As holiday parties take place—virtually or face-to-face while maintaining a safe bubble—for almost the entire month, hosts may find it more challenging to consider food and drink combinations at party after party. But this need not be the case.

San Miguel Foods Culinary Centre (SMFCC) works with food and beverage experts from San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB), Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSMI) and Wine Brothers’ Philippines (WBP) to know what to look for and what goes well.

Therefore, they shared a carefully selected dishes and complementary drinks, which are perfect for the whirlwind of this season's gathering.

Pintxos, paired with super dry beer

For the first course, SMFCC introduced Pintxos-toasted French baguettes (crostinis) with two spreads: cheese and bell peppers and roasted garlic butter.

Cheese and sweet pepper sauce, topped with magnolia milky white cheese cubes and green olive slices marinated in olive oil, Ginebra San Miguel premium gin is a good companion for the neutral flavor of the spread.

On the other hand, roasted garlic butter ends with Purefoods Chorizo ​​Bilbao style and onions stewed with San Miguel's premium whole malt beer. Using beer as a stew ingredient will add a unique malt flavor that complements the garlic butter sauce.

SMFCC chef Viboy Miranda recommends preparing the spread two to three days in advance, so that the flavors can be more integrated.

Drinks with clean and refreshing flavors like San Miguel Super Dry often complement bold and complex flavors well. For SMB master brewer Alan Sienes, temperature is an important factor in the combination of beer and food. Therefore, he recommends drinking at the ideal temperature-between 6 and 9 degrees Celsius, so that you can taste the rich taste of beer.

300 g baguettes, sliced ​​into thin slices

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F, then bake the baguettes arranged on the baking tray for 2 minutes. Cool and set aside.

Used in cheese and sweet pepper sauce, with pickled cheese and olives

120 g magnolia cheese sauce milky white

250 g bell peppers, drained and mixed/mashed

1/2 cup Ginebra San Miguel premium gin

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

165 g Magnolia Cheezee milky white, cut into cubes

1. In a bowl, mix the cheese sauce and bell peppers. Mix well and set aside.

2. In a pan, roast the peppercorns until fragrant, then add gin and cook until the peppercorns are dry. Transfer the peppercorns to a bowl, then add olive oil and Italian seasoning.

3. Add cheese and green olives. Mix gently. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until use.

4. When assembling, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of cheese and bell pepper on the Crostin, then top with pickled cheese and olives.

Roasted Garlic Sauce with Braised Sausages and Onions

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons magnolia golden oil salted and softened

1 tbsp pink pepper, crushed and toasted

210 g canned Purefoods Chorizo​​ Bilbao, sliced

330 ml San Miguel premium whole malt whisky

1. In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup butter, pepper and garlic. Mix well and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, saute the onions with the remaining butter until they are almost soft. Add the sausage, stir fry for another 2 minutes, then pour the beer. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until the beer is reduced, stirring occasionally.

3. When assembling, spread 1/2 tsp tbsp butter on crostini, then sprinkle sausage and onion on top.

Pintxos with Cheese and Pimiento and Roasted Garlic Butter goes well with San Miguel Super Dry.

Gin Chicken with Sauvignon Blanc

This dish uses Magnolia Free Range Chicken marinated in Ginebra's 1834 premium distilled gin for 24 hours and mixed herbs and spices, slow-cooked in olive oil, and grilled until crispy and golden brown. Served with mashed potatoes and bright green fruit puree, topped with balsamic vinegar, this dish combines different textures.

Oil-sealed chicken is a great dish and can be made ahead of time because it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a month. Pickling dishes a few days or even weeks in advance can also allow the flavor to penetrate more. The key to a perfect roast is to adjust the temperature of the chicken for several hours at room temperature to soften the fat enough to fry evenly.

The faint herbs in the chicken marinade are paired with Woomera's Sauvignon Blanc, which is a dry wine with a similar light and delicate flavor.

Mike Davies, winemaker of Wine Brothers Philippines, believes that although often overlooked, it is actually very suitable for Sauvignon Blanc in the Philippines. Not too heavy, with a vibrant tropical flavor, a perfect match for the hot and humid weather in the country. This wine also has enough acidity and weight to pair well with similar flavors-such as herbal chicken-but it can also eliminate the strong, salty and spicy flavors commonly found in local dishes, believe it or not, sisig .

1.15 kg Mulan free-range chicken, cut into 8 pieces, remove the back bone

1/4 kg pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/4 kg potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp unsalted magnolia golden oil

2 tablespoons unsalted golden magnolia oil

1. Pour all the marinade into a bowl, and place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for 24 hours.

2. In a saucepan, simmer the balsamic vinegar until halved. Set aside.

3. In a heavy-bottomed pot, dip the chicken and garlic heads in olive oil. Cover the lid and cook for 2.5 hours in a preheated oven at 140 degrees Celsius. Let the chicken sit for 30 minutes. When ready to assemble, heat the oil in the oil seal in a small pan and fry the chicken for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden and crispy.

4. Boil the pumpkin and potatoes in water for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Drain, then transfer back to the pot. Mash, then add butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

5. In a saucepan, melt butter, fry peas and garlic. Add gin, stock, salt and pepper. Transfer to a food processor/blender, then pulse/blend until smooth. Set aside.

6. Scoop the mashed potatoes on a plate and put chicken on top. Add mashed green beans on the side and drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar.

The light herb flavor of Gin Chicken Confit complements the light and delicate flavor of dry wine.

Cerveza Negra Wet Chocolate Cake

To end the meal, SMFCC recommends using Magnolia's Devil's Food Cake Mix to make a decadent moist cake, adding Woomera's sweet red wine, and covering it with a smooth ganache made of the same wine and dark chocolate, and Magnolia all-purpose cream. Sprinkle pistachios on the cake to increase the crispness.

Although some people may be surprised, certain beers can be paired with desserts. In SMB's premium beer series, Sienes chose Cerveza Negra for matching. He said that decadent desserts bring out the unique caramel flavor of dark beer.

500g package Magnolia Devil's Food Cake Mix

1 cup Woomera sweet red wine

Sweet red and black ganache:

1 cup Woomera sweet red wine

250 ml Magnolia All-Purpose Cream

1/2 kg dark chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons white magnolia golden oil salted

1/2 cup chopped pistachios for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and mark the bottom of 20 discs measuring 2x2.5 inches in diameter with wax or parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, mix the cake ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes until set.

3. At the same time, in a saucepan, mix red wine and cream. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add chocolate. Stir until smooth. Add butter to finish. Cool, then cool for at least 6 hours or overnight.

4. Divide each cake into two. Place the ganache between the slices, then coat the top and sides of the cake with icing sugar. Squeeze excess ganache on the cake and garnish with pistachios.

Certain beer brews can actually complement desserts.