Showing posts with label Hefeweizen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hefeweizen. Show all posts

Thanksgiving Menu...nom nom nom... 

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 -
courtesy of The Washington Post
Turkey Day is just about here and I'm excited.  A day full of food, football, Macy's Day Parade, family and friends.  This year, we are lucky to be celebrating it with friends and family - hub's sister and our brother-in-law are driving to Indy with our beautiful nephew and our dear friends MC & RS are joining us.

Last week, I completed the menu for a day of feasting.  I'm really excited to try new dishes this year as I stray from the norm by tweaking here and there.  Here is the game plan:

Brunch
  • Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins (which were made on Sunday)
  • Mushroom, Bacon & Swiss Strata (will assemble tonight)
  • Fruit
  • Mimosa's, coffee and juice
Highlight of brunch - the pumpkin muffins.  Oh gosh, I can't wait to eat more than my fair share...all while watching the Macy's Day Parade.  Just love it.  Love.

Appetizers
Then we'll have some appetizers during football time - nothing too extravagant.  I wasn't able to find figs so that put a kink in my original plans, but I swapped it out for some baked brie.  Here is the what we have planned for munchies (but let us be honest, I'm sure some chips or something will be thrown into the mix):
  • Raspberry Baked Brie
  • Walnut, caramelized onion and bleu cheese dip 
  • Crudites

Among the football, board games, and child laughter (I hope!) dinner preparation will be happening.  Hubs and I really planned ahead this year so that we barely spend anytime in the kitchen for the big day.  I assembled as much as I could prior to our guests arrival and I'm sure it will pay off. 

Dinner
  • Pumpkin & Squash Soup (making tonight)
  • Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
  • Turkey (hubs is in charge - rotisserie style)
  • Apple Chestnut Dressing ( roasted and peeled the chestnuts last night, but assembling tonight - also using this as a base, but am tweaking for my own love)
  • Garlic Mashed Potatoes (hubs in charge)
  • Green Bean Casserole (thank you Martha!)
  • Corn Casserole (MC is bringing - yum!)
  • Cranberries (MC again)
  • Mac & Cheese (MC one more time - gluten free!)
  • Herb Buttermilk Biscuits (made these on Sunday, they are ready to be baked!)
  • Pumpkin Pie (making tomorrow morning)
  • Pecan Pie with Bourbon Cream (tomorrow morning too!)
Hubs has made some hefeweizen (nom nom nom, love hefe, especially this one if you remember) for the festivities too, so I'm excited for the batch of home brew. It is his first hefe round - I'm excited!  We are also stopping at Sun King Brewing so we can fill the kegerator - type of brew tbd.  Wine will be flowing as well.

Game plan tomorrow is to bake the pies in the morning and bake sides (dressing, beans and biscuits) in the afternoon.  I'll rewarm the soup, and that is all.  Not a lot of work on the day of - it is amazing what a little planning can do!

Am I excited?  Absolutely! I can't wait for this day of eating and relaxing.  Very thankful for lots of things in life, so why not celebrate it!?

What are your plans for Turkey Day?  Anything that you absolutely can't wait to eat?!

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La Conner Brewery - A Beer Mixup 

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 -
After spending a wonderful day in Friday Harbor, hubs and I decided to just drive around to the coastal towns just north of Seattle.  As we were driving through La Conner, I spotted a brewery so we decided to drop in and do a tasting and get a snack.

La Conner Brewery was decorated in wood and had a clean, but rustic, feel about it.  Cozy in size, it was modern, warm and inviting.  We sat at the bar and saw this beautiful display of taps - all brewed on-site.
The bartender was welcoming and very friendly as we settled in and started asking about the brews.  She was happy to provide us with pours of all their products to help us determine which one we would like to savor in a pint glass.  All of the pours were basic beers, not too developed in flavor.  There were:
  • Brown, classic in all ale characteristics
  • IPA, Northwest-style at 7%
  • Wheat, the classic Germany-style Hefeweizen
  • Pale, featuring Yakima Valley hops
  • ESB, which had a rich caramel malt flavor
  • Pilsner, which featured hops from Czeck Republic
 

I settled on the ESB for my first pint as I was looking for a rich beverage to quench my thirst.  As we sipped our first beer, we perused their menu which was utterly fantastic.  Some great items, not to mention the beautiful open kitchen with the wood fired pizza oven in the middle.  I watched enthusiastically as the chef hollowed out dozens of sugar pumpkins, which he informed me were going to the chicken pot pie bowls for tomorrow.  
Since I couldn't get that as a snack, we settled on appetizer to split - artichoke and smoked cheddar dip.
Doesn't this just look creamy and delicious?  Trust me, it was!  The artichokes were finely chopped and mixed with jalapenos and red peppers.  The smoked cheddar was fantastic, as was the seasoning of red pepper flakes (my go-to seasoning) giving it an extra kick.  My ESB complimented it beautifully, and after saying so, I was informed that ESB was also part of the mixture.  A warm and creamy dip accompanied by crisp tortilla chips - perfect snack for mid afternoon.

I was happily snacking along and realized that my pint needed a fill, so I ordered a Hefeweizen...and a clear mix up occurred.  The glass I received didn't look anything like a Hef - where was my cloudy in appearance cold beverage?  Unfortunately, I think the taps were labeled incorrectly.  I guess, if I wanted a Hef, I should have ordered a Pilsner.  I couldn't get the nerve to inform the bartender it was labeled incorrectly, because she was so sure of it (side note - our bartenders had turned over at this point.)  I sipped the Pilsner without saying, and we wrapped our fantastic time (with a minor mishap) at La Conner Brewery.

It was the perfect place to drop in and get some local flair, local food and brews on our anniversary.  I left with a happy stomach (and I believe, a confused bartender...)

Would have you said something, risking the chance of insulting the bartender?  I just couldn't do it - I didn't want to be "that girl" correcting their lineup.

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Granville Island Brewery - A Tasting Room 

Monday, October 18, 2010 -
While in Vancouver, hubs and I made our way to Granville Island. We heard it was a great spot not only for tourists, but many locals made their way to the public market and concert venues.  Hubs and I had two reasons for our visit - the public market and Granville Island Brewery.  We decided to peruse a few shops, have some beer and then make our way to the market.  We arrived just a tad bit too late to take a tour, and the following one was sold out.  So, we settled in at a table and got ready to try some local Canadian brews.
I was immediately ready to order either a sampler or their pumpkin ale.  Despite having pumpkins everywhere, I learned quickly from our server that they didn't have any available (this is the first of two times it will happen to me on this vacation,) so I ordered myself a sampler.  It included the Cypress Honey Lager, Robson Street Hefeweizen and the Kitsilano Maple Cream Ale. 
Here is a basic breakdown:
  • Honey Lager - subtle in sweet honey flavor, it was mild in taste (pictured above, beer on right side.)  It was a standard lager, and I would order a Leinie's HoneyWeis. 
  • Hefeweizen - the unfiltered wheat ale was mild in clove thus not as flavorful as I would have enjoyed.  But a good basic hefeweizen that is for sure.  No orange slice, which is good, but nothing compared to my Sun King love - the Big H (pictured to right.)
  • Cream Ale - this was my favorite that I tried.  Smooth and subtly sweet, it was my first maple cream and I thoroughly enjoyed it on the brisk day (pictured above, beer on left.)  I was ready to order another glass when...
We were told we reached our limit.  Boo.

Unfortunately, this was only a tasting room where guests can be served up to approximately 12.5 ounces.  Hubs had ordered a glass of the Maple Cream Ale and was disappointed he could only try one brew, as I was disappointed to only get one tasting sampler.  
Upside - the tasting room was a great venue, industrial in style and function.  Wall to wall glass ceilings allowed you to see all of the equipment. The brewer who we saw seemed quite passionate about his product during the tours.  Bartender wasn't quite friendly, and our server warmed up a bit (or maybe that was only cause he felt bad that we wanted more beer...) throughout our time.  They had some simple bar food options to snack on, but it wasn't an establishment where you could stay for a few hours.

I did end up having more of the Hefeweizen when we went out later that night for football too, so it was something I returned to when given the option.  It seemed to be a popular local brew from the bartenders and restaurants we frequented, and we were happy to have been able to visit and sip some local brews. 

When you travel, do you get out and see the local breweries in the area?  Have you been to a tasting room where you were limited on your intake?

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