Food Archives – A Night With The Hops

Coming to an End

Aug 232010

Unfortunately our trip to Seattle last month eventually had to come to an end, so today will be the last Fat Monday post recapping that excursion. It was not exactly beer heavy, but I was able to try a few new ones on our way out of town. In case you missed the rest of the days, there was . . .

Day 1 – Epic Ales and the Seattle International Beer Festival
Day 2 – Leavenworth and Woodinville
Day 3 – Snoqualmie Falls wedding
Day 4 – Vancouver, BC
Day 5 – Pike Place and Piroshky Piroshky goodness

The main thing on the schedule for our final day was to do a tour of a chocolate factory with much of The Wife’s family. On top of that being an interesting activity, we were able to get a few bicycles from our hosts to get ourselves to where we needed to be. It was much more fun than driving and we were able to stop by Gas Works Park before meeting up with everyone.

Quite the view

Not a common sight in a park

Now I am generally not a big chocolate person, but getting to see how it is made and sampling really, really good quality chocolate is something not to be missed. We made our way to Theo Chocolate and settled in for some chocolate education and quite a few samples. Theo Chocolate is unique in that (as their website indicates) they are “the first and only organic and Fair Trade chocolate factory in the country.” How all of that works is pretty interesting and you should read more about them if you are interested.

Doing it the right way

When the tour guide asked if anyone knew why they chose the name Theo for the company, I immediately responded Theobroma, not because I know much about chocolate but because I knew the story behind the Dogfish Head beer with that name. See how beer knowledge can help you in other circumstances?

One of many samples

It probably goes without saying that the aroma while walking around the factory floor was pretty awesome for anyone regardless of their level of chocolate adoration. I was fascinated by the process of making chocolate and definitely the various machines they use to do so.

Some of the production floor

Adding some flavoring

After saying our farewells to everyone we hopped back on our two wheel transportation to head off in search of lunch. Per recommendation of Seattle Jeff we pointed ourselves in the direction of Lunchbox Laboratory which meant pedaling up a very, very long hill. It was a good way to build up an appetite for some of these . . .

So many good options

Surely our long ride up the hill might have made us appreciate our meal even more, but these are some damn good (and big) burgers. I would not hesitate to crawl up that hill if that is what I had to do to get another one on our next trip out there. It seems that all of the best burgers The Wife and I have ever had have been in Portland or Seattle.

Before

After

Later that evening after packing up our bags we headed off to a final meal with our hosts, which meant some really good . . .

Yet another great meal

One last taste of Seattle's seafood

At this meal I was able to get my first taste of some Manny’s Pale Ale from the local Georgetown Brewing Company. Not only did it pair well with my meal, it was a really tasty American Pale Ale and every bit as good as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, for example. I was quite glad to have tried that before leaving town.

The last craft beer experience of the trip was as we sat at the airport waiting for our late night flight. My gut told me to order an Alaskan Amber (which I have enjoyed before), but having not tried their Summer Ale before I went with that. It was crisp with a little bitterness and sweetness, but pretty light in flavor as a lot of summer seasonals tend to be. It was not bad, but it left me wanting something with a lot more flavor. Still I was glad to have crossed it off the list.

Though not as enjoyable as actually being there, it was fun reliving our time in Seattle via these posts and only makes me want the next trip out there to come even sooner.

Cheers!

A Good Chance

Food, Travel No Responses »

Aug 162010

Since this FAT Monday post will be a recap of day 5 of our recent trip to Seattle (and the surrounding area), there is a good chance you missed one of the first 4 days. In case you need to catch up . . .

Day 1 – Epic Ales and the Seattle International Beer Festival
Day 2 – Leavenworth and Woodinville
Day 3 – Snoqualmie Falls wedding
Day 4 – Vancouver, BC

The summary of the fifth day is essentially just another homage to one of the foods that I would want to have with me if stranded on a desert island. Though we spent the morning out in Snoqualmie Falls with much of The Wife’s family, there was only one must do thing on the list that day. First we had to find parking within walking distance of . . .

Hard to miss

We have been to Pike Place Market quite a few times now and though we still enjoy it, we do focus in on our favorites now rather than wandering around as much. Really if you do not get there early in the morning (which we did not this time), the crowds make it pretty uncomfortable to maneuver. After a long morning and in pretty warm weather we had no patience to fight through crowds just for the sake of walking the entire market. We did get through some of it before finding our way out to the street.

To warm (and hungry) for us to deal with the crowds.

Being across the street from the main building meant heading straight for what we came for. Truthfully, it is what I came for and The Wife facilitated because she knew that it would put me in a good mood for the remainder of the day. I know there is no way that I can duplicate the Piroshky Piroshky experience, but maybe I could make my own version at home?

Also hard to miss

Not a hard choice for me.

I need to apprentice here.

A smoked salmon pate piroshky plus a fresh rhubarb piroshsky plus The Wife plus a great view equals complete contentment.

The long awaited first bite.

A perfect day of weather

After that the rest of the day was a blur of happiness as we walked around Seattle, cooked for our hosts, and enjoyed some more local beer in their company.

Until the final day . . .

The Second Day

Breweries, Food, Travel 2 Responses »

Jul 262010

If it made sense to start recapping our recent trip to Seattle with the first day, it surely makes sense to continue on at some point with the second day of that vacation. Of course that some point is the FAT Monday post for today. The pictures will do much of the story telling for me, but I will try to fill in the points between and introduce them properly along the way.

We dragged ourselves out of bed fairly early, downed some coffee, inhaled some oatmeal with various personalized additions, and then headed toward the sun (which was mostly behind clouds) and two hours through the mountains to our first destination of the day.

Drving through the mountains

My entire life leading up to that day I had only associated Leavenworth with a prison, but by late morning I found a much more pleasant and bizarre image to link to that name.

Quite a beatiful day.

Coming down out of the mountains to this town is a really, really strange site though I have to imaging that it is even more so during the winter when some snow is accumulated on the buildings. The place is authentic looking but theme park-ish at the same time and we certainly had quite a lot of fun during our time there.

Could not help myself

Touching the metal was quite hot

Restraining the beast

After the terrifying site of a cat on a leash we fled the town and headed back through the mountains to our afternoon destination. We even found coffee along the way (what a surprise in the Seattle area) to help wake us all up a bit.

Much needed caffeine

It was my day to drive (after The Wife volunteered for the first day) so I was given the responsibility of the keys and the camera as we pulled into our first Woodinville destination. Since the building was not open during our last visit, I wanted to be sure to stop by Januik/Novelty Hill to get a better look at the place this time.

Some of the outdoor area

Enjoying the first taste

Would not mind having a room like this at home.

Trying to utilize what time we had left in the afternoon, the next stop was at the Redhook Brewery since our arrival would mean only a few moments wait until the next tour started. It is not so much a tour as it is (mostly) standing in a room listening to someone talk between beer samples, but for one dollar and a free glass at the end you will not get a better bang for your buck. On this day we even got pint glasses instead of the typical small tasting glasses since they were waiting on a shipment of those.

See what fun you can have for a dollar . . .

Some of the building

Hanging out in the back

The extent of the tour

We had time to get to one more winery before the tasting hours passed, so we headed across the road to Chateau Ste. Michelle to make it our last stop of the afternoon. The grounds and the building alone make this one worth a stop, though the good wine certainly is a great bonus.

Part of the approach

Another room I would not mind having

Since I was without wine and with a camera, Seattle Jeff and I wandered around a bit to pass the time while the wives finished their wine flights and before we headed the car back to Seattle.

Off the path a bit

The stage behind the tasting room

A little further off the path

It was a great day of fun and the weather was pretty much fantastic for all of the time we spent outside. Upon our return to enjoy some dinner, the driver took the opportunity to rehydrate a bit.

Tasted so good

Appropriate considering our day

When everyone had full stomachs, we took advantage of the remaining daylight to head down to the beach as a proper way to end our day. Who knew that our Seattle hosts were closer to the beach than we are in Florida?

Not a bad way to end a day

Seattle Jeff sampled these without getting sick

Until day three . . .

Assuming That Someday

Food, Miscellaneous No Responses »

Jul 212010

Assuming that someday I will create a really nice India Pale Ale via my home brewing efforts, I must make myself one of these (among many other things) to go with it:

Extracting the hoppy goodness.

That beautiful set up was at Eola Wine Company recently and filled with Cascade hops to help the visitors that evening enjoy Terrapin’s Hopsecutioner in an entirely different way. Well, at least we were told that Cascade hops were in there and based on the flavor I did believe what we were told.

If any of you are wondering what exactly you are looking at, it is a version of a randalizer. I say version because the original “Randall the Enamel Animal” was an invention from Sam and the folks at Dogfish Head (years ago) and the picture is of one based on that original stainless steel design. Actually it looks almost identical to the pictures I have seen of those used elsewhere, so I suppose this one could have been ordered through Dogfish.

Regardless, the vessel on top is filled with fresh hops and the beer is filtered through that mass of hops on its way to the glass. That process essentially dry hops the beer on the spot, or perhaps more accurately fresh hops it. The alcohol in the beer strips some of the oils from the leaves on the way through and (obviously) you end up with them in your glass.

The Wife went with a nice flight of craft beers.

In this case we got a more resin laced, spicy version of Hopsecutioner (in my opinion). Nothing at all wrong with that! The beer is great on its own, but it was nice to drink a different version of it.

That was good enough reason (for me) to be at Eola Wine Company that evening, but it was also a release event of sorts for El Wey Salsa which we received a jar of with each pint of Hopsecutioner. How sweet a deal is that?! I was going to enjoy the beer anyway, but some (very good) salsa as a bonus certainly did nothing to hurt our enjoyment of the evening.

Salsa anyone?

Thanks to Emily and Ian for giving The Wife and I the heads up on the glorious combination of beer and salsa for the evening! Also a big thank you for this . . .

Oh so tasty!

A Good Time To Start

Breweries, Food, Travel No Responses »

Jul 192010

It is probably a good time to start recapping our most recent trip to the Seattle area before I forget any of the details of our time there. Today makes perfect sense as a FAT (Food and Travel for those of you not in the know) Monday post, but there will be a handful of others from the trip peppered around in the next few weeks as well. Looking back, there was at least one occasion of beer enjoyment on each day of our time there (maybe save for one) so the whole trip relates well to the site.

Why not start with the first day of the trip? I think it was also the most beer intensive (and sleep deprived) by far.

Getting up incredibly early for the first flight out of town to the west coast makes for a long day for us east coasters. So we were sure to grab a snack and some (local) coffee during our layover time in Salt Lake City.

Love me a good cup of coffee!

I will go ahead and skip over the details of our incredibly long wait at a rental car counter that we had no patience for once arriving at SeaTac. Besides being sick of airports and traveling, we had a schedule to keep. We needed to meet Seattle Jeff for a little of this . . .

Just a fantastic sight after a long day of travel.

Actually our intent was to pick Seattle Jeff up so he would not have to walk the two miles or so from work to the brewery, but he beat us there on foot after our rental car delay. However, after tasting the beers (and sampling the cheese paired with them) I don’t think he minded the walk that much. I will save further mention of our time with Cody at Epic Ales for future posts since I have much more of the day to get to and the post will be quite long enough without that content. That and I liked the beer (and the person) enough to dedicate entire posts to them sometime relatively soon.

After Maureen (Seattle Jeff’s wife and currently without nickname) met us at Epic Ales and after having a few more beer samples, we decided to head up to the Seattle International Beerfest. That was not before buying a case (or whatever you want to call 12-22oz bottles) of beer and a few souvenirs (which you will likely see some other time) from Cody on our way out the door.

Some of our friends for the afternoon.

Having so many beers to choose from was a bit overwhelming as we tried to decide where to start (or technically continue) our sampling at the festival. Having a few before arriving probably worked to our advantage as the rain that started to fall did not seem to affect our focus at all. Though I will let the pictures do most of the story telling for me, I should mention some of the beers that we tried during our time there.

Deep in thought or possibly staring at the Space Needle.

We split our efforts by enjoying some beers from breweries that we (or I) never see much of and also some new beers (at least to us) from some of our favorite breweries. That meant jumping around (in no exact order) from Firestone Walker (Velvet Merkin) to Nøgne Ø (#100) to Ninkasi (Maiden the Shade & Kraken) to Deschutes (Mirror Mirror) to New Belgium (La Folie) to Stone (Sublimely Self Righteous & Cali Belgique) to Great Divide (Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti & 16^th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA) to, well you get the idea. There are some that I surely forgot, but that is a pretty good rundown of our draft heavy (very few from bottles for us) sampling for the day.

One way to remember what was sampled.

Decisions, decsions.

We did not do much in the way of reviewing what we drank, but there are a few check marks next to the Great Divide and Stone and New Belgium offerings indicating our particular enjoyment of them. That and we actually remembered to make a mark about them as we sampled!

By that time The Wife and I realized that we had not really eaten a decent meal all day. Fortunately we were all due for something good to help settle our stomachs, so there was no resistance to finding some dinner.

Making sure we were good to walk to the car.

So instead of settling our stomachs, we went for some good burn by going to one of our favorite spots in town. Actually this was the first visit for The Wife (after a failed attempt at going years ago), but it is now one of her favorites as well. If I ever remember to do so, I have video from one of my previous visits that shows the crazy speed at which the chef works to keep the constant line at the door moving along. Someday I will get to that.

The line speaks volumes.

Burns so good!

After leaving dinner we headed to Seattle Jeff’s place to finally settle into a seated position for the remainder of the evening. The only appropriate way to deal with our still burning mouths (from dinner) and to also continue abusing our bodies for the day was to enjoy a few brews from Deschutes and Full Sail that were waiting in the fridge. That is just what we did and after being our designated driver for the day, The Wife was even able to join us for those.

Our after dinner snack

I would say that was a great first day in Seattle for us and an appropriate end to the work week for our hosts. Though probably the most beer intense day of the trip (it would have taken a lot to top it), there was more fun with beer to come.

Until day two . . .

Having No Idea

Food No Responses »

Jul 172010

Sometimes (OK most of the time) my posts happen roughly in this manner . . .

I sit having no idea where I should go with my post.
Looking for inspiration I pour myself a beer and sit back down to think.
I stare off into space in deep thought about nothing in particular.
I flip through the channels on the television to satisfy my lack of attention span.
Still having nothing I go pour myself another beer.
Eventually one thought grabs my mind and I focus on it for a moment.
Not knowing if it will make a decent post or where it will lead I just start writing.

That is certainly the process that lead to what you are reading right now and I am hoping it is at least somewhat enjoyable or thought provoking.

After attending a little beer and food pairing dinner with my friends from The Brew Crew a few days ago, thoughts of beer and food have been floating around even more so than usual. I say more so than usual since I am constantly flipping through The Brewmaster’s Table and reading things like Pete Brown’s recent post.

Since what we all smell and taste in a beer or food is (at least) somewhat subjective, it should not have been a surprise that the process of pairing the two together would be more of the same.

Hypnotizing

As an example from this week is the goat cheese salad that was paired with a pale wheat ale. On paper going in there was nothing wrong with the pairing and it turned out to be alright, but I felt that the cheese overwhelmed the beer. My palate wanted something in the way of maybe a Saison or for that wheat ale to have some more carbonation. Then Emily handed me her Palm (as I had already finished my glass) and the Belgian Pale Ale turned out to be a really nice compliment. Emily agreed, but there were many other that were very happy with the original pairing.

As an example of a pairing that was a consensus among those seated near me was that of a fried cheesecake with raspberry glaze and some Lindemans Framboise. There was no doubt that in this case the food brought out more depth in the beer (not so much the other way around). The taste of the beer before sampling the cheesecake was completely different than the flavor after the first bite. The sweetness of the dessert cancelled out much of the sweetness in the Framboise and allowed some of the barnyardy and other fruit characteristics to come through.

So what is my point with all of this? Actually I don’t know since (see above) I was not sure where this would go as I started to write.

Since lists are fun for me, I am going to close with a rundown of what I do know:

Much of my appreciation for craft beer is based on the appreciation of wine that I developed many years ago and now craft beer has me seeing wine differently as well.
Though I still often enjoy wine (and always will) I increasingly prefer a good beer to drink with my food.
As I expose myself to more and more good craft beer, there are fewer foods that I eat where I would prefer a nice glass of wine with it. That is much more a result of how good and versatile the beer is out there than a shot at wine.
I have a long way to go in experimenting with beer (and wine) and food.

Maybe the last one on that list is the take away from this post and the closest thing that I might have to a point with all of this rambling. This is certain to be only the first of what will be many entries on this site dabbling with this topic as I try to figure out what beer and food pairings work well for me and my palate.

Until then, does anyone have any favorite beer/wine and food combinations that they cannot imagine being any more perfect?

Candies and Dog Treats

Brewing, Food No Responses »

Jun 162010

There are a few things that have surprised me lately in the way that they can incorporate beer or brewing. It is not so much that I never thought it was possible to include brewing ingredients into these items, it is just that I never really thought about them within the worlds of beer and brewing much at all. However, now I know that candies and dog treats are card carrying members of the beer and brewing club.

It is probably a good idea to get the more unique one out of the way first, so I will start with the beer candy. Well, at least I think that the package says beer candy. It actually says “Sapporo Beer Drops” on the container, so maybe they are supposed to be cough drops. Perhaps one of you out there that can interpret Japanese can help me out with this one.

4706135274 ac4414f754 Candies and Dog Treats

Beer in candy form.

The Expat Ken recently gave me a tin of these candies that he brought back from Tokyo not really knowing if they would be any good or not. Though I did not exactly have high expectations going in, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they taste pretty good. Apparently when you add a little sugar to what the bottom of a glass of Sapporo tastes like, you end up with a decent hard candy.

4706135138 470d403fc9 Candies and Dog Treats

It cures what ails you!

Not as much of a surprise is that my spent grains from brewing at home can turn into a good treat for the dogs. On top of that Ian and I have both tasted them with no apparent side effects, so those same dog treats can be a little snack in a pinch. I think in the future some sort of baked goods will be made from spent grains as a treat just for me.

The ingredients and method for the dog biscuits was easy:

4 cups spent grain (that has not been in contact with any hops)
4 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs

The ratio of the grain and flour can be adjusted and I have seen recipes where the amount of grain is double the flour. You mix all of the ingredients together (I used my hands) until everything comes together. I have made this recipe a few times (the pictures are from the first batch) and found the initial mix to be quite dry (I allow my grains to dry before using), so I mix near the sink so I can easy add a bit of water even with my hands covered in peanut butter and flour.

4540096217 443f7ab79b Candies and Dog Treats

A very simple list of ingredients.

4540096261 7edffbd2b6 Candies and Dog Treats

Scored before going into the oven.

Then you spread the mixture out evenly on a cookie sheet and score it into the sizes you want. I used a pizza cutter to divide it up. It all then goes into the oven at 350 degrees for roughly a half hour or until they are pretty much firm. After that take them out and break them into the individual pieces that you scored before going in. Then spread those pieces out around them pan.

4540729420 381f0a8aae Candies and Dog Treats

Back into the oven.

After that most recipes I have seen say to drop the temperature down to 200-225 degrees and let them go for hours and hours (8-10) to dry them out so they will not mold during storage. I do let them go for a while in the oven, but I store them in the refrigerator in a partially open Ziploc bag so mold is not as much of a concern to me. Besides the dogs like them so much they don’t last all that long anyway!

4540729484 88738658f8 Candies and Dog Treats

Ready to eat.

Now I really have to get brewing again to come up with some more spent grains for future experimentation.

2010 Taste of the Nation Orlando

Food 1 Response »

Jun 072010

As I sat down to recap the Taste of the Nation event that The Wife and I went to Saturday evening, I decided to take a look back at what I wrote after attending the same event last year. What immediately stood out to me was that the three restaurants that had the memorable/standout dishes for me last year were not even at the event this year. I guess that since the food was again outstanding and we had a great time, I did not even notice they were missing!

There were some familiar faces there as I immediately recognized the same two gentlemen were at the Shipyard Brewing table again this year as they (told me they) have been for the last 6. How strange that I would recognize faces at such a booth (wink, wink). Stella Artois, Leffe, and Hoegaarden were again being poured but with so much other stuff to get to I did not feel the need to wait in the incredibly long line. Instead we took advantage of our VIP wristbands and enjoyed a bit of champagne in the roped off tables area (a fair trade I think).

4675676102 4b75fdec0f 2010 Taste of the Nation Orlando

We got there before the line formed.

The plan was to make our way around the room to sample the savory dishes before doing the same to get our hands on some of the dessert options. That would have worked perfectly well for me had there not been a second room that we had not thought about when formulating our plan of attack. By the time the first pass was done I needed to walk around and let things settle before even thinking about desserts. A few of the stand out dishes for me (from those I tried) were:

Greek Tuna Tataki with Sumac, Onions, and Avocado Tzatziki (Kouzzina). Really interesting flavors on a well seared piece of tuna.
Braised Short Rib, Sunchoke, Maytag Blue Cheese Mashed Potato with Garlic Thyme Brown Butter (Omni Orlando Resort). These potatoes were outrageously good.
Seared Callote of Aged Strip Loin, Black Truffle and Foraged Mushroom Duxelle, Fois Gras Torchon, Madagascar Vanilla and Butter Poached Lobster with Bourguignon Sauce (Bull & Bear Prime Steakhouse). Still drooling a little bit from this one.

4675677652 c82d6cb565 2010 Taste of the Nation Orlando

Tuna from Kouzzina

4675679138 f06541f7b3 2010 Taste of the Nation Orlando

The Omni's outrageously good potatoes.

Of course I did not get to sample everything that was there, but dishes like these made me feel like I did not miss out on anything. Next year I will have to do some training so that my stomach will be able to handle the increased workload for the evening.

Though I did not have much in the way of desserts since I hit the entrees so hard, there was one that The Wife and I agreed was just outstanding. The Slow Baked Apple Tart with Calvados Glaze (again from Bull & Bear Prime Steakhouse) seemed like it was pretty work intensive to create, but it was certainly worth the effort.

4675052387 68a8a28e72 2010 Taste of the Nation Orlando

So many desserts, so little time.

The evening was a lot of fun just as we expected. The room was well laid out and even with the tons of people there it was very easy to move around and with all of the restaurants there was barely a wait for anything the entire evening. The live entertainment was really good and there were some really cool silent auction items available to bid on. The only disappointment for me was that I did not have a second stomach to fill.

4675678958 e864c18a46 2010 Taste of the Nation Orlando

Plenty of live entertainment throughout.

If the other Taste of the Nation events are going to be anywhere near as enjoyable as the one here in Orlando was I would highly recommend going if you can. It is a really fun way to support some great causes while getting to experience some of your best local restaurants.

Already looking forward to next year!

21st Annual Taste of the Nation Orlando

Food No Responses »

May 172010

As the 21st Annual Taste of the Nation Orlando will be here in just a few weeks, it makes me wonder how many of you have been visiting this site long enough to remember The Wife and I going last year. Even if you don’t there is still time to get your tickets to join us there this year on Saturday, June 5th at the Marriott World Center. I cannot say that we will be the only ones there taking pictures of food (and drink), but that should be a good start to finding us.

3870156959 b71ef44f14 21st Annual Taste of the Nation Orlando

The crowd slowly building at the event last year.

Looking at the images from last year made me even more excited for the event this year and also reminded me that I ended up with some nice glassware from which I have enjoyed many a beer since. Maybe this year will leave me with some goodies to give away here too?!

3870942828 f274f027d5 21st Annual Taste of the Nation Orlando

Don't look for me in pink this year . . . maybe purple though.

As a bit of a sneak peek and some additional incentive for you to grab tickets (on top of the great cause it supports), I have a few of the menu items that you can expect from the 25 (or so) restaurants participating in Taste of the Nation this year. You will see, among many other things:

Crab Stack with Lump Crab Meat, Cooked Shrimp, Fresh Avocado, Fresh Apple Mango Salsa and a Swirl of Spicy Sriracha Sauce
Sardinia Pasta: Hand-rolled Chestnut Flour with Roasted Shallots and Cured Dried Beef
Porcini Rubbed Filet Mignon with 12 – Year Aged Balsamic and Sam’s Mashed Potatoes
Citrus Ceviche: Scallops, Shrimp, Cherry Tomatoes, Jalapeno, Fresh Juice
Roasted Beet Brownies with Gorgonzola, Spicy Cashews & Vanilla Honey
Sake Braised Short Ribs on an Edamame Polenta Cake with Caramelized Shallot Reduction Sauce’’
Greek Tuna Tataki in Lettuce Gyros with Sumac, Onions and Avocado Tzatziki
Pear and Gorgonzola Ravioli with a Sage Alfredo
Chef Jean-Louis’ Bananas Foster

There is certainly a lot to like there and that is only a small sample of the food that will be available, not to mention the beer and wine (and bourbon last year). I am pretty intrigued by the idea of a roasted beet brownie, but then again I am a sucker for anything with good cheese in/on it.

3870942968 2b10c45b2f 21st Annual Taste of the Nation Orlando

Some of the good eats from last year.

If (hopefully when) you go, please say hello if you see us. Waiting by one of the beer lines will give a pretty good shot at catching me sometime during the evening. All in the name of research for the site, of course!

When Traveling Alone

Food, Travel 2 Responses »

May 102010

Anytime we travel at least one camera is on the list of things to pack and double check that we have before leaving. However, when I travel alone I tend to forget that I have the camera with me until I am leaving or am already back home and realize that I didn’t take any pictures. A recent business trip that involved some time in the town(s) where I grew up was one of those trips where the camera basically stayed in the case it traveled in. There are a few pictures (of beverages mostly) that spurred some thought though.

As hinted at yesterday, I like to maintain a well-balanced diet when traveling. In this case the balance came in the form of a beer that I have never tried before and was helped by being able to drink it while sitting at my departure gate. If only airports were always this user friendly.

4592013648 6fddd1ac1b When Traveling Alone

What a balanced diet in an airport includes.

That was pretty much the extent of the pictures taken during the trip, but I did take a few of the goods that I brought back to Florida with me. It is nice when your grocery needs align with trips to see your family. The Wife and I were completely out of maple syrup and passing up the stuff at the grocery store was an easy choice when I had a chance at the good stuff from NNY (via my father).

4594836809 520bfd088d When Traveling Alone

Don't think for a moment that I won't drink this from the jar.

Perhaps my home brewing is hereditary as my Uncle Mark got into it years ago, though recently has turned his focus to making his own wine. After enjoying his so much it makes me wonder if I should give it a shot. Then again, I think if I stick with the beer and make some good stuff we can work out a consistent trade of goods!

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A reisling that is now one of The Wife's favorites.

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And one of my new favorites.

So what to make next? I am a short click away from setting up my home cheese making empire, but I think I will fine tune my brewing before bringing an additional mess maker into the house. The itch is there to continue taking control over some of our grocery demand. We do have a garden, though very tiny when compared to those of many of my relatives in NNY. Though I don’t think I can take on having chickens for eggs as my Aunt Lorri (or soon my father), the idea is very intriguing. Knowing where your food and drink comes from is a good habit to develop and is just one of the checks in the plus column for where I grew up.

All You Can Eat Whatever

Food, Travel 1 Response »

Apr 262010

So if you were at all curious about the “all you can eat whatever” that I was referring to yesterday, this FAT Monday (food and travel) post will make the picture more clear.

On Saturday The Wife and I headed down to Celebration to make use of the free passes that she won for the never ending pie buffet at the American Pie Council / Crisco National Pie Championships. I did not read the link in the previous sentence before attending so I was not really sure what to expect, though I did have it in my head that homemade pies would be served at some level. However as the article says, slices of pie were “provided by the nation’s leading commercial pie makers.”

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A great day to be outside.

That was not bad, but it just is not the same as grandma’s homemade goodness. To make up for the slight pie letdown, we had gorgeous (though slightly too hot) weather and the company of Jim, Jackie, and Little E. Minus the stomach discomfort afterward from eating too much it was a great time. Enough talk . . . now some pictures.

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This crowds were bigger and bigger as you neared to pie.

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Strawberry-rhubarb . . . I think.

As my first official good deed of the day, we smuggled a few pieces of blackberry/raspberry pie out of the event to bring to a friend at Celebration Town Tavern. I think he was happy about the surprise delivery.

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Pie makes people happy . . . just ask Rich.

On our way back home we parked the car in downtown Orlando and took a walk through the Central Florida Earth Day 2010 event that was set up around Lake Eola. We did the same last year with The Mother-in-law and enjoyed it enough to put it on the schedule again this year. As you will see, The Wife even made a new friend.

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There was beer available . . .

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. . . and oxygen for those looking to sample.

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We have too many pets already!

All in all a great day and without me having even one beer while we were out! To cap it all off we even made it home in time to catch the end of the NFL Draft (which consumes me this time of year) and put our feet up a bit after walking so much. Did I mention that we spent a total of two dollars (parking) for the afternoon of fun?

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We all get into the draft at my house!

Until the next FAT post . . .

In Case of Worries

Brewing, Food 2 Responses »

Apr 072010

In case there are any worries among my family and friends over my evolving beer drinking palate or any significant alteration in my diet, I recently spent Easter Sunday in a way that should put all of that to rest. Thanks to Meghann, Kelly, and their family I was able to balance out the vegan dinner that The Wife and I attended a few weeks earlier all while living the High Life. After viewing some of the pictures below I suspect that there will a single tear shed by at least a few folks in the central and northern New York areas.

On to a beautiful Easter afternoon . . .

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The guest of honor on that day

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Starting the deconstruction

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Seeking out some of the crispy skin

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Mission accomplished . . . living the High Life

If anyone remembers when I was pondering the order of my brewing over the course of this month and whether or not the fruit component would arrive in time, the puzzle is coming together quickly. Thanks to Jeff at POM (via conversation with The Wife in Baltimore), I received that new type of fruit that I have been hoping to use in a beer. The first to be infused with the POM Wonderful goodness will be the Hefeweizen, but there are at least tentative plans to add it to one other beer and another beverage that I have never tried making before.

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Wait for the magic trick

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POM box to cat right in front of your eyes!

A big thank you again to Jeff for setting me up with a product that should help make for some good (and interesting) home brewed beer.

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Staying cool until the weekend

Updates on the brewing process will be on the way soon!

There Was Bacon

Beer News, Food No Responses »

Feb 252010

To shake things up a bit (I am just crazy) today there will be a smaller amount of beer news combined with some images that just had to be shared. So, for your enjoyment today I bring you . . .

What happens when titans of the craft brewing and culinary worlds combine forces? I guess any of us who will be visiting New York City starting sometime this summer will find out. Check out this story and then this article too for more information. Here is a hint . . .

Just part of the equation (via http://www.huffingtonpost.com/)

I will skip the details because you can check them out by seeing what The Wife had to say, but there was birthday cake earlier this week for yours truly. There was bacon in it and on it and it was good. Though after mentioning the bacon no proof of goodness should be necessary, I will still present you with some evidence . . .

Bacon frosting alone would have been good.

But there was bacon in it too!

Mine! You can't have any!

Best. Wife. Ever.

More Tacos

Food, Travel 2 Responses »

Feb 222010

Not that I had put much thought into it, but I did not think I would ever turn down easily accessible BBQ for tacos that were a drive away. I guess looking back on how I am drawn to fresh, authentic tacos at previously unknown locations I should not be that surprised. It certainly helped that Jackie and Jim not only vouched for the goodness of the food, but drove us there as well.

I should back up a bit to the BBQ option before moving on.

A view early on (from above)

Since the weather was just awesome on Saturday we (The Wife, Jackie, Jim, & little Elizabeth) decided to go downtown for the 4^th Annual City of Orlando Blues B-Q. Surely you can guess that good music and meat products were plentiful. The smell in the air was just awesome.

A view from the ground

After seeing a few of the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbing some food (they were in town for a game and their hotel was across the street) we decided to pass up the BBQ on hand for the opportunity to have what we were told were can’t miss tacos. Maybe I was the only one who decided that, but regardless we left the festival and headed further south.

Passed on one of our favorites

This is another situation where pictures will tell the story best, but I will say that The Wife and I ordered one taco for each of the meat options on this board:

Always wanted to order one of everything.

That seems like a lot, but we could not decide on what to leave out, they are relatively small, and it was our first time there so we wanted to take in as much in as possible. Had I known at the time that our chauffeurs that day would be picking up the tab I may have shown more restraint. A huge thank you to Jim and Jackie for bringing us along and treating us to some great food!

Very good orange soda.

Though The Wife did not enjoy a few of them because of the texture, the lengua was a solid favorite for both of us and the chicharron and tripa were a nice surprise for me. The bar of taco toppings and hot sauces was the perfect accompaniment to the meal. Since we enjoyed so many of them I am not sure if we narrowed the list down much for our next visit.

One of the plates of goodness.

Choose your toppings.

And yes, there will be a next visit!

Slide Show

Breweries, Food, Travel No Responses »

Feb 082010

Since we did a fair bit of running around last week with Cousin Adam and Melissa here, I have quite a few pictures from (most of) the places that we visited and a few from after they flew back home. With that, I think more of a pictorial recap is the way to go today rather than many paragraphs of text to go through on a FAT Monday. So, lets see if I can remember where all of these pictures were taken . . .

Heavenly truffle popcorn with parmesan

Sweetbreads with gnocchi

Beef shortrib ravioli

A short stop by Orlando Brewing to try the goods.

A bit of window shopping in Daytona.

This one was a bit different.

Available in all sizes.

Stopping by the speedway before the crowds arrive.

Soon to be filled.

Soon to be littered with trash.

Taking in some nature.

Another visit to see our manatee friends.

The rains kept us inside at Redlight Redlight

Passing the time with a Brooklyn Cookie Jar Porter and board games before friends arrive.

Enjoying a Saturday afternoon with a good friend.

Surely there are a few stops along the way that didn’t make it into today’s post, but we do occasionally give the camera a rest during our travels. Looking back, there are a few pictures that I wish were taken, but that only means that a return visit is in order!

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