How about having a New Year's Eve beer dinner for a change?

If you haven’t already made your plans for New Year’s Eve why not invite over a few friends and treat them to a beer dinner instead of one based on wine? It’s a great way to open their eyes to the great range of artisanal beers that are now available.

This suggested menu comes An Appetite for Ale, the award-winning book that my son Will and I wrote a few years ago.. Do dip into it for other beer-friendly recipes and pairings.

French-style chicken liver paté with cognac

Well, not a lot of cognac, if truth be told but it just gives the recipe that extra pzazz. I like the French way of making chicken liver paté better than the Italian way - it’s more mellow with beer

Serves 4-6 (you could also add some other charcuterie if you like)

225g fresh, free range chicken livers
100g butter at room temperature + an extra 25g for the topping
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 fresh bayleaves
A couple of sprigs of thyme
1 tbsp cognac or other brandy
Salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of allspice
A few coloured or black peppercorns for decoration (optional)

Pick through the chicken livers cutting away any bits of sinew or greenish patches and cut them into cubes. Heat 25g of the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Add one of the bayleaves, the thyme and the chicken livers, turn up the heat and fry, stirring for about 3 minutes until the chicken livers are browned on all sides.

Take the pan off the heat and cool. Remove the bayleaf and thyme and tip the livers, onion and garlic into a food processor. Whizz until smooth then add another 75g of butter, cut into cubes and whizz again. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of allspice, add the brandy and whizz a final time.

Spoon the mixture into a small pot and smooth over the surface. Heat the remaining butter gently and spoon off the milky layer that rises to the surface. Pour the clear butter over the surface of the paté and decorate with the remaining bay leaves and peppercorns, if using.

Transfer the paté to the fridge for at least a couple of hours then return to room temperature before serving with plain or melba toast (thick slices of bread, toasted then cut in half horizontally and the exposed sides grilled to create deliciously thin, crispy toast)

Suggested beer match: This is a very beer-friendly recipe but goes particularly well with strong pale ales like Anchor Liberty and American IPAs. Try it with a Belgian tripel too

Carbonnade of beef with Orval

One of the striking things about cooking with beer is that you can afford to use your best bottles to cook with. This is based on a recipe in the splendid Everyone Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook by Ruth Van Waerebeek. Like most stews it tastes even better if made a day ahead and reheated

Serves 6

1.25kg leg of beef
3 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
3-4 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
25g butter
450g onions, peeled and sliced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme or a pinch of dried thyme
1 bayleaf
250ml beef stock
330ml Orval or other dark Trappist beer
1 tbsp demerara or brown sugar
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove any excess (but not all) fat and connective tissue from the meat, pat dry and cut into generous cubes. Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Toss the meat in the flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the meat in batches until well browned, transferring it to a casserole as you finish each batch. Add extra oil if needed. Once the meat is browned melt the butter in the pan, add the onions, stir well and cook over a moderate heat until beginning to brown (about 10 minutes). Stir in the thyme and bayleaf, tip the onions onto the meat and stir well. Add the beef stock and Orval to the casserole, stir, bring to the boil then half cover the pan and simmer very slowly for about 2 1/2 hours until the meat is completely tender. Stir in the sugar and vinegar and cook for another 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and serve with baked or boiled potatoes.

Suggested beer match: Orval is the obvious choice but any dark trappist ale would do.

Bakewell tart

It stands to reason that raspberry flavoured beer should go with a dessert made with almonds and raspberries. But just how well you wouldn’t believe.

Serves 6

110g unsalted butter
3 large free-range eggs
110g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
2 level tbsp plain flour, sifted
1 level tsp almond essence
6-7 tbsp soft set raspberry jam
225g fresh or frozen raspberries
25g flaked almonds
For the pastry
250g plain flour
2 tbsp icing sugar
125g chilled butter
1 large egg yolk (+ the white, lightly beaten)
Pinch of salt

You will need a deep flan tin 23-25cm wide

First make the pastry. Sift the flour and icing sugar into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small cubes, cut the butter into the flour then rub lightly with your fingertips until the mixture is the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Mix the egg yolk with 2 tbsp ice cold water, add to the pastry mix, mix lightly and pull together into a ball, adding extra water if needed. Shape into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least half an hour. (You can also, of course make this in a food processor).

Roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to fit the tin with a bit of overlap. Carefully lower the pastry into the tin, pressing it lightly into the sides and cut off the excess pastry round the edges. Prick the base lightly and chill the pastry case for 10-15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Line the pastry case with foil and bake for 10-12 minutes then remove the foil and brush the base of the pastry case with the reserved egg white. Return to the oven for another 3-4 minutes then set aside for a couple of minutes while you make the filling.

Slowly melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk or beat the eggs with the sugar until light and frothy then add the ground almonds, sifted flour, almond essence and melted butter. Spoon the jam onto the base of the tart and spread evenly. Scatter over the raspberries in an even layer then pour over the topping. Bake at 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 for about 40 minutes until risen and nicely browned, scattering the almonds over the surface 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Serve warm with double cream.

Suggested beer match: My dream beer with this would be New Glarus Raspberry Tart from Wisconsin but any raspberry beer would do nicely

If you're more into wine try this New Year's Eve dinner for wine lovers or, if you looking for inspiration Five Easy Ways to Impress your Friends and Family this New Year's Eve.

Which wine to choose for Thanksgiving

The first thing to bear in mind about Thanksgiving - and for that matter Christmas - is that it’s as much about mood as food. Who you’re inviting, what age they are and how big your party is are factors every bit as important as what you’re eating.

I say this particularly because the main Thanksgiving meal and the meals around it are hard ones to match: what you need is a wine that is going to cope with a whole battery of delicious flavours.

Personally I always like to start a celebratory meal like this with a glass of sparkling wine which gets everyone into the festive spirit. It doesn’t have to be Champagne (though in our house it usually is!) - there are many good substitutes available from cut price cava (good for parties) and crémants to Champagne lookalikes that come from premium sparkling wine-producing areas such as California and New Zealand.

If you’re starting with a soup such as a pumpkin soup or a creamy chowder as you may well be I’d suggest a smooth dry unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay or a Chenin Blanc. That might sound like a bit of a cop-out - everyone drinks Chardonnay but that’s because everyone likes Chardonnay - and for festive family meals what you’re looking for are crowd pleasers. Smooth dry whites are also just about the best available match for soup.

If you’re planning some kind of seafood starter Sauvignon Blanc is generally a safe bet though if it incorporates Asian flavours you could serve a dry or off-dry Riesling.

For the turkey itself I would offer a choice of white or red - a full-bodied Chardonnay or Viognier for the more adventurous and a ripe fruity red - something like a Zinfandel, Merlot, Carmenère, Shiraz or a full bodied Pinot Noir (lighter styles may get swamped by the big flavours of typical turkey accompaniments). These wines will work with a Thanksgiving ham too.

Your instinct may well be to bring out a much treasured old bottle you’ve been saving for a special occasion but I would save it for a smaller gathering and a simpler menu. What you need with turkey and its trimmings is a wine that is vibrantly fruity not one that’s faded and delicate. If you don’t already have a favourite bottle in mind it’s a good idea to visit a local wine shop or merchant that has regular tastings so you can try a selection of different wines before you buy.

Desserts again can be a bit of a minefield for wine, particularly if you’re serving more than one. Pumpkin pie, I’ve found is particularly good with a southern French Muscat or Spanish Moscatel, wines which would also work with a traditional apple pie.

If you’re serving a chocolate dessert however I’d suggest a sweet red wine such as a sweet Shiraz. or, again for adventurous guests, iced shots of a raspberry-flavoured liqueur or a cherry brandy. The basic rule to bear in mind is that your wine should be sweeter than your dessert - and served well chilled.

You may also find this post useful on the difference between the Thanksgiving turkey and a Christmas turkey when it comes to choosing wine and this longer post on drink matches for pumpkin pie.

Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash

Food for wine: glammed up roast chicken and smart white burgundy

In the first of an occasional series on dishes to make at home to show off a special wine Lucy Bridgers devises the perfect romantic dinner for her lucky other half.

"There’s something quite satisfying about devising or tweaking a recipe to compliment a particular wine. Recently I was preparing a special family meal, with my husband’s tastes in mind. Roast chicken served with white burgundy is a particular favourite, and he has a soft spot for mushrooms.

A last-minute dash around our local Waitrose yielded a good-looking corn-fed bird and a glamorous little jar of porcini mushrooms in a white truffle paste. We also had some dried morels that had been lurking in the cupboard for some time. While the morels were soaking, I combined the porcini and truffle paste with some butter and spread it generously over the chicken breasts, beneath the skin. I spread more butter all over the bird, popped several cloves of garlic into the cavity and seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper before roasting it for a couple of hours.

Once the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the pan which I deglazed with a splash of amontillado sherry, allowing this to bubble down before pouring in some white wine as a base for the sauce. The soaked morels went in, along with double cream. This created a powerfully flavoured sauce because of the truffley chicken juices, so I added more cream as I wanted a more gentle flavour.

To accompany this sumptuous feast, we settled on an appropriately smart white burgundy, a 2003 Meursault les Chevalières from Domaine Rémi Jobard, a wedding present from a good friend in the wine trade. As we like mature wines, I thought this would be coming into its own by now. It was. It was drinking beautifully – rich and satisfying, yet much more refreshingly balanced than I’d expected from such a ripe year. It had plenty enough acidity to handle the crispy chicken skin and roast potatoes and the smooth, rounded texture worked seamlessly with the creamy sauce. The wine’s level of maturity – its savoury complexity – was just right for the mushrooms and truffle, as there was still some youthful lift.

It was a wonderful reminder of how a great Chardonnay (and particularly burgundy) is the perfect foil for roast chicken. You can dress your dish up (or down) accordingly – in the autumn, if you can lay your hands on some fresh ceps/porcini, you might want to trade up to a grand cru . . .

Do you have a favourite dish you like to cook to show off a good wine - or beer, come to that? Do write in and describe it and we'll include it in the series.

What to drink with Heston’s Diamond Jubilee picnic

Heston Blumenthal’s Jubilee picnic hamper was unveiled yesterday - to be served at Buckingham Palace before an open-air concert on June 4th. The picnic is being funded by Waitrose who must be pleased as punch to have the Palace’s endorsement in this video. The guests will also apparently be given vouchers for a glass of Moët or a bottle of Cobra beer (the other sponsors of the event).

Given the various elements of the picnic come in neat little plastic containers it does make you wonder if Waitrose will be rolling out this - or something similar - for the rest of us to buy from their branches but we could at least could drink English wine with it. (I suspect none of the UK wine producers has deep enough pockets to provide wine for the 10,000 guests that will attend the function.)

You can bet your bottom dollar that all supermarkets will have special offers on English sparkling wines in the run-up to the Jubilee or try these other suggestions if you want to do some more precise food and wine matching:

The picnic kicks off with some chilled British baby plum tomato soup with red peppers and cucumber finished with garden mint-infused oil. I’d be inclined to go for the Sauvignon Blanc-like Bacchus with this or other dry-ish English white which would also go with the spicy main courses: fragrant Lapsang Souchong tea-smoked salmon and Diamond Jubilee Chicken (Heston’s new spin on Coronation Chicken). If you were just matching the salmon and chicken I'd probably go for a crisp dry Riesling - maybe an Aussie one, keeping the Commonwealth in the loop - a Pinot Gris, a Viognier or a fruity rosé.

If you wanted a red I’d go for a Beaujolais (the 2009s would be ideal) or a New Zealand Pinot Noir which would pair particularly well with the veggie option - a mushroom parfait.

With the dessert - a Sandringham strawberry crumble crunch - a concoction of yoghurt, strawberries and cream with a meringue and oat topping - and with the cakes - I'd revert to bubbly, preferably one with a touch of sweetness or a gently sparkling Moscato d’Asti.

Finally there’s cheese and chutney which would probably kill off any of the preceeding wines and would be best matched with a proper English ale. (Not Cobra, please!)