much as I wanted, it was really good. I sautéed "the Holy Trinity" of celery, onions, and green bells and threw that in the crockpot. I added okra, garlic, tomatoes, andouille, chicken thighs (roasted in the oven), stock, roux (of which I did not add enough), thyme and cayenne. That simmered all day. Right before we left, I seasoned it with salt and added Louisiana Hot Sauce.
The IPA really accentuated the heat of this gumbo and was, again, a perfect pair. The rosé was a really nice, serious rosé, and went well with the gumbo. Again, we felt this pairing wasn't quite perfect.
Course #3: Pork Belly, Confit Tomato, Frisée
Beer #3: NXNW Northern Light, Pilsner, Austin, TX
Wine #3: Kenwood Pinot Noir, 2010, Sonoma County, CA
This course was near and dear to my heart, because it was the pork course. I braised a piece of pork belly for 1.5 hours in the ol Dutch oven, after searing it off and adding a little stock. I reduced the remaining liquid with brown sugar and bourbon to a glaze. The "confit tomato" was
cherry tomatoes that had been cooked on low in extra virgin olive oil, duck fat, thyme, and garlic for an hour. The frisée was there for texture and contrast. When we were ready for this course, I put the belly under the broiler to crisp the fat on top, sliced it, glazed it, and ate it. The tomatoes came out WAY more tart than sweet - most likely a result of the lack of ripeness. But, as always, the belly came through and saved the dish.
I knew I should have taken notes. Sitting here at the computer, writing this blog, I can not remember my exact thoughts on the pairings. I remember that they worked, but no specifics. My head must have been in pork belly mode - it makes you forget things.
Course #4: Venison Leg Roast, Potato Celeriac Purée, Roasted Squash
Beer #4: Chimay Premiére, Belgian Dubbel, Hainut, Belgium
Wine #4: Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Patterson, WA
This course was near and "deer" to my heart. As previously mentioned, this was the deer that I had, only a week prior, actually shot myself. And had butchered the day before. It doesn't get much fresher than that. To get a large enough roast for the party, we tied together the two bottom rounds with a top round in between. Absolutely zero silver skin anywhere and about 99% fat free. I jammed garlic and rosemary between the layers, S&P'd the outside and seared it GBD. I placed thick slices of onion, celery tops, and carrots in the pan, covered those 3/4 with stock and placed the roast on top of that. With the probe thermo inserted, it roasted at 250º for 3 hours until the inside was a PERFECT 140º - and yes, to answer your question. Venison SHOULD be cooked rare to barely medium. Any more, and it's toast.
The purée was another gem. Potatoes and celery root were simmered to tender, then tossed in the processor with heavy cream and butter, salt, duck fat, and an egg yolk. Puréed to silky smooth, then pressed through a sieve, they were delectable.
The squash was just roasted. I was really disappointed in that. It was a throw away side from the get-go. I should have been more creative. It does look purty though.
Wow. This dish killed. The venison had very little gaminess. It was perfectly cooked. And was tender as can be. The purée was delicious as well. They raved.
This was the first course where the wine was an absolute perfect pair. The cab really held up to the intense flavor of the venison, and the super rich purée. The beer was a nice pairing, but I don't know that any beer could have been a better pair than the wine was.
Course #5: Roasted Banana Semifreddo with Peanut Butter CaramelBeer #5: Rahr & Sons Ugly Pug, Black Lager, Fort Worth, TXWine #5: Tott's Gold Medal Cuvée, San Joaquin Valley, CAI have made this dessert before, but I don't remember blogging it. A semifreddo is an Italian dessert meaning "semi frozen". It's a fluffy, cold combination of an Italian meringue (sugar melted to 240º, drizzled into soft peaked egg whites) and whipped cream. The flavor, in this case, roasted bananas, is added to the meringue before folding in the cream. The dessert is then molded, and frozen. About 10-15 minutes before service, it should be removed to the fridge to soften a bit. I served it with a peanut butter "caramel". I say "caramel" because I didn't have enough white sugar to make a true caramel. So I used a combination of white sugar and brown sugar. I really just melted them, added some cream, then stirred in peanut butter. The poor technique was revealed in both the grittiness of the sauce, and the way the sauce set up instead of staying pourable.
People actually came back for seconds on this one - it was the only one we had second helpings of.
The beer, once again, was killer with this one. Aside from the salad pairing, this was most surprising that a beer could be paired so well. The lager really accentuated the nuttiness of the dessert. The sparkling was great as well, but let's all be honest with ourselves here, bubbles go with anything.
All in all, wow. What a successful endeavor on both our parts. Mike brought the heat big time and the food was pretty killer too, if I do say so myself. We already have a few requests to do some more, and I can't wait. Stay tuned for that Bambi Butcher Blog!
