A Beer and Cheese Tasting Party

(Beer & cheese tasting is serious stuff.)

This past summer I had the good fortune to be introduced to beer in a more positive light. I have never really been a “beer person,” normally preferring a glass of wine or a margarita, so I was surprised to discover that I actually really liked beer. Well. certain beer, that is. I guess I am still not quite an overall beer connoisseur. I know that I’ve always liked dark beers, like Guinness stout or a dark porter or chocolate stout, the type of beer my husband likens to “eating a loaf of bread.” I haven't tried too many in between a stout or porter and a pilsner or even an ale, so I didn’t know the vast expanse of beer that existed. Or that I could even one day say that I actually enjoy beer, rather than just tolerate it.

(At Vatten restaurant on the island of Tjörn)

My positive beer experience began when one of my brothers-in-law introduced me to the brand, Poppelman, at a family dinner in Gothenburg. It just so happened that one of the people who started the brewery that makes Poppelman was a friend of my husbands back when he was still living in Gothenburg. We thought that was kind of cool and it made us like the beer even more. We soon discovered that Poppelman could only be purchased at the Systembolaget on the west coast so on our next trip to Gothenburg we stopped by one to pick up a few bottles to take back to Stockholm, where I promptly forgot about beer. 

Some weeks later my husband asked me if I wanted a beer one evening and I said that I’d share one with him, still thinking like a non beer drinker. It happened to be Poppelman’s "Nya Världens IPA (India Pale Ale).” A very, tasty brew with a rich, bitter flavor, that I learned came from the hops. I later discovered that the more hops flavor in the beer the better. Maybe I could be a beer drinker after all.

(A tasty line-up!)

Later, during the summer, Poppelman, now known as just “Poppels,” made a reappearance when we had an informal “beer tasting” with one of my husband’s sisters and her husband, while we were at the family’s summer house on Tjörn (An island off the west coast of Sweden). My brother-in-law had purchased a selection of Poppels' brews for us to sample and we went through them one by one, deciding which were our favorites and noting the differences in flavors. My favorite remained the "Nya Världens IPA". I guess I just really like a “hoppy” beer. Our beer tasting was so much fun that an idea was planted in my mind, though I didn’t really realize it until a few months later.

As fall approached I suggested hosting a dinner party at our apartment. I didn’t want it to be anything too formal, as I am not practiced in cooking a fancy meal for more than four people, so I thought, “Why not have an Oktoberfest beer & cheese tasting party, with a big pot of chili and cornbread?” And so was born the idea. All guests would be invited to bring 6 bottles of their favorite microbrew, or some new brew they've wanted to try. I created a Facebook event and all invitees were asked to write which beer they would be bringing in their RSVP. I then began research to find cheeses to pair with the beers. 

(Nibbles ready to be eaten and mugs ready to be filled with hot buttered rum & spice apple cider) 

The party kicked off with a welcome drink of hot, buttered rum & spiced, apple cider. We then moved pretty quickly into the beer & cheese tasting. Each guest had a sheet of paper with two columns: one for the name of the beer and one for a one word description of the beer. Yes, guests were asked to describe each beer in just a single word. This was probably the hardest thing we did all night.

Just over our half-way point of beer & cheese tasting we decided to take a dinner break and get something of substance in our bellies. Spicy, vegetarian chili with green chili & cheddar corn muffins hit the spot and we all agreed that any of the beers would pair nicely with chili. For dessert I made mini, pumpkin tartlets, served with fresh whipped cream. Everything was a hit.

(Dessert eating and pumpkin decorating)

During the tasting we held a beer trivia contest, with questions such as, “Match the word for beer with the correct language,”  “True or False, In Japan beer is sold in vending machines.” and “Identify the author of this quote (Benjamin Franklin): ‘Beer is proof that God loves us.’” Later in the evening we had a pumpkin decorating contest. Both games with real prizes for the winners, and each guest/couple got to take home their decorated pumpkin.

(Mini pumpkin tartlets with sea salt and roasted hazelnuts)

Below are the tasting results. If you've never had a beer & cheese tasting I would highly recommend it. It was a truly fun event and one I would definitely repeat in the future, and especially during the chilly months of fall and winter. Based on our experience however, I would definitely recommend limiting the tasting to between 6-8 beers, 6 probably being the ideal number. We tasted a total of 11 and it felt like a bit of overkill. And as you can see below, the fun of coming up with one word descriptions and even pairing a cheese with the beer sort of fizzled out after number 8. 

Sigtuna Lager: Light, Bland, Hopsy, Drinkable, Summery & Fresh

Cheese: Goat/Chevre, Ementhaler

Mikkeller Kärlek Höst/Vinter: Piney, Eccentric, Happiness, Flowery, Hoppy, Tangerine-nose, Bitter, Aromatic, Forest, Frosty

Cheese: Manchego, Cheddar, Goat, Brie, 

We Love NY Yellow Cab Lager: Bitter, Hoppy, Flat, Ethereal, Cat-tongue

Cheese: Goat, Manchego, Gouda, Morbier 

Nils Oscar Oktoberfest: Chocolatey, Well-balanced, Delicious, Fall, Easy-to-drink, Smooth, Fresh, Good, Mocha 

Cheese: Cheddar, Morbier, Pecorino, Dark Chocolate, Saint Agur 

Alaska Smoked Porter: Thick, BBQ, Meaty, Smokey, Flavorful, Ham(y), Salami, Hickory, 

Cheese: Gouda, Chocolate, Saint Agur 

Hoegaarden: Fresh, Fruity, Citrusy, “Sliskig” (means icky sweet), Candy, Crisp, Lemondrop, Banana

Cheese: Svarta Sara (stinky cheese), Saint Agur, Goat, Manchego 

Pang Pang, Puttin’ in Hours: Hoppy, Dancing-on-the-tongue, Honey, Citrusy, Apricot, Summer, “After-work”, Flower-power

Cheese: Brie, Ementhaler, Saint Agur

St. Eriks Oktoberfest: Bitter, Dark, Hops, Chocolate, Hoppy, Chocolate+Coffee, 

Cheese: Chocolate, Saint Agur

St. Eriks Mathias Dahlgren: Bitter, Hoppiness, Hoppy, Happy, 

Cheese: Chocolate, Saint Agur

Poppel Belgian Wit: Frisk (Fresh), Acidic, Kvällsdopp (Evening swim), Lemon, Cider, “Pee” Luktig (smells like pee :-O)

Cheese: No cheese selected here. I think we were petering out at this point)

Innis & Gunn Oak: Vanilla, Sweet, Cuba-libre, Rum-cola, Cocktail(y), Pirates, Rum(y), Caramelized-sugar, Rum

Cheese: No cheese selected here either :-) but I think it would pair nicely with a     dessert - especially one with caramel or custard

PS. Yes, chocolate is not a cheese, but it was really delicious with many of the beers we tasted :-).

Vacation Series Part 1 - A "Tjörney" Begins... With A Single Step...

... Or in this case, with a car fully loaded with friends visiting from the US, a cat in a cat carrier, and jam-packed luggage for just under three weeks. There were no bicycles, no scissors, and no cast iron skillets involved but there was lots of salt water, fresh, sea air, sheep petting, and crab cooking going on. Last summer I came up with the term tjörney and wrote about it in one of my Finding Happy in 365 Days blog posts when we were about to embark upon a journey to Tjörn. I thought it was cool and catchy and it rhymed with journey, which we were about to take, so it stuck. And it is always a special journey to travel to Tjörn. Tjörney is my word, but you can borrow it.

Anyway, off we went on our tjörney...

... and it was marvelous! This year we decided to stay for two weeks rather than our usual one-week visit. And it made a huge difference. I mean, you have just barely begun to relax after one week. After two weeks however, you are like melted butter. There is something refreshing and healing about being near the ocean and breathing in the heavy, salt air. Towels never seem to completely dry out, your feet are dirty and stained on the bottom from picking red and black currants and walking barefoot, the nights are silent and dark and restful, and the sea breeze blows away all of your worldly cares.

Three things that I've come to associate with summer at Tjörn are: 1) Picnic, boat trips out to Skaboholmen, a smaller islet of Tjörn, 2) Buying fresh crabs directly from the fisherman the day they are caught (and, of course, eating them), and 3) Watching Pina explore the outdoors (albeit attached to harness and leash), eating grass and bugs, and being taunted by the birds.

Skaboholmen is a special place for my husband. He spent nearly all of his childhood summers there. Exploring the rocky cliffs (complete with a secret hidden cave), swimming and basking in the sun, and enjoying picnics with his family and summer friends. It has likewise become a special place for me. Even on days that are a bit more chilly than desired, I look forward to packing up our picnic and feeling the cool air against my face as we make our way to Skaboholmen in our little, motor boat. My husband realized on this trip that their little boat is about 30 years old! (See top photo) He, or she, has served the family well over the years.

Previously christened a badkruka (literally means swimming pot, but it is a term used to describe someone who is a chicken when it comes to getting in the water), I am now officially a swimming goddess. I no longer stand for hours at the waters edge, hesitating until my husband loses his patience, or turns blue. I may hesitate briefly but I now leap in (more like a frog, really), with wild abandon. As long as someone is already in the water to scope out the jellyfish scene. My husband has become my personal, jellyfish scope. I send him out first and he goes under the water, does a 360 turn, and then pops up and says, "ingen maneter," which means no jellyfish. Which means I have to get in. (Brrrrrr!)

Then there are the crabs. Delicious, west coast crabs cooked in salted water with a bit of beer, sugar and fresh, crown dill. Some summers we've missed out on getting crabs but this summer we succeeded. I always love going to pick them up. It is just a short drive away from the summer cottage. We park next to the water and then walk along a passageway, next to the cottages where the fishermen live, to the crab fishermen's sjöbod, or boathouse. It is dark inside with the only light coming from a couple of windows and an open door facing the bay. The fishermen sit wrapping crabs in newspaper while you keep count as they go into the bag. Then you race home to scrub and cook them! Seriously, it doesn't get much better than that.

A new favorite part of going on a tjörney however is watching the fun and excitement our kitty has exploring nature. She loves it there. She loves to sit and eat the grass, and any other tasty weed she comes across, along with an assortment of bugs and insects. And although she did not succeed in a catch, she hunted a field mouse one day and was taunted by a mother bird nearly the entire time we were there. The mother bird had a nest of four babies that we discovered a week into our stay and she was determined to keep Pina's attention distracted from the nest. She obviously had no idea that Pina was on a leash and harness and couldn't get to her babies. That is, as long as we were around to watch her. That sneaky cat figured out how to get out of her harness by turning herself around and hoping and pulling again the tautly, stretched out leash until she was able to wriggle out of it. I noticed one day, as we were "hanging out" together in the yard, that she was hoping around and I stood up to see if she had caught something or was caught on something. I caught her just as she'd completely freed herself of the harness and just before she took off. From then on I knew I had to keep a closer eye on her. Smarty cat.

Her favorite place to sleep inside the cottage after a morning or afternoon of bird watching and sunbathing was snuggled between the extra, foam mattresses, stacked on their sides in one of the spare rooms. She even crept inside one of the mattress covers one day (they fit completely around the mattress like a giant pillow case) and it took forever to find her. I finally noticed the lump sticking out on the side of one of the mattresses. She's a sneaky one.

If you have never been on one, and chances are good that you haven't since I came up with the term, I highly recommend taking a tjörney, or just a journey if a tjörney is not available. It is a magical and relaxing way to spend your vacation and recharge.

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of my Vacation Series...

Have a Happy Day!

Midsummer in Sweden

(Photo from Gunnebo Slott in Gothenburg - 2010)

It’s hard to believe that Midsummer is already upon us! It seems like just yesterday I was thinking about switching out my winter clothes for spring and summer clothes. And though we have had some nice warm days, it still does not yet feel like summer here in Stockholm. That being said, there are only three days left until Midsummer and time to get my menu  in gear, make those Midsommarkranser (flower crowns), and prepare to sing, dance, and hop like a frog around the Midsommarstång (May pole). You know what they say... when in Rome... or Sweden in my case. 

We will be spending Midsommar on the west coast this year. So far we've celebrated Midsommar at Gunnebo Slott in Gothenburg with my husband's family, a delicious picnic and homemade flower wreaths, here in Stockholm at Vitabergsparken with some dear friends and some really good champagne, and again on the west coast on the island of Tjörn, where my husband's family has a summer cottage. This year we are heading back to Tjörn. Hopefully the weather will make a change for the better. Right now it is looking like a rainy, indoor Midsommar. Which means lots of eating and libations. It's not necessarily a bad thing but some sunshine would be nice for the longest day of the year. 

Here are a few photos from past year's celebrations:

2010:

(Picking flowers from my sister-in-law's garden)

(Making my Midsommarkrans (flower crown))

(Picnic at Gunnebo Slott in Gothenburg)

(Svenska jordgubbar (Swedish word for strawberries - literally translates to mean "earth men")

(A glass of bubbly with strawberries and citronmeliss, or lemon balm)

(The dinner spread)

(Too shy to dance arround the May pole at Gunnebo, my husband and I came across this lonely pole the day after so I took advantage of the privacy and hopped around it like a frog)

2011:

(Vitabergspark in Stockholm with a couple of our dear friends, B & J) 

(Leaf crowns "borrowed" from a group that left them behind!)

(Midsommarstång, or May pole)

2012:

(Vegetarian quiche for lunch, topped with chive blossoms and chopped chives, both from the garden)

(Cardamom & pear cake)

(Our very own Midsommar pole)

(Who is that on my wine glass???!)

(Um... this was what was left after lunch... however, this also disappeared during the "clean up")

(A little fun and games between meals... my husband pulled out his unicycle)

  
(Beautiful hand-painted sign for our summer cottage neighborhood - Viks Ödegärde)

(Gentlemen doing gentlemen-ly things - scrubbing the potatoes!)

(Dinner spread)

(Best Midsommartårta (cake) ever! - Recipe below)

Important things that must be present for any successful Midsummer: 

• Lots of fresh flowers from the garden (or supermarket)
• Lots of fresh, Swedish strawberries (and if you think you have enough, buy a few more cartons)
• Inlagd sill (pickled herring) & fresh Swedish potatoes (of course with all the classic accoutrements: finely chopped red onion, chives, sour cream, löjrom, dill and lemon. Some also serve it with chopped, pickled beets and chopped boiled egg. 
• Swedish snaps (O.P. Anderson is our favorite) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snaps
• Did I mention Swedish strawberries for the cake?

Speaking of Midsommar and Swedish strawberries, my absolutely, favorite, Midsommar dessert is one from Ernst Kirchsteiger, that one of my sisters-in-law turned me on to.This "midsommartårta" is one of the best desserts you'll ever eat. I hope you'll try it! (I have written in the English instructions directly after the Swedish ones).

Ernst Midsommartårta - 8 bitar (8 servings)

(Tip for the US: If you look at your Pyrex measuring cup, you will see a measurement for milliliters (ml) on the opposite side)

SMET 1 (Batter 1):

1 1/2 dl vetemjöl (100-150 ml flour)
1 dl strösocker (100 ml sugar)
2 tsk bakpulver (2 tsp baking powder)
150 g smör, smält (150 grams butter, melted – 1 stick is 113 grams)
3 äggulor (3 egg yolks)
5 msk grädde (5 tbsp cream)

SMET 2 (Batter 2):

3 äggvitor (3 egg whites)
2 dl strösocker (200 ml sugar)
1 tsk vaniljsocker (1tsp vanilla sugar, or just vanilla extract)
mandelspån (1/2 -1 cup sliced almonds)

FYLLNING (Filling):Rikligt med bär, som hallon, vinbär, blåbär och jordgubbar (Plenty of fresh berries, such as raspberries, red currants, blueberries and strawberries – we used strawberries only)
3 dl vispad grädde (300 ml whipped cream)
mera bär till garnering (More berries for garnishing)
florsocker (powdered sugar)

Gör så här (Instructions):

1) Sätt ugnen på 175 grader (Preheat oven to 175 C/350 F)

2) SMET 1: Blanda vetemjöl, strösocker och bakpulver. Vispa ihop
med smält smör, äggulor och grädde. Bred ut på bakplåtspapper i en långpanna. (Batter 1: Blend flour, sugar & baking powder together. Whisk the melted butter, egg yolks and cream together and add to the dry ingredients. Spread out on a cookie sheet prepared with parchment paper).

3) SMET 2: Vispa äggvitor, strösocker och vaniljsocker till en tjock
maräng. Bred ut marängen ovanpå den första degen. Strö över mandelspån. (Batter 2: Whip the egg whites, sugar and vanilla sugar/vanilla until you have a thick merringue. Spread the merringue over the first batter and top with a generous sprinkling of sliced almonds).

4) Grädda i nedre delen av ugnen i cirka 30 minuter eller tills
marängen fått lite färg. (Bake in the lower part of the over approximately 30 minutes, or until the merringue is light brown).

5) Dela kakan på mitten och lägg bär och grädde på den ena halvan. Lägg på den andra halvan, garnera gärna med bär och pudra över florsocker. (Divide the cake in two, spread whipped cream and berries on the bottom half. Top with the second half of the cake and garnish with more berries and a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

Tips: Gör dubbel sats med två bottnar för en större tårta. (For one large cake, double all ingredients and layer the whole cakes :-D I recommend doubling the recipe  - it is THAT GOOD!)

(Does this not look completely divine??!)

One other Midsommar tradition is for young girls to gather seven different flowers during the day into a small bouquet. You then sleep with the bouquet under your pillow and supposedly you'll dream of the man you are to marry. Since I've already married the man of my dreams I won't be participating but I think it's a nice tradition.

(Handpicked on our afternoon walk near the summer cottage)

Will you sleep with seven flowers under your pillow this Midsommar?