6 Classy Beers, 6 Delicious Courses…

Pachamama’s is hosting a beer dinner tonight. The beer list and the paired courses are carefully crafted by chef Ken Baker, and they are not only clever in a culinary sense; the dishes are full of verbal wit, too. Thanks to Ken, you can belly-laugh and fill your belly all at once.

Take the pairing of Great Divide’s “Hoss” Rye Lager (from Denver, Colo.) — Ken paired this malty, earthy, spicy beer with a German rabbit stew called hassenpfeffer, traditionally made with beer. In this case, Ken uses the “Hoss” lager in the stew – so of course, the dish is titled “hoss-enpfeffer” on the menu.

Or how about maple-roast pork jowl with “red-eye gravy”? Why the quotes, you ask? Well, red-eye gravy is usually made by frying pork and deglazing the pan with coffee to make a pan-sauce. Instead of coffee, Ken’s red-eye gravy uses Mikkeller’s “Beer Geek Breakfast” from Denmark to deglaze the pan — fitting, because the dark-brown, almost black beer has intense coffee notes.

Puns aside, these dishes are innovative and perfectly matched to their beer-mates. Pumpernickel-crusted sausage, garnished with dill, fennel, and cocoa nibs, is served alongside Beer Here’s “Morke Pumpernickle Porter” (Denmark.)

And for dessert, double chocolate pudding and an “Aphrodite float.” Yes, float, as in vanilla ice cream doused with Brasserie Dieu du Ciel’s “Aphrodite” stout (Canada), lending its vanilla, dark chocolate, and bourbon flavors.

Pachamama’s: serving up food for thought!

Oh, Maitake!

Pachamama’s was lucky enough to obtain a giant, beautiful maitake mushroom today. Also known as hen-of-the-woods, this mushroom was the size of a small watermelon and had a loamy, woodsy smell. If you've never seen a massive one, check out this picture (from www.wikipedia.org).



Local mushroom enthusiast Jeremiah Teller found it and brought it in (exactly where he came across it, he won’t tell; fungi hunters keep mum about their secret spots.) Chef Ken Baker sliced the mighty maitake, pan-roasted those slices, drizzled them with red wine syrup and aged gruyere fondue, and tossed cinnamon and pears with hunks of fresh bread to make a panzanella to serve on top.

The super-savory maitake’s texture after roasting was perfect, right between soft and firm; the red wine syrup added a subtle, sweet note, and the gruyere fondue added creaminess. The panzanella lightened up the dish; the pears were crisp and the cinnamon complimented the earthiness of the maitake.

In Japanese, maitake means “dancing mushroom” – and that’s exactly what this dish did in the mouth.

Pumpkin pie: shaken, not stirred.

Allow us to introduce Phil (if you haven’t met him already.) Phil is an all-star Pachamama’s employee: a dream co-worker, an impeccable bartender and server, and brilliant mixologist.

One of Phil’s original cocktails was featured in the fall ’09 issue of Lawrence Magazine: the Lawrence Mag-arita (also known as a serrano chili- peach martini – recipe follows below.) It was sweet and refreshing, with a slow, gentle heat from the serrano chilies.

Phil has done it again, this time with a perfect fall cocktail: Phil’s Pumpkin Pie. It’s exactly as it sounds: boozy, thick, liquid pumpkin pie. No fork needed.

Phil starts by whipping up spiced simple syrup: boiling cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and the like with sugar. The spiced syrup is shaken with liquor 43 (a vanilla liquor from Spain), Stoli vanilla vodka, fresh pumpkin puree, and hand-shaken cream.

We’re keeping the pumpkin pie recipe secret for now, but here’s how to make Phil’s serrano chili-peach martini:

1 oz fresh-squeezed peach puree
2 ½ oz serrano-pepper infused silver tequila
Juice of ½ lime
1 dash of simple syrup
Mint leaf, to garnish

To infuse the tequila: Slice two serrano peppers and remove the seeds. Place peppers in a 750 milliliter bottle of silver tequila and leave for two to ten days (the longer it sits, the spicier it gets.)

To make the cocktail, pour the peach puree, tequila, and lime juice into a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass. Add simple syrup to taste.

Ahhhhhh.

Welcome to Pachamama's blog!

Pachamama’s Restaurant and Star Bar is a fine-dining destination in Lawrence, Kansas. Through this blog, we want to celebrate our enthusiasm for cuisine, wine, beer, and cocktails. We’ll share behind-the-scenes food stories about our ingredients and exciting menu happenings, and fill the public in on our upcoming events, from wine dinners to rock shows. This blog is for laid-back foodies who love to read, future patrons who want to get to know us, and Pachamama’s enthusiasts who want to learn more about us.

We'd love to read your comments and ideas. The more we get to talk food, the happier we are. Cheers!