Venison five ways

You might remember that I mentioned in one of my thanksgiving posts that I was thankful for generous friends who parted with some of there venison for us to try, and in one I mentioned how grateful I am for free curriculum.

Well part of what we wanted the venison for was because these last two weeks before thanksgiving we have devoted out school time to learning about the Native Americans who lived in the north east when the first settlers came to this continent. We have been doing a lot of reading, and beading, and finger weaving, but I also wanted to give the kids a taste of what the people we were studying would have eaten.

So we made a salad, and corn bread and wild rice and venison with onions and mushrooms
that were listed as being appropriate to the north eastern region.

But we still had a good bit of venison left over so here are four other ways we prepared it.

 

 Venison tacos from Mississippi Kitchen

Creamy Venison from SORTED

Venison pot roast from A Less Processed Life

Venison Stew

You can use beef for just about all of these recipes if you don't have any venison.

Duck a L'Orange

Duck is fattier than chicken resulting in a crispier skin and a meat that is harder to get too dry. Duck a L'Orange is a classic french dish that is perhaps one of the most famous ways to serve duck. It is a roast duck with a sweet orange sauce, the orange compliments the flavors of the duck amazingly well without overwhelming the natural rich taste of the meat it is easy to see why it is so famous. It is moist and sweet and savory and wonderful.

I found duck at my Aldi's last week and I grabbed it. It was declared "Very tasty." "Decadent." and "More duck, Mommy I wan more duck pwees."

For the Duck
salt
pepper
rosemary
sage
half an orange
vegetables for roasting

for the sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
water
zest from one orange
corn starch


I started by preheating the oven to 475, peeling and chopping my vegetables (I used sweet potatoes and carrots) I found that the veggies cooked unevenly so you may want to start precooking them some while you are preparing the duck itself.

Once the duck was thawed I removed the induced giblets and washed it, patting it dry. I then seasoned it inside and out with salt, pepper, sage and rosemary. I stuffed it with half an orange that I had quartered and crushed to start to release its flavor more (I used the one I zested earlier for the sauce).  This did not totally fill the bird as I wanted some room.

Normally you would want to do this next step with a bunt pan I could not find mine (I think I left it at my mother's house) so I lined an angel food cake pan with foil and tried that, it leaked even though it was lined so you if you don't have a bunt pan you might just want to lay it in a traditional roasting pan.

Fill bottom of the pan with your vegetables and then place the bird on the center rise so that the center portion of the pan is in the birds cavity similar to the beer can method if you have ever seen that. the purpose is similar it allows the juices to be caught in the pan with the vegetables but lets the bird cook evenly and crisply on all sides.

Place the pan on a cookie sheet as a just in case catch for drippings that might sneak down the center hole and roast your duck for 30 min, then basting with the juices turn the oven down to 350 and roast it for about 1 and 1/4 hours or until done depending upon your birds size, when finished turn on the broiler and let it get a final crisping for about 3-4 min if you think it needs it. Take it out and let it rest, laying down for about 15 min before carving.

While the duck is cooking boil the giblets to get about 1 cup duck broth. (you can substitute part of the water with white wine for a richer taste)

Take 1/3 cup brown sugar and place in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat. Do not stir it. let it sit until it begins to melt and then stir. once all melted remove from heat the residual heat should bring it to a caramel, add 1/3 cup orange juice and the orange zest and 1 cup duck broth. stir until caramel is dissolved and then over medium low add corn starch a little at a time whisking well with a fork to blend with no lumps. keep a close eye on this as corn starch will thicken rather quickly and it does not take a lot. it will be about the consistency of the little packets of "Duck sauce" you get from Chinese food places when it is right.

I finished the meal my chocolate moose (which I remember to take pictures of this time so that recipe will be posted soon)

Spanish Tortilla

A Spanish tortilla is not at all the same as the Mexican one that you wrap your tacos in. It is more like an omelet or a crust-less quiche. paired with a soup or salad this makes a great light meal.

4 eggs
salt and pepper
Milk
1 large potato
1 small onion
1 small zucchini
1 tablespoon oil

dice onions, cut your potato either in to au gratin style slices or like French fries, and slice the zucchini thinly.
In a hot frying pan cook onions, potato, and zucchini until soft then set it aside.
mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper as if you were going to scramble them.
poor the eggs into the hot pan, over medium/medium low heat and let them cook up just a little on the edges. do not stir. When the edges look a little cooked add the vegetables back in and let it cook a little longer, when it is mostly set up but still runny on top, run your spatula around under the cooked eggs to make sure it is lose in the pan then, (over the sink if you are worried you might make a mess) place a plate upside down on top of the pan and flip it so the cooked side of the tortilla is now upward on the plate. slide this back into the frying pan and let it finish cooking all the way through. There is a great photo filled step by step here.

Mushroom Risotto

The plan was originally to do this butternut squash risotto  but I had the misfortune of not finding a butternut squash and not having time for a stop at another store so I grabbed some mushrooms instead and decided to wing it. This is what I did.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick of celery
1 carton cleaned and sliced button mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped     
salt and pepper     
1 cup rice
1 cup dry wine
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp sage
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 oz), plus more for serving

Chop all ingredients saving extras, celery leaf, onion ends and skins (I usually use the out layer too) one extra clove of garlic, I also added some crushed tomato as well about 3 table spoons. in a pot boil the veggies in about 4 cups of water, this will make your veggie broth (increase to 5 if not using the wine). let this simmer for a while to get the flavors worked in then.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the mushrooms, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are beginning to soften. Stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and simmer until absorbed. Add half the broth (1 3/4 cups) and simmer, stirring once, until absorbed. Add the remaining broth and simmer, stirring once, until the rice is tender and creamy and the broth has been absorbed. Stir in the thyme, sage and Parmesan. Serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Portobello and Swiss Stuffed Venison Hamburgers

For The Girl's Birthday dinner she picked hamburgers with avocado and mushrooms. This is what I made.

1 pound ground venison
1/4 pound ground 73/27 ground beef
salt
pepper
garlic
1/2 a container of crimini mushroom (baby portobello)
1/4 an onion
oil
grated swiss cheese

Mix meats and season to taste. then make an even number of very thin wide patties.
Dice onions and mushrooms and sauté until soft sweet and lightly brown.
Place a spoonfull of the mushrooms and oinions on one patty, add some cheese.
Stack with a second patty and re-form them into one filled patty.

Grill to deliciousness.
Then add extra swiss to the top.

I also made a avocado spread what was pure awesomeness, a mixed micro green salads and some corn on the cob. It tasted like summer without the mess of mushrooms and onions falling off the burger. I ate two and a half and that half is still tempting me to come back for more.

 And the birthday girl ate every bite and asked for more.

Stuffed Zucchini

This is based of the recipe I linked when discussing our intention to eat "flexitrian". It comes from Kayotic Kitchen Mine is of course an adaption, I will probably make it again sticking true to the original recipe's ingredients when they come in the garden.

Stuffed Zucchini

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp curry powder
4 tbsp crushed tomato
1 tsp thyme
2 zucchinis
1 onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
cheese
pepper

Preheat your oven to 400.
Clean the zucchini well, then slice in half. spoon out the centers to make little zucchini boats chop the scooped bits. cut up a small onion and brown them with the garlic. add the tomatoes and simmer down. when the liquid has been cooked down mix with the chopped zucchini and fill your boats. sprinkle with cheese and pepper and bake for around 20 mins.

Soy Braised Carrots, Broccoli, and Cauliflower

This recipe was inspired by this one from Kichenist.com. When it started cooking and the pepper and ginger and garlic smells all started to mingle I knew I was going to like this dish, its amazing to me that anyone can travel anywhere in Asia where street venders cook with these flavors and not come back significantly heavier than when they left.This recipe could benefit from the green onions that kichenist used or maybe some sesame seeds, neither I had on hand.

Nearly every recipe I am sharing here is something that I just made so I am not sure all measurements will be exact but I will do my best to share it with you accurately.

Soy Braised Carrots, Broccoli, and Cauliflower

 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger (less if you would prefer)
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
3 tablespoons honey (I used 1 honey 2 sugar but that is because I ran out of honey)
8 or 9 carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 sections
2/3 a bag of frozen California medley (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots its what I had I would recommend using fresh so it would hold its shape and texture better.)
1 Tbs. sesame oil
2 packets of raman noodles or 2 cups of cooked rice

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan and add the garlic. let this cook a few minutes until its fragrant then add the ginger and the black pepper and cook until garlic starts to brown. Add to this the water, soy sauce and honey mix well then add the vegetables. as I was using half fresh half frozen I add the fresh carrots and let them boil until soft before add the frozen and letting the heat come back up. You can add more water if it gets too dry but the end goal is to cook off the water and coat the vegetables in the soy, honey, ginger, garlic mixture. When that has happened remove from heat toss with sesame oil and serve over noddles or rice.


A note about carrots. I have learned that no matter how many carrots I make its never enough. I can double what seems like the right amount and wonder what I will do with the leftovers and my family will scrape the pot clean and asked for more. This recipe did not make enough for my family at least.

Udon

Udon is a Japanese soup/noodle dish that is one of The Husband's favorites and I have not been feeling well we have been eating it a lot lately it is very very good.

 One of the best part of it is it is prepared in a very family friendly way. The Husband likes a higher noodle to broth ratio than I do. The Boy is still not good with soupy things so he gets almost no broth at all just noodles and meat and veggies.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)
Ingredients
8  ounces  uncooked udon noodles (thick, round fresh Japanese wheat noodles)
1 1/2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2  quarts beef broth or Japanese beef soup base
3  tablespoons  low-sodium soy sauce
3  tablespoons  sake (rice wine) or dry sherry if you can not find the sake but I recommend the sake its great to drink with the meal.
1  tablespoon  honey
1 tablespoon oil
1/4  cups  sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about 4 ounces)
1/2  cup  thinly sliced carrot
8  ounces  top round, thinly sliced (similar to fajita strips thiner if you prefer more well done beef.
1 or 2 hard boiled eggs
3/4  cup onions
1  (6-ounce) bag prewashed baby spinach (or frozen)
Preparation
Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. (I usually add the eggs to hard boil to this water too if I don't have any on hand.)
Cut onion in to rings and then slice in half.

Place garlic, pepper, onions and broth in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in soy sauce sake and honey mix well then take off heat. Add all vegitables. Add thinly sliced beef. the heat from the broth should be enought to cook it to a medium well. Cut the hard boiled eggs into slices.

 

To Serve:
Place a serving of noodles in a boil poor broth with meat and veggies over top, placeing some egg slices on top. (for added visual appeal slices green oinions can be sprinked on top and well, if going that root replace the onion in the broth is the hardier ends of the green oinions.)

So I have pictures for this... I really do and I wrote this post in the middle of december but you see for some reason when I click the "add  picutures" button Mozilla crashes (silly beta) and then I try it in IE and I click the button... and Nothing so I click it like 30 more times and still nothing so I am giving you this recipe NOW and I will add the pictures later when the web brousers I have installed (or reinstalled or uninstalled and trying a new one) finally decide that adding pictures is a simple and reasonable task to let me complete.
Edit: Pictures are in! as you can see and all it took was threatening to uninstall the beta it decided to cooperate then.

How to pick Steamed Blue Crabs like a Maryland Native

Or alternative title. "How My Dad Taught Me to Pick Crabs"

So you are invited to a crab fest and you are presented with a pile of bug eyed clawed critters with tiny legs, that are covered in seasoning. Then are handed a squat little knife and no nut cracker. What do you do? Well you can take "panic" off your list of options as I will now explain how to bluff your way through this like pulling apart an entire crustacean is something you have done since you could walk.

Dad has these rules or techniques for how to pick crabs, and according to him, this is how "REAL Marylanders" pick their crabs but as that falls into the "REAL men sleep on rocks and eat live fire ants for breakfast" line of thinking I am not sure how common this is to all of Maryland or if its just his family. None the less this is the general idea of how you should pick Blue crabs

First you will need:
Steamed Blue Crabs
Newspaper
short straight (not serrated) thick handled knife

Cover the table with newspaper this will protect the table and make clean up easier.
So here is your crab we will call him Chadwick. Now lets get to know him some.

From the front you have eyes mouth and claws, as far as picking and eating are concerned we only really care about the claws. From the underside you can see his legs and swim legs or back fin. This is also how we know he is a he. That Washington Monument shaped part of the shell is call the apron and if it looks like that then it is male, if it is more rounded, then its female. (A real Marylander does not eat females. This is because females lay eggs, and eggs make new crabs you eat the females and it hurts the over all population of blue crab, which is Bad with a capital B) Sorry about the picture quality its hard to photograph yourself picking crabs.

So to begin with you will pull off Chadwick's claws and his legs including the back fin. The legs don't really have a ton of meat in them, and its hard to get at and is often dry or tough, so most people don't bother if they are picking to eat or to make crab cakes, if you are picking for soup, or a sauce then it may be worth while as it is still flavorful, its up to you. (Just grab it by the joint, twist slightly and its should break and you can slide the meat out if it is eatable)

The next step is actually getting into Chadwick. What you will want to do is take your knife and slide it under the apron. Slide the knife down separating it from the body then press it to the table to break it off from the body.

This will basically "unlock" the top shell (the red part) from the bottom (the white) you will then pull them apart. Grab one of the sockets that you pulled a back fin out of and rest your hand on the body. Then with your other hand grab the point of the top shell that is on the same side of the body that you grab the back fin on and pull.

You will now have a full view of the inner workings of Chadwick here. Just about all of what you now see you do not want to eat. You will take your knife and scrap the stuff (digestive tract, heart, other organs) from the center of the white section into the top shell and then take your knife and use it to scrap off the stuff (gills/lungs) on the outside of the white section. (the yellow or gray goop is fat and on some crabs is tasty on some is more bitter)

You will want to at this point use the knife to pin the mouth and things in the front to the table and pull the crab back to break them off cleanly. You now have the part of Chadwick that you will be getting meat from the rest of him can be put into the bowl of the top shell and put onto the discard pile. Take your knife and cut that part in half.

You will now take one half and cut it in half again resulting in having a half and two quarters. You know have access to the crab meat! Yay success!

The generally recognized "best meat" is the back fin meat which you will find in a nice big chunk near where the back fin was. the rest of the meat is in little compartments separated off with thin shell dividers (see image below). Take your time and get all the meat its too good, too much work and too expensive to throw away some becuase you were a little careless when picking.

 And repeat with the other half.

Now about those claws you set aside earlier. There are two ways to get at the meat in them. First take Chadwicks claw and lay it down so that the joint bends up. Position your knife just below the pincher part of the claw itself making sure the sharp part is down. With the base of your palm hit the back of your blade until it just cracks the shell twist the knife to enlarge and extend the crack. Then wiggle the two parts until the pincher separates with the meat (if your lucky) if it did then you will scrape the meat off the inner tendon with your teeth (like artichoke petals if you have ever enten those) or with your fingers if picking to cook with. If the meat does not come out for some reason, you can simply use the knife to scrape it out. 

Repeat the process with the second part of the claw placing your knife near the elbow joint. This portion does not have the center tendon so you don't need to worry about that. I almost hesitate to mention the second way to do claws as this is outside of the way "REAL Marylanders" do it. You can take a small wooden crab mallet (I may be disowned for mentioning this) and then lightly tap the shell where you would place the knife this should, if done correctly, crack the shell but not break it allowing you to get the meat out. If done incorrectly this will shatter the shell and crush the meat giving you the job of picking the shell out of the meat.

 Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Recipes for all this crab meat to follow at some point.

Ratatouille

This was a BIG hit here in our house. It tastes similar to a pasta sauce as it has a lot of the same elements and its from a favorite movie so we had the benefit of a bias in its favor to begin with, at least on The Girl's part. I was most worried about her eating it as its a totally vegetarian dish. The end result is wonderful, not as lovely as the Pixar version since we made it the more traditional way. I did not think to get any pictures of it as I did not know it would be as wonderful as it was but next time I fix it I will be sure to come back and add some. This is great for the winter but I think would make an even better summer dish when you can get all the ingredients right from the garden.


Ratatouille

2 Tbsp olive oil
 4 large garlic cloves (chopped)
1 onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large tomatoes (chopped)
1 large zucchini, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 large yellow squash, cut into ½ inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat then add garlic and cook about 1 minute, until fragrant.       Add onion and cook until golden and soft. Put this and the rest of the ingredients in a slow cooker on high and cook until veggies are cooked through and tender, stirring occasionally. Then take cover off pot and let this reduce. (You can make this 2 days ahead of time. Just remember to refrigerate.)
 
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread ratatouille in 9-inch pie dish or an 8x8 Pyrex glass dish. Top with cheese, if you like. Bake about 20 minutes, until center is heated.
 
This can be eaten straight but we like it served over rice or smaller noodles.

Caramel Apple Pork

Vade mecum
I have a full belly and an no pictures of the wonderful food I just ate because even as obsessive a photographer (and I use that word very loosely) I am more of a foodie and I ate it as soon as I could get it on the table. So I am giving you other peoples pictures who are much better at taking pictures of food than I am anyway.

To begin I made caramel. I'd stop by here if you would like some advice on that topic.

I used brown sugar rather than white and I get things started off with a little honey, it makes it melt faster to have something to melt into, at least I think so anyway.

1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons cream (I used whole milk this time)

Melt the sugar in a dry pan stirring constantly with a whisk. when it starts to look and smell like caramel, just starts, take it off the heat, if you under cook it, it will be sweet which is better than burnt and it will continue to caramelize off the heat. add the butter and whisk in until creamy, put on a low heat and add the milk, whisk until smooth.

I then added the caramel to some apple cider (juice works too) and mixed that until well combined and put the whole thing over top of salt and peppered pork chops and apple slices in the crock pot. cooked until the pork was just done. It has a tendency to dry out if you cook until fully done as it continues to cook after it come out.

This is so good I can't even come up with words. I served it with fresh corn and green beans. I am reserving the cooking liquid to use as the base of a pumpkin and carrot soup.


Vade in pace

Parson's Pie

I was making dinner tonight and I went online to get an idea of what others who made this typically used for ratio's and bake time and I found ONE post on the whole of the internet that mentions it and it does not go on to define or explain it so I am here to set the record straight - or at least in the words of Douglas Adams "firmly crooked."

You see the problem with Parsons pie is really it is an idea more than a recipe so what will follow is only an example of what I did and what could be but if you have different ingredients on hand use those instead. That being said there are a few key elements that are needed to pull this off and I will highlight those elements. This is a great way to repackage leftovers into a hearty comfort food.

PARSON'S PIE

fat flour Meat 2 slices of meatloaf crumbled beef from beef and broccoli diced chicken from chicken soup Vegetables Broccoli from beef and broccoli diced leftover peas leftover corn vegetables from chicken soup Gravy broth from chicken soup beef du jour Mashed Potatoes This is basically an English shepherds pie but made from leftovers, shepherds pie is made with lamb. If it is made with beef, it would be known as cottage pie. Firstly, heat a fat in a pan, I used the drippings from ground beef I used to make sloppy joes. Add a little flour and mix well to make a roux. Add the broth and the beef du jour and cook until thickened. Mix the vegetables and meat together and then add to the gravy. Put the filling into a deep dish, then top with the mashed potatoes and put under a warm broiler until the top is brown and crisp. You can make it ahead of time and keep it refrigerated at which point it will need to bake at 350 until top is browned and gravy is bubbling. Delicious topped with melted cheese. Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!