Recently I was asked to come up with a salad, entree, and dessert paired with beers.  Jill (my wife) and I came up with these dishes on one of our weekend trips recently.  She and I prepared these meals and I invited a friend over to partake and compare.  So, here they are — the food (plus recipe) and the beer pairing.

SALAD/Extra Special Salad
Beer (ESB): Breckenridge Small Batch 471 ESB
Dish: A slaw-style salad marinated with malt vinegar
Details/Ingredients: 1 head each of Red & Green Cabbage, 16 oz can of Red (Kidney) Beans, 16 oz can of White (Navy) Beans, 1 TSP of Crushed Red Pepper, 16 oz of Vegetable Broth, and 32 oz of Malt Vinegar.
Recipe: Cut up the Red & Green Cabbage into slaw, combine with Vegetable broth, cover with water in a pan and boil for 15 minutes.  Drain and combine with beans and red pepper.  Add Malt Vinegar and marinade OVERNIGHT. Add salt to taste (maybe a little more red pepper if it doesn’t have a little kick).  Serve cold.

ENTREE/Gorgonzola-stuffed Bison Steak
Beer (Imperial IPA): Dogfish Head Squall IPA
Dish: A chopped bison steak with Gorgonzola.  Sides of Sweet Corn Succotash and Garlic-seasoned “Crostini.”
Details: 1/3 lb of chopped bison/buffalo steak.  1/4 cup of gorgonzola crumbles.  Shape the meat into a rectangle, pour the cheese in the middle, then fold it over to form a square.  Salt and pepper to taste — grill the steak to desired state.
Succotash: Saute in butter 16 oz can of sweet corn, 1 diced red bell pepper, and 1 diced red onion until tender.  In the last minute add approx 1/4 cup of cilantro (to taste).  Salt and pepper to taste as well.
Finally, serve with garlic-seasoned “crostini” or garlic toast.(Forgot to make the crostini this time <smile>)

DESSERT/Cherry Lime a la Mode!
Beer (LAMBIC): Since I was out of Lambics, we used Bell’s Cherry Stout
Dish: Lime Sherbert with Crushed Black Pepper, garnished with a Belgian Waffle “Cracker.”
Details/Recipe: Mix fresh crushed black pepper with the Lime Sherbert (too taste).

Everything was wonderful together — for the dessert, definitely should have had the Lambic … it would have been the perfect mix (but this one was pretty good!)

Beer Mentor