WHEN: "Fiddles, Vittles & Ales," Advocacy & Resource Center fundraiser. An evening of fine beer and food tastings with music by Inisheer.
WHEN: 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: West Side Ballroom, 253 New York Road, Plattsburgh.
ADMISSION: $25. Includes three free beer tasting tickets, personal tasting glass, six courses of food tastings and Irish buffet. For reservations and tickets call 563-0930 or 834-5439.
PLATTSBURGH — Good food, good ale and good music will raise money for the Advocacy and Resource Center during a special event Saturday.
The idea for "Fiddles, Vittles & Ales" came from the success of a previous fundraiser.
"We had a wonderful wine event where we focused on pairing food and wine," said ARC consultant Brenda Garner. "So we thought, 'Why not do an event about pairing food and beer?'"
When live music was added to the mix, with the presence of the Celtic band Inisheer, the result became "Fiddles, Vittles & Ales."
Kevin Thornton was the chef for the wine event, and now he is at work on a menu and a buffet that will go well with good beer. The event features a six-course meal as well as a buffet; the courses are sampler size to keep it all manageable. Each course is paired with samples of beer that have been chosen to complement the food.
"I don't have much experience pairing beer, but I do with drinking beer," said Thornton with a laugh. "And of course, I love food. So for this event, I've been doing research on pairing food with beer."
LAMB POPSICLES
Several distributing and brewing companies are donating beers and ales for the event, so there will be plenty to choose from. For example, for one course, Thornton will prepare roasted chicken on a bed of mushrooms and leeks with a lemon-sage vermouth sauce; this can be paired with two choices from local breweries. The dish will go well with either Haystock Blonde Ale from the Great Adirondack Brewing Company or '46 Pale Ale from the Lake Placid Brewery.
Another course will feature what Thornton calls "lamb popsicles—" samples of herb-crusted rack of lamb with sauce made from the Belgian-style beer Omemgang, as well as blue cheese and chive butter.
This will be paired with Trappist Rochefort 6.
GOATS MILK CHEESE
Thornton has used ale in cooking for another dish as well. He will be serving a goats milk cheese called Humboldt Fog, accompanied by a reduction made from the Great Adirondack Brewing Company's Black Diamond Stout.
An Irish buffet will also be included featuring treats such as beef-and-Guinness stew, soda bread and bread pudding.
More than 20 different kinds of beer, ale and stout will be available. In addition to those provided by local brewing companies, there will be Belgian beers and ales from Plattsburgh Distributing; and Irish beers, ales and stouts from McCadam Distributing. Dogfish Head Brewery may also get involved in the event.
The ARC helps those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, said Executive Director Theresa Garrow. It provides programs, workshops and services to help them meet career and personal goals. And ARC also offers case management and housing.
"The money we raise from this event will go toward furnishings for some of our new housing, so it's a great cause," she said. "And it should be a really nice event."
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