Don’t miss this GREAT Event!

The Crew from  Dark Horse Brewery  will be coming to town April 1st with a line up of GREAT BREWS!  We had the privilege to visit the Brewery and get a tour as well as sample some beer for the beer pairings.  Let me say their Hospitality was exceptional and we really enjoyed the trip…so Please welcome them to the Wrought Iron Grill!!!

The Line Up….

• Raspberry Ale-Romaine Boat filled with a Cashew, Blue cheese, and Cranberry salad.
• Amber Ale-Fried Edam Cheese.
• Sapient Trip Ale-Potato and Mussel soup with Spinach.
• Louie’s Nut Roll Brown (The Donut Beer)-Apple Pecan tart with a Graham cracker crust.
• Black Beer Reserve-Espresso Chicken Lollipop with Fennel Onion Compote.
• Crooked Tree IPA-Thai Scallops Red Curry Coconut sauce.
• Russian Imperial Stout-Chocolate chunk cookies, mocha ice cream, Heath bar pieces.

This is going to be an exceptional event with the

Gang from Dark Horse and of course Rex will be

 there speaking as well!

What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers

Ambrose Pierce by jasonmichef
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Now is the time to start planning for your  “

Last dinner on the Titanic”  Theme Dinner.

  The Titanic sank on April 14th, so now is the time to start planning your theme dinner for the anniversary of the Great Ocean Liner.

As a Veteran of many theme dinners, this was really one of my favorites.  We had speakers sharing the history of the ship, Artist’s displaying art depicting the Titantic.  One year we even had some China from the ship on display!  Even more fun was having guests dress up in period attire.

Special Considerations when Planning your Menu

• Food from the period was seasonally and local.  Think Spring!  Spinach, Peas, Asparagus…etc.
• Some foods were very Expensive!  Think Gelatins, Sorbet, and Ice Cream.  All had to made by hand, a very time consuming and expensive process.
• The Edwardian age was a very lavish period for the Royalty and Upper class of Europe.  They ate, drank, and dressed very well.
• Food of the era was very well presented and very colorful.
• Dining of the time was ” Entertainment” in it’s self and was served lavishly and in many multiple courses.

I strongly suggest getting the book ” Last Dinner on the Titanic”  by Rick Archibold and Walter Lord.  It is a great resource for any cooking, Titanic Fan!

Last Dinner On the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner

Some pictures from previous Dinners

Titanic: The Last Great Images

Winter is a long, cold fact of life in Michigan…..so when the weather breaks you have to make the best of it and pull out the grill!

Dragonmead Brewery Beer tasting.

A list of Brews and accompanying Appetizers, specifically paired to each beer.

Thursday, March 4 th at 7:00 pm

• Bill’s Witbier- Cured Salmon Sushi.
• Lancelot’s Cream Ale- Goat cheese pate’ with herbs and Almonds.
• Crown Jewels IPA- Crab cakes with a Chili Watermelon dipping sauce.
• 6T’s Dortmunder- Fleischkuechle ( Flesh-Keek-Luh)  Pan fried beef and onion in dough.
• St. Nicole’s Weizenbock- Sweet Potato tart, Maple Pecans.
• Russian Imperial Stout- Black currant and plum buns with vanilla.
• Bob’s Holy Smoke- Smoked Sausage with apples and pears.

  Gravlax or Gravadlox is a must have for any Chef’s recipe book!  Smoked Salmon as Great as it is tends to be expensive to purchase and not as easy to do yourself as Cured Salmon such as Gravlax.

  You can use Gravlax for many different dishes and presentations that will impress and WOW your guests…and the best part is the main cost is the fresh Salmon filet’s.  Gravlax is extremely easy to cure…the worst part is waiting for it!

• 2 Salmon Filet’s, I like larger filet’s myself
• 200 grams Sea Salt
• 455 grams Sugar
• 20 grams Cracked White pepper
• 2 Bu Dill, Chopped
• 2 Lemons, juiced, use the zest as well
• 30 grams Olive oil
• 3/4 ounce Aquavit (or toast 1/4 caraway seeds and steep with vodka)

Trim the Salmon filet’s of fat.  Make sure to leave the skin on!  I place the filet’s in a 4 inch deep hotel pan and drizzle with Olive oil, lemon juice, and the Aquavit.  I combine all the other ingredients together in a bowl and mix together well.  Cover the Salmon filet’s thoroughly with the curing mixture and cover with a layer of plastic wrap.  Now place another 4 inch hotel pan on top and add weight.  Bricks, No 10 cans, whatever you have available? Refrigerate.

The Hard part is waiting!  I like to give it at least 2 weeks curing time.

The term ” Gravlax” means -to put to bed.  It is an old Scandinavian preservation method for fish.  People would use this cure and wrap the fish well and bury deep enough in the ground to stay cold.  Preserved in this manner for a long time they could come back later and dig it up when they needed food!

Salmon Gravlax goes very well with many things, my favorite sauce for it is sweet mustard, kind of like Mucky Duck?

Sweet Mustard Sauce

• 1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 2/3 Cup Whole Grain Dijon Mustard
• some Chopped Dill

Super easy just mix everything together.  I love this mustard so much I use it on lots of other things!
Salmon: A Cookbook