A Very Important Question

Top seasonal beers this season?

I was fairly impressed with Laurelwood's Vinter Varmer, which sadly will mean nothing to those of you outside of Oregon. It was pretty malt-heavy, but, like their Free Range Red, balanced it with hops without overdoing it. I'd call it more of a Nut Brown than anything else. No bad thing in my book.

My little heart warms at the Alaskan Winter Ale, what with the spruce flavor and all. I have yet to find a better spruce-y beer (Siletz didn't stack up by a long measure, and I've heard there's one out of some Vermont brewery, but I have yet to try it.)

Wreck the Halls is always a fave, but something about the mouthfeel bothered me this year.

Pelican's Bad Santa, which I tried at the Portland Winter Ale Fest (located conveniently right outside my office), was awesome. Darkish, citrusy, yum.

Y'all?

winter squash rocks me like a hurricane

At the suggestion of my fine roommate, I baked an acorn squash (350ish for about 40 minutes in a pan with a bit of water, well-buttered and S and P to the T.) The flavor was fantastic -- earthy, rich, and not too sweet -- but it wasn't too evenly cooked, and stringiness ensued. My method was to cut the thing in half, scoop out the innards, butter and go. Not bad for an easy meal (and it was a full meal.) I'm determined to make the best use of squash this season, though, and cooking it thoroughly seems a bit crucial. Joy of Cooking recommends steaming -- I respectfully disagree. Wouldn't graininess and loss of flavor come out of that? Baking in smaller sections is my new plan. Or a longer, slightly cooler bake time.

(Fun fact: Squash is actually considered a berry.)

Next squash endeavor: twice-baked squash mashed with potato, cheese (cheddar?), chives and paprika or curry.