Good Life Guy loves Grilled Cheese sandwiches and Beer…and now there is a new book titled “Grilled Cheese & Beer – Recipes for the Finer Things in Life.” My guest is Kevin Vanblarcum co-author with James Edward Davis of this fine book.
Grilled cheese is the most perfect food in the world. And paired with the right beer there is nothing finer! In your hands is a masterwork of creative collaboration between a brewer and a chef, combining an extensive knowledge of beer making, food and good humor to create the most amazing cookbook ever!
In these pages you will find one-of-a-kind grilled cheese sandwich recipes, perfectly paired with craft beers designed to draw out the full flavor of each ingredient. Grilled Cheese & Beer is spiced with wit and a passion for all things grilled cheese and beer, with easy-to-follow instructions that make it perfect for any skill level.
Grilled Cheese & Beer has over 50 expertly paired sandwich recipes including:
● Bacon Me Crazy with Stone Brewery’s Arrogant Bastard
● The Nature Boy Ricotta Flair with Moosehead Lager
● The Big Kahuna with Hell or High Watermelon
● Dia de los Quesos with Modelo Especial
● The Ham of La Challah with Briney Melon Gose
● Johnny Apple Cheese with Angry Orchard
● Muenster Mash with Stella Artois
● Funky Bâtard with Unibroue La Fin du Monde
● Turkey in the Rye with Keegan Ales’ Mother’s Milk
Kevin says “This book started as a joke. Eddie and I used to make jokes about working at my future fictional (but still completely possible) restaurant “Cheesy Beerds.” As you can probably tell, we have been big fans of puns right from the beginning. This hypothetical brewpub/grilled cheese shop prompted us to start developing a fictitious menu, comprised of some hilariously named sandwiches we’d been coming up with (at least, we thought they were hilarious). Hilarious enough to be in a book? Maybe. Crazily enough, we met a publisher who thought so, too. A few different ideas came to mind. ’Dillas and Daquiris. Wine and Wieners (everybody knows wine goes well with hotdogs). When the pure novelty of the whole thing wore off, we realized exactly what we wanted to make a book about and how special this project could be. So, we went to work. Eddie on the sandwich designing vocals, and myself on the beer pairing drums.”
Born and raised in the Catskill Mountains, Kevin VanBlarcum currently resides in Pine Hill, New York. He works in nearby Kingston, NY as a brewer at Keegan Ales. After graduating from the University at Albany, he began pursuing a career in the brewing industry. He shares his life with his loving fiancé, Cassie, and their cat, Egg. Follow Kevin on Face Book
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2014 Ego Bodegas Gorú
Glaring oak on the nose results in notes of clove, chocolate and spice to go with generic but ripe black-fruit scents. This blend of Monastrell, Syrah and Petit Verdot feels heavy and syrupy, while flavors of maple, toasted oak, chocolate and clove finish ripe, but also sweet and candied. From Jumilla Spain. Wine Enthusiast 87