Here are some green onions!  A potato!  Some coconut milk!  I know we have some curry paste in a little can somewhere in here… A HA!  Found it.  Masaman curry paste.

So I slice the potato (I never peel potatoes, period), chop the green onion, and thaw some chicken.  The can of masaman suggests adding the entire contents to one dish, but I tasted a sample and it was pretty spicy.  I figured the whole can would be more than the wife could handle.  I used a little more than half.

The paste is actually imported from Thailand.  I don’t even remember when/where we bought it; we’ve had it a long time.  We bought several varieties at once and have already gone through several cans in the last couple years, just forgot about them for a long time.

Beerwise, my first thought was a Sam Adams White Ale.  Not the best example of the style, but pretty tasty and I thought perhaps the spices in it would work well with Thai.  But then my eyes settled on a bottle of Sweetwater IPA and I decided, “Dammit, it’s my favorite beer sold in Alabama and I’m going to try it with every food on earth eventually. ” Why not try Thai food tonight?

And it worked! It was actually really good.  The peachy character of the IPA was a great compliment to the spices and coconut in this.

In a couple years, you’ll be able to type “Sweetwater IPA” the search box on this site and learn every dish imaginable that it does and does not pair with.  Be forewarned.

Action shot!

I had previously done a successful pairing with Sweetwater IPA and an Italian dish, but the food was kinda crudely thrown together, and it featured a cream sauce.  I wanted to give it another go with a more properly-prepared Italian dish, and one featuring a tomato-based sauce.  If I keep this blog going long enough you’ll probably see me pair Sweetwater IPA with nearly every food imaginable as it’s one of my favorite beers, even including the thousands I’ve sampled that aren’t available in Alabama.  Yes, it’s that good.

As for the sauce, I’m not hardcore opposed to sauce from a jar, but when I can I usually go with the method outlined by Ezra Klein here.  My “aromatics” were the quintessential elements of a good tomato sauce, in my opinion.  Onion, mushrooms, and garlic.  All fresh.  Add large can of diced tomatoes (mine were organic, from Whole Foods, with basil).  And salt, pepper, oregano.  I also happened to have a few ounces of leftover sour cream in the fridge that needed polishing off, so I threw that in.  You’ll notice in the pic it’s a creamy tomato sauce, rather than pure red tomato sauce.

Simmered sausages in a separate pan.  Mild Italian, turkey.  Whole wheat noodles.  And upon serving it up, sprinkled with a six cheese blend including asiago, romano, mozzarella, and parmesan.  In short, this was a truly excellent meal.  One of my finest Italian creations.

And Sweetwater IPA?  Not so much.  Not cringe-inducing, but there was a bit of a funky clash of flavors toward the end of a sip taken right after a bite.  I really don’t think all IPAs are indicted by this so much as Sweetwater specifically.  There’s a massive range of flavors among different hop varieties, so I’d like to try something with some English hops here.

As luck would have it, I have substantial leftovers.  I’m going to dig up an English-style IPA and give it another go.  I probably even have enough to test a third beer, too.  I’m certain something in the ballpark of a Belgian pale ale would work, but I’m trying to push the envelope a bit…

Fantastic.  I’m going to have jump on the “IPAs with spicy food” bandwagon.

The wings were frozen (and thawed) and deep fried in canola oil till lightly browned.  Then I poured on some Ken’s Steakhouse wing sauce.  Intense stuff.

And really, it’s hard to imagine anything other than an IPA working here.  The ultra-spicy wing sauce is so overwhelming I don’t think you’d be able to taste any beer that didn’t bring its own powerful flavors.  Rather than be overwhelmed by hoppy bitterness, I was just getting the peachy/fruity brightness of the hops, which was a great compliment to the salty, intense spiciness of the wings.

I may never eat wings again without a good IPA at my side.

Tonight featured a little something I shot from the hip.  I essentially just scoured my fridge and freezer for ingredients that needed to be used up and which would go together.  I ended up throwing in half a yellow onion, some celery, carrots, and chicken.  A little olive oil, and a package of Italian dressing mix (it came in a box with 4!) and simmer while the noodles cook.  I had penne on hand.  Once the veggies and chicken were cooked through, I added in a jar of roasted red pepper alfredo we had on the shelf and let it all simmer just a little longer.

Chicken, cream, and lots of cheese. Can't be messed up.

At that point, I put everything in a casserole dish and covered with various cheeses we had on hand: white cheddar, yellow cheddar, and feta.  I baked it all at 375 for about 15 minutes, served it up on a plate and then topped with fresh grated romano cheese.  It was great, and Sweetwater IPA went very nicely with it.

American IPA is my favorite style, and Sweetwater IPA is among my favorites.  I’ve probably tasted close to a hundred different IPAs over the years, yet Southeastern brewery Sweetwater produces one of my faves, even compared to many Pacific Northwest examples.  It also happens to have been my first.

It has these remarkable fruity/peachy undertones produced solely by the hops.  And these flavors melded well with the carrots, celery, and roasted red pepper of this homespun Italian-style dish.

I imagine there’s something out there that would have gone even better, but this was certainly good.