Fall TV Frenzy! Pairings for Your Favorite Shows

The arrival of fall brings us the return of many of our favorite shows. Some enjoy the comedies, the cheesy chick flick(ish) shows, and others the thrillers. Regardless of what show(s) you prefer – they’re back! Several hours will be taken away from the time you thought you had in your day as you stare at the tube losing brain cells. The least you can do is feed your body with tasty food and beverages. For you we polled our trusted ES focus groups ourselves to determine the shows that we are looking forward to watching most, pairing them with our own crazy dishes. Plan some parties with your several friends and impress with creative themes and pairings. You’re welcome.

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FOX – New Girl

A show about a girl living with a bunch of dudes (and her ex) but somehow they all get along. Crack open a pumpkin wheat beer that everyone can enjoy together and put together (or order) a buffalo chicken pizza. While some biased people out there liken beer and wings to men, there are plenty of women out there that enjoy it too. Like Jess, find common grounds and dig in.

Drink: Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat

Eat: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

 

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FX – American Horror Story

Always a little creepy, and typically even more disturbing, American Horror Story merits something that will take the edge off while watching. The Séance Saison is a fall seasonal that adds fall spices to the mix to get you in the spirit. Also considering the fact that this year’s season’s theme is circus, we thought the best meal to pair with the theme would be circus food: corn dogs and some air popped popcorn.

Drink: Séance Saison

Eat: Corn Dogs with Popcorn

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A Slice of Arancini

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Originating in Sicily and often coined “rice balls” in Italian-American eateries, arancini are the ultimate crispy, melty snack. The tennis ball-sized spheres of risotto are filled with ground meat and cheese, coated in breadcrumbs, deep-fried and served atop a pool of marinara sauce. The name is derived from the shape and color which is reminiscent of an orange, “arancia” in Italian.

While arancini are incredibly enjoyable as snacks, we decided to revamp the traditional, crunchy cheesy orbs and transform them into a savory tart.

Our Arancini Tart is an elegant auburn display that when sliced, reveals a decadent ragu–an impressive entree at any dinner party.

Arancini Tart

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Burns My Bacon: Bones

I think we can all agree: meat on the bone tastes better. Or it’s more fun to eat, anyway. I know a lot of people who won’t eat meat off the bone because it reminds them it’s an animal (…what?) but I’m not one of them.

I was in Jamaica earlier this month and I noticed something. Every time I ordered meat (jerk chicken, curried goat, or chicken in brown sauce for breakfast — pictured above), I spent most of my meal picking small bones from it. I mean, bones in whole fish are sometimes inevitable (they’re just so small and hard to see), but I really don’t want to be eating bone fragments, especially when they can be sharp.

In Jamaica, it seems that to make the meat a more manageable size…they don’t take it off the bone, or even cut the bone at a place where it’d make sense (like the joint). The meat, bone and all, is just chopped up into bite size pieces. But who the hell cares if it’s bite-size if there are bone shards and shit in my food? Instead of eating meat off one, large, smooth and normally shaped bone, I’m sitting there with these little bite-size pieces of meat, and even smaller bones everywhere in them. And since there’s no rhyme or reason to the cutting, it’s impossible to predict where the bone/fat/ligament will be on each piece.

It was a scavenger hunt I never signed up to play, and after I got halfway through each bone hunt, I just gave up and ate what else was on my plate. I wasted so much food. And even if I DID spend the time picking through the bones, I just couldn’t get all the meat off that I would normally, given the sharp bone edges and fragments that were present.

Am I missing something? Is there a method to this madness? Is this a way to get people to eat less meat?

Artsy Photo Of The Day

mountain of meat

When putting things between bread becomes almost criminal. Like this.

Daddy, Where Does Sausage Come From?

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Sausage. We all love it, laugh at it, and sometimes shudder at it…but when it comes down to it, we’re always left with the same question — just WTF is it anyway? The old joke goes that sausage is the parts of the animal swept off the factory floor after everything else is made, but the truth is it’s much more complicated than that. Fortunately, Kim from Good Bite is here with a guest blog to demystify the whole sausage-making process — for home cooks.

The ingredients

The first and most important ingredient is the meat. Whether making poultry, pork, or lamb sausages, fat is key in the success of the final product. Ample fat content (about 15 to 30 percent) is responsible for creating a smooth consistency and complex of flavor. For red meats, choose higher fat cuts like Boston butt or shoulder, and if opting for chicken or turkey, choose the darker cuts like the thigh.

The meat will need to be ground, so you have a few options here. Ask the butcher to grind the meat at the counter (which should be no problem at all), or take the meat home and grind it in a food processor. No grinding machines necessary.

Seasonings will make up the rest of the flavor profile, so decide what type of sausage you are aiming for and go from there. Common spices include any mixture of peppercorn, fennel, anise, cloves, garlic, thyme, cayenne, sugar, and allspice. It may be necessary to add a drizzle or two of olive oil, depending on the fat content of the chosen meat, as well as a trickle of water to keep the moisture locked in.

The process

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