Curse of the Haunted Curds and upcoming Abyss 2014 Release

November 5, 2014 by 10 Comments

Recently, there was a very special pop-up poutine event at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House. Occurring the same week as Halloween, it was dubbed “Curse of the Haunted Curds”. From lunch to that evening, guests could choose to sample a flight of 5 poutines created from 5 competing chefs for $10.
Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation featured 5 poutines from 5 chefs for $10 at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation featured 5 poutines from 5 chefs for $10 at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House

Then, that evening from 6-8pm a few Trailblazers and guest judges (Portland Trailblazers Dorell Wright, Wesley Matthews, Thomas Robinson, C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard and Will Barton, The Oregonian’s Samantha Bakall and Thrillist’s Andy Kryza) voted as well, and the People’s Choice votes from all the guests were also tallied!
Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation featured 5 poutines from 5 chefs for $10 at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House judged by Portland Trailblazers Dorell Wright, Wesley Matthews, Thomas Robinson, C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard and Will Barton, The Oregonian’s Samantha Bakall and Thrillist’s Andy Kryza

Proceeds of the poutine pop-up would benefit the D Wright Way Foundation, a great charity that is dedicated to health, education, and social well being of children in urban and ethnically diverse communities.

Poutine and for charity? Count me in!
Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation featured 5 poutines from 5 chefs for $10 at Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House

Every poutine (fries, gravy, and cheese curds, featuring Face Rock Creamery‘s Vampire Slayer Curds, which are garlic cheese curds) was a winner in its own way of course.

Here’s a look at the 5 contenders:

  • Zomboni by Chef Aaron Barnett of St Jack with a poutine combo of fried chicken, bacon, cole slaw and Vampire Slayer Curds
    Zomboni by Chef Aaron Barnett of St Jack with a poutine combo of fried chicken, bacon, cole slaw and Vampire Slayer Curds for Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation
  • Poutino by Chef Rick Gencarelli of Lardo with herbs, parmesan, Italian Sausage gravy, Mama Lil’s peppers and fried Vampire Slayer Curds
    Poutino by Chef Rick Gencarelli of Lardo with herbs, parmesan, Italian Sausage gravy, Mama Lil's peppers and fried Vampire Slayer Curds, for Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation
  • Halloween Hangover Cure by Chef Ben Grossmann of Dig a Pony with sausage country gravy, fried shallot strings, six minute egg and Vampire Slayer Curds
    Halloween Hangover Cure by Chef Ben Grossmann of Dig a Pony with sausage country gravy, fried shallot strings, six minute egg and Vampire Slayer Curds, for Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation
  • Ghost of Poutine by Chef Jill Ramseier of Deschutes with ghost pepper gravy, maple porter gastrique and Vampire Slayer Curds
    Ghost of Poutine by Chef Jill Ramseier of Deschutes with ghost pepper gravy, maple porter gastrique and Vampire Slayer Curds for Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation
  • Rage Against the Poutine by Chef Kevin Atchley of Pine State Biscuits with cajun spiced beef sirloin, country gravy, and Vampire Slayer Curds
    Rage Against the Poutine by Chef Kevin Atchley of Pine State Biscuits with cajun spiced beef sirloin, country gravy, and Vampire Slayer Curds for Curse of the Haunted Curds, a Poutine Pop-up with proceeds to the D Wright Way Foundation

Thank you for all the chefs that participated. Sorry I focused on the food and didn’t take any photos of the Trailblazers (you can see some at Oregon Live or by looking at the hashtag #VampireSlayerCurds on Twitter and Instagram). I was an animal and destroyed my poutine flight.

In the end, the judges awarded their vote to Zomboni by Chef Aaron Barnett of St Jack with a poutine combo of fried chicken, bacon, cole slaw and Vampire Slayer Curds. Meanwhile the People’s Choice went to Poutino by Chef Rick Gencarelli of Lardo with herbs, parmesan, Italian Sausage gravy, Mama Lil’s peppers and fried Vampire Slayer Curds.

There is another big event occurring at Deschutes coming up- on Thursday, Nov 13, 11 AM is the release of The Abyss, a dark Imperial Stout. This video explains more why The Abyss that uses Italian brewer’s licorice, black strap molasses, vanilla bean, cherry bark and more then aged in oak barrels previously touched by bourbon or pinot… all to put together the deliciousness.

Each year the Abyss tastes a little different, and is good enough to age. For the Nov 13 at the Portland pub, they will offer a 6 year vertical flightsto compare the various Abyss beers from the past to this year, a special opportunity only available on release day (and last time, when I arrived after work, they were already out of some of the year’s, so come as early as you can!). There is a 6 bottle limit for purchasing bottles of Abyss.

Which poutine would you think you have voted for? Have you ever had aged beers like the Abyss?

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Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014

June 22, 2014 by 9 Comments

Last Sunday, we once again (just like my recap in 2013 and my recap in 2012) spent Father’s Day (after calling my dad earlier in the morning of course) with a visit to the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014. This is one of my favorite beer festival events all year because it pairs tastes of beers with cheese. The event draws beer lovers rather than those who just want to drink beer, and we are more serious about trying to discern the detailed flavors in beer and cheese. Also, I love cheese. LOVE.

Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2014 poster

This year, the location of the event changed from The Commons Brewery to Burnside Brewing as The Commons is in the works of setting up a new bigger and better tasting room (very excited for them! Can’t wait!). Despite the location change that had us in the less photogenic brewing garage of Burnside (but also meant we had access to some of the tent covered outdoor tables and could get food and more beer at Burnside if we wish), and the crazy heavy rain that day, it was still a great event. Particularly, I really appreciated that there were more places to be able to put down my plate of cheese and beverage rather than having to hold them the entire event.
Beer and Cheese Pairing station at Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014 Beer and Cheese Pairing station at Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014

This year Chop took a break to actually spend Father’s Day as a father (good for him! And I had stopped at the PSU Farmers Market earlier and procured my pate for later!). Don’t worry Olympic Provisions was on hand with a meatastic display of charcuterie for participants to graze on to balance out the beer and cheese tastings. Special shoutout on the “meat flowers” that were in the display (you can see one though slightly picked from in the last photo bottom right) as they offered their pork pistachio pate, sweetheart ham, mortadella, and various salami.
Olympic Provisions was on hand with a meatastic display of charcuterie for participants to graze on to balance out the beer and cheese tastings Olympic Provisions was on hand with a meatastic display of charcuterie for participants to graze on to balance out the beer and cheese tastings Olympic Provisions was on hand with a meatastic display of charcuterie for participants to graze on to balance out the beer and cheese tastings Olympic Provisions was on hand with a meatastic display of charcuterie for participants to graze on to balance out the beer and cheese tastings

And now, for the greatness of cheesemonger Steve of The Cheese Bar using his genius for good in pairing cheeses with beer. I write this post not only for those of you in the future who may be searching on the internet and wondering what this event was about and whether you should buy tickets to the 2015 event (the answer is a resounding YES), but to also encourage you that in the meantime, this is a tremendous theme for any get together. Have everyone bring a beer from a brewery, bring a cheese, and then everyone enjoy! Here are some examples of pairings you might consider… And obviously, if you would like any advice, Steve is your man.

This year the pairings included:

The Beer and Cheese Pairings:

  1. Breakside Brewing Pilsner with Vintage Cheese Company Mountina (cow – Montana)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Breakside Brewing – Pilsner with Vintage Cheese Company – Mountina – cow – Montana
    This was one of my favorite pairings of the day. I loved the light well flavors of the Pilsner that was true to the style but yet also seemed to transcend it with more forward flavors then the typical lagers that leaned more towards malts with a slight sweetness. I probably would have never thought to order this beer if I saw it because of the style. But then paired with the earthy and nutty Mountina it was very tasty and would please anyone and I actually would recommend these two. As an aside, just the day before I sampled their seasonal Passionfruit Sour and it’s a fantastic summer beer, light, low alcohol, but very tasty and you can definitely taste the passionfruit and so well balanced. I encourage you to grab some! Meanwhile, that Mountina is a cheese that goes well with a wide variety of beers- I’ve had the cheese several times, and I know from other events Steve has paired it with beers in the past two Portland Beer and Cheese Festivals and at the Rookery with other German style beers such as Hefeweizen and Kolsch styles, not just lager styles.
  2. Pfriem Family Brewers Saison with Satori Pastorale (cow and sheep – Wisconsin)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Pfriem Family Brewers Saison with Satori – Pastorale – cow and sheep – Wisconsin
    The Pfriem Saison’s grassiness was complimented well with the similar country field earthiness of the Sartori cheese that was sharp yet creamy and also had little crunchiness of aged cheese crystals. I adore cheese crystals.
  3. Upright Brewery Black Lime Saison with Central Coast Goat Gouda (goat – California)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Upright Brewery Black Lime Saison with Central Coast – Goat Gouda – goat – California
    I wasn’t able to detect any lime or citrus going on here, but I can always get behind a gouda, and gouda and beer is a very safe win in terms of pairing. When we bring a cheese plate to any of the Bailey’s Taproom beer festivals, we always have a gouda as the rich nut and earth flavors of goudas go well with many styles of beer.
  4. Burnside Brewing Company Spring Rye with Gruyere d’savoie (cow – France)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Burnside Brewing Company Spring Rye with Gruyere d’savoie – cow - France. Also, Olympic Provisions charcuterie
    It was around this point I also needed some charcuterie to accompany the tastes. This whole plate was heavenly, with the tones of rye and coriander from the beer and which are present in the Olympic Provisions meats just a perfect match (in my photo you can see the chorizo salami, but that’s because in my mouth as I was taking this photo I had already stuffed the Italian style cacciatore salami that you had seen on the right side of the table in my other photos earlier), and the buttery, salty and savory Gruyere being the icing and sprinkles to this plate that was just destined to be together.
  5. Firestone Walker Brewing Company DBA (Double Barrel Ale) with Ferns Edge Mt. Zion (goat – Oregon)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Firestone Walker Brewing Company DBA with Ferns Edge – Mt. Zion – goat – Oregon
    This was the only beer that wasn’t local, as Firestone Walker is from California. However, the brewer David Walker was on hand during Portland Beer Week so I understood how this toasty English Special Bitter type ale that balances hops and malts equally in the taste profile got on the list. The Ferns Edge Mt. Zion is delicious, but I am a huge fan of Ferns’ Edge Goat Dairy and I think their best cheeses are their various chevres and want to see more of that dammit. In this case, although I do I like the cheese, I thought the flavors overwhelmed the DBA rather than complimenting or contrasting them. I like other Firestone Walker beers (particularly their proprietor’s vintage series like Parabola, Sucuba, Stickee Monkee) and would probably pass on the DBA in the future as it is ok but not outstanding in my opinion.
  6. The Commons Brewery Dunkelweiss with Quadrello di bufala (water buffalo – Italy)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here The Commons Brewery Dunkelweiss with Quadrello di bufala – water buffalo – Italy
    The Quadrello di Buffala is a pretty funky soft cheese, but this bit of barnyard paired with this Dunkelweiss combined for a very earthy experience that was a whole new experience. This is one of those great pairings where you have each one individually, and then when you combine them on your tongue it becomes a whole new flavor,  in this case of caramel and buttery cream. I love when a pairing births something entirely new like this and is a surprise!
  7. Hopworks Urban Brewery and Worthy Brewing Portland Beer Week Collaboration Session IPA with Hook’s 5-Year Cheddar (cow – Wisconsin)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Hopworks Urban Brewery and Worthy Brewing – Portland Beer Week Collaboration Session IPA with Hook’s 5-Year Cheddar – cow – Wisconsin Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Hopworks Urban Brewery and Worthy Brewing – Portland Beer Week Collaboration Session IPA with Hook’s 5-Year Cheddar – cow – Wisconsin
    This Hook 5 Year Cheddar is a great match to any hoppy beer. Unfortunately I am not a big hop fan (West Coast IPAs can be very happy bitter) so I admit I passed this beer on to F (he had given me his Quadrello anyway as it was too soft and pungent for him) so don’t have as much to say here except that if you are looking to match an IPA, an aged cheddar is your best bet.
  8. Double Mountain Brewery Carrie Ladd beer with Isle of Mull Cheddar (cow – Scotland)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Double Mountain Brewery Carrie Ladd beer with Isle of Mull – Cheddar – cow – Scotland Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Double Mountain Brewery Carrie Ladd beer with Isle of Mull – Cheddar – cow – Scotland
    The Carrie Ladd is a yeasty porter, which is nice that it focuses on celebrating roast rather than strong chocolate and smoke flavors like many porters do (or perhaps I’ve just had a lot of porters that are strong in those flavors, and I’m a sucker for any vanilla porter on a menu so probably is also self selection). The Isle of Mull cheddar seemed to further emphasize the yeast while also providing a little contrast with a bit of sharpness. Do those photos seem like an eye test (first focusing on the beer, and then the cheese) – for some reason even though only I had been drinking my cameraphone decided it couldn’t focus on both at the same time.
  9. Widmer Brothers Brewing Smoked Schwarz with Idazabel (sheep – Spain)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Double Mountain Brewery Carrie Ladd beer with Isle of Mull – Cheddar – cow – Scotland
    Of all the cheeses, the Idazabel here was my favorite, and was a cheese I had never had before and has a subtle smokiness to it, which is why it complimented the smoke of the smoked schwarz beer here.
  10. Gigantic Brewing Company Too Much Coffee Man Black Saison paired with Kirkham’s Lancashire (cow – England)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Gigantic Brewing Company Too Much Coffee Man Black Saison paired with Kirkham’s – Lancashire
    This was my favorite individual beer of the festival, with it’s strong coffee and chocolate roasty flavors in the beer. Add the buttery Kirkham Lancashire and I think I can have this for breakfast instead of coffee and buttered toast or english muffins. Oh man, that would be a serious awesome breakfast.
  11. Lompoc Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Side Porter with Cascadia Creamery Glacier Blue (cow – Washington)
    Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, a pairing of beer and cheese, here Lompoc Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Side Porter with Cascadia Creamery – Glacier Blue – cow – Washington
    I am a big fan of barrel aged beers, and although the flavors of this Lompoc beer were nice, I’m spoiled in that I had tried many a bourbon barrel aged beer, and in comparison this one had a thinner taste then what I’ve experienced before. It did have a great nose. For a stronger flavor beer like this, a strong creamy and salty blue cheese like this Glacier Blue is the perfect contrast and counter for the beer. I was only too glad to take F’s Glacier Blue as he is not a fan of blue cheese. If you see me and also don’t want your blue cheese, please feel free to pass it on to me.

Logistically, I am a big fan of these events that have these punchcards that do double duty in providing some information as well as making me feel quite accomplished when I have completed my beer and cheese report card. I highly recommend the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival next year!
Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, an event pairing beer and cheese, here Lompoc Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Side Porter with Cascadia Creamery – Glacier Blue – cow – Washington Portland Beer and Cheese Festival 2014, an event pairing beer and cheese, and you can graze on Olympic Provisions charcuterie

This Sunday is another punchcard day as I attend the Portland Monthly Country Brunch (unfortunately already sold out) that includes little tastes of brunch as well as a Bloody Mary Smackdown. You can look forward to that report next week (my report on it last year will explain why I’m so excited about it, though the mention of Bloody Marys is really enough isn’t it?)!

Which of these beer and cheese pairings do you think you would have enjoyed?

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Strawberry and Cheese Bruschetta Recipes

June 16, 2014 by 15 Comments

It’s strawberry season right now in Portland, and although the small looking Hood strawberries may look not as plump and juicy as their California cousins, let me assure you that they make up for their appearance in flavors. This makes them such the treasure that people get up early to rush to the Farmers Market before they sell out – and yes, they do sell out.

I like strawberries usually with a little bit of cream, but of course with cheese is also quite acceptable, like in these strawberry and cheese bruschetta recipes. I have two ways of making strawberry and cheese bruschetta, which celebrates the flavors of these strawberries by complimenting them just with a little rich creamy cheese and olive oil, a little counter with good balsamic vinegar and then uses the vehicle of toasted bread to get them into your mouth.
Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and good cheese on good bread Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and good cheese on good bread

One uses mozzarella, as well as salt and fresh ground pepper, and the other uses goat cheese. I decided to share both with you. Perhaps for fun, since the ingredients are so close together, you might make both at once like I did for a little bruschetta face-off.

After all, it might take you tops 20 minutes to whip this together for your early summer get together.

They look gorgeously impressive as a starter for a dinner party, or just for yourself to go with your sangria or glass of wine as you sit outside on your porch or patio reading a book.

Strawberry Bruschetta with Mozzarella

Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and fresh mozzarella cheese on good bread
This is a lot like caprese, but instead of heirloom tomatoes (oh, can’t wait for those treasures to start appearing on the plants and markets) it uses the current in season strawberries. This version of bruschetta highlights the strawberries more as they are contrasted against the very fresh subtle taste of the rest of the ingredients, and there’s something delightful about the parallel bursts when you bite both into a strawberry and a little mozzarella piece. The amount for the recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 French Baguette or you can also use a good bread loaf that has a nice crust that you might slice into quarters or halves depending on the loaf size
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
  • 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped
  • 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, diced
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Good balsamic vinegar
  • Coarse salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Slice your baguette or bread into palm-sized pieces, brush with oil and toast or grill until lightly toasted.
  2. Clean, dry, and then dice strawberries.
  3. Chop your basil leaves finely, add to the mixing bowl of strawberries and toss, then  let stand.
  4. Dice up your fresh mozzarella, and add to the mixing bowl. Toss together, and then spoon this mixture onto each of your bread slices.
  5. Drizzle all the slices lightly with a little bit of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Finish with a sprinkling of salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and fresh mozzarella cheese on good bread Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and fresh mozzarella cheese on good bread

Strawberry Bruschetta with Goat Cheese

Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and fresh goat cheese on good bread
The reason why I like this version of bruschetta is that the texture of the goat cheese is very luxurious, and depending on what goat cheese you purchase it often has an extra bit of tangyness that is added.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 French Baguette or you can also use a good bread loaf that has a nice crust that you might slice into quarters or halves depending on the loaf size
  • Extra virgin olive oil to brush on baguette slices
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
  • 4-5 large basil leaves
  • 4 ounces goat cheese
  • balsamic vinegar for drizzling
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Slice your baguette or bread into palm-sized pieces, brush with oil and toast or grill until lightly toasted.
  2. Clean, dry, and then dice strawberries. Place them in a mixing bowl.
  3. Chop your basil leaves finely, add to the mixing bowl of strawberries, toss, and then let stand.
  4. On each of your bread slices, spread your goat cheese. Depending on the strength of flavor of your goat cheese, you might slather it on or just want a schmear.
  5. Finally, top each slice with the strawberry and basil. Drizzle all the slices lightly with (optional) a little bit of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Finish with a freshly ground black pepper.

Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and fresh goat cheese on good bread Strawberry Bruschetta, vegetarian and easy to put together with fresh strawberries, basil, olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and fresh goat cheese on good bread

So easy but beautiful and delicious. You won’t break a sweat making these at all, but the results look incredible.

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Portland June 2014 Events Roundup

May 30, 2014 by 10 Comments

Sometimes I joke that Portland has made me drink more. But it’s not really a joke- the high caliber of local wineries, distilleries and microbreweries here in Portland has really wowed me and made me enjoy beverages more than I ever thought.

Portland also isn’t shy about outright celebrating its liquid bounty. Take June for instance. I decided to do a Portland June 2014 Events Roundup of all the various events in June, and I decided to highlight these (keep in mind there is probably more that I missed).

Tiki Punch Out!

Wednesday May 28 – Tuesday June 3, 2014

Portland Monthly Magazine and Captain Morgan White bring you Tiki Punch-Out!, a classic tiki punch competition! At the free but ticketed event (21+ only) at Punch Bowl on Tuesday June 3 5:30 – 7:30 PM, they will be breaking out the rum, the booze infused watermelons and hollowed-out coconuts! Six of the city’s best bartenders will vie for the title of Tiki Punch-Out Champion and a cash prize of $500!
Tiki Punch Out!
Participating Establishments:

  • Kask
  • Hale Pele
  • Alibi
  • Trader Vic’s
  • Punch Bowl Social
  • Sand Bar

May 28 to June 2 is Tiki Punch-Out Week so you can stop by any of those above participating bars to get previews of the punches.

Salt & Straw Cocktail Ice Cream Month

June 1 – July 3,  2014

At all of the Salt & Straw locations, you can try for one month only some special ice cream flavors. Welcome to The Summer Cocktail Ice Cream Series,  where Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw’s head ice cream maker, collaborated with various top bartenders in Portland to offer five ice cream twists on classic drinks (the ice cream itself has the alcohol burned off so you will get the flavors without the tipsyness).

  • Chocolate Chip Mint Julep: Hand-selected batch of bourbon from Four Roses Distilling with Oregon grown spearmint and Oregon roasted single-origin chocolate (Brandon Wise, Imperial)
  • Strawberry & Verbena Pimm’s Cup: Strawberry and lemon verbena ice cream with Aviation gin marmalade (Ross Hunsinger, Aviary), a sweet and bitter, citrusy pop in the mouth
  • Lemon Amaretto Sour: Amaretto sherbet with punches of lemon egg cream (Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Clyde Common)
  • Pineapple Honey Dorléac: based off of Kyle’s own Dorléac recipe, Honey, vodka and Aperol ice cream with a gentle ribbon of pineapple caramel (Kyle Webster, Expatriate)
  • Rhubarb & Saffron Champagne Cocktail: Subtly yeasty Champagne ice cream with a tart ribbon of saffron and rhubarb jelly reminiscent of that perfect summer-fresh rhubarb spritzer (Evan Zimmerman, the Woodsman Tavern)

Part of the proceeds from the summer cocktail ice cream series will go to  Global Fund to Fight AIDS, in support of (RED)’s EAT (RED). DRINK (RED). SAVE LIVES campaign. No seriously it is all caps and with the parenthesis, I remember buying their tshirts before and the RED is always like that.

Negroni Week

Monday June 2 – Sunday June 8, 2014

Negroni Week is sponsored by imbibe Magazine and Campari internationally. In the 7 days of Negroni Week, participating bars take advantage of the ingredients of a Negroni (Campari, Gin, Vermouth) to raise money for various charity causes. Participants vary from Canada and England and Australia and France to all over the US, including almost 40 participating bars here in Portland Oregon.

Negroni Week 2014 is June 2-8

Each bar can select the charity of their choice, so for instance by filtering to Portland in the US here at the participating bars list you may decide to have a Negroni at

  • Bunk Bar or Irving Street Kitchen benefiting Share our Strength. I should mention that Bunk Bar plans to serve a slush-i-fied version of the Negroni…
  • Clyde Common for the Pixie Project
  • Multnomah Whiskey Library for United Way
  • Ned Ludd for Zenger Farms
  • Ox or Whey Bar for Panda Paws Rescue
  • St Jack for the Humane Society
  • Teardrop Lounge for Alzheimers Foundation of America, 
  • etc.

The above are only a small selection I pulled out as examples but illustrate the amazing bars that are participating. So make sure to browse the list and visit a bar or two for a Negroni! I’m actually going to be in San Diego and Chicago for part of Negroni Week, but don’t worry that are participating bars I saw for Negroni week in both those cities as well, so being out of town is no excuse.

To kick off Negroni Week, Imperial will host a Negroni-centric happy hour on Monday, June 2nd from 4-7 PM featuring Negronis made with local Aria gin and Beefeater from guest bartender Douglas Derrick (previously of Nostrana, now managing Raven and Rose, and also featured in that video below! He helped inspire Negroni Week with the Negroni Social he used to hold at Nostrana) and Imperial’s presiding barman and Negroni Week supporter Brandon Wise.

There will also be a special Negroni ice cream from Salt + Straw made with House Spirits’ Aviation American gin.

Scoops are just $3 and Negronis are $5 and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to the Red Cross. I’ll still be in San Diego so am missing that event, but how awesome does that sound?

Imbibe and Campari Present: Negroni Week 2014 from Imbibe on Vimeo.

PDX Beer Week

Thursday June 5 – Sunday June 15, 2014

Apparently it’s not enough that we have July dedicated to Oregon Beer. We need a special week just for Portland beer celebrations. And boy, is there a lot going on for PDX Beer Week! I am not going to cover all the events going on- look on the website yourself for that as there is lots to read and more being added it seems every time I check! But let me highlight in my personal opinion (of course- this is my blog after all) my selected 12 favorites for beer week. Ok, technically, it is a little bit more than a week, it’s 10 days, but no problem with that!

  • The Official Beer Week Sandwich available at the various Lardo locations and Easy Company will be featuring this official special sandwich as well as the official beer week beer and t-shirt for sale as a special package for the duration of Portland Beer Week. The official beer week sandwich is with Olympic Provisions Kielbasa, smoked Tillamook cheddar, sauerkraut, Worthy/Hopworks Session India Rye Ale mustard on toasted ciabatta.
  • What? There is also an Official Beer Week Donut??? Yes, Blue Star Donuts is developing a special beer week beer donut that will be featured at their 2 locations and at select beer week events, a Widmer Brothers Hefe citrus cake donut! 
  • pFriem & Irving Street Kitchen Beer Dinner Pairing. Sunday June 8, 2014 5:30-8:00 PM Irving Street Kitchen Executive Chef Sarah Schafer will be hosting pFriem Family Brewers for a four course meal plus passed canapes paired with a lineup of Pfriem beers. I love the farmhouse style beers of pFriem and I think it would go fabulously with the Southern cooking by Chef Sarah. Tickets will will be $85, which includes food, beer, and gratuity. For reservations contact Irving Street Kitchen at 503.343.9440 or jessie@irvingstreetkitchen.com. The photo below is an example of the awesomeness that can come from Chef Sarah when I attended an event where she matched her cooking with Hawks View Wine so I am confident she will be just as kickass doing food pairing with beer. There is another Brewer’s Dinner event taking place at Raven and Rose with Samuel Smith beer that same night, but since that is more of an English, I’m going to vote for this Beer Dinner pairing because it’s local.
    Happiness is an Irving St Kitchen fried chicken with smashed potatoes and country gravy and greens. Fifth course, Beautiful serving of Irving St Kitchen Teres Major Steak with garlic grits, ancho ketchup, onion rings, marrow sauce paired with 2010 Hawks View Washington Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Alternately, also on Sunday June 8 6 PM is a Beer Versus Cider & cheese pairing where the same cheese, selected by Cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar, is paired both by a beer from Alex Ganum of Upright Brewing and a cider by Nat West of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider as part of a face-off to see whether the beer or cider paired better with the cheese. You would get 10 different cider and beer pairings for $31 (advanced ticket sales only). Take a look at the cider and beer and cheese that will be at the event here at the ticket site.
  • New School and Bailey’s Taproom New Breweries Showcase June 9 2 PM – midnight features ten new breweries from across the Oregon state. These are all breweries that are probably new to you: Chetco Brewing, Salem Ale Works, Buoy Beer Company, Sam’s Bond Brewing, Plankton Brewing, Vagabond Brewing, Gratin Station Brew Works, Baerlic Brewing, Thunder Island Brewing, and Stormbreaker Brewing. Don’t worry, they have been conveniently gathered for you to learn about all in 1 place. At Bailey’s Taproom 2 beers from each of these breweries will be on top, and from 4 to 7pm at The Upper Lip you can meet the owners and brewers. No admission fee, just pay for what you drink! See that link to the showcase description at the New School website for more information/hint of what beers everyone is bringing to this party.
  • Old Salt + Upright Brewing Brewers Dinner. Upright Brewing is teaming up with chef Nathaniel Price of the Grain and Gristle for a special pairing dinner at Old Salt Marketplace’s event room on Monday June 9th 7 PM. This seven course dinner is going to exclusively feature vintage barrel aged beers. and is the first time the brewery has reached into the cellar for every course, including sometimes their final cases of a beer. There are some amazing verticals slated for the seven course dinner, including 2012 & 2013 Blend Love, 2011, 2012, 2013 Fantasia, and 2010, 2011, 2013 Billy the Mountain. Yeah, that’s a lotta beer for some of those courses, but I love tasting verticals to compare and contrast the flavors, and you get to taste them with food pairings too! Email the brewery uprightbrewing@gmail.com to reserve a spot, tickets: $75.

PDX Beer Week poster 2014

  • Mussels from Brussels is an event where 4 breweries (Breakside, Lompoc, pFriem, and defending champion Upright) create 4 secret sauces for dipping in one pound of mussels served with fries, and paired with their Belgian-inspired beer. There is a seating for a table of 10 that takes place every 30 minutes between 5:30-8:30 PM on Tuesday, June 10, with the awards ceremony at 9 PM. The cost is $25 per person (ticketed) and the event is taking place at Bazi Bierbrasserie. Mmmm beer and mussels and fries is a classic, just classic combination.
  • More seafood + beer coming your way… this time with the Upper Lip Oyster Social which brings together on 5 – 8 PM Oyster Social’s Hama Hama oysters, six taps and over 100 bottles to try at The Upper Lip. Sip beer and slurp freshly shucked oysters right on the spot. Eat one or a dozen–the world is your oyster at $2 a pop! Please note that the raw bar is cash only, though you can have a tab for the beer.
  • The Sour and Wild Beer Seminar on Thursday June 12, 2014 6 – 8 PM is an opportunity to both learn about and taste sour and wild ales from Oregon’s masters of the styles including Cascade Brewing’s Ron Gansberg, Block 15 Brewing’s Nick Arzner, De Garde Brewing’s Trevor Rogers and Breakside Brewery’s Ben Edmunds. It is a seated seminar style event that includes a panel discussion with the brewers while you also get to taste the beers by the brewer panelists. Last I checked, this seems to be still in the finalization stages and I didn’t see tickets on sale yet.
  • On Friday, June 13th, from 4 PM -2 AM is the Taplister Rye Beer Festival, held at Eastburn.  The festival features 22 rye beers, as well as rye cocktails and rye-themed food. Partial proceeds from the sale of beer will be donated to the Dawn to Dusk paddle fund for the Children’s Cancer Association. Entry to the event is free, and you just pay for the price of your beer (5oz samples and pints), cocktails and food as your order.
  • If like me you love barrel aged beers, perhaps instead of the Rye Beer Festival (or before…) you might attend the Barrel Masters Night on Friday June 13th 6 – 8 PM at Hopworks on SE 28th and Powell. This social mingle event includes Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk of Oakshire Brewing, Ben Love of Gigantic Brewing, Widmer Brothers innovation brewer Jack Beiting, Deschutes barrelmaster and Assistant Brewmaster Ryan Schmiege and moderator Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery in a guided discussion with free samples of all the beer included in the ticket pricing. Tickets are $37 from Stranger Tickets., and you can check the list of the beers at the PDX Beer Week event listing
  • Ok, maybe these are multiple events, but they are all with Firestone Walker. The one I ranked highest is the Luncheon with the Lion at Saraveza and Firestone Walker. I love Firestone Walker, so I was quite torn when I saw that this event on June 15 12 – 3 PM Sunday is taking place the same day as the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival (which I cover below). The event includes David Walker of Firestone Walker Brewing Co at Saraveza where he will be speaking specifically about Firestone Walker’s barrel-aging program at 1:30pm. Meanwhile they will have a special ‘Bangers & Mash’ pasty alongside many delicious draft offerings of Firestone Walker beers, including the highly regarded 2010 “Abacus” Barrel-Aged Barleywine, 2013 “Stickee Monkee” Barrel-Aged Belgian-Style Quad, ”Parabajava” Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Infused w/Coffee, and more! No admittance fee for this event, you just pay for what you order. Alternately, David Walker/Firestone Walker is doing a Lions Brewers Dinner with Old Salt Marketplace that evening though the menu and beer options are not listed yet as of writing this post. And, earlier the day before, at The Lion’s Scratch event which is free (pay for what you drink), David Walker/Firestone Walker will be at Belmont Station Saturday June 14 4 – 7 PM where they will be offering 2011-2014 Parabola vertical flights. They will also have some special Firestone Walker vintage beers for sale in the bottle shop and if you buy one of these special vintage Firestone Walker beers, you can have David Walker sign it for you! Afterwards, follow The Lion as he walks pied-piper style down the street to The Horse Brass, where he will continue his evening there with 13+ Firestone Walker beer offerings.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival

Friday June 6 – Sunday June 8, 2014

Taking part in PDX Beer Week as well is this festival so good I made it a section of it’s own. Saturday June 7 – Sunday June 8 is the Portland Fruit Beer Festival, which features almost 50 fruit beers and ciders. As usual nearly every beer and a few ciders have been brewed specifically for the Fruit Beer Festival and use a wide range of fruits.

Some of the beers on the list vary from 10 Barrel Brewing Cherry Sour Brown, Breakside Passionfruit Sour Ale, Burnside’s Nero Fiddle with a blend of apples, Elysian D’Mango Unchained, Falling Sky Marionberry Smoked Ale, to Oakshire Oude Bes: Strawberry Balsalmic, Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider Sweet Triple Hot ¡Tepache! Pineapple wine with three different hot peppers to Stone Brewing’s “The Tiger Cub” Saison aged in White Wine Barrels w/Sour Cherries… (you can see the list here at New School which has descriptions with the beer, though that list of 25 does not yet include the two dozen Rare Rotating Tap list of one-off or vintage kegs of just 5 gallons each).

I know right, doesn’t that sound delicious!!?? It is a one of a kind festival, with one of a kind beers exclusive to this festival.

Portland Fruit Beer Festival poster

Tickets are already on sale at $20 general admission Saturday 11am-9pm or Sunday 11am-6pm. There are also $30 VIP admission on Friday 4-9pm and limited to 300 VIP guests with a few special tappings – that one is almost sold out so if you are interested in that act fast! The Fruit Beer Fest is open to All-Ages.

The festival will be held Burnside Brewing. Burnside Brewing will be open, so you can still get a cheese plate to compliment your beers, or my personal favorite their cohiba cigar as I covered here previously and/or beer cheese curds on their menu! Not only that, but one of my favorite food carts Pulehu Pizza will be there with their grilled pizzas and making a special pizza for the festival, as well as Bunk Sandwiches.


Burnside Brewery & Portland Fruit Beer Festival Documentary from Ron Cummings on Vimeo.

Portland Beer and Cheese Festival

Sunday, June 15, 2014 12:00PM-6:00 PM

I guess technically this is also part of PDX Beer Week, but too good to not have it’s own section. I have been attending the Portland Beer and Cheese Festival for several years as it brings together beer AND cheese. You can see my recap of 2012 here and my recap of last year 2013 here, and the photos below are from those previous festivals.
Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2014 poster

Held this year at Burnside Brewing, this will be the festival’s 3rd year featuring 11 breweries and beers each carefully paired with a select cheese by award winning cheesemonger Steve Jones of Cheese Bar. Tickets are $35 (on sale now, advanced ticket sales only so there will be no tickets at the door- this helps control the amount of people there and amount of attendees and prepare tastings accordingly. No minors allowed at this event). When you check in you will get a special festival glass and a punchcard for samples of each of the 11 beers and their respective cheese pairing. Maybe 11 beer and cheese pairings doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is. You should skip brunch and go directly to this event.

Portland Beer and Cheese Festival, beer and cheese pairing, The Commons Berwery, Steve's Cheese, Pfriem Family Brewers Wit, paired with Fern’s Edge Dairy Mt. Zion, raw goat, Oregon Portland Beer and Cheese Festival, beer and cheese pairing, The Commons Berwery, Steve's Cheese, Oakshire Brewing Auslaufen Rauchbier (cherry wood smoked ale), paired with Rogue Smokey Blue, raw cow, Oregon

Also, did I mention Olympic Provisions will be providing complimentary charcuterie at a table for your own savory meat cleanser/complement as needed. I mean, just look at Chop’s amazing meat board from previous years (he is taking this year off to actually enjoy Father’s Day), which they kept filled during the event!

Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2013: charcuterie provided by Chop Butchery Portland Beer & Cheese Fest Portland Beer & Cheese Fest Portland Beer and Cheese Fest 2013: charcuterie provided by Chop Butchery

It was never so crowded that there were more than a few people in front of me, and most of the time I could just walk up and ask for my taster and sample. The Punchcards helped suggest an order as well as provide information about the beer and cheese that would be in the pairing. It it is one of my favorite beer events all year, and particularly it brings out a generally sophisticated beer drinking crowd that wants to think and savor what they are having rather and how everything tastes than just taste a lot of beer.

Cider Summit

Saturday June 21 – Sunday June 22 2014

Did you know that Portland has a Cider Festival, called the Cider Summit? SBS Imports and the Seattle Beer Collective organize the fest that is presented by World Foods & Bushwhacker Cider, and ironically when I attended the Cider Summit I did so in Seattle because they also do it theirs in the fall. It looks like next year they are even expanding Cider Summit to two new cities, Chicago and Berkeley!

Cider Summit Portland 2014

This year the Cider Summit is celebrating its 4th year in Portland by moving from the South Waterfront to the northern Pearl District at Fields Neighborhood Park. It will be held Friday, June 20 from 2 – 8 PM and Saturday, June 21 from 12 – 6 PM. As before, cidery owners and cidermakers will be on hand to inform and guide guests through the samplings which will be available in 4-ounce tasting portions in a souvenir festival glass.  

In addition to the range of ciders, the event will feature the DoveLewis / Unleashed by Petco dog lounge, expanded food selections from World Foods & St. Honore Boulangerie (if you visit their Division location they have wonderful cider taps!), special dessert pairings from Smitten Truffles and cider ice cream from Fifty Licks. Transportation wise Brewvana Brewery Tours shuttle will run a continuous loop from SE Portland to the Park because of its location you can easily also ride the Portland Streetcar to the event.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 (cash only) at the door and are available online via Stranger tickets, Umpqua Bank Pearl District branch, and at many of the area’s leading bottle shops.  Admission includes a tasting glass and 8 tasting tickets.  Additional tasting tickets will be available for sale onsite at $2 per ticket. There is also a special VIP ticket available for $35 that includes 4 additional tasting tickets and early admission on Friday from 2p-3p, only 200 of these tickets are available – exclusively online via the event website. Dogs are allowed at the event, but no minors.

Re-admission will be allowed at any time with event wristband and tasting glass.  The Cider Summit event will benefit Northwest Cider Association, Cascade Blues Association, DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, and The Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research.

Portland Monthly’s Country Brunch & Bloody Mary Smackdown

Sunday, June 22, 2014 11:30AM-2:00 PM

I hesitated too long when the first Portland Monthly Country Brunch tickets went on sale their first year, but was smarter and snapped them up quickly last year and again this year. The photos below are from when I attended last year and did a blog recap so visit there for more.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Kevin Atchley, Walt Alexander and Brian Snyder of Pine State Biscuits, whose sample was Ayers Creek cornmeal crusted Carolina catfish mini biscuits with vinegar slaw and sweet pickle remoulade Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Genies Cafe Horseradish Bloody courtesy of Nadia Mihalik included their house infused horseradish vodka and Genies bloody mary mix garnished with an olive, pepperoncini and celery, and a jalapeno infused salt rim, paired with the Genies Cafe brunch plate of Chef Dee's Classic Bene, with housemade Canadian bacon topped with a cage free poached egg and famous homemade hollandaise sauce on an English muffin Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Boke Bowl Boke Eggs & Bacon with fried quail egg with pork in black bean sauce over rice tots

This event is obviously sponsored by Portland Monthly Magazine, which is one of the best organizers of events. They always put together a beautiful atmosphere and most importantly, always think of seating to enjoy the food and drink! This year, six chefs will prepare bites of their favorite brunch fare while Irving Street Kitchen (People’s Choice) and Le Bistro Montage (Judge’s Choice) winners from last year defend their titles of “Best Bloody Mary” in the third-annual Portland Monthly Bloody Mary Smackdown!

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Bloody Mary Smackdown, Olympic Provisions provided by Jess Hereth an Olympic Mary with House Mary mix, vodka, and a pickles and of course their excellent salami as part of the garnish Portland Monthly's Country Brunch 2013, Bloody Mary Smackdown, Circa 33 and adorable Spencer Conger delivered The Experiment #3 with a Pan-Asian style Bloody Mary that included lemongrass, togarashi spice, fish sauce, freshly grated wasabi, tami, galanga root, and a little chili and a dried shrimp. Seriously, OMG

Furthermore, 100% of net proceeds will benefit Zenger Farm‘s new Urban Grange. Urban Grange is an 8,960-square-foot facility that will support the Zenger Farm ongoing efforts to connect Portland communities to fresh-grown food by being a space for Zenger youth field trips, summer camps, healthy eating workshops, and farmer training programs, opportunities for emerging businesses in the commercial kitchen, etc.

Here are the participants for the Brunch and Bloody Mary competition!

Brunch Bonanza by:

  • Chef Matt Christianson from Urban Farmer
  • Chefs Karen Pride & Brittney Galloway from Harlow
  • Chef Johanna Ware from Smallwares
  • Chef Rick Gencarelli from Lardo
  • Chef Jose Chesa from Ataula
  • Chefs Michael Madigan & Jeff McCarthy from TenTop

Bloody Mary Smackdown presented by Grey Goose:

In addition to brunch, guests will enjoy bottomless Manmosas (see: beer +orange juice) by Miller Highlife and Crispin Cider. I’m not sure what to think about that yet. Also, New Seasons Market will treat attendees to fresh organic juices and local hot sauce condiments. Sunshine Dairy will be sharing its delicious yogurts and Boyd’s will be keeping everyone caffeinated with their fresh brew.

Just like last year, Whole Foods Market will host a Bloody Mary Accoutrements Station to dress your Bloody to your liking… which was amazing. I think I ate like a half dozen of those giant cocktail shrimp.

Portland Monthly's Country Brunch, Whole Foods, Bloody Mary Smackdown, garnish station Portland Monthly's Country Brunch, Whole Foods, Bloody Mary Smackdown, garnish station

Do you have your tickets? VIP Brunch & Bloodies (must be 21+) includes early admittance at 10:30 AM, brunch items, adult & non-alcoholic beverages and swag are ticketed at $45, or you can just have brunch and no bloody marys for $35 and still get 1 hour early entrance and swag. Or, enter at the regular admission time like I am at 11:30 AM and enjoy Brunch & Bloodies for $30 or Brunch Only for $20. Kids 5 or younger are free. The event is taking place at Castaway Portland. Get your tickets here at Eventbrite.

Sake Fest

Thursday, June 26, 2014 6:30PM-9:00 PM

Saké Fest PDX brings together more than 130 samples of saké, plum wine & beer with food from local restaurants & purveyors at the Sentinal Hotel. I’ve never been, though I have heard good things! The admission fee for the ticket/tasting glass is all inclusive, so all food and all saké sampling stations! Tickets for the event are $50 per person in advance online with limited tickets will be available at the door for $60. Participants must be 21 years or older to attend

A portion of the net proceeds from Saké Fest PDX benefits the Japan-America Society of Oregon (JASO)

North American Organic Brewers Festival

June 26-June 29, 2014

The North American Organic Brewers Festival brings together organic beers and ciders alongside live music, food, sustainability-oriented vendors, non-profits and a children’s area at Overlook Park. I missed it last year, but attended the previous two years. The goal of this festival is to raise awareness about organic beer and sustainable living and the NAOBF serves up nearly 60 organic beers & ciders from around the nation.

The festival times are 12-9 PM Thursday, Friday & Saturday, and 12 – 5 PM Sunday. Admission into the event is free, but the $6 reusable, compostable cornstarch glass is required for tasting beer. You also need to purchase drinking tokens, each token is $1. However, you can get a $1 discount toward the tasting glass with a validated Tri-Met ticket! ALso, the event is cash only.

 

WWOOOOOOOO!!!

Isn’t it crazy with all these June events? And to think after that is July, which is Oregon Beer Month and there will be even more events to celebrate! What a summer that is coming!

Are there any events that I mentioned that you are thinking of attending / will I see you?

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Honey Walnut Baked Brie Recipe

May 19, 2014 by 7 Comments

There is never a wrong time for some warm, melty cheese that you scoop and put on top of bread. Especially when your freezer stops being frozen, so the Fressen half loaf of bread needs to be immediately used. Specifically, what you see below is their Vollkornbrot bread, made with Dark Rye and Whole Wheat flour with cracked rye, Sunflower, Flax and Sesame Seeds, and Salt which I picked up at one of the various Farmers Markets they have a booth at, though they are also available at a few stores. 

Honey Walnut Brie Recipe Honey Walnut Brie Recipe.

This serves 4… or 2 if you really just want a lot of cheese. I don’t mind eating the rind (you want to get a young, fresh brie. Older brie may have a tougher rind). If the rind bothers you, try wrapping it with crescent or puff pastry dough so you don’t see it. Ha ha.

Or if you’d really really like (though there is cheese loss this way!), you can cut the very top off, slice very thinly so you don’t lose too much cheese. Leave the rest of the rind at the bottom and sides so it can act sorta like a bowl.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Even though I didn’t chop mine, so you don’t necessarily have to if you really like walnuts
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons of honey plus 1/4 cup honey – I used Bee Local Honey.
  • 1 wheel of brie (8-9 ounce package)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix your 1/4 cup of walnuts with the 2 tablespoons of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and pinch of salt. Stir well to coat. Alternately, instead of honey and cinnamon you could use maple syrup. I used 1 1/2 cups walnuts with 1/4 cup maple syrup, which is why you see so many nuts. Between the two, I like the cinnamon honey version better… though at that time I also increased the recipe because I eat these walnuts by themselves like candy.
  2. Arrange walnuts on a baking sheet in a single layer- you want them all to be flat so they all get fully toasted on the side. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, checking frequently to watch them brown and they should smell toasted. Be careful in watching them as they can very easily burn. Alternatively, you can do the same in a large dry pan on the stovetop at medium high heat, but make sure you watch them constantly and stir them. After removing them from the stovetop, lay them flat in a single layer to cool.
    Honey Walnut Brie Recipe. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix your 1/4 cup of walnuts with the 2 tablespoons of honey,1 /4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and pinch of salt. Stir well to coat. Toast in a large dry pan on the stovetop at medium high heat, but make sure you watch them constantly and stir them.
  3. Unwrap your brie cheese and place your cheese in a baking dish. I recommend putting some sort of parchment paper underneath because it’s about to get sticky messy. Drizzle the honey over the top. Alternately, rather then drizzling your cheese goodness with honey goodness, there are so many kinds of fruit compotes and preserves you could use as well! YUM!
    Honey Walnut Brie Recipe
  4. Place in the oven at 350 degrees F and bake for 10-15 minutes.
  5. Top with the toasted walnuts and serve with sliced bread. Other options would be to include sliced apples, grapes or other fruit, toasted crostini or crackers, roasted garlic…!
    Honey Walnut Brie Recipe Honey Walnut Brie Recipe.

Super simple, but so worth it. Perfect for a rainy day when watching a movie or doing a TV show marathon with a few glasses of wine! Indulgent rich warm cheese on good bread with good honey. There is no way to go wrong with this.

Honey Walnut Brie Recipe

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