I love irony... and bear

So, last weekend was Rick's hunt club's annual holiday party...always an interesting event. We decided to bring a venison roast crostini; meat and bread always goes over well with guys. I found a nice horseradish sauce recipe and cooked my little heart out.

The roast came out perfect. It was very rare, just this side of still raw. The way it should be. Rick sliced it thin and it was gorgeous. We tested the crostinis, and deemed them very yummy indeed.

Where is the irony you ask? Well, I had decided to assemble the little sandwiches at the party. So I laid everything out on the counter, where people were milling about. The roast was wrapped in paper, and I had unwrapped it to start assembling. Two men (brothers, I learned) where standing next to me and as I pulled out a piece of meat, one said to me: "aren't you going to cook that?" He was serious.

I said it was cooked, just rare. Both men were horrified. "Oh, we only eat well done meat. We don't like it live."

Okay, these are men who have been shooting deer for probably 40 years ~ more importantly, field dressing the deer. And they're grossed out by pink meat? Are you kidding?

It turned out there were several people who wouldn't touch the rare meat. I was astounded, especially since venison is best rare. Weird.

That may explain what the bear, mountain lion, antelope, carribou, and other venison roasts were all well, well done (although, apparently bear and mountain lion are like pork and chicken...they must be cooked through so you don't get sick).

For the record, bear remains my favorite game meat. The antelope and mountain lion were okay; I'd probably like them better prepared differently.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm sitting here on my couch in my usual post-T-day stupor. We had a lovely day with Rick's cousins in Berryville. The amount of food was staggering! I guess that's what happens in a family of wonderful cooks.

Being completely off the hook for any of the dinner food items, we decided to contribute an appetizer. And what says "Thanksgiving" like queso? Yes, queso doesn't really say Thanksgiving, but I wanted to try the recipe and I knew this crowd would enjoy it. It was so easy, and so good. Sure, we didn't need the additional cream and cheese. But we didn't mind it either!

By the way, venison was on the menu at the first Thanksgiving feast. I doubt it was in queso form, but at least we contributed something traditional!

Venison con Queso

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground venison, browned
oil,
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 poblano chile
2 serrano peppers
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 small onion, minced
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 cups shredded Monterey jack
3/4 cup cream
Salt, to taste
Corn chips or flour tortillas

Directions:
Brown the venison in some oil and the chili powder. Set aside. Roast the poblano and Serrano peppers, then peel and remove stem and seeds. Slice peppers into thin strips. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic and saute just until the onion is transparent. Add the poblano strips, cheese and half-and-half and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cheese is creamy, about 5 minutes. Add browned venison. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to a heated chafing dish or slow cooker heating bowl and serve immediately, along with chips or tortillas.

The Rut is On

Watch out folks...the rut is on!

Yesterday in Maryland (Waldorf I think), a Buck jumped through the window at an elementary school. He then proceeded to run into the bathroom, where he caused much mayhem. After finally finding his way out of the school, he got hit by a school bus.

What caused this rampage?

Hormones.

The buck saw his reflection in the window and didn't like the reflection's bad attitude. So he attacked. Imagine his surprise when he was suddenly faced with a bunch of very small humans instead of his foe. So he ran to the bathroom, where he noticed the foe again in the mirrors. So he charged. And left a huge bloody mess behind. Dazed and confused, he ran out into the road.

That poor boy had a very rough day.

And the rut has only just begun. Be careful...the boys seem a little more feisty this year than usual. That may just be because I'm more attuned to the behavior of deer than I used to be. Nevertheless...hormones are running wild right now.

No Venison in the Freezer!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're almost out of venison. I can actually see the bottom of the freezer. I'm feeling a little panicked about this, although I know it's just a matter of days before the freezer is full again. After all, Rick got 20 deer last year. 20. That's a lot of meat. We probably gave half of it away. I'm sure he'll do the same this year and soon my freezer will be full. I hope so...I have a lot of recipes to test!

Venison cooking web site coming soon

Exciting news...I will soon be moving this blog over to a new web site. The site is in development, but hopefully it will make finding recipes easier, and make it easier for people to submit recipes. It will also have other useful information. That's been taking up most of my time, which is why I haven't posted anything here in a while. But don't worry...I've still been cooking! I'm hoping to launch the site in early September...just in time for the start of hunting season.

Checking In

I can't believe my last recipe was March 1. Wow, it's amazing how quickly cooking takes a back seat when my life gets busy. Busy life is, though, and I'm not sure when I'm going to have a chance to try something new. But I will. In the meantime, if I have time, I'll find some recipes that I know will work with venison and post them.

If you have a great recipe, please share it!

Super Superbowl Nachos

Happy Superbowl Sunday. No matter who is playing, watching the game with friends and family is a tradition I look forward to every year. Since we're avid Dolphins fans in this house, I'm not very invested in who wins. That means I can sit back and just enjoy the food!

In honor of Superbowl Sunday, Rick and I made some yummy nachos...they are the bomb! Have fun today, wherever you are and whatever you're eating.

Super Superbowl Nachos
1/2 lb venison, grilled and chopped into small bite sized pieces
1/2 can refried beans
1/2 jar hot salsa
black olives (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
guacamole
Blue corn tortilla chips (Garden of Eatin' spicy red hot and blues are best for this)

Mix the salsa and beans together and heat in microwave for 1 minute. Place a layer of chips on a plate, dollop the salsa/bean mixture over chips and sprinkle with meat and olives (if you're having them), then sprinkle with cheese. Repeat the layer process until you have the heap of nachos you want (I do it once for myself, the photo is Rick's serving, which is three layers deep*). Heat in microwave until cheese is melted (time will vary depending on the density of your creation). Removed and put desired amount of sour cream and guacamole on top.

*Yes, Rick ate that entire plate in one sitting. And yes, he had a bit of a tummy ache after.

6:30 on a Saturday Morning

Yes, I'm really up this early on a Saturday morning in late January. I'm up cuz my hunter boy felt a need to go sit in a tree, but he wanted to have coffee with me first. In his defense, he doesn't usually wake me up; I told him too so I could get a start on my day.

I have a fear that he is getting addicted to the hunting. He's always been very reasonable, hunting only to fill the freezer and then opting to stay home most days. I was feeling very smug, considering many of his hunter friends are not so reasonable.

Alas, he's been hanging out with a truly rabid hunter. The result is our freezer is so full he's started giving meat away...he had to give away half of the meat he got Monday. But he's out there with the dawg again this morning. I'm cooking as fast as I can, but we don't even have room to store leftovers. I suppose there are worse problems than having too much food. I'm just wondering if this is only the beginning.

If you need some meat, let me know :)

Thinking of My Dad

I'm sitting in front of a fire with a Shih Tsu at my feet, drinking coffee and thinking about my father.

My father died Friday morning after a six-year fight with AML (the really bad type of leukemia that you can't cure). Dad gave the disease a good fight, living much longer than most people who get it. Most of the time, even when he was in the middle of one of his many treatments, he didn't look like a man with a life-threatening illness. In fact, he played golf two days before the infection that finally killed him sent him to the hospital.

I'm going to miss him terribly, although right now I've got great comfort in being in his home with his dogs and his things all around me (although the sight of his golf clubs in the trunk of his car where he'd left them, with his JayHawk driver cover that he loved so much, kind of undid me).

Today I have to write an obituary for the funeral home. There is so much to say about this wonderful man, I don't really know how to begin. He was smart, and kind, and very funny. He was deaf as a doornail, which often made conversing with him hard. He had a way of summarizing a point with extreme clarity. He was a gifted public speaker. He had a sense of adventure, always willing to try new experiences. He was making jokes up until the day he died.

One of the the things I loved most was how he completely accepted and loved his family. Truly the only thing he wanted for us was happiness. He didn't care what we choose to do with our lives as long as that choice made us happy. That kind of acceptance is hard to find. When I met my husband two years ago, Dad didn't care what Rick did for a living, where he was from, whether he went to college...he only cared that Rick adored me and made me happy. Everything else was gravy. I wish Rick had had time to know my father better.

The sadness is going to come and go, but he lives on in all of us. I see him in my nephew Jake and in my brothers. But nothing is like the real thing, and Dad is going to be missed.

Dad was a big supporter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you know someone with this disease, make a donation today.

Requesting All Comfort Food

This has been a very hard week, and I'm in serious need of comfort food. This is my plea for recipes...they don't even have to be venison!

I'm in Colorado right now, and have been since Sunday. I fly home today. I feel mixed emotions about that. I'm in Colorado because my father is very ill, possibly in the last few months of life. I want to be with him, holding his hand while he sleeps (the smile he gets when he wakes up and sees his family there is worth everything). As much as I want to be here, I miss my husband terribly. I want to be by his side, supporting him while his business weathers this economic storm. It's very hard. I imagine over the next few months I'll be traveling between home and Colorado.

When I'm home, I want to make meatloaf, shepard's pie, burgers...what else? What other meat-based comfort foods are there? Is there, by any miracle, a venison chocolate cake recipe out there? Let me know!!!!

Florida Key Deer...aren't they cute?

I call myself a hunting widow, but that's only partially true. Rick is really very reasonable; if we're home, he'll be hunting. But he is willing to do things like have dinner with friends or go on vacation during hunting season.

The vacation thing is fortunate since our anniversary falls at the beginning of the season (in fact, we got married on opening day! He picked that day, not me.)

We went to the Florida Keys to celebrate our first anniversary. We went for the diving, and were pleased to learn that the Florida Key Deer reserve was only miles away from us. So, Rick got to spend our anniversary looking for deer. There is no hunting of these little cuties...we did all our shooting with the camera.

A Cold Fall Morning

Fall is here in Northern Virginia, at least this morning. I had planned to stay snuggled under the covers after Rick left to hunt this morning...that's what I usually do. But this morning the bed was to chilly without him there, so I woke early.

I wasn't too bummed about being up at 5:00. I figured I could do some writing while I sipped my coffee. But the fates had other plans. Rick called at 6:15 to say his sister needed a ride to the emergency room. It took a minute to register what he was saying because 1) I was afraid he was hurt or something, and initially relieved that he was okay and 2) he was whispering so I could barely hear him. But I poured the coffee in a travel mug, pulled on some sweats, and took off for my sister-in-law's place. She did, in fact, need a ride to the hospital, and she is completely fine now. So I'm back home now getting ready to peruse some cookbooks.