Beer and Dessert Pairing

Gentle readers, my apologies for not posting sooner, I've been getting over a bug that knocked me flat on my bum. But, alas, the fever and chills have subsided, and I am once again well. This past Friday was finally the night of the beer and dessert pairing!

One of the home brews we tasted on Friday

My friend had 6 beers ready for tasting, which meant I really had my work cut out for me!! The majority of his beers (descriptions are in the previous beer post) were expected to have nutty, bready, or caramel undertones. So to match these I made candied almonds and caramel pecan shortbread. I knew the candied almonds would work with any of those beers. They were not too sweet and I had toasted the almonds to give them the depth of roasting that I thought would cut through the taste of the beer. The caramel pecan shortbread I thought would work well with the beers that had bready flavor. I had hoped the caramel and roasted pecans would bring out some of the character of the beers that maybe would not have been as pronounced otherwise.

A couple of the home brews on tap

My bigger fears lay within the lighter beers which were being sampled. For these I thought chocolate covered candied oranges would complement the citrus notes in the beers and the thin layer of chocolate would contrast with the beers. I started these a month ago--I sliced oranges from my parents' tree in the backyard and let them soak in super-saturated sugar syrup for about 30 days, then dried them out and coated them with chocolate. I have made these before and I like to offer them at Christmas, so it was a treat getting to eat one in the spring!

The one that made me MOST nervous was a brew with spruce and honey. My friend mentioned that it was not expected to have a sweet finish. And the spruce, wow. I initially went to honey, pine nuts, gin? I had absolutely no clue what would complement, cut or contrast a beer with spruce. Or honey, for that matter. What did I make, you ask?? Baklava. Not just ordinary baklava. I chopped almonds and added a touch of cinnamon. I layered the delicate phyllo dough generously with butter, filled it with the almonds and cinnamon, and baked it for an hour and some change. The super-saturated sugar syrup that was used to make the oranges was used in this recipe. I boiled it down til it thickened up, then cooled it and stirred in some honey. I poured it over the freshly baked baklava and let each layer soak up the orange and honey-laced syrup.

When the bf and I arrived after walking a couple of blocks in the San Diego drizzle, desserts in hand, the group had already begun tasting. What was next? The honey and spruce beer. "Which one goes with this one??" they asked. "Baklava," was my reply. I had my reservations about this pairing, but now was as good a time as any to bring out the desserts and laissez les bons temps rouler! As I tasted the beer and then took a bite of the baklava, it was not what I expected. The reaction around the room echoed my sentiments. The small studio with over a dozen people immediately fell silent as we all relished in the flavor of the beer and the after-effects of the orange and honey dancing on the tongue, complementing this beer PERFECTLY. Everyone in the room was reveling in the beer and baklava. At the risk of sounding over-the-top and perhaps a tad cheesy, it was more than just beer and dessert. It was an experience. The pairing I was afraid of most turned out to be the best pairing of the evening.

Desserts (in the background)

We tried the rest of the beers, which went well with the nutty and sweet combinations. We chatted about work, about beer brewing, about life. We listened to music and some people danced. It was lots of fun. We didn't stay long, it had been a long day for both me and the bf. But I was very inspired by the fact that it not only was possible to pair Beer AND Sugar, that it was amazing! You can be sure that I'm ready and willing to do it again soon!!

NOTE: A quick "Thank you!" to my co-worker Mike C. for the pics.

Visiting Nature

So often we get bombarded by daily life--skyscrapers, cell phones, laptops, traffic. Wake up, sit at the computer for 8 hours (or 9 in my case) and go home, only to have to look forward to the same thing the next day. We get so caught up in our own little technology bubbles that we, on occasion, need to just burst that bubble and relax for a minute! I find it amusing that while at one point in time (and not even that long ago) most of a person's work was done outdoors, tending to the fields or livestock, we now seek the outdoors as a means to escape the monotony and boredom, to detox from daily life.

It is for this reason a couple weeks ago that, when my co-workers invited me to join them in going to the Botanic Gardens in Encinitas, I thought it would be a lovely idea. We hopped in the car and drove to Encinitas. The drive alone is picturesque, as you drive up the 5 there's an amazing ocean view to the west that always makes me want someone else to drive so I can stare out the window, especially as the afternoon sun draws closer to the horizon.

We arrived at around 1030 to the delicate fragrance of cookies and pineapple. Why it smelled like that I have no clue, but it was a beautiful aroma of sweet florals wafting through the air. With more than 4 acres of gardens to explore, we decided to start at one end and work our way around the circle.

We began close to the gift shop and wound our way through the New Zealand, Central American, Canary Islands and Australian Gardens. Each garden has plants native to its appellation, various blooms and plants for as far as the eye can see.

The Children's Garden was my favorite, I think. They had a very interesting plant whose name I no longer recall, with beautiful drop blossoms and quarter-sized spheres with a curious texture.

Farther up the path are beautiful hibiscus flowers. Not only are they enticing to look at in their simplicity, I love hibiscus for tea on a cool cloudy day like today, or iced with some sugar for an agua fresca, to beat the hot summer sun-- and once upon a time, I even found candied hibiscus at Trader Joe's, which was delicious.

Walking past the waterfall in the Tropical Rain Forest, one may cross a bridge to an overlook. Of this, I wish I would have taken a picture. Looking down from the gazebo is all of Encinitas, newly built dream houses with white picket fences. Sigh, maybe someday. Looking outward, to the west, is the most picturesque ocean view. Light breeze, warm sun. On the edge, the very edge of the horizon, the eye makes out a large ship, moving along the waters shimmering from the afternoon sun...

By the time I realize I am still entranced by the ocean view, we've meandered to the Fruit Garden. Banana trees abound. Citrus trees have maturing fruit, tempting visitors to disregard the "DO NOT PICK FRUIT". It wasn't until now that I understood Adam and Eve's temptation!! What a shame that some of those perfect lemons and cara cara oranges with their deliciously pink flesh were on the floor.

On our way to the Herb Garden we found ourselves in the Desert Garden. Another lovely ocean view, but I chose to focus on the garden, which to my surprise had succulents mixed in with these:

And finally, walking through the Bamboo Garden, we saw many species of bamboo. My favorite was a two-toned bamboo with deep yellow stripes against the bright green shoots. Walking through one can also see the sculptures donated by local artists which reflect the tone of each garden. But the plants speak for themselves.

On the way out, I noticed that the Botanic Garden also has events on a regular basis, like a Chocolate Festival (in May, I'd love to go!) and a Lady Bug Day (my favorite insect). Visiting the Botanic Gardens set me right as rain. The relaxed pace at which we toured the gardens allowed me to literally stop and smell the flowers. Sometimes that's all we need to get us ready to go back to the real world.... Now where's my cell phone??