The idea came to me while drinking some delicious Ale Smith Nut Brown. I thought, "There are so many of these English-style browns out there. A taste test would be a lot of fun, but having 5 or 6 22 oz beers is going to leave me in a liquid state with a massive hangover. I know! We'll build a party around this!"
When I sent out the invitations, everyone responded with enthusiasm. I'm going to ask, but I'm betting that the last time any of us hung out with nothing but other guys was ... more than a year ago? When you're busy with your family, hanging out with the fellas just doesn't happen.
I'm doing all the cooking myself and have decided to go with two main dishes, one normal and one very British. The normal one will be bangers and mash. The more unusual one will be a steak and kidney pudding. There's a great British pub and shop here in San Diego, Shakespeare's, that sells authentic British food. That's where I get the bangers - British sausages. I've got a cream soup picked out as well as a shrimp appetizer. There will be leeks prepared with a recipe from Newcastle as well.
Desert is problematic right now, but I've got to go down to Shakespeare's for more bangers anyway, so I ought to be able to find something for afters.
As far as the beer goes, I'm thinking that 5-6 beers will be plenty. Here are my candidates:
- AleSmith Nut Brown
- Samuel Smith's Nut Brown
- Newcastle
- Abita Turbodog
- New English Brewing Co Brown
- Avery Ellie's Brown
- Lost Coast Downtown Brown
- Dogfish Head Indian Brown
As my truly deranged regular readers know, I've been a huge Newcastle United fan for the last four years, but ever since Alan Pardew left the Toon to go manage Crystal Palace, they've been my second favorite club. I'm not sure if I'll decorate the house (the Union Jack hanging over the door?), but I might play music like the Dave Clark Five's Glad All Over.
Where do you get the kidneys? I can't say I've ever seen them for sale myself.
ReplyDeleteWe've got a pair of outstanding butcher shops here in San Diego - Siesel's and Iowa Meats. They're owned by the same person and have all kinds of great stuff including game, goose, unusual organ meats, etc.
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