A great menu for a beer dinner

Anyone who thinks the only place for beer is with a curry or a barbecue should take a look at this scrumptious menu from a ‘Grand Banquet’ which was prepared for the 1600 delegates to the Craft Brewers Conference in Austin, Texas last weekend by Executive Chef Mark Dayanandan of the Hilton Austin.

Craft beer and food dinners are becoming much more common in the states where sales of beer are up 12% in the past year. (To see who the top 50 brewers are visit the Brewers Association website beertown.org)

Grand Banquet Dinner Menu Saturday, April 21, 2007

Appetizer
SEAFOOD RAGOUT EN CROÛTE
A BLEND OF SCALLOPS SALMON, MUSSELS AND SHRIMP IN A SAFFRON CREAM TOPPED AND BAKED IN A PUFF PASTRY CRUST
Paired with:
PRIMA PILS, VICTORY BREWING COMPANY – DOWNINGTOWN, PA

Salad
MESCLUN FIELD GREENS AND AVOCADO CHAYOTE SALAD
CARAMELIZED WALNUTS AND SUN DRIED CHERRIES
MILD CHIPOTLE VINAIGRETTE
Paired with:
ELISSA IPA, SAINT ARNOLD BREWING COMPANY – HOUSTON, TX

Entrée
BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS ON A SERVIETTEN KNÖDEL
GRILLED ASPARAGUS, ROASTED ENDIVE, OLIVE, POACHED CHERRY TOMATOES AND AN AU JUS SAUCE
Paired with:
DEVIL’S BACKBONE BELGIAN-STYLE TRIPEL, REAL ALE BREWING COMPANY – BLANCO, TX

Dessert
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY MEDLEY
CHOCOLATE CUP FILLED WITH A CHAMBORD CRÈME BRÛLÉE
AND A RASPBERRY TRUFFLE CUBE TOPPED WITH CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Paired with:
FLEMISH SOUR ALE, NORTH BY NORTHWEST RESTAURANT AND BREWERY – AUSTIN, TX

* For those of you who are wondering (as I did) what a servietten knödel is, it’s apparently an Austrian-style dumpling . . .