Homemade New Year’s Eve Beer Dinner

Rather than battling the crowds on New Year’s Eve, Theresa and I decided to stay in this year and have a nice homemade dinner.  Naturally, being the beer geek that I am, I decided to do a homemade beer dinner.  I ended up going with a three-course meal, with a different beer paired with each course.

Course 1: Bruschetta Paired with Ommengang Witte

I decided to do a filling, yet light and refreshing, first course and went with a basic bruschetta.  To go along with it, I paired the delicate and refreshing Ommengang Witte.  The recipe for the bruschetta was really easy to make and I am definitely planning on doing this recipe again.  The recipe can be found here.

Bruschetta with Ommengang Witte

Course 2: Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail with Sautéed Asparagus Paired with Ithaca Excelsior! Twelve (Anniversary Ale)

You can’t really go wrong with surf and turf for the main course.  Not really much of recipe to post for this one.  Just season the steaks simply, sear/sauté, and serve.  Boil/steam and broil the lobsters.  Sauté the asparagus with some oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar.  I went with a bottle of Ithaca’s Excelsior! Twelve to pair with this.  This was a fantastic beer and went great with the steak.  It didn’t pair as well with the lobster, but as a whole, the pairing of the dish with the beer worked well.

Fillet mignon with lobster tail and asparagus, paried with Ithaca Excelsior! Twelve.

Course 3: Jalapeño Blue Cheese Cheesecake Paired with Homebrewed Wedding Ale

I went with a recipe out of the Stone Brewery book that I got in the fall for dessert.  This is kind of a weird one for dessert, but if you like blue cheese, this is an interesting dish.  Don’t fear the jalapenos – you de-seed the peppers before you chop them up and mix them in so there isn’t much heat from them.  The fruit added on top balances the blue cheese very nice.  Another good use for this dish is to use it as a spreadable cheese on crackers.  To accentuate the fruit topping, I went with a bottle of my Wedding Ale to pair with the dessert.  The cherry tartness in the beer worked well with the fruit on the cheesecake.  Something like a hefty stout with nice chocolate tones probably would have worked well here too. 



Jalapeno blue cheese cheesecake paired with Wedding Ale.



The beer lineup for the night.

Wedding Ale in Theresa's snifter glass.

Overall, this dinner came out awesome and was a lot of fun to do!  I am definitely planning on doing more beer dinners soon!  Give it a try!  Until next time, cheers!

Song of the Day: “Royal Oil” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Beer of the Day: Thornbridge Hall Bracia