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Dinner party tonight and the menu is Tenderloin w/ horseradish sauce, grilled baby red potatoes and green beans-the other folks are bringing desserts, drinks and salads. Do "peartinis" sound a little foo-foo to everybody else?

Anyway I made the tenderloin earlier this week as a dry run. The word "awesome" is overused, "fabulous" seems dated and my vocabulary is too limited otherwise to do this meal justice-if its half as good tonight, I will be a god to my friends. OK, even more of a god than I am now.

Picked up a couple very nice Cabs on a trip to Michigan (yes, they have quite a nice wine area along the lake). Robust enough to do the meat justice. The horseradish sauce is made with a baked garlic head, 2 cups of heavy cream reduced to about 3/4 cup and a small jar of drained horseradish + or- to taste. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins into a bowl, add the horseradish, salt and white pepper, then stir it into the cream. Refrigerate it overnight for best results-it will thicken it a little and let the flavors mingle.

My only regret is not using fresh horseradish (time and energy constraints) and not using a buffalo tenderloin. I checked that out but the $45.99 a pound price tag was somewhat off-putting.

A travesty to serve "peartinis" with this so I'l probably crack out some beer for the guys-I'm definitely not a beer drinker so anybody got ideas?

To pair with red meat you definitely want a big robust flavored ale. From there you really have two choices: Porter or IPA. Many people prefer to add the smoky sweetness of a porter to go with the beef. My choice (and many others' as well) is for the bitter hoppiness of an IPA. Either of these styles provide big flavors that will not be overpowered by the intense flavor of the beef.

You're lucky in that two of our local breweries make fantastic versions of both of these brews. My suggestions:

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter -- This is one of the best porters I've ever had. To me, it's more of a breakfast or dessert beer, but if you think your guests would prefer this to the hoppiness, you cannot go wrong with this choice.

Bell's Two Hearted Ale -- Absolutely fabulous IPA. This would be my choice for sure, as its intense floral/fruity hop flavor & bitterness accompany beef perfectly.

There are plenty of other examples of both styles (Bells makes a porter, GL makes an IPA, other breweries as well), but these would be my two choices. Edmund Fitzgerald is a great dessert beer as well if the desserts aren't too sweet to overpower it.

hammb wrote:To pair with red meat you definitely want a big robust flavored ale. From there you really have two choices: Porter or IPA. Many people prefer to add the smoky sweetness of a porter to go with the beef. My choice (and many others' as well) is for the bitter hoppiness of an IPA. Either of these styles provide big flavors that will not be overpowered by the intense flavor of the beef.

You're lucky in that two of our local breweries make fantastic versions of both of these brews. My suggestions:

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter -- This is one of the best porters I've ever had. To me, it's more of a breakfast or dessert beer, but if you think your guests would prefer this to the hoppiness, you cannot go wrong with this choice.

Bell's it is- where can I get it?

And why am I not surprised that you are the first responder? Thanks!

Oh, and finally-BREAKFAST BEER?

They'll have the Bell's 2-hearted at Anderson's, Stimmel's, or Joseph's for sure. There may be other places that'll carry it, but I know it's a mainstay at all 3 of those stores.

And when you're tailgating for a noon/1:00 kickoff football game, a breakfast beer is a necessity