Thursday, September 29, 2011

October is American Cheese Month


October is American Cheese Month -- a celebration of North America’s delicious and diverse cheeses, and the farmers, cheesemakers, retailers, cheesemongers, and chefs who bring them to your table. Find out more about events and participants from this link...

I have a special interest in American Cheese Month since
my friends at Rogue Creamery (Central Point, Oregon) infuse Rogue Chocolate Stout beer into a cheddar cheese.

This cheese has won a hat-trick of awards at th
e American Cheese Society competition (2nd place in 2007 & 2008, 3rd place in 2011). Its available at select retailers, Rogue Pubs and Rogue Creamery's retail store; or you can order it online -- The Lodge gift box comes with the award winning Chipotle Cheddar, Chocolate Stout Cheddar, the world’s first Smokey Blue® Cheese, Lillie Belle Caramel-Almond Organic Dark Chocolate and 34 Degrees crispbread crackers -- a great gift idea for your favorite rogue during American Cheese Month.


Heads up to folks in Po
rtland, OR -- on October 8th you can meet Oregon's cheesemakers during The Wedge, an annual event sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Oregon, benefiting the Oregon Cheese Guild which will be hosted at Rogue's Green Dragon pub! Learn more about Pacific Northwest Cheeses ~ visit Tami Parr's blog and get a copy of her book.






tags:
@RogueCreamery @ChocolateStout @RogueAles @CheeseSociety @34degrees @LillieBelleFarm @TheWedgePDX @greendragonPDX @pnwcheese

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Craft Beer Rising to the ICC Occasion in NYC October 2-4



6th Annual International Chefs Congress (ICC) will be held at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC on October 2-2, 2011

Starchefs.com ICC theme for 2011 is the sixth sense: intuition, emotion, and experimental evolution in dining.


I am excited that Craft Beer will be at the Bar@ICC this year! Any brewery interested in participating should contact Will Blunt at the ICC office in NYC 212-966-3775, and secure your spot! Here are some details from the 2010 ICC.

The three day 2011 International Chefs Congress includes a product fair (with culinary equipment & products and craft beer!), 80 demonstrations and panels by culinary trade, for the trade, the 2nd Annual Pastry Competition (with 20 international pastry chefs), 2nd Annual Somm Slam (12 competitors compete over 3 days), the VitaMix Challenge (6 finalists go blender to blender), showcased decor by the winners of Design Competition, receptions and afterparties, and the NYC Rising Stars Gala & Awards on Tuesday evening.

from Starchefs.com, The 2011 ICC lineup includes preeminent figures in the food and beverage industry including

One session on my mind is Burger Pairing Showdown: Beer vs. Wine
I have high hopes for beer and that Michael will take down Fred, so this will be interesting.

Another session that piqued my intersest is on Tuesday afternoon -- Je Ne Sais Quoi: Feminine Finesse in Mixology There are a few women on the ICC presenters rooster (including Chef Elizabeth Falkner, Chef Stephanie Izard, and many women in the wine and spirits industry). As a member of
I take notice if women are speaking or on the rooster, and who is attending.

The Grand Finale of ICC is the Rising Stars, and it is nice to see several women chefs in the 2011 NYC lineup: Chef Hilliary Sterling of A Voce and Pastry Chef Jenny McCoy of Craft. The 2011 NYC Rising Chefs Gala and Awards Ceremony is Tuesday, October 4th.

ICC Passes are on sale now. Get your 3-day ticket (Oct 2-4) for the limited-time discount price of $450 for working restaurant pass and $795 for 3-day industry pass. October 4th -- NYC Rising Star Tickets: $150 per person; $200 VIP admission which includes private reception, tasting preview, Champagne and Petrossian caviar.

Some of my favorite companies are sponsors:
Bonus -- they all have products with umami, which strikes a cord with beer! Here is a great article by Charlie Papazian about Beer and Umami flavors (umami is the 5th sense ~ perfect flavors and pairings to bring to ICC and the 6th sense theme!) I gave a beer & umami flavors presentation at the Great American Beer Festival in 2009, albeit it was called beer and comfort food (bacon, cheese and chocolate).

Friends in the brewing industry, here is your chance to bring your beer to the culinary plate, come meet and network with the movers and shakers in the restaurant industry -- sign up as a sponsor! Chefs, Mixologists & Sommeliers, get to know your favorite brewers and their beers, encourage them to participate in ICC, and please include beer on your wine & cocktail lists!

I'll see you in Gotham at ICC. Cheers!

tags: #craftbeer @star_chefs @chocolatestout @WisconsinCheese @Nueskes @pinkbootsbeer

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gone Underground

Blog posts about beer & food can be entertaining. I feel like a fly on the wall looking at the photos and reading the menu and pairing notes, letting my mind deconstruct and capture the flavors without tasting in 3D.

Underground dining is something I have not (yet) experienced, but I enjoyed reading
Darin Dines' January 15, 2011 blog post about Wolvesmouth in LA pairing an interesting selection of beer with a very eclectic menu created by Chef Craig Thornton (Wolvesmouth.com), whose online photos of other dinners he has prepared are mouthwatering!

"The affair is strictly BYOB (no corkage). Thinking that the alcohol would be wine heavy (it was heavily weighted toward reds), we opted to bring a selection of craft beers. Not knowing what the menu would be, I selected an array of beers: The Bruery Orchard White (Orange County), Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (San Diego), La Chouffe (Belgium), Stone Double Bastard Ale (San Diego), and Rogue Chocolate Stout (Oregon). " [snip -- many courses and beers later]

"This was pretty much as advertised. It was a french toast ice cream done very well. It was appropriately sweet with a hit of cinnamon spice; it totally tasted like french toast. Just as important was that it was served at an ideal temperature. It was a few degrees above frozen (almost slightly melted) so that the flavors were very apparent at that temperature. I really liked this one. We drank this with the Rogue Chocolate Stout…this would be perfect for a beer float."

Darin, I was wondering, hoping that you enjoyed Rogue Chocolate Stout with the final course:
chocolate panna cotta, chestnut purée, coffee shortbread, pear ice, coffee meringue, warm pear.

Also, thanks for bringing beer to the table! Great post, menu and musings!

tags: @darindines @wolvesmouth @chocolatestout @rogueales