Allagash Curieux

Milltown had a tasting with Allagash last week, and so continue to have on tap several beers not normally found on draft, including the Curieux. Barrel-aged (in Beam barrels) and incredibly smooth, Curieux is a real treat – a bit of the traditional Allagash spice followed by vanilla and a great finish. Get a pour if you can.

Seattle: Elysian Brewing Company

Elysian Brewing Company is one of those brewpubs that is sadly uncommon in most parts of the country: rather than the beer being a gimmick to accompany so-so bar food, at Elysian it's the reason to come. The food's quite good, too – very nice grilled corn cakes to start, and the house-made black bean burger was excellent – but it definitely takes a back seat to the beer.

I'd been to Elysian before on my previous trip to Seattle and made my way through most of their regular beers (indeed, Elysian bottles and sells their beers all around, and many of their stand-bys are also on tap at other local pubs), so decided to take a trip through the seasonals. I was served well by this decision, as there were three sour beers on tap (my current semi-obsession, beer-wise), reviewed below in order.

Haleakala Hibiscus Sour Ale: Mild sweet nose, full body, tart edges. Carbonation mild owing to wild yeast, finish a perfect blend of tart, sweet, sour, bitter. Hops there but only as balance. Very refreshing and easy-drinking, gets a bit more sour when warm. A real winner and it turned out to be the best of the bunch.

Sour Power Flemish-style Wood Aged Sour Ale: Very, very smooth. More sour in the nose than the taste, and not overly woody - definitely wood-aged but all the good and none of the bad elements of the process. Kind of wished it was a bit more sour, but still solid.

The Trip III Dark Sour Blend: Super-sour nose, low carbonation, porter-style dark body with a great smooth and sour taste and finish. So sayeth the note: "The 3rd beer in collaboration between Elysian and New Belgium, 70% Dark Lager brewed by Elysian and aged sour ale (Foudre 13-30%) brewed at New Belgium.

Pacific Northwest Food Adventures

Plenty of pictures of the food I ate in Seattle and Vancouver already up on Flickr; I'll be posting write-ups of those and others through the week.

Dandelions

I'd seen the recipes and had kept them at skeptical distance, but these days, considering the level of my bank account and the amount of dandelions in the backyard, I thought might as well try my luck at the proverbial free lunch.

As it turns out, it's not too bad, and tomorrow I may collect more from my neighbour's yard (my backyard is little and I have used up all the dandelions) to make a second batch. Actually, it tastes quite a bit like kale, but with a thinner texture.

Easy and fast:
clean the dandelions (however much you may find in the yard) thoroughly to get rid of the dirt. Chop them in 1-inch strips, without roots. Blanch them in 2 cups of boiling water for 3-4 min. Drain and set aside.
In a skillet, heat a bit of olive oil and throw in 2 minced garlic cloves for 30 seconds. Add the dandelions and cook for about a minute, making sure the oil covers the dandelions.
And there you go! A nice side dish!

Scallops and Asparagus on Capellini

A big success this evening, using one of Marcella Hazan's recipes and one of my own devising.

Sautéed Scallops with Rosemary and Lemon

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. scallops (bay, or sliced small if sea scallops)
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and sliced very thin
• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary
• salt
• black pepper
• 2 tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Procedure

1. Wash scallops and pat dry with a towel
2. Put oil and garlic in skillet large enough to accommodate all scallops in one layer; turn on heat to medium
3. When garlic turns a pale gold, add rosemary
4. Stir quickly, add scallops, salt and grindings of pepper, and turn up heat to medium-high
5. Cook, stirring frequently, for ~2 min. until scallops turn from translucent to flat white
6. Add lemon juice, turn heat to highest setting, stir once or twice and serve

Verdict

Just fantastic. Make sure you serve over a pasta that will take the sauce well. Parmesan a good addition on top.

Asparagus with Shallots and Garlic in White Wine Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb. asparagus, tips trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tbs. lemon juice

Procedure

1. Heat butter on medium, until melted, in large sautée pan with lid
2. Add garlic, cook until fragrant
3. Add shallots, cook until translucent
4. Add olive oil and cover all of pan
5. Add salt and pepper grindings, and then half of the wine
6. When wine is cooked halfway down, add asparagus and stir thoroughly
7. Add remainder wine and lemon juice
8. When sauce begins to simmer, cover pan and steam for 2-3 min.
9. Transfer to serving dish, serve and enjoy!

Verdict

Again, great. Also make sure you use the sauce, it's killer, and combines well with the above. I used capellini and that worked excellently. Parmesan on top is good, too.

What Happens When You Go Shopping After Day 3 of Comps

This is what I just bought:

(1) Box organic whole wheat penne
(1) Box organic whole wheat spaghetti
(1) Tube Dijon mustard
(1) Bottle sunflower oil
(1) Bottle sesame oil
(1) Bottle canola oil
(2) Roma tomatoes
(1) Grease screen
(1) Ciabatta loaf
(2) Bars chocolate
(5) Boxes Annie's Mac'n'cheese [to be fair - it was on sale and there were coupons and I was out]
(1) Package Reed's ginger chews

Of that, I can guarantee that... the ciabatta will get eaten tonight. The tomatoes turned into guacamole. Otherwise, presumably these things get used eventually.

Fort Collins Brewery The Kidd Lager

Fort Collins is a solid-if-underrated Colorado brewery, so I was pleased to see a brew of theirs I'd not yet sampled - The Kidd Lager - at Carrboro Beverage Co. Like its Colorado cousin 1554, it's a dark beer that's not a stout or porter, but where 1554 is an ale, The Kidd is, um, a lager. And a very good one. Smooth and with a hella-easy drinkability, the chocolate malts come through as flavor but not big-footing, and with an excellent, crisp lager finish. Really good stuff.