Free Cookbook and Free Tickets to Brewer’s Plate
Brewers Plate is a delicious collaborative effort between Green Enterprise Toronto (GET), Slow Food Toronto and Local Food Plus (LFP) who work to promote local-sustainable food and farming. The event takes place Friday April 17 at the University of Toronto’s Hart House and pairs locally made beers with gourmet dishes, all made from local ingredients.
I attended this event last year and it was fabulous. Ontario crafts beers are paired with fantastic restaurants who use local farm produce, meats, fish and artisanal cheeses and preserves in inventive dishes. The food was delicious and the beer was generously poured with a great swing band in the background to tie it all together.
This year restaurants featured at the event are La Palette, Veritas, Jamie Kennedy Event Catering, Cowbell, the Gladstone and Rebel House, and they’ll be paired with breweries like Mill Street, Cameron’s, Wellington, Great Lakes, Steam Whistle and Black Oak.
If you want to check it out, doors open at 6:30pm and tickets cost $96.86 for all you can eat and drink and are available at www.brewersplatetoronto.org. Or you can leave a comment on this post with your favourite beer and food match.
The reader with the best pairing will be treated to
TWO FREE TICKETS to the event!
This is a Toronto event, but once again I’m not leaving the rest of Canada out in the cold! I have a copy of Wild Sweets Chocolate by Dominique and Cindy Duby that I will give away at the same time to a random subscriber.
I will announce winners of the tickets and the cookbook on April 15.
My Best pairing.
I fancy myself a bit of a ‘down home, meat n’ taters’ type gal… except for thoses 4 months I decided to go vegetarian.
It didn’t work out and it was because my mother busted out this recepie – and switched me back over.
Mrs. Fong’s Steak n’ Veggies with a Keiths (it’s the pride of Nova Scotia). But any Pale Ale will do.
Mrs. Fong was an elderly Japanese woman who owned the corner store close to our house. My parents befriended her and she would make this wonderful stir fried steak dish that both my parents would rave over – and in turn I loved as well. Mrs. Fong passed this recepie onto my mother.
Mom, instead of making a stir fry, turned this into a whole BBQ extravaganza!
The marinade is
1/4 c tahini (ground sesame seeds)
2-3tbsp soy sauce,
1/4 tsp ginger,
1/4 tsp salt,
1/8 tsp paprika,
1 tsp garlic, and
2tbsp water.
Let your sirlion beef sit in that for a few hours (over night is even better) and then pop it on the grill and cook until your preference.
The Keith’s Pale Ale just compliments the flavours of the marinade and cuts some of the richness of the meat.
So as the story continues: My mother informed me that we were having BBQ in the midst of my…spell. I arrived with the best of intentions of just eating the grilled veggies and failed, when triumphantly, my mother, placed Mrs. Fong’s steak in front of me with a Keith’s.
I prudishly looked at her knowing a battle of wills was about to ensue. She just smiled at me and said ‘Not to worry, I used the marinade of the veggies too – so you don’t have to eat the meat – I just thought your plate looked a little empty’
I started to shovel the veggies into my mouth and smile right back at my mother. But to my dismay, they didn’t taste right – there was somthing missing. I added a little more salt, more pepper, I even went as far as adding more ginger and soy…but nothing was working it just wasn’t tasting quite right!
I eyed my nemesis, the meat, sighed and thought ‘Oh just a little taste won’t hurt anyone’. So began the loss of my taste bud will power… I tell ya folks… if my taste buds could have wept out of sheer joy they would have!
And so, thanks to Mrs. Fong (and Mom), I turned back into the ‘meat n’ taters’ gal I am today.
Enjoy!
There is no pairing quite like a tall pint of Keith’s (or other quality pale ale) with a double serving of crispy battered fish and a pile of chips. I can think of few better combinations than the saltiness (and vinegar) of the chips, crunch of the batter, and the crisp, light ale.
My best pairing would have to be a pint of Guinness and Irish Stew!!!
My mothers Steak and Alexander Keiths beer!!! Wonderful people and wonderful food!
Ohh, that leaves all of us non-beer (or non-alcoholic) drinkers out oin the cold then. :C
Perhaps having a dish of creamy alfredo with a cup of Tropicana orange juice would still count? (May not be adventurous enough.
)
Without a doubt, a nice cold Mill Street Brewery Organic Lager with a taco salad!!! Lots of lime.
Well, the best for me would be a 6 pack of assorted Craft Breweries cans and a great conversation with my university age son when he comes for a visit with his friends. The house comes alive again and the beer is great. You get assorted types in this 6 pack which I buy at the LCBO for $11.95 The conversation is about the beer, their art, makes me feel young again!
A moose steak fried with Labatt’s Blue Light slowly poured over the top.Good times,good people,good food.
I love Belgium beers. One of my favourites is Chimay. I have been enjoying it for the last 30 years. There is nothing better and a glass or two of Chimay Blue with a good Stilton cheese. The taste sensation is amazing, it keeps you coming back for more and more.
Magnifique!
I recently tried Mill St. Organic Lager and loved it with my ceasar salad!
I go for raw oysters and Hockley Stout. Although the Hockley is light for a stout that is all for the better since it doesn’t overwhelm the oyster flavour as an Imperial Russian Stout, for example, can.
Besides, it let’s me follow my rule -When at home drink beer made within your area code, when traveling don’t drink beer you could drink at home.
some nice steam whistle and b-b-q lamb is my fave!
Steam Whistle with chicken wings smothered in curry sauce…yum
Roasted peanuts and beer!!!
Gooey BBQ ribs & an ice cold Mill St Brewery TankHouse!
I have to agree with Kevin. Guinness and Irish Stew! What a wonderful combination
the best pairing as to be a guiness in my steak and kidney pie and a guiness for the cook
green tea and dark chocolate!
My wifes Black bean and chicken chili with a nice cold export ..
Her chili is made with fresh peppers and tomatoes and lots of fresh garlic…loads of blackbeans and chicken all simmered with spices and beer, topped off at the end with a shredded old cheddar and a spoon full of sour cream. Served with a nice cold beer !!
You can’t beat a good juicy Octoberfest sausage smothered in sauerkraut and dijon mustard, wrapped in a fresh, chewy bun and washed down with an icy cold mug of the beer of your choice (my choice being a Miller Lite). To fully enjoy, you must sit outside in the crisp Fall air of the Canadian season.
I would have to say, a cool Corona with lime and a fresh zesty mango salad with shrimp and pineapple skewers, it makes for a fresh tasting meal on a hot Summers day:)
Braised pork & Parmesan asparagus with an ice-cold Steam Whistle
My fav would be a plate of pork pulled nachos..I cook a roast in my crockkpot all day with seasonings then shred..Place on top of of chips and a mexi blend of chesses..Sprinkled with fresh tom’s..onions and cilantro..salsa ,sour cream tops it off ! Served with a ice cold corona
steam whistle with ginger encrusted roast lamb
My favourite beer and food match would be an ale and fish and chips. Nothing beats the crispy fish and salt and vinegar taste of deep fried chips, and to wash all the grease down, a refreshing nice cold pale ale would do the trick.
Bubble and squeak with Creemore Springs – this traditional English mash-up (prepared by my English boyfriend, Tim) makes economical use of any left-over meat and vegetables…and is ideal for hangovers.
Mix up any cooked vegetables (we usually have carrots, potatoes and parsnips), with an egg and a bit of flour to bind. Formed into a little cakes they “squeak” while fried. I had another fried egg on the side, while Tim had breakfast sausages.
Tim says there are many ways to prepare “bubble and squeak” and really, you can make it a variety of ways. Sometimes leftovers get left behind in the back of the fridge, but bubble and squeak is a simple way to make something new from the night before.
Our b&s was washed down with a cold can of Canadian Creemore Springs (it too, left-over from a previous night), and it had the right taste – and bubble – to go with the squeak. We will definately enjoy this English-Canadian pair again.