As a professional cook, I’m often amazed at how few people understand how to cook and the processes involved. I’ve ranted in the past about those who simply don’t have the frame of reference to enjoy high quality, well prepared food, but this goes beyond that. In the age of delivered pick-your-genre food and drive-thru on-demand garbage, knowing how, what and even why to cook seems to be increasingly rare.

It shouldn’t be.

This is as fundamental as sleeping.

Everyone should have at least a little knowledge on the subject. There are no greater bonding moments between friends, or family, than sharing the cooking duties and sitting down to enjoy the fruits of that labor. Not a one. Of this, I am completely, and irreversibly convinced. I will concede, however reluctantly, that this view might be a personal bias, but I really highly doubt it. I am consciously trying not to make this a rant, but I feel I need to give you some examples of just how disconnected, just how far the general public has veered away from very basic knowledge about food and cooking, and how little attention seems to be paid to what they (we) are shoveling into their (our) collective faces.

Last year sometime, a woman who ordered some shrimp nigiri asked me if the shrimp was cooked. Let me break this scenario down for you, for you to truly understand my frustration. First of all, we don’t list it on the menu as “Ebi”, as so many sushi places do. To the sushi savvy, seeing “Ebi” under the sashimi/nigiri listing on the menu it is generally understood to mean “cooked shrimp”. Second, we do not offer “amaebi” which is, under the same conditions, generally understood to mean “raw sweet shrimp”. Lastly (take a deep breath for this) the way we list it on the menu is “Cooked Shrimp”.

Okay, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, as far reached as this might be, that she MAY have forgotten what she ordered by the time it got to her given the fact that she was with friends, drinks were flowing, much conversation was had. It’s conceivable that this scenario might be true. However, the final ingredient in the story is the fact that the plate was in front of her. She was looking right at it. Yet still asked the question, “is this shrimp cooked?”. My brain reeled. My disbelief at the question rendered me momentarily mute. It took me a few long and awkward seconds to even be able to cobble together the letters in my head to form the word “yes”, let alone utter them. The fact that she, an adult woman, old enough to get into the casino that I work at (which means she was at the very least 21), could not distinguish a cooked shrimp, sitting two feet in front of her face, from a raw one, sent my brain into convulsions that left me dumbfounded.

Not to sound too particular on the matter, but let me give you another, more recent example. We have a roll on the menu listed as “Grilled Chicken Roll”. The creation of my co-worker, it consists of grilled scallion, roasted garlic puree, grilled asparagus, and (as one would expect) grilled chicken, rolled up in the usual American sushi fashion of rice-on-the-outside with nori, a sauce of my design (a thickened soy/citrus/ginger concoction), sweet chili sauce based on Mae Ploy, and micro cilantro. One customer a week or so ago, again, staring right at it, sliced, presented and two feet from his face, chicken well visible, asked if the chicken was cooked… It was CHICKEN! No cook or chef in their right mind would serve raw chicken in this country! The only places I’ve heard of in the world that can get away with that are in Japan, and even then it’s only at places where the chef himself raised the birds and slaughtered them the day of service, therefore he knows that these animals were clean and well attended to to avoid the usual salmonella scare that accompanies factory-farm raised birds.

Beyond my usual bitching that most people who are unfamiliar with sushi usually have the misconception that all of the meats served are in raw form. Beyond the fact that the menu clearly, and unambiguously states that these items are served cooked. These people could not discern for themselves, could not tell on sight, did not have the frame of reference or basic knowledge of food and what things look like when cooked verses raw, this seriously distresses me… at a very deep and alarming level…

I was first inspired to write this after the incident with the woman and her shrimp nigiri, but it was also very shortly after I read Anthony Bourdains most recent book “Medium Raw”, in which he dedicates an entire chapter to this very subject. So, upon recalling that chapter, I thought to myself, “he said it way better than I ever could…” thus, my inspiration for writing this piece waned. Bob also wrote a similar post on the subject. Link to that at the end. The more recent inquiry about the chicken roll, combined with a brief conversation on the subject with my compatriots here at the Rogue Estate, have convinced me that this cannot be reiterated enough. Indeed, we should be shouting this from rooftops.

The act of cooking for oneself, or friends, or family, has nearly become extinct, it seems, in this country. I’m trying very hard NOT to soap box here, I’m merely trying to point out a fact that is very disconcerting to me on a great many levels. Maybe that is the very definition of “soap boxing”, but fuck it, I’m too far in to stop now…

I truly believe it to be a social imperative, one of the things that family and community are held together by. Everyone, repeat, EVERYONE should have some basic cooking skills. I’m not trying to say all humans should spend time in a restaurant kitchen, that sort of thing is best left to the seriously deranged, I’m just suggesting that the country we live in, the good ol’ U.S. of A., would be a better place for it.

It’s certainly a more economical approach, and given the economic status we face, that makes as much sense as any other reason I could possibly give. And as much as I hate to sound like I might be leaning to the right here, it is, more than most activities, an exercise in family bonding. I’m also not expecting anyone without a seriously bent psyche to sit down and read Escoffier cover to cover, nor am I expecting a reasonably sane person to study and memorize anything Keller has ever said in the history of ever. But there are some basic skills that should be taught to all mammals that possess opposable thumbs. Most of which a reasonably intelligent monkey could be taught. So there are no excuses.

First would be knife skills. The ability to dice an onion or chop celery without losing a digit is a worthwhile and simple goal. Knife maintenance is another good thing to know, since the most common cause of cutting oneself in the kitchen is a dull knife.

Basic cooking techniques would be next on my list. I’m not saying everyone should know intuitively how to make a beurre blanc from scratch that won’t break after 6 hours in a steam well, I’m talking about basics. How to roast a chicken or turkey without overcooking it is as good a place as any to start. You don’t need to cook the hell out of it, and for fucks sake, pull that pop-up timer out as soon as the bird is thawed enough to do so, and throw the thing away! Get yourself a meat thermometer. Seriously. Go! They’re very cheap, and they’ll prevent you from ever having to suffer through a turkey breast with the texture of drywall ever again! 165 is the magic number here, people. That’s the internal temperature at which salmonella dies. 165 (F). Learn it, live it, love it! No bird on the face of this green Earth need be cooked beyond that.

Proper handling of red meats is another useful skill-set. The barbaric abuse of steaks has gone on long enough. My disdain and utter contempt for “well-doners” is very well documented, but proper cooking and resting are essential to this endeavor, and a very poorly understood subject by most. The most important part is the resting. Whether you’re shooting for medium, medium rare, or even rare, you need to let the meat rest before diving at it, knife in hand. I would MUCH rather cut into a piece of meat that’s lukewarm than one that’s overcooked or dry from improper resting. There are a couple reasons for this. Mostly, we’re dealing with thermodynamics here (science!). The hotter a liquid is, the faster it moves around. Same is true of gases, but in the case of a Black Angus Strip Steak, we’re talking about the liquids, the fat and juices and (get over it or stop eating steaks) the blood contained within. If you cut into that perfectly grilled hunk of meat-lovers heaven when it’s too hot, all those juices will come rushing out and you’ll be left with a perfectly cooked, but dry hunk of leather. You’ve just committed as close to what I would call a “sin” as I can muster. As David Chang puts it, in no better words than I could ever come up with, “this makes you an asshole…”. Actually, that quote was in reference to overcooking a good piece of meat, but in principle we’re talking about the same thing.

Pan searing is another very simple and extremely useful skill to have. One that I’ve written about before, link to that at the end. This one takes a bit more skill and practice, but nothing more than 2 or 3 tries should get you well enough adept at it. This is a technique highly favored among professionals for it’s ease and because it allows you to build a sauce in the same pan that will, no matter which direction you want to go with that sauce, invariably fit perfectly with the protein at hand since it will have the flavor of it, at it’s best, most flavorful point, naturally incorporated. See the link for a more detailed description of that procedure.

Vegetable cookery is another great skill to understand. The ubiquitous “green bean casserole” that pops it’s ugly head up at far too many family functions across the country is usually an eye-rolling, cringing, or moanful occasion for me. It’s almost always made from canned beans. You know the ones. The olive drab, army green, mushy and nearly flavorless variety. Just as infuriating are the canned fried onions that adorn nearly every variation. This is, quite simply, pure laziness. It takes nothing, literally no time difference, to make this dish with (wait for it) fresh beans! As far as the the onions are concerned, if you don’t have a deep fryer handy in your kitchen, just leave them out. No one will mind, or notice the difference if fresh beans were used to begin with, trust me… And if you value your life, please, PLEASE do NOT use a canned “cream of something similar to mushroom” soup as the base… Again, that’s just utter laziness. Saute some mushrooms with some onions and make a bechamel. Roux, onions, garlic, mushrooms, milk and/or cream, 15 minutes, done.

Some vegetables lend themselves well to long cooking, and some very much do not. The distinction is an easy one to make. It’s all about the raw texture, for the most part. There is some variance, dependent on individual factors, but this is a good rule of thumb, I think. Hard vegetation, like carrots, daikon radish, and acorn squash, to name a few, can stand up to long cooking times, and in some cases absolutely need it. Crisp plants, such as potatoes, summer squash, and zucchini, are better suited to moderate cooking, just until soft enough for a knife to pass easily through. Green vegetables generally need only a quick bath in hot water, butter or oil to be at their best. These would include things like spinach, green beans, broccoli, and asparagus. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Tomatoes, for instance. I can eat a freshly picked, raw tomato like an apple and only want for a salt shaker to be completely content. I’m also a huge fan of the long, low and slow cooked sauces derived from the same vine. This is a “gray area”, to be sure, but nothing that needs a pro chef or rocket scientist to figure out.

Am I preaching to the choir here? Am I simply venting? I’m ok with that, mind you, if this is the case, but I truly think, believe, no, I know in my bones that we as a culture need to re-evaluate our relationship with food. With morbid obesity, childhood diabetes, and the sheer laziness that allows evil empires like the Colonel, Ronald, and the King to inflict these atrocities upon us, running more than rampant (they’re running the fucking show!) I think, now more than ever, there is a need for a change in the Zeitgeist. A major overhaul in our attitude of, and demand for, better options. A return to the “family meal” would also go pretty far to help curb these trends. I have no such delusions as to think that it would completely answer the issue of poor public health, but it’s the only logical place to start. There are a few moral quagmires and minefields in this debate, I recognize this. The “going green” and “organic” movements among them. The family in the slums of Detroit, for instance, aren’t buying the Sav-More frozen chicken nuggets because they’re the best tasting, best for you, good for the environment, or organic. They’re buying them ’cause they’re $4 for 5 fucking pounds… Income level plays it’s part on what people eat as much as when and why, so only buying organic products is simply not an option for some.

The general blasé attitude toward food that seems to have dug it’s heels in very deep also contributes to this lack of public interest in seeking out locally produced ingredients, which, on balance, should not only be cheaper, but fresher than other options. Here in Michigan, we are privy to some of the best produce in the country. Our strawberries are stellar, our apples are better than anything out of Washington, our cherries are something of legend, the list goes on and, I assure you, on. Yet, you rarely see these products at the local neighborhood grocer, even when they are in season. Because the locals aren’t asking for or demanding it. In most cases, they aren’t even aware of the fact. It all comes down to public awareness and cultural apathy.

I’m starting to feel a little more soap-boxy than I wanted, or surely, intended to. Though it all ties together, I also feel I’m getting a bit off topic. So I’ll wrap this up.

If we as a nation want to steer away from the corporate machine that is all to happy seeing us buy their crap disguised as food, knowing full well it will destroy our health, the journey starts at home. At the corner grocer. At your dining table. This will be a battle, of that I am not in denial. The battleground will be your dinner plate. They are a powerful many, but you really can decide the outcome. Learn a few simple cooking techniques/skills, find something you really like and learn to cook it well. Make it your “specialty”, and if you take a shine to the process, learn a couple more! It will serve you, your friends, and your family well, and in the end, will help build stronger relationships with them all. It really is as simple as that.

Jack…

Pan searing revealed.

Bobs take on the subject.

A recent theme for one of our Chef Night debaucheries was the egg, and all it’s glory. The assignment was everyone bring a dish, or the ingredients thereof to assemble on sight, centered on the egg. While Raquels Sans Rival, a Phillipino desert that’s little more than egg white, sugar, butter, crushed nuts, and alchemical magic may have completely stolen the show, my Okonomiyaki was a contender. This is a little known food here Stateside, so let me explain…

In Japan there are regional cuisines that differ as widely as what you’ll find in France and Italy. Most of my Japanese inspiration would be considered firmly Tokyo derived. The flip side of that, and some say the superior one, (though to me it’s apples and oranges) would be Osaka style cuisine. In Osaka there’s a very heavy and dedicated food culture, with much more emphasis on street food than in Tokyo. Okonomiyaki falls into this category. Osakan street food, and as we found out, it may well be the perfect drunk food (sliders aside), and it absolutely LOVES a good beer! It is essentially a pancake with a laundry list of additives.

The ingredient list may be extensive and intimidating, but don’t let that scare you off! It’s very simple, rather quick, and astoundingly good! Though you WILL need to become friends with someone at the local Japanese market to get the right items if you’re not familiar with them already, but trust us… it’s worth it! If you really can’t find some of these ingredients, don’t stress and give up on Okonomiyaki. Most of it’s ingredients are easily substituted, and, in fact, mine was just created from what I had to work with at the market (extensive though it was). Toward that end I will indicate with a “*” which items are essential, the rest are interchangeable with whatever suits your mood, your market, or your budget. Also of note, quantities are VERY approximate! This is a real “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” kinda dish, as long as you have enough batter to coat what you throw in it, you’ll be fine!

Enough with the babbling, here’s the recipe for my version of Osakas favorite dish, Okonomiyaki.

The ingredients:

1 cup sliced Shiitake caps (I used the plump Japanese kind, but the flatter variety found in most grocery stores will do)
1 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1 cup chopped Mizuna (Japanese Frisee, more or less)
Half pound of Bay Scallops (the little guys)
Half pound of Shrimp tails (cleaned, deveined, and chopped)
Half pound of large diced cooked Octopus tentacles
Half cup dried Baby Shrimp
*Enough bacon or sliced pork belly to cover one side of each pancake
*1 cup sliced scallion
*Half cup grated Yamaimo (Japanese mountain yam, cornstarch in a little water might get you there, but I doubt it)
*3-4 eggs
*Half cup Pickled Ginger baton cut (not the thin sliced kind served with sushi), or to taste
*1 teaspoon Baking Powder
*1 cup Flour
*1 cup water
*1 oz. bonito flakes
*1 small strip of Konbu

Garnishes:

*Mayonnaise
*Okonomiyaki sauce (it might simply be called “Okonomi Sauce” at the market)
Ao Nori (powdered dried seaweed)
Ikura (Salmon roe)
Quail eggs (we used them raw, but fried over-easy would be awesome too)

Procedure:

Start by making a small batch of Dashi stock. Put one cup of water in a pot and add the Konbu. Bring to a simmer and add 1/2 an ounce, or one tightly packed Tablespoon Bonito flakes and steep just below a simmer for 20 minutes. Kill the heat, add the dried shrimp, and allow to steep until you need it. Now do all of your knife work. Chop the Shrimp, clean the Scallops, shred the Napa, slice the Shiitakes, ect. Pull the Konbu out of the Dashi stock (leaving the Bonito flakes and dried Shrimp) and in a mixing bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients add the flour, grated Yamaimo, baking powder, and dashi stock together. Mix until smooth. Now add everything else but the bacon/pork belly.

Preheat a nonstick pan with a little oil (sesame oil would be killer, but not needed) over medium high heat. Once heated, ladle 8 oz. or so of the Okonomiyaki batter into the pan and spread it out with the back of the ladle. Lay strips of the bacon/pork belly on top and lightly cover with some of the liquid batter. When browned, flip over and brown the other side. When browned well, flip back over and cook a little longer to ensure the batter is cooked through. Remove from the pan, add a little oil and repeat until you’ve used all of the batter.

While still hot, spread mayo over the entire surface, drizzle on the Okonomi sauce, sprinkle with scallion, Ao Nori and the rest of the bonito flakes. Here’s where we diverged from the traditional with the raw Quail eggs and the Salmon roe… but we’re just crazy like that…

As I said before, PLEASE do not let the ingredient list or detailed preparation scare you off. This was stupid good, way easier than it looks and loved just about every beer we threw at it!

If you’re still intimidated, I’ll include a link to the Youtube video that inspired me to make this mind-blowingly simple and damn good Japanese street food favorite! She makes hers with instant Dashi, but that was unacceptable to me since it’s so easy to make fresh. I should also mention that even though some of the ingredients are rather exotic, and some are downright obscure (Yamaimo? Mizuna? really?) the finished product is in NO way offensive to the western palette. So hunt these things down and give it a try! If you don’t love it you should stop trying to cook and just stick to Banquet frozen whatever and TGI McKnucleheads…

Jack….

A perfect storm of me being sick, hungry and well… being ME led to an impromptu yet so damn good I’d be ashamed to not write it down soup recipe to share with you today. This is essentially a “leftover stew” made from whatever I had lying around a couple hours ago when hunger struck, with no desire at all to leave the house for additional supplies.

The flavor is tremendous, enough so to cut right through the post-illness-malaise and wake up the senses with great aroma, flavors and a perfect amount of heat. Follow along and remember – it’s soup – taste, taste, taste and adjust to your liking as you go.

I have also included substitutions on the ingredient list, as I realize my staples and leftovers are probably rather exotic to the general public. Also worth reiterating:  it’s soup. Approximate values are fine – If you have an extra carrot and room in the pot, dice it up and throw it in.

The Software:

• 2 tbl olive oil (or vegetable oil)
• 6-8 ribs of celery, chopped thin
• 4 medium carrots, chopped thin
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 1 tbl minced garlic
• 12 oz chicken stock
• 6 oz coconut milk
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbl shrimp/chili paste*
• 1 tbl garlic/chili paste*
• 1 tbl bean/chili paste (Toban Jan)*
• 1 tbl Golden Boy fish sauce (or any available)
• 1 tbl Penzey’s sweet curry (any red or yellow curry powder or paste will do)
• 1 tbl Penzey’s sweet basil (or fresh if available)
• 2 tbl cilantro, flat parsley or both, more to taste and for garnish
• 2 packets instead dashi soup powder (a tbl or two of soy sauce works in a pinch.)
• 1/2 brick dried ramen noodle per serving
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• sea salt
• black pepper

* The various chili pastes all bring depth and warmth to the soup, so use however much of whatever combinations you have on hand and desire, the results will all be delicious.

Method:

In a large stock pot, heat the oil til shimmering, then add the onions, carrots, celery and a pinch of salt and pepper (aka the mirepoix) and simmer until just tender, adding the garlic about 5 minutes into the process, stir things around as needed to avoid browning. Bump up the heat and add the chicken stock, coconut milk, chili pastes, curry powder, dashi powder, ginger and fish sauce. Give it all a good stir and continue to heat til just at a tremble, then back off the heat to keep it there. No need to boil, as our veg it already cooked. Stir in the Basil, Cilantro, Parsley and lime juice. TASTE, TASTE, TASTE and make any adjustments you desire – even something as simple as a few drops of plain old tobasco will liven the party in interesting ways. Just before serving, crack the ramen into halves and add it to the pot, covering it with soup to soften to desired texture. I prefer my ramen a bit toothy, so my soup was ready to serve in 60 seconds.

Scoop a hunk of ramen into a bowl, and cover with a scoop of the veg and a scoop of broth and serve immediately. Garnish with a dash of coconut milk and a pinch of additional basil / cilantro / parsely as desired. I dropped a couple quail eggs into my bowl, but that’s just how I roll. ;)

It’s that simple. Go make you some!

-///

A cold weekend in Detroit with a hankering for Taqueria Lupita’s Pozole and a couple pounds of interesting beef parts on hand, with a soup pot in hand and a couple hours before dinner, I came up with the following hearty, warming take on the traditional Mexican dish:

the goods:

• water
• salt
• 1lb beef tripe
• 1lb beef neck
• 1 qt beef stock
• 1 large onion
• 2 shallots
• 4 tbl tomato paste
• 2 tbl adobo paste *
• 15 oz lima beans
• 3/4 c lime juice (3 limes worth)
• 3 tbl butter
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground celery seed
• 1 tsp aleppo pepper
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 head of red cabbage, cole slaw sized sliced
• Fresh cilantro & additional limes for a zesty garnish, as much as you enjoy.
• Hot sauce as desired

The method:

The number one ingredient in this dish is time. It’s one of those set and forget slow cook dishes perfect for a weekend where one needs to concentrate on activities outside of the kitchen. Set aside at least 3 hours of simmering time to allow the tripe to soften and let all the delicious bits of the neck bones melt into and thicken the broth.

Start the soup pot on medium, melt the butter and add the diced onion & shallots. When the onions are translucent, increase the add the neck bones and cubed tripe, as well as the beef stock. Add water as needed to keep everything covered.  Adjust the heat as needed to keep everything at a tremble. Add the adobo, tomato paste and 1/2 the dry seasonings, reserving the rest.

Simmer for two hours or more, give it an occasional stir ad add just enough water to cover the bones and tripe as needed.

30 minutes before serving, add the remaining seasonings, lime juice, lima beans (taking the place of the hominy) and the cabbage, keeping everything at a tremble and stirring as needed. Remove from heat after 15 minutes or when the cabbage is just tender. Remove the neck bones and scrape any clinging muscle away, returning it to the soup.

Scoop into serving bowls, garnish with cilantro and a lime wedge. Additional raw cabbage is nice for texture, too. Add heat from your favorite hot sauce as desired. As with any soup or stew, this one is even better on the second day and will freeze and reheat without loss of fidelity.

Enjoy!

-///

Beer makers have long brewed merely for dudes that just drink beer, and not with food pairing in mind. While in some cases this still makes for a great beverage to pair with food, a good portion of the time this is not the case. Especially here in the U.S. where brewers tend to take traditional styles and amp them up in some way. A good example of this the classic British style the Pale Ale. Medium bodied with a subtle but pronounced maltiness balanced by a mild hop bite, the benchmark of this style is undisputedly Bass. Enter the American Pale Ale… typically lighter in color, equal in body and malt, but way more hops than their counterparts across the pond, Seirra Nevada is probably the ambassador of this offshoot.

Other specimens of this phenomenon abound, from Russian Imperial Stouts that drink like motor oil (Old Rasputin) to IPA’s that are little more than alcoholic hop flavored beverages (Two Heart). Don’t get me wrong, this is not always a bad thing. I’m quite fond of a lot of these over-the-top American interpretations of classic European styles, and in fact Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale is one of my favorite domestic beers. The fact remains, however, these steroid-jacked iterations are often too much beer to successfully pair with any food outside of the realm of pizza.

Fear not, though, foodies of the world, as there seems to be a growing number of breweries that are taking food and beverage pairing into account when formulating recipes. Realizing finally what the French have known for centuries, that a beverage can enhance the food it’s paired with, and vice versa, a few breweries across the globe have started to embrace this concept. Chefs as well are starting to notice the potential beer holds as an alternative to wine as a beverage to pair with their creations, adding a new spin, more variety,and deeper complexity to the traditional pairing options. In fact there are a couple world renown Chefs that are joining forces with breweries with this goal in mind. To help the breweries understand what the Chef wants to see, what their food needs as far as pairing is concerned, and to help the Chefs understand how the breweries accomplish this.

Ferran Adria, known the world over for his ground breaking mad scientist approach to food with his impossible to get into restaurant in
Spain, El Bulli, is one such Chef and probably lead the charge. He brought his sommelier team to Estrella Damm brewery and met with their brewmasters. The result of this alliance was “Inedit”. A medium bodied, golden-amber colored beer flavored with orange peel, liquorice, and coriander, it goes well with a vast array of foods. From shellfish to light game to salads and charcuterie, the pairing choices are myriad. The breweries website, and accompanying YouTube videos describe the flavors and proper serving methods better than I could, so I’ve included a link at the end. The only foods I’d avoid serving with this are those with big flavors, such as red meats, grilled or brasied meats, stronger game like venison and
bear, ect. For those items, there is another…

The brewers at Rogue combined forces with another titan in the food world, Masaharu Morimoto, to come up with their Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale. We’ve enjoyed this at more than one meeting of the Estate and I’ve touted it’s excellence more than once here, so to avoid sounding like a broken record (or obsessed fan-boy) I’ll simply include links to those write ups at the end.

There are many other chefs that are getting as involved as Ferran Adria and Morimoto. Does the name Thomas Keller ring a bell? Yes, he’s been serving beers as the beverage pairing for certain courses at the French Laundry and Per Se for quite some time now, and in fact his chef at Per Se got together with the local team at the Brooklyn Brewery to craft a brown ale to go in a holiday gift basket for their investors and they had plenty left over to go on the menus at Per Se, the French Laundry and other Keller restaurants. It was so successful their will be more to come from that collaboration. It seems my favorite beverage is finally getting the recognition and status it deserves, putting it firmly in the “luxury” category of beverages due to the myriad of craft breweries springing up that take their beer every bit as serious as the vineyards of Bordeaux.

As a chef, beer nut, and home-brewer I’ve been touting the merits of beer as a potential equal to wine as a food pairing beverage for nearly a decade. In my early tenure writing for this site I dedicated a post to it (link below). This follow up was inspired by a meal we had last month featuring several beer and wine pairings. A meal that also inspired my last two posts… yeah… it was pretty epic…

It is one of my fondest hopes that more brewhouses hear this call and join the charge, and more chefs see this potential and encourage it. The result will further the development of both disciplines and produce a more open dialog between brewers and chefs. More fine beers listed on menus under “recommended beverages” for each dish, the exploration of new culinary territory, and a greater sense of pride for all involved. Who won’t benefit from that?

Jack

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/16/WI5010J81V.DTL

http://www.estrelladamminedit.com/en/ferran-adria-beer.html

http://rogueestate.com/2010/05/24/beer-review-moromoto-and-bourbon-county/#comments

http://rogueestate.com/2010/02/15/beer-the-culinary-underdog/#comments