A Taste of the Season... Oysters
Greetings,
Today, I present some thoughts on seasonal food, and the beers to pair with them.
The first quote has to do with pairing with oysters. Traditionally, this has been done with champagne. However, Chef Rick Moonen, now running restaurants in Las Vegas, once told me something very interesting about pairing oysters and beer.
"One of the most interesting events I have attended was an "oyster tasting". There were over a dozen East Coast oysters on the half-shell. It was very interesting to taste the same oyster from two or three beds in three different areas. You could tell by the flavor where the oyster had been harvested. What was even more interesting was the flavors that you found when you paired those same oysters with different beverages. We had the choice of Champagne, dry sherry or Guinness stout. Each beverage brought out different flavors from oysters that had been harvested from the same bed. I thought that the slight salty flavor of Guinness went especially well with many of the oysters from various harvest areas. That was a real education. "
Rick Moonen, OCEANA, New York, NY -
For those who are not particularly fond of bivalves, I offer the following observation from Walt Forrester, owner of the Parker House Inn, in Quechee, VT, master of the "beer dinners", regarding his Tapenade based on chopped black olives.
"We were doing a "beer dinner" with the beers from Catamount Brewery. We wanted to start with a Catamount Porter and the usual pairing with a porter is oysters. The porter flavors, roasty malt and dry hopps needed something briny. Our Black Olive Tapenade was just what we were looking for.
I don't really have a recipe for it. We use dry-cured, pitted black olives, some chopped garlic, a few capers, and a touch of hot pepper flakes and a splash of rum, for warmth. We put that altogether in a blender and chop it, careful not to puree it. Then we add just enough oil to get it the right consistency. Spread that on thin toast and serve it with a porter beer and the combination is very interesting. We also had a chicken breast marinated in ale with fresh hops ...."
Stay tuned, there is more to come!
Cheers,
Peter LaFrance
