This is the year of beer and food pairing, I know, but this is also the month I’m heading first to Mexico for a wedding (my own!) and then to New Orleans for the remarkable Tales of the Cocktail event. During the former trip, I plan on eating and drinking like Dionysus himself, although considering where I’ll be, likely indulging in more tequila than beer, while in the middle of the latter, I’ll participate in a “Spirited Dinner” at Wolfe’s in the Warehouse.
So what precisely is a “Spirited Dinner,” you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a four course meal in which every dish has been paired with not a beer or wine, but a cocktail. And since I’m co-hosting the meal (with Gary Regan), two of those accompanying beverages will involve beer!
In all honesty, this being the first time I’ve done any food pairing with cocktails, I balked at making beer cocktails for both of my allotted courses. Thus, in the menu below you will find one beer cocktail, in the third and main course, and one beer. It was slightly cowardly of me, I admit, but who could resist partnering bacon-wrapped duck with Aventinus!?
At any rate, back to that Mexican trip. Since as I type these words my departure time is rapidly approaching, and I’m still wrapping things up so far as my business obligations go, I’m going to take the easy way out with this month’s feature and offer for your interest, amusement and perhaps edification the menu I will co-present in The Big Easy later this month. If it gets your appetite going and you’re in the area, please consider joining Gary and me at Wolfe’s. (Tickets can be ordered through the Tales website here.) And if you’d like to see more about what my co-host gets up to in his spare time, feel free to visit Gary’s website, Ardent Spirits.
Welcome Drink – Elegante Fizz
Milagro Silver Tequila, Domaine de Canton, Chilled Champagne
First Course
Pan Fried Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes on Black Bean Mango Salsa with Crispy Parsnip Strips, Sweet Red Curry Butter Sauce and Cilantro Sour Cream
Served with a Piscorta Milanese
Bar-Sol Quebranta Pisco, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Campari, Fresh Lime Juice
Second Course
Apple Wood Smoked Bacon Wrapped Duck Roulade stuffed with Roasted Capsicum, Spinach and House Made Italian Duck on a salad of baby Arugula, candied pecans, pickled red onions, goat cheese and apple Dijon vinaigrette
Served with Schneider and Sohn Aventinus
Third Course
Southwest- Dry Rub Ribeye served with House Cured Tasso Braised Southern Greens, Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and marchands de vin
Served with a Scottish Buffalo
Harviestoun Old Engine Oil, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Fee Brothers Old Aromatic Bitters
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