Brew Keeper Beer Pairing Dinner

"A man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry." 

"Jesus loves us, yes he do, he put beer here for me and you!"

See? Even the Bible agrees! Okay, so maybe they used a little different verbage, but the gist of what it's saying is that beer and food are two of the top things that make us measly humans happy.  Even Jesus liked the two together-well....maybe it was wine, and not beer, BUT had he known about beer, I bet the Good Book would read QUITE a bit differently! And if they are both intrinsically awesome on their own, just imagine how they are when put together!
I feel that beer and food fall amongst the great pairs of all time; think Abott &Costello, Bonnie &Clyde, PB&J, Tom&Jerry, Batman &Robin, Cheech & Chong, Gumby & Pokey, Beavis & Butthead, Salt &Pepper (both the spices and the rappers)...you get the picture. In fact, the thing that I love most about beer is that because it is so complex and has so many different notes and flavors, you can let your imagination go wild with it in the kitchen. (I'm talking exclusively craft beers and imports- NOT light American beers that need to be served cold to distinguish them from piss.) That's why, when Stoven & E announced that they had bottled another batch of their BrewKeeper ales, I pounced at the chance to do a dinner-pairing. I mean, I'd made many-a-dinners (and even a breakfast) where I sought a beer out to complement the meal I was cooking, but never had I started with just the ale and sought a meal to match with it. Call me an amateur, but it was quite the adventure looking up how this complemented that and which flavors contrasted each other...I learned so much, thanks to sites like BarleyDine and Left Hand Brewing Company and brew.cook.pair.joy  who supplied the great advice I used for this dinner and cool other stuff  that I can't wait to use for another!

With all the options, tips, and advice, it was hard for me to narrow down a menu based on three different ales that I had never even tasted. But alas, I was finally able to, and here's what I came up with:
1) appetizer= calamari with a spicy IPA dipping sauce
    main course= oxtail-brie ravioli with sauteed onion and mushroom carbonnade sauce to accompany the Brown Ale
    dessert=chocolate molton cake with raspberry glace to compliment the Porter

2) appetizer= smoke gouda and summer sausage stacks to compliment the Brown Ale
    main course=Porter-braised short ribs with a Maple-rosemary-chipotle glaze + Garlic Mashed potatoes with Brown Ale Gravy + IPA Sweet & Hoppy Coleslaw
    dessert=IPA creme brulee tart with a coconut macaroon crust.

I know, I know, having two menus doesn't really seem like I did a very good job of narrowing down my choices, but trust me, when you start off with five or six, you're really pairing parring down to get just a couple.And because I'm so indecisive ( I am a girl,  ya know...) I decided to leave the choice up to Stoven, who chose the second menu over the first. (Which was kinda fortuitous seeing as though neither of us have a pasta-maker.)

The method I used for the ribs was a "braise-then-broil" method adapted from Serious Eats Indoor Grilling article, and it worked ABSOLUTELY FANTASTICALLY! This way, I was able to chop (excuse the pun) off 2/3 the amount of time it would take to braise ribs, and they were still falling off the bone! The scrapings from the broiling pan were used to make the gravy for the mashed potatoes, and the IPA that I used in the coleslaw was the same used in the creme brulee, but the flavors of each were COMPLETELY different. I think, because I didn't cook the coleslaw, the hoppy character was dominant and retained in the final product, whereas in the creme brulee, it must have caramelized as it cooked off in the oven, and more of the malty character was present.

**Before I hand over the recipes, I should note that this is a time-consuming dinner. If you are not good at multitasking or even the least bit drunk while you attempt to make this, you while most likely ruin something. Also, if I were to change a few things, I would sear the ribs in A LOT less oil, and even add some sort of cornstarch or thickening agent to the braising liquid to make it more of a BBQ sauce texture instead of a broth. Also, I'd add a LOT less IPA to the cornstarch and make sure your coconut milk is SWEETENED!!! I made the mistake of using unsweetened and had to sub in leftover sweetened condensed milk to compensate for the bitter hops of the IPA. For the macaroons, be warned, you're going to get your hands dirty; perhaps invest in gloves, especially if you have nails- the last thing you want to do is have to pick coconut out of your nails at your 9-o'clock business policy meeting. Gross.**

Porter-Braised Short Ribs with Maple-Rosemary-Chipotle Glaze
Ingredients:
4lbs short ribs
6 Tblsp maple syrup
3 Tblsp Minced Garlic
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp chipotle pepper
1 bottle porter
1 Tblsp canola oil
2-3 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce
3-4 Tblsp Rosemary (or 1 sprig)
1 bay leaf
pinch of sea salt & ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 300*F
2. Remove slab of ribs from packaging, and cut in two.
3. Heat oil in CAST IRON SKILLET until shimmery, then toss in the diced onions and garlic to soften. Then place the ribs, convex-side-down and sear until brown. Flip them back over so the concave side is down and add the remaining ingredients in this order: Porter(in bottom of skillet), Worcestershire sauce (all over the top of the meat), maple syrup, rosemary, chipotle pepper, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.
4. Place a pizza brick over the skillet (or if it has a lid, use that) and transfer the whole thing to the oven. Let it braise for 60-80 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and using tongs, place ribs on a broiling pan.
6. Turn up heat to broiling temp and place Ribs back in oven on pan (no juices!) and broil for 2-4 minutes.
7. While broiling, skim fat off Porter drippings and reduce on high. (Feel free to add a thickening agent now.)
8. Take ribs out of oven, plate, and drizzle sauce over top. Viola!

IPA Sweet & Sour Slaw
Ingredients:
1 bag coleslaw
1 bag broccoli slaw
1 can SWEETENED coconut milk
1/4 c. Brown sugar
1 bag chopped dates
1 tsp chipotle pepper
2 oz. IPA

1. dump all dry ingredients into big bowl.mix to combine.
2. Pour IPA over top.
3. Pour coconut milk over top of that.
4. Mix with a giant spoon. Stick in the fridge (the longer the better) and serve.

Beer Gravy
Ingredients:
Meat scrapings from broiler and CAST IRON SKILLET
1/8 C.flour
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup brown ale

1. pour brown ale in bottom of empty CAST IRON SKILLET
2. heat on medium while scraping bottom of pan
3. scrape off the bottom of broiling pan into SKILLET
4. stirring the scrapings, add flour, stir until thickened and add more flour as necessary for desired consistency
5. add worcestershire sauce and stir. Serve over garlic mashed golden yukon potatoes.


Creme Brul-[IP]-A with Coconut Macaroon Crust
Ingredients:
Macaroon Crust:
3 C. shredded coconut
1/2 can Fat Free sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup flour
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350*F
2. combine salt, coconut, and flour in large bowl and mix with hands.
3. add vanilla, condensed milk and mix with hands until well-blended
4. press into the bottom of a greased baking dish or ramekins.
5. Stick into oven until golden/brown on top.

Creme Brulee:
3 3/4 c heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
6 egg yolks
1/4 c IPA

1. Preheat oven to 300*F
2. separate eggs and add sugar. Beat until light yellow and creamy.
3. Meanwhile, bring cream and vanilla to a simmer on the stove.
4. Remove from stove and let cool ~ 10 min. Pour this into the egg mixture and beat until ivory and smooth.
5. Remove crust from oven and pour creme brulee mixture ontop until baking dish is full.
6. Fill a separate larger casserole dish full of water and place baking dish into it.

7. Place in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until it jiggles in the pan.
8. Remove from oven and place in fridge to cool ~ 3 hours.
9. When ready to serve, top with a thin layer of sugar and torch until a hard carmelized shell forms. Enjoy!