Wow…how much fun is it to ‘play’ in the kitchen! I dashed to Central Market today where their Brazil event was in full swing. Fresh mussels were an incredible buy, so I grabbed a bag for dinner. The Gulf red snapper also looked amazing, so a filet went into my basket. Now…what to do with these fresh products.
I love mussels cooked in beer ( I think they’re better than mussels cooked in wine), and I had a bottle of Firestone Brewery’s XVI…an anniversary ale aged in oak barrels, many that were used in making premium Kentucky spirits. I recently toured the brewery while on a media tour of Paso Robles and was blown away by their wonderful brews. The beer all by itself is delicious with rich flavors of vanilla and even cocoa. And yes, I did the unthinkable. I used a bit of this amazing beer to create a fabulous mussels dish!
So simple….shallots, thyme, chicken broth plus a few splashes of the Firestone XV1 and a sprinkling of red chili flakes. All made for an incredible dish. Of course, we paired the mussels with a glass of the wonderful Firestone beer. This could have been a meal all by itself, but I had to do something with that fresh red snapper.
Inspired by a recent video shoot with one of my fav chefs, Steven McHugh, (he opened Josn Besh’s LÜKE restaurant and got so popular he’s opening his own spot), I roasted some gold and red beets and sautéed the beet greens. The final dish was a farro and roasted beet with greens base with a beautiful filet of Gulf red snapper topped with a mojo de ajo sauce–caramelized garlic with lime, cilantro and red pepper flakes.
The wine we paired with the meal was a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir–J.K.Carriere 2006….a very bright, balanced pinot that paired beautifully. A wonderful meal…a great start to an exciting new week! For more delicious recipes and fun food and wine pairing ideas, subscribe to my newsletter.
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