The holidays are a great time for pairing beer with food and even using beer as an ingredient. The rich traditional foods and roasted meats typical of the season are great for pairing with full flavored Craft beers.

Here are a couple of recipes from our resident chef, Chef David Burke, for you to try over the holidays.

A Place at the Table 
The Holidays are here and we're looking forward to time with family, friends and great food. Traditionally a lot of people might assume that wine is the most appropriate beverage for the holiday table. But we're here to speak on behalf of beer. Remember, beer offers a complexity that wine cannot match. Brewers have infinite choices in the types of malt, hops and yeast they use. The resulting beers offer a myriad of flavors that pair well with many foods. Here are just a few suggestions...

Mixed Green Salad - You don't want a big, aggressive tasting beer to overpower the light, earthy salad ingredients. Sam Adams Light and Samuel Adams Hefeweizen are light and refreshing and won't dominate your salad. Or try Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat as an ingredient in a fruity vinaigrette.

Roasted Turkey - A roasted turkey is not just a roasted turkey. Don't forget about all the condiments that go with it. Your choice is what flavors to highlight with what beer. The roasted caramel flavors from a roasted turkey blend very nicely with the malty sweetness of the Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Samuel Adams® OctoberFest. A nice contrast would be the light fruit and wheat flavors from the Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic or the spiciness of the Samuel Adams Winter Lager.

Apple Pie - Many of our beers will pair well with this dessert. The sweetness from the apples, sugar and cinnamon will pair well with the bold sweetness of the dark roasted malt of our Samuel Adams Cream Stout or Samuel Adams Black Lager. If you want to compliment the spices, go with Samuel Adams Winter Lager or Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig.

These are just a few things that may find their way to your holiday table. Bon appetite!

For some, the cooler temperatures and dicey weather of the winter season are a total drag. Still others revel in the chance to build snowmen, engage in epic snowball battles or hit the slopes. No matter your opinion of the season, we hope you get as excited as we do about the Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety 12-Pack. This variety pack is the perfect take-along to all your holiday gatherings. With two beers each of the following styles, you're bound to please even the most discriminating of palates.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager - Complex and balanced, with a beautiful hop aroma.
Samuel Adams Winter Lager - Bold and rich, with a touch of holiday spice.
Samuel Adams Cream Stout - The cappuccino of beers. Roasty, smooth and sweet.
Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale - Spicy and bold. A Christmas cookie of a beer.
Samuel Adams Holiday Porter - Traditional British style. Robust and full-bodied.
Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic - Tart and sweet, with complex fruit and vanilla notes.

The Samuel Adams Winter Classics Variety 12-Pack is available now through January 2009. The packaging features a very handy "To/From" tag that makes gift giving a wrapping-free snap!

Roast Half Turkey with Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale Bread Pudding

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground white pepper
1 12 to 15 lb free-range turkey, halved and deboned, with leg bone attached, well rinsed and dried
3 cloves garlic, cut into slivers
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Flavored butter for seasoning turkey

Preheat the oven to 3500. In a bowl, combine the softened butter with the lemon juice and thyme. Add salt and white pepper to taste and, using a wooden spoon, mash it all together to combine well.Form the flavored butter into two equal pieces and place them into the refrigerator to firm up slightly.

For the Turkey

Season the turkey with salt and black pepper.Place a piece of the flavored butter and some garlic slivers under the skin of each turkey half. Holding the leg bone up in the air, swing the breast around the leg and fit the turkey half into a 9-inch round, cake pan. Do the same with the remaining turkey half. Place the turkey halves into the preheated oven and roast them for about 1 hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the bird reads 1600. Place the turkey halves on a large serving platter with Bread Pudding.

Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale Bread Pudding

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
½ lb cooked, lean bacon, crumbled
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions
1 tablespoons roasted garlic puree
Coarse salt/freshly ground black pepper
6 cups ½ inch fresh white bread crumbs
1 cup Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale (available in Samuel Adams Winter Classics 12 packs)

Preheat the oven to 3500. Lightly coat the interior of each of six 4-oz ramekins with the softened butter. Set aside. Whisk the eggs, milk and beer together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the bacon, parsley, scallions, and garlic puree. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Add the bread cubes and fold them into the liquid. Allow the bread to soak up the egg mixture. When the bread mixture is very moist, spoon an equal portion of it into each of the prepared ramekins. Place the filled ramekins into a roasting pan and pour in warm water to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Place the entire pan in the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges of the filled ramekins are beginning to brown and the center is almost set. Raise the oven temperature to 4000, and bake the puddings for an additional 10 minutes. (These can be baked early in the day and reheated in a microwave oven, or for 15 minutes in a 3250 oven just before using). Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager Glazed Fresh Ham
with Pineapple Tart Tartin

3 bottles Samuel Adams Winter Lager
¾ cups sugar
¾ cups Dijon Mustard
1 pinch each - cinnamon, orange peel and ginger
1 14-lb fresh ham, trimmed of excess fat and rind
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Samuel Adams Winter Lager Glaze
Bring the three bottles of Samuel Adams Boston Lager to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce. Add sugar and mustard and then reduce to about ½. Add in cinnamon, orange peel and ginger; let sit for about 10 minutes.

For the Ham

Generously baste ham with glaze and salt and pepper. Let marinate for at least three hours. Preheat the oven to 3750. Place the seasoned ham on a rack in a roasting pan. (It is important to place the ham on a rack so that the fat can drip off.) Roast the ham in the preheated oven, uncovered, for about 5 ½ hours, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the ham near to but not touching the bone reads 1600. Remove the ham from the oven and transfer it to a serving platter.

Pineapple Tart Tartin

1 large pineapple
3 tablespoons coarse black pepper
3 tablespoons green peppercorns
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled
6 3-inch round puff pastry circles

Cut off each end of the pineapple, peel, and core. Cut the pineapple crosswise into ½ inch thick rings. Season each pineapple ring with ¼ tsp coarse black pepper and 4 green peppercorns. Set aside. Using the softened butter, lightly coat six 3-inch-round, nonstick molds. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 3500. To make an egg wash, place the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of the water in a small bowl and whisk together to blend. Set aside. Combine the sugar and the remaining ¼ cup of water in a medium, heavy-duty saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil; then lower the heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sugar has begun to caramelize and the temperature reads 3500 on a candy thermometer. Remove the mixture from the heat and immediately beat in the chilled butter until well incorporated. Spoon ½ cup of the caramel into each of the six prepared molds; place a seasoned pineapple ring on top of the caramel. Place the molds in the preheated oven and roast the pineapple for about 10 minutes. Remove the molds from the oven and place a puff pastry circle on top of the roasted pineapple. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the pastry with the reserved egg wash. Return the molds to the preheated oven and bake for 25 minuets more, or until the puff pastry has risen and turned golden brown. Remove the pastry from the oven and allow it to rest for a couple of minutes. Invert the molds and tap the tarts free. Serve warm. Place the Pineapple Tarts Tartin on the platter and carve the ham family style, at the table.