Fiddleheads and Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout

Last night, Ryan and I have the house to ourselves tonight.  I wasn't hugely successful in my yesterday's to-do list and I am okay with that. I got in a good core workout that I found here and a run/walk right around the pond right off the service road/trail that is literally next to our house. It was refreshing and so nice to be able to access to all these amazing trails are at our backyard.

Yesterday afternoon, after bringing the teenager to where he needed to go, we made a stop at our local butcher for a rack of ribs, a local farm stand for some fresh vegetables, and then to a new-to-us  local liquor store for some good brews.  I love staying local and our new home is in such a great location for all of these places.

We've been going to the same butcher for quite a while now-it’s a few towns over from our current house but it’s absolutely worth going to instead of a large grocery store.  Ryan slow cooked the ribs over the charcoal grill. One half rack had a maple-glazed marinade and the other rack had a teriyaki glaze. The ribs were thick, easy to pull off the bone, and succulent. (At the bbq, the 7 year old son of a family friend described the ribs he was eating as “succulent”. Perfect way to describe a good rib but coming from the mouth of a 7-year old made it that much better.)

 

 

The farm stand was an impulse stop and a good one at that. We walked away with a giant bag of fresh spinach and something new to us-fiddleheads. Ever heard of it??? We were told by the extremely nice farmer that it is very similar to asparagus. I did some research and found that it is NOT safe to eat raw but once boiled or steamed, can be eaten or incorporated into soups or further sautéed.
I ended up boiling them in salted water and then blanching the fiddleheads followed by sautéing them lightly in olive oil, garlic and sea salt. They were delicious!

      

                Ahhh, and then the liquor store.  We found a great place within walking distance to our house than sells a decent variety of craft beers. Granted, they have yet to jump on to the bandwagon of the mix-a-six but it’s still an awesome find, especially considering the location.  I walked away with a selection that I am eager to try and will post about as I taste them.

I enjoyed a Doc’s Apple Cider as soon as we got home. Honestly, it tastes relatively standard to me. It’s only slightly crisp but a tad too sweet.  Nothing to write home about. In case you were wondering, it is 5% alcohol by volume.

 While the ribs were slow cooking, we sat outside and enjoyed one of the drinks from the local liquor store. I decided to have the  Raspberry Russian Imperial Stout by Widmer Brothers. At a 9.3% alcohol by volume, an IBU of 70, and given a rating of 93 according to ratebeer.com, it is described as “An extremely rich and complex beer. The addition of raspberries during the fermentation process results in an almost purplish color with a beautiful brown head. Warm chocolate and roasty notes compliment the hop bitterness.”

 Ryan thought it was good, but not for him. He generally doesn't care for the fruity accents in his beers and his first comment was, “I can definitely taste the raspberries”.

 I thought it was delicious and rich with hints of the raspberry flavor but just a tad too hoppy for my liking. There was a slight bitter taste that lingered for a moment after each sip-something that I generally don’t care for but some beer drinkers love.  All in all, I would absolutely drink this again.

Question for you.

Have you heard of fiddleheads?

If so, do you have any tried and true recipes for the fiddleheads?