Beer and Babies: Layered Chicken Parmesean

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!  We celebrated all weekend thanks to friends and family.  We started on Saturday with a trip up to see The Ks. 

Their country club holds an annual craft beer dinner on St. Patrick's Day weekend, and this year they invited us to join them.  The mere mention of "beer" and "dinner" had Thatboy instantly agreeing.

And I was excited to get the little ones together.  At first, Thatbaby wasn't too impressed with Little K.  Especially because Little K was VERY interested in Thatbaby.  Thatbaby thought it was a little weird the kid beside him kept trying to touch him, and even more nervous that perhaps Little K had ulterior motives that involved stealing Thatbaby's nectarine.

But by the end they were fast friends.  So much so that Thatbaby offered Little K some chocolate brownie.  Sharing food?  Is this my son?

The grownups enjoyed beers by Cismontane paired with course after course of delicious food.   We started with "The Mesa" which was the favorite amid our group.  It's a It is a blend of riesling and pilsner and was served alongside some appetizer snacks - cheese, fruit, and sausages which were cooked in the beer.

Next came Thai Shrimp Skewers and Thai Chicken Wings.  These were paired with the Holy Jim Falls, which was the least favorite of our group.  The extra pale ale was too hoppy for me, and Thatboy didn't like the flavor of the hops.

Dinner was short ribs which fell apart at a touch, coconut rice, a soba noodle dish, mashed potatoes and spinach.  This was paired with Coulter I.P.A.  Although I don't normally like IPAs, especially hoppy ones, I preferred this to the Holy Jim Falls.

For dessert we had a fudge brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.  Even this dessert was paired with a beer!  The Oso - a porter which is aged in whiskey barrels.  The whiskey taste really comes through and we all loved it.

The dinner was a success, and Thatbaby was sound asleep almost before we pulled out of the parking lot.  We've done wine pairings with dinner before, but this was our first experience with beer pairing and it was a super fun one.  Well, I'm sure the fabulous company of the Ks didn't hurt at all.  We love spending time with them.  And Little K is beyond adorable, and so much more "kid" than the last time we saw him.  It's amazing how quickly they grow.

I wanted to post a recipe using beer as an ingredient, but I actually haven't made anything with beer lately - I guess we've been too busy drinking it!  Instead, this is just another easy weeknight meal.  Or weekend meal to share with friends!

Layered Chicken Parmsean

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper

2 cups marinara

2 Tbsp of ricotta

2 Tbsp of Parmesean

1. Preheat oven to 350. Slice chicken breasts in half and pound flat.
2. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper in shallow bowl.  Dip chicken breast halves in egg and breadcrumbs.
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Place enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Place 2 of the chicken breast halves in the pan.
5. Top each chicken breast half with a tablespoon of ricotta, and then some more sauce.
6. Top with the remaining chicken breast halves, some more sauce, and the Parmesean.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is browned.