Who would you invite to dinner?
The premise for this Blog was thrown out there by my good friend Stan at Appellationbeer.com. He asked for us to put together a list of 4 people you would invite to dinner and what would you serve them. Clearly, I could write one of these per day and not be done after one month.
But when I got down to it, this is the first one that I wrote. I may work on more as the month goes on. It’s a fun question to say the least.
William Shakespeare– First of all, I feel like I have read enough of his stuff to actually “know” the man. The burning question I have, is did he really pen all those poems and plays. As I have not lately to Padua come, but many of his greatest characters and play were set in Italy, I would offer an Italian Beer- Wayan from Casa Baladin to be served with the first course consisiting of Mixed Green Salad with a Citric Orange Balsamic, sliced apples and candied pecans alongside Maytag Blue Cheese. Italy is home to many great characters like some of Shakespeare’s best and I would love to share my stories of Lorenzo and Theo with him.
Next up would be Adolphus Busch– Lord knows he isn’t the first person that comes to mind when you think beer and food. Maybe it’s his fault. I’m certainly not fond of having to call a beer Czechvar for no good reason. But, I think it would be a challenge to show him that American and Beer don’t mean just his. And lately, I have grown tired of the new AB slogan that touts Budweiser as “The Great American Lager.” As such, I would have to show my new good friend Adolphus the errors of his ways by sharing either a Victory Prima Pils or a Sly Fox Pikeland Pils (it comes in a can so bonus points for that).
With this course, I would serve Baja Style Beer Battered and deep fried Fish Tacos. I believe that these Gentlemen would enjoy a regional specialty dish. The Cilantro on top of the tacos combined with the cheese and beer batter would be a seamless pairing for these two Greater American Lagers.
Third on the list would be Brian Wilson. Every beer dinner needs a neurotic or brooding sort. Who better than Brian Wilson the front man of the Beach Boys? Clearly, his life hit Rock Bottom and he has rebounded. Like many, I am enamored with Pet Sounds and would spin that album during this course so that we could talk nuances and symphonic cord progressions. I would also let William dive into the lyrical mind set of a genius at work from another Genre.
For Dinner, we would have Rack of Lamb. By now, I would hope that Bill Shakespeare was drunk enough to invoke the Falstaffian Muse and allow one of his greatest characters to join us for Merry food and pots of ale. Rack of Lamb would be Rosemary infused and glazed with a light plum sauce. We would have some fingerling potatoes and seasonal roasted root vegetables. It would be a heavy course but certainly one for the senses. The beer would be Lost Abbey 10 Commandments. This dark farmhouse ale is founded on Caramelized raisins, honey and Rosemary and pairs incredibly well with this sort of dish.
Lastly, I would hope to have Thomas Jefferson on hand. It’s no secret that he and George Washington were fans of Ale. I choose Jefferson as I picture him to be one hell of an orator. Beer and food is about conversation. Why wouldn’t you want one of our Fore Fathers there to show them that the foundations of liberty they provided echoes true today in the beers that we produce.
As dinner was incredibly filling, I would skip dessert. And, while I am not a smoker, I would certainly think that Cigars would be in order. This is mostly due to a desire to sit back and watch some incredible writers, thinkers and movers converse about most likely all things not beer. With that in mind, we would offer a selection of beers for the cigars. They would be Sam Adams Utiopias, Dogfishead World Wide Stout and Avery The Beast. Any of these would get us through a long evening of rich dialogue. All of them together could start a revolution. Or maybe they already have?
