Have a Beer with Me #2

Another (greatly delayed) installment of my beer notes for our newsletter:

Discussions of beer & wine can sometimes be confusing and needlessly opulent. We have veered away from describers like delicious, refreshing, and gross towards words like piney, tannic, and earthy. Not saying the latter words are not helpful, but for someone whose interest is just beginning these words are hard to swallow (pun intended).

Let’s take a step back and remember that beer tasting is a totally subjective experience. What I claim is good or bad might not be to the next person, meaning no one should be afraid to respond honestly to the question, “What beer/wine/any product would you recommend?” We are not experts by any means, but sometimes guidance is requested. Don’t be afraid to share your recommendations.

The idea, then, is to come to some sort of agreement on what to expect from beer. Beer is a fermented beverage brewed with barley, wheat, corn. Many times the fundamental flavoring agent is hops, which can also function as a preservative. For example, India Pale Ales (IPA) are usually very hoppy (read: bitter). When someone says, “I like hoppy beers,” an easy recommendation to make is with an IPA (specifically – Bells Two Hearted, New Holland Mad Hatter, or any beer labeled IPA). Conversely, when you hear, “I don’t like bitter beers,” avoidance of IPAs is important with a push toward beers with less (or no) hops. For example, Simpler Times lager is all malt, meaning it is very smooth with very little bitterness. Additionally, Bells Amber, Trader Joe’s Vienna, and Gila Monster are all good examples of beers with very little bitterness.

Still uncomfortable? Try some beers.  Buy a bottle of 2 or 3 different kinds and take notes on what you taste, smell, see, etc.  Look the beers up online at http://beeradvocate.com and compare notes.

Until next time, keep on drinking.

Toast: A Breakfast and Lunch Joint

We finally made it over to Toast this morning.  Situated between 9 and 10 Mile Roads on Woodward, Toast is a fairly well-known breakfast and lunch diner that, on this particular morning, totally lived up to the hype.  First and foremost, since we now travel as a trio I am always interested in how a place handles our little Laila.  The folks at Toast were totally welcoming and immediately offered a high-chair – a plus right off the bat.  Secondly, a quick perusal of the menu shows, like any quality breakfast joint would, that they serve biscuits and gravy.  Of course, I am smitten by all things covered in delicious sausage gravy, but I am especially fond of biscuits.  Aunt Leola’s biscuits and gravy (pictured right) are the best manifestation of the dish that I’ve ever tasted.  The gravy was creamy, spicy, and studded with plenty of nice sized sausage chunks.  The addition of red pepper flakes to the gravy was welcome as it offered a kick that simple black pepper cannot.  On top of the gravy is a layer of perfectly melted cheddar cheese which, for me, is a first on biscuits and gravy.  The cheese added a textural dimension that along with the incredible scrambled eggs were an astounding complement to the gravy.  And the biscuits – oh, the biscuits – flaky, buttery, dense, and moist.  All things a biscuit should be and they held up so well against the strong flavors of the gravy. On the side (because there obviously wasn’t enough food on large plate) is cheesy grits.  I’m a sucker for well cooked grits and these were cooked perfectly.  Great texture and a sharp cheesy flavor with a delicious crust on top, these grits are the real deal.   A near perfect breakfast especially when coupled with the great cup of coffee that never went more than half empty – next time I’ll have to try the French press version, though.

One of the specials this morning was a Breakfast Panini  – a grilled sandwich made with cinnamon raisin bread stuffed with Nutella, granny smith apples, and bananas.  We have a panini press at home, so this is a sandwich that we’ll be bringing home.  The hazelnut chocolate Nutella paired well with the apples and the banana.  The sweetness from the bread was a welcome addition as well.

During the past month or so, I’ve made steel cut oatmeal a couple of times.  Both times, Heather has been less than pleased with the texture of the oats claiming they’re too chewy.  Given this fact, we have been unable to give the oatmeal to Laila, who at nine months old cannot chew them.  Toast has oatmeal on their Kid’s Menu, so we ordered some for Laila.  Unbeknown to us, they were steel cut except they we cooked beyond their initial chewiness to a state of transcendent fluffiness that was easily consumed by our nine month old even more so when paired with the bananas that accompanied the oats.

I cannot wait until we are able to visit Toast again.  I am very curious to see how they do lunch since they seem to do breakfast so flawlessly.

Poblano Pepper Scramble

I bought some poblano peppers from the farmer’s market a few weeks back. I was planning on making chiles rellenos but just haven’t had the time. Not wanting to waste the peppers, I decided to use one this morning in my eggs. I took one poblano (seeded & coarsely chopped) and quickly fried it in some organic butter. I added a couple pinches of sea salt right before I was ready to add the eggs. Scrambled 3 eggs in a bowl with some cracked pepper and cumin & a little milk. Poured the egg mixture over the peppers and scrambled away. Once I was happy with the consistency (5-7 minutes over medium/high heat), I added a bit of feta cheese and shredded cheddar to taste. The scramble is ready once the cheese is sufficiently melted. I served the eggs with sour cream, salsa, and couple warm flour tortillas.

In addition to the food, I had a bottle of Founders Breakfast Stout that complemented this meal perfectly. Creamy milk chocolate, coffee, and roasted oats are the dominant flavors in this beer. It is like breakfast in bottle – a truly wonderful Michigan brew that is worth seeking out if you haven’t had the chance to try it.

Potatoes and Eggs (and Beer)

I love the versatility of potatoes and eggs. This past week we were at a loss at what would be severed for dinner. I knew we had a couple potatoes and a new dozen of free range eggs. Those two things with a few additional things will always lead to a money meal. This time I picked up some bacon from the butcher. I fried the bacon (http://flickr.com/photos/montage_man/1414299121/), diced the potatoes (http://flickr.com/photos/montage_man/1415179850/), and commenced to cooking. The key to this dish is cooking the potatoes and onions in the fat rendered from the bacon. The recipe looks like:

1/2 pound of bacon (thick sliced)
2 medium to large potatoes diced
1/3 medium onion diced
some shredded cheese
3-4 eggs done to your liking (we chose scrambled)
Sour cream or yogurt
Beer (this dish goes well with beer – a nice simple lager or a good coffee stout. I had a Foster’s Special Bitter. I wish I hadn’t.)

Cook the bacon to your liking. I used a cast iron skillet. Leave the fat. Once the bacon is done, cook the potatoes and onions in the bacon fat. Season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and anything else your heart desires. The potatoes will take around 20-30 minutes to cook depending on the size of your dice. The cooked bacon should be added to the potatoes with about five minutes left. Cook the eggs in a separate skillet when the potatoes are nearly finished. Add the cheese to the potatoes near the end of the cooking to ensure proper melting. Plate the potatoes first place the eggs on top and finish it with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt. Garnish the plate with a hot pepper ( I used a habanero). Enjoy for breakfast or dinner.

Pancakes

Every time I make pancakes I try to do a little something different. This is a fairly easy thing to do since I rarely ever use exact measurements. Once you’ve done it enough, you can tell when batter is too runny or thick. I also don’t shy away from using batter mixes – I don’t use Bisquick, but some other mixes work quite well. This morning I used Trader Joe’s Multi-grain batter mix. A couple of eggs, canola oil, milk and a bit of vanilla extract are added to a couple cups or so of batter mix. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Apply batter with a tablespoon to a buttered griddle. If it is desired, add blueberries, bananas, apples, chocolate chips, pecans, bacon bits (basically whatever sounds good) to the batter before flipping the cake. This morning we had some very sweet blueberries, so they were added.

Bacon was fried in the cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. I cook my bacon a pound (the usual pre-packaged amount) at a time. By the time the last piece of bacon is taken out of the skillet, there is a good 1/8 inch of bacon grease in the pan. Seemed to me that this was the perfect place to fry a couple of eggs.

This “sandwich” is modeled after the McGriddle, which is a good idea in theory but hard to stomach in its fast food form. My version:

5 dollar size plain pancakes (3 on bottom 2 on top)
3-5 slices of bacon
2 eggs fried in bacon fat sunny side up
Maple syrup

The flavors meld extraordinarily well. The sweetness from the syrup, the saltiness of the bacon, and the creaminess of the yolks come together and form what could be described as the true breakfast of champions.