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Some stout in chill is nice

Thanks for the link to the Beer and Cheese article, Ichiban! I have enjoyed Trappist beer and a plate of Trappist cheeses in 2 pubs in Amsterdam; Gollem and Elfde Gebod. It is a really great pairing.

As for cooking with beer; an Irish red ale in a beef stew (Carbonade) is about my limit. I never even got around to trying Séan's Three bean chili recipe!

"DrJohn":63yrwt3v wrote: Thanks for the link to the Beer and Cheese article, Ichiban! I have enjoyed Trappist beer and a plate of Trappist cheeses in 2 pubs in Amsterdam; Gollem and Elfde Gebod. It is a really great pairing.

As for cooking with beer; an Irish red ale in a beef stew (Carbonade) is about my limit. I never even got around to trying Séan's Three bean chili recipe![/quote:63yrwt3v]
Apparently Liefman's is great in a carbonade. Still, I see Liefman's so rarely I wouldn't waste it by cooking with it. What a beer, by the way.

Yes, I'm loving the beer/cheese article too.

"Ichiban":3eqh2i82 wrote: Beer and cheese is a truly great combination. So great in fact that I've learned how to make cheese just in order to experiment with pairing it with my own beers.[/quote:3eqh2i82]

Cheese has the quality to improve some liquors, specially wine. Wine cellars in La Mancha, a wine not as famous as Rioja, use to serve their wine for buyers with cheese. Even a mediocre wine seems nice when accompanied by cheese.

Apparently some types of cheese, not all, has the same effect over beer.

Another good combination is beer and salads. While salads seasoned with vinegar or mustard repel wine (specially the good one), it´s the opposite with beer, specially those salads made with bitter leafs and chunks of cheese or dried fruits.

For those salads seasoned with mustard, a strong vinegar or some Sherry, try a hoppy beer to compensate. And if you have blue cheese in it have it with something like a german Bock beer (less bitter and less hoppy), it´s delicious...

Ok, lunch time for me...

Beer and food can be great companions, a dark rich stout with a french onion soup recipe is fantastic.... I used Sam Smiths Imp. Stout on a few occasions and it was truly superb

Try some beer chilli too, my own recipe

Pale ale Chilli

Ingredients

1 pound of lean mince beef
2 small onions
Large handful of smoked bacon lardons
2 cupfuls of hot chorizo sausage or pepperoni
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of baked beans
1 can of chopped tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic
1 stock cube
2 teaspoons of hot paprika
A pinch of steakhouse mixed pepper
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
3-12 chillies (pickled or fresh and removal of the seeds, also dependant on size and how much u like, the ones I used were mild and small therefore it took a few)
2 teaspoons of chilli puree
1 teaspoons of caster sugar
A knob of butter
500ml of good pale ale (landlord, snpa, london pride)
Seasoning (salt and pepper)
50-100g of Red Leicester Cheese or any mature chedder

Serve with white rice and a nice pale ale




Or try this...., a great way to serve steak




Beer and Bourbon Fillet Steaks

Fillet steak (3-4cm thick)
Bourbon
12oz Belgian Dubbel
Salt
Pepper
Honey


Steps

Marinate the steak in a bottle of a good dubbel (westmalle is a good choice), leave for 12-24 hours

Get the pan to a very high heat, with a small amount of olive oil, until it is smoking

Add the steak, and season with pepper

Nearing the desired steak colouration (ie. rare, medium etc) add the excess beer and season with salt. Cook for a minute to let reduce, then add the bourbon and honey, cook for a further 15-30secs and serve

Pour the excess sauce over the steak

"Ichiban":3uek7u0d wrote: Some of the Belgian Trappist monks make their own cheese to pair with their beers.[/quote:3uek7u0d]Chimay cheese is yummy. Definitely bringing some of that back from Belgium next time.

There's a French beer called Frometon[/url:3uek7u0d] which is specifically designed to go with cheese and in the formulation of which an artisan cheesemaker was consultant. It's absolutely gorgeous, but isn't improved any by being paired with cheese.