Every time I’m near a well stocked cheese counter, I poke around, looking for an elusive round of Cowgirl Creamery’s Sir Francis Drake.  This rare cheese is brought about by accident.  When a batch of Mt. Tam doesn’t set correctly (or something – I don’t entirely understand it, and the Cowgirl Website doesn’t offer any [...]

One of the things I most admire about The Homebrew Chef is Sean’s insistance on continuing to innovate and experiment. I’ve attended more than a few of his dinners now, and I never see dishes repeated – quite the opposite really.  While Sean has a few favorite tropes (and who doesn’t, really?) he always pulls [...]

Need beer pairing advice? Ask Beer & Nosh is here to help.  Just send us your beer questions, and we’ll do our best to help. Hey Beer & Nosh, I would love your opinion on a beer pairing I’m planning in a week or two, which will be the start of an ongoing series. We’re starting [...]

Magnolia Brewpub is currently featuring the last of a special series of beers brewed with a farm-specific malt, from Branthill in East Anglia, UK.  Currently available is the Branthill Longbarn ESB, in both regular CO2, and classic British cask options. I tried both.

GreatBrewers.com has introduced a new tool called “Beer Sommelier” that has been making its way around the web via instant message, blog posts, and Twitter.  This elegant web 2.0 application is well designed, nicely illustrated, fast and straight forward.  You simply tell it a little bit about the dish you have in mind, and it [...]

This past week, Elianna and I passed a significant milestone in our relationship – we’ve managed to keep our house plant alive for more than a week.  This is a big accomplishment for us – neither of us are gifted with a green thumb, and growing our own hops is out of the question. This is [...]

One of my favorite things about Mission Street Food is the level of creativity it breeds.  I’ll give you an example: while planning this meal I sent Anthony home with a collection of home brew ingredients, instructing him to play around with them, and find a bit of inspiration. One of the dishes he came back with [...]

A recent foray to the local farmer’s market yeilded an unexpected treat: cauliflower, but not the usual kind.  This breed had long, slender stalks, with tiny little buds at the top.  The farmers informed me it would cooks up extra sweet, as well as extra tender. Given all the rain and cold weather lately, it [...]

    One of the things I really like about the Homebrew Chef’s approach to food is Sean’s intellectual bend towards his subject.  SF Beer Week provided the perfect opportunity to showcase this habit with some like-minded eaters and drinkers, who are onboard for a dinner that is also a culinary investigation.  Can one beer be showcased [...]

    After a very filling dinner of Rejewvenator Braised Chicken, Zak was ready to show off for dessert.  Like any good dinner guest, he had arrived bearing two bottles of booze, and a bottle of beer.  Except the bottles of liquor weren’t for drinking: they were bound to be lit on fire.  Which is really the best part [...]