Korean Fried Chicken and Kimchi Collard Greens with Bacon

This recipe – from Anthony Bourdain’s cookbook – hits both of my current culinary obsessions: Korean food and fried chicken. For my veggie, I did some collard greens in some of the leftover Heirloom Market Kimchi slaw sauce. I decided to add some bacon, because… Well, collards need some kind of pork in them – right?

There was supposed to be waffles… I decided that the perfect side dish would be to do a Buchujeon pancake, but to cook it in the waffle iron – but it just didn’t work. I’ll have to go back to R&D on that one…

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I went with a bottle of Éponyme – a wild ale conditioned on toasted Maple wood with a small amount of Maple syrup – from De Garde.

Grilled Pork Shoulder, Roasted Broccoli with Harissa Vinaigrette, Feta and Mint

I stumbled upon the Pork Shoulder Skewers recipe while looking up a restaurant that I have still not eaten at called Tusk. I figured I give it a try and it would give me an excuse to attempt the Roasted Broccoli with Harissa Vinaigrette, Feta and Mint again.

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I decided to go with a bottle of Fennel – a beer brewed with orange and fennel – from Propolis Brewing.

Escargot with Garlic-Parsley Butter, Fried Pig’s Ear Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

For a belated Bastille Day, I decided to try the pinnacle of French cuisine: Escargot. We have been watching the fifth season of “Mind of a Chef” with Ludo Lefebvre. In one episode he made escargot – and my wife and I were both salivating… For the vegetable, I make a salad with blue cheese dressing (Not Your Mama’s Coleslaw dressing minus the celery seeds) and top it with some fried pig’s ears. And of course, there was a fresh baguette to sop up all of the garlic-parsley butter.

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I didn’t have any French beer, so I went with a bottle of Flanders Fred – a collaboration between Belgium’s De Proefbrouwerij and Portland’s Hair of the Dog.

Beer Marinated Bavette Steak with Aji Sauce and Avocado, Mexican Grilled Corn

I’ve been wanting to make the Mexican Grilled Corn again… The Beer Marinated Flank Steak (but I used a Bavette instead Flank) with Aji Sauce and Avocados was the natural choice to go with it.

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To drink, I went with a bottle of Shirley, You Can’t Be Serious – a wild ale with white peaches and wild plums aged in David Arthur Cabernet barrels – from The Ale Apothecary.

And don’t call me Shirley.

Hot Dogs, Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

For the Fourth, I picked up some hot dogs from Otto’s Sausage Kitchen and made the coleslaw with blue cheese.

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I decided to go with a bottle of the Scrap Iron from Upright.

Tandoori Ribs, Saag Paneer Mac, Curried Collard Greens

This was another one of my Southern meets Asian experiments.

I have a Tandoori Ribs recipe in one of my cookbooks, but the marinade was pretty basic – so I used the marinade that I use on my Tandoori Lobster. For the sides, I decided to take another shot at the Saag Paneer Mac – but this time using grated fresh mozzarella instead of the grated paneer since mozzarella melts. I also used frozen spinach since to save time. Last, I wanted to try making some Curried Collard Greens. I also wanted to try making Green Tomato Pakoras – a take on fried green tomatoes – but couldn’t find any green tomatoes.

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I went with a bottle of the Figlet – a wild ale fermented with smoked Texas figs – from Jester King.