This was an awesome dinner from the 2011 Salute! to Beer Festival prepared by Dr. Bill Sysak.  Dr. Bill is Stone Brewing’s beverage coordinator. He was a great host and I enjoyed his pairing descriptions. Be sure to visit his Facebook page and get some great pairing tips!

If you can't make the whole dinner be sure to try one of these delicious beer pairings!

First Course:
Snake River Farms Kobe beef carpaccia with baby arugula, capers, grand padana cheese  paired with Stone Cal-Belgique.

Notes: I am not a big fan of the CalBelgique but this combo is fantastic.  

Second Course:
Sauteed lobster & sweetcorn, with truffle oil, mandarin oranges, chive butter and curry creme sauce paired with Ommegang Gnomegang.
Notes: The chive butter and curry creme sauce stole the show and the beer was a perfect contrast to the savory, mouth coating flavors.

Third Course:
Petite veal osso bucco with oven roasted milanese and rich demi glade over yukon gold mashed potatoes paired with Avery's The Reverend.

Dessert:
Chocolate flour less cake with raspberry sauce paired with Great Divide's Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.

I used a slightly easier (IMHO) recipe than the original below which was published in the 2005 All About Beer Holiday Fare Cookbook 

All the ingredients came from Trader Joe's except the biscuits but I am guessing you can find them there as well.  I used 1 lb Italian sausage and mixed it with TJ's Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic. I used the tomato paste but the red pepper spread adds wonderful flavor to the dish.  Use the whole jar!

You can make this vegetarian very easily by using your favorite soy based meat substitute.  I used and really like the Gimme Lean "pork" soysage product. Use it the same way as the real sausage. 

Yield: 12 appetizer cups

1 pound fresh Polish sausage (I used Italian)
1 6-0z can roasted garlic tomato paste
1 Jar of Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread 
OR
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried marjoram, crumbled
1/3 cup red pepper, minced
And
2/3 cup Porter beer
1 12-0z package biscuit dough
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated


Brown the sausage (remove casings if necessary) in a large skillet over medium heat until fully cooked.  Chop meat into crumbles as it cooks.  Pour off excess grease and drain crumbled meat on a paper-lined baking pan.

In a medium Dutch over, (I just used an oversized sauce pan) combine tomato paste, pepper, coriander, marjoram and porter. Stir and cook over medium low heat, then add drained meat.  Add more porter if sauce seems to thick. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Open package of biscuit dough and carefully unroll as a single sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll dough evenly without breaking perforations and create a single large sheet of dough about 1/6-inch thick.  Use a large round biscuit cutter to cut 12 circles of dough, each 4 inches in diameter.

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.  Fit sircles of dough into muffin cups to make shells.  Fill cups evenly with sausage mixture.  Bake 15 minutes, or until cups are golden brown.  Remove from oven and top evenly with cheese and bell pepper. Serve warm.

This is the fifth and last installment in a new pairing series/collaboration with the website They Draw and Cook (TDAC).  Fear not, there will be another series in the future.  If you have a favorite TDAC recipe that you want paired let me know in the comments below! 

TDAC is a truly inspiring website with hundreds if not thousands of illustrated recipes by artists from around the world.  As you can imagine each recipe’s style and content is as unique as the artist who illustrated it. TDAC is a “veritable who’s who” of artistic styles and recipes as you will find painted, collaged, drawn, and digital renditions of scrumptious salads, mouthwatering main dishes, decadent desserts and so much more! 

For this series, I have picked five recipes from a compilation book of recipes TDAC had published last year but you can also find them on TDAC.com.  I have picked one breakfast-y recipe, one salad, one appetizer, one main dish and one dessert AND paired each recipe with one incredibly delicious beer! 

This pairing is all about the lemon and the lime! Somersault is one lemony, hopalicious beer and resonates wonderfully with the citrus ingredients in this dip.     Bitterness can cause a momentary hot spice explosion and while you will probably notice a slight elevation of "heat" it will be short lived.  Somersault is a hoppy beer (in flavor not bitterness) but it also has a strong bready malt backbone that naturally counteracts spices and makes it the perfect pairing for this dip.

While the lemon and lime do lighten the body of the dip, the beer also does its part to lighten the heavier ingredients. This medium-light bodied beer is full of carbonation and it is this carbonation that scrubs the heavier, mouth coating dip ingredients off the palate and refreshes your palate before the next bite.

If you are pairing Somersault with this recipe I would suggest that you cut the lemon addition in half.

Appearance: Summersault pours a crystal-clear golden with a thick white head and good lacing. 
Aroma: Lots of crisp, citrus, resiny hop aroma with a sweet fruity ester aftersmell (did I just make up a word?) 
Flavor: Lots of lemon!  The lemon flavor comes from the hops used, no lemons were hurt during the brewing of this beer! NFL! There is a nice smooth, sweet wheat bread malt flavor that supports and balances the citric hop flavors.
Mouthfeel:  Light, and frothy. There are no harsh edges on this beer.

If you can't find this particular beer (Look harder! Joking) then substitute it with any local saison or any of the beers from the style.profile section below. Unfortunately, none of the examples are a lemony. 

1. If you liked this pairing or love this recipe let the artist know and spread the love around. The artist and I would appreciate the extra publicity!

2. You can and should order this fabulous cookbook on TDAC.com.

3. These illustrations are copyrighted.  You may not use them for any commercial reason without express written consent from the artist.  You may, however, print them for your own use.  Click the recipe which will take you to TDAC and from there you can download a high resolution copy or print a copy of this recipe.

Aroma: Light hop and sweet aromas, fruity esters common.. 
Appearance: Pours a clear yellow to gold with a white head that has some staying power.
Flavor: Light sweet bread flavors balanced beer. Hop bitterness is pronounced but the malt is the dominant flavor.
Mouthfeel: A smooth, refreshing, medium bodied beer that finishes fairly dry.

Other Blonde Ales:  Shipyard Export Ale, Twilight ale,

Food Pairings: Italian cuisine, Middle Eastern cuisine, soft young cheeses with spicy hot peppers such as Monterey Jack.  Meat: poultry or fish.   

HopHeadSaid: These are great hot summer day beers.  They are more flavorful than American lagers but comparable ABV’s so you can enjoy a few without much worry of overdoing it.  Blonde ales also pair well with food because their sweet malt flavors help to cut the spicy foods and their light flavor intensity ensures they won’t overpower any entrée.