$10.00 Beer Tastings on Tuesdays

Tuesdays are the new Friday.

Or at least, they feel pretty good at Jimmy's No. 43.

On Tuesday, Jimmy's is offering $10 beer tastings with a variety of themes. Here's a quick list that was posted on Ten Weeks, Ten Dollars a Day. And don't forget tomorrow night's Beer and Cheese Pairing with Anne Saxelby!

Tuesday March 30th – Michael Lovullo presents IPAS from the west coast, the east coast, and Belgium – 7 – 9pm

Wednesday March 31st – Flying Dog brewery night with cheese pairings – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday April 6th – Saison and farmhouse ales – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday April 13th – BR from Shelton Brothers presents Beir De Garde – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday April 20th – All About Porters – 7 – 9pm

Tuesday May 11th – 12 percent importers ( specialty belgium beers ) plus beer and bacon tasting in the back room

Tuesday May 18th – Beer, Cheese and Kimchi tasting with Anne Saxelby

Keep checking back for updates on our Upcoming Tasting Events!

March 16 and 17th- British Brews and American Cheese

Cultures collide with delicious results next week at Jimmy's No. 43. Here's a little explanation:

On Tuesday, March 16 starting at 7:00 PM, Anne Saxelby will bring a trio of British inspired, American farmstead cheese to Jimmys No. 43. The cheese will be paired with tastes of three British beers for $10! You can read more about this pairing event on Anne Saxelby's blog.

On Wednesday, March 17... well, do we even need to mention that it's St. Partick's Day? Jimmy's No. 43 will be showcasing specialty UK beers at the bar because, let's face it, St. Pat was a Brit. Check out our mention in Time Out New York.

Now for those of you looking for a reason to imbibe two nights in a row (and two weeknights at that!) let me clue you in on a little known Finnish holiday called St. Urho's Day. On March 16th, Finns commemorate St. Urho driving the grasshoppers out of the Finnish vineyards. (Finnish vineyards? Really?) Finns celebrate this day by wearing green (for the grasshoppers) and purple (for the grapes) and- since they're Finns- drinking. While many revere this tale as historical fact, others think it sounds a little too familiar. Those "others" would be the Irishmen in Northern Minnesota whose St. Patrick's Day revelries were thwarted by the Finns who had gotten to the beer the day before. If you want to celebrate in true Finnish style- wear purple and green on Tuesday and giggle to yourself as you snatch an Irishman's beer! (Don't worry, you'll make it up to him with a drink on Wednesday)

Try This Fondue!

Anne Saxelby, cheesemonger goddess at the Essex Street Market, posted a delicious fondue recipe on her blog this week. Let's give it a try over the holidays:

Fondue Savoyarde as interpreted by Saxelby Cheesemongers and Anne Beuh:

For one bottle of white wine, you'll need about three pounds of cheese. You will also need the following:

1 clove of garlic, minced till quite tiny
Nutmeg and ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp corn flour diluted in whiskey, bourbon, or eau de vie

For the cheese we chose:
Rupert (raw cows' milk. Consider Bardwell Farm, VT)
Pawlet (raw cows' milk. Consider Bardwell Farm, VT)
Grafton Classic 2 Year Cheddar (raw cows' milk. Grafton Cheese, VT)
However, there are innumerable other delectable combinations! Experiment and see what frightfully delicious concoction you can dream up!

1. Heat 1/3 bottle of white wine over medium-low heat.

2. Add 1/3 of your total cheese (about 1 lb if you're following this recipe exactly, but you can always make less! Three pounds is a lot of cheese... but we firmly believe in your cheese consumption capabilities.) Incorporate by stirring. Stir often and consistently, or else the cheese begins to stick to the pan!

3. Add a touch of garlic, nutmeg and black pepper to taste and continue to stir.

4. After a few minutes, add 1 tbsp of corn flour diluted in some kind of strong alcohol of your choosing.

5. Keep simmering and stirring for about 20 minutes total, then dig (or dip) in!

You can dip pretty much anything into this mixture and it'll be ridiculously tasty, but we picked boiled potatoes, steamed cauliflower, apples, and bread. Oh yeah, and just to guild the lily, we had some smoked ham from Jeffrey's on the side. When you've gobbled through the first round, just start it all over again till there's no more cheese in sight.

Chocolate, Cheese and Beer (Back with a Vengeance!)

Jimmy's No. 43 and Saxelby Cheesemongers present the Chocolate, Cheese and Beer Tasting, which will take place on Tuesday, September 30 in the Tasting Room at Jimmy's No. 43. The evening will feature chocolate from Nunu's in Brooklyn, Craft Beers from across the globe, and cheese from Anne Saxelby. Two seatings are available at 6:30 and 8:30 PM. Visit Jimmysno43.com for more information and buy tickets or call 212 982 3006 to make reservations.

Spring!

It's spring. Yes, it has been spring on the calendar, but now it's spring on the farms as well. We have beautiful asparagus, from Cherry Lane Farm (New Jersey) and Yuno's Farm (Bordentown, NJ) and wild ramps from Max Creek Hatchery (near the Delaware Water Gap, NY state). They harvested the ramps from the forest nearby. That's how many farmers and chefs get their ramps, from the wild.

Another sign of spring: our lovely friend, Anne Saxelby is hosting her first of the season "A Day A-Whey" fieldtrip to Mecox Dairy on Long Island this Sunday, May 4th. For more information, visit the website at saxelbycheese.com.

From Anne Saxelby

Our favorite cheese monger, Anne Saxelby, keeps a tidy little cheese shop at the Essex Street Market. Originally built by mayor Laguardia in the 1940's, the Essex Street market is one of only 3 surviving publicly owned community market sites in NYC. Anne has built a regional following as a destination shop for American farmstead cheeses. For a quick, online fix see the Saxelby Cheese website at www.saxelbycheese.com.

Anne also writes a nifty little blog. Here is an excerpt from her blog, Saxelby Cheesemongers:

"...sheep and goats (to a larger extent) don't make much in the way of milk. Traditionally, cows, sheep, and goats are pregnant and dry (i.e. not producing milk) all winter long, and have their young ones and begin to produce milk again in the springtime. It's just nature's way of giving the animals a break, or a little maternity leave, if you will.

...all that down time on the farm is about to come to a screeching, baa-ing halt! As I write, thousands upon thousands of kids and lambs are being born in barns across the northeast and across the country. This kidding and lambing extravaganza is a noisy but joyous harbinger of spring, and also of good cheeses to come. When the kids and lambs come, so does the milk, and our cheese makers are at the ready to turn it into some scrumptious and delectable fromage...."