Eating About Beer

This post is long overdue but since we just met a couple nights ago to start planning for the next dinner, I thought maybe it was time to share. First off, I deserve no credit for the photos – they were all shot by our friend Phil who is an awesome photographer. You can see plenty more of his great photos here.

Last May I met up with a group of five other friends who are all also crazy about beer and food – brewing, cooking, eating, drinking… We talked it out over a few beers, naturally, and decided that we wanted to plan a dinner where we’d each come up with a course, and then brew a beer to be paired with that course.

Over the next six months or so we hashed out who was cooking what, who was brewing what, who was brewing what now because their first batch didn’t work and all the other logistics. In the end it came out to be one course each for four of us, two sharing a fifth course, two splitting duties on appetizers, three making dessert courses and everyone brewing a shit ton of beer. We got a lot of awesome help from friends putting together everything from finding enough plates to sewing custom napkins for the dinner – along the way I got a sewing lesson. We’re calling what we’re doing Eating About Beer. More will be happening in the near future so stay tuned…

Here are some photos of the dishes. Click here to see the menu.

Pickled Sardines (check out Eric’s great blog, Awesome Pickle, for the recipe)
 

Sea Urchin Tempura & Salmon Sashimi with Mustard Su Miso Sauce
 

Madras Goat Curry with Saffron Rice
 

Arugula Salad with Roasted Hazelnuts, Pomegranate & Fuyu Persimmons
 

Borlotti Beans in Mole
 

Beer-Braised Short Ribs & Spatzle
 

Pear Ginger Cake & Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Beer Caramel
 

Apple Cinnamon Donuts & Whipped Beer

And Israel made chocolate truffles infused with kriek that were amazing but we don’t have photo documentation.

 
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My dish was salmon sashimi draped over sea urchin tempura with meyer lemon juice soaked tapioca pearls, jalapeno and dried miso powder.

 
The mustard miso sauce on the plate is bad ass and super easy to make. It comes from, not surprisingly… Nobu. You could use it for so many things… you can pretty much use it wherever honey mustard would be good, and more… I would never think to use honey mustard with fish but the miso in this sauce really ties it together and makes it work. It goes amazingly well with fish and is a great dipping sauce. I used my leftover sauce to dip fries in. Mondo-umami.

To make the mustard miso sauce, you first need saikyo miso, which is basically just sweetened miso with sake. This shit will not go to waste in your fridge either if you have extra. If you’ve ever had miso glazed cod or miso eggplant in a Japanese restaurant – chances are this is what was on it. Cod baked with this shit glazed on top is like crack.

 
Nobu-Style Saikyo Miso
adapted from Nobu the Cookbook

3/4 cup sake
3\4 cup mirin
2 cups white miso paste
1 1\4 cups sugar

– Bring the sake and mirin to a boil. Boil it for about 20 seconds or so to burn off the alcohol
– Turn down the heat and stir in the miso paste, mixing with a wooden spoon.
– When it’s completely mixed in, add the sugar and turn up the heat. Stir constantly to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove and let cool.

 
Mustard Su-Miso Sauce
adapted from Nobu the Cookbook

1 tsp Japanese mustard powder
2 tsp hot water
8 Tbsp saikyo miso
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp rice vinegar

– Dissolve the mustard powder in a bowl with the hot water
– Add miso and rice vinegar
– Crack out.