Birthday dinner fit for a King

Tonight was Alex's 12th birthday and as is our family tradition the Birthday Boy (or Girl) gets to pick their birthday meal.Alex didn't disappoint with his selection and I have a feeling it may become a yearly tradition!

Beef loin steaks grilled medium rare over a mesquite smoking box for an unforgettable party on the taste buds! And despite being twelve he requested vegetables for his sides which were homemade mashed potatoes and steamed sugar snap peas. For desert  he requested cheese cake as his birthday cake which of course made me happy!

The most exciting aspect of this meal is that we are having his birthday celebration with the rest of our family on Sunday so I will have another amazing meal to blog about and it's a totally different selection of food!

Happy Birthday Alex, I love you!

Daddy

Wascally Winter Wabbit

Earlier this week I processed a couple dozen rabbits with my cousin and kept one in the ice box trying to decide how I wanted to cook it. After thinking about it I began to consider that the sweet flavor of rabbit meat might pair nicely with spicy curry. One thing I was sure of is that a spicy curry on a cold dark winter night turns dinner into a comfort meal. I started by taking the rabbit out of the ice box and let it come to temperature on the cutting board.

 Cut into individual servings

I prepped all my veggies - Garlic, Ginger Root, Tomatoes, Jalapeno, Onion, Sweet Pepper and Parsley

I browned the rabbit pieces in a hot pan with olive oil. Once all the pieces were browned I moved them to a plate and sauteed the veggies with the addition of a little chili oil. Once everything was soft I added the rabbit pieces back into the pan. I added a couple ounces of vodka to deglaze the pan before adding 2 cups of chicken stock and some red curry paste.

Once the liquid was boiling I lowered the heat to a low simmer and covered the pan to cook for 2 hours. Once the liquid had condensed to a thick sauce I added in a can of coconut milk and a large handful of unsweetened coconut shavings and returned to a simmer till reduced and thickened. During that time I steamed some rice to go along with the meat. just before serving I added a few splashes of cream into the pan with a handful of fresh chopped parsley.

I accompanied the meal with a local micro-brew Coffeehouse Porter

The entire family enjoyed the meal and we all agreed this was as good as the Rabbit Puttanesca and even better than the normal Braised Rabbit with Red Wine that I usually make. 

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

Tonight I felt like a champion as I chanted, "Winner, winner chicken dinner" while prepping the plump and juicy bird. In my little food processor I chopped several garlic cloves with fresh ginger root, olive oil, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley. I placed the neck and giblets in a stock pot for a mid evening snack and as a way to make base of my gravy. I separated the skin from the meat on the breasts and legs and rubbed the chopped herbs and spices under the skin and the remainder all over the skin. I surrounded the chicken with potatoes, onions and carrots for nostalgic treat.

I roasted it at 350*F for several hours and once the juices ran clear between the legs bones I covered it and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This time though I remembered to take a picture of the final product!

The gravy was delicious on top of the roasted veggies and the fluffy biscuits that Rebecca painstakingly made while the chicken was resting! And the great part about making chicken for dinner is now the bones are boiling away on the stove top for a batch of yummy all natural stock for another meal down the road.

Comfort Gourmet

Who says that comfort foods can't be turned into a gourmet dinner? Some times I crave hot dogs and while I prefer a juicy charcoal grilled frank with a natural casing some times a steamed sports venue style hot dog is what hits the spot. Tuesday nights are usually pretty hectic at our house so we often need a no nonsense meal so hot dogs it was. So now you know where the "Comfort" part of the title fits in now onto the "Gourmet" part.
While I love a hot dog with a little ketchup and mustard the are so many other ways to enjoy a cylinder shaped meat. for our dinner tonight I cooked some bacon in the oven while the hot dogs steamed and the jalapeno cheddar melted over low heat. While the meat and cheese were cooking I diced up fresh tomatoes, parsley, sweet onion, green onions and jalapenos. I also cooked up some steak fries as a side keeping with the no fuss utensil free dinner. Once everything was ready I gently placed the hot dogs in steamed potato rolls with a slice of bacon on each side. I topped them with the melted spicy cheese along with all the veggies. There was extra cheese so I topped the fries with it as well! The clean up after dinner was easy with the use of paper plates which ensured everyone made it to their evening obligations with time to spare.

Of course you can use whatever toppings you like best, in the past I have topped these with chili and coleslaw as well! These would be good with natural cased, tofu, chicken, beef or even turkey hot dogs.

Pork - it does the body good

Sunday afternoon I decided to make a boneless pork loin for lunch. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it but after rummaging through the pantry and refrigerator I decided I would make a teriyaki style roast. I started by placing the pork roast in a honey teriyaki marinade for an hour. After prepping the rest of the ingredients I placed the pork with the marinade in a roasting pan surrounded by sliced onions, peppers and carrots. I then topped the roast with green onions and parsley. The next layer was diced fresh ginger and garlic with orange juice and then I finished by covering it with pureed pineapple and orange slices and fresh cracked pepper.

I baked it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 3.5 hours. The meat was juicy, sweet and oh so good! Unfortunately after smelling it cook we were all so hungry I forgot to take a picture of it all sliced and plated with the veggies surrounding it but I'm sure you can imagine how yummy it was. I think this is a meal I will repeat as well as try with different types of meat including rabbit and chicken next time!

Sloppy Doe's

Thankfully due to several successful hunts between myself and Ariel we have made the switch back to venison as our source of red meat again. This morning while everyone was getting ready to start the day Rebecca and I began planning tonight's dinner and Alex being the ever hungry boy that he is requested that I make Sloppy Doe's for dinner. Rebecca checked and verified I had all the ingredients necessary which made Alex very happy and made tonight's plans easier because dinner was decided upon
.

 I like to saute' diced onion, peppers and garlic to stretch the meal, add flavor and texture.

Once the veggies are cooked I add 1 pound of fresh ground venison 

(thus the reason why they are Sloppy Doe's instead of Sloppy Joe's) 

 Once the meat is browned I add tomato paste and seasonings stir together with 1 cup of water or if you have it on hand broth or stock!

Bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes

Scoop onto your favorite roll, flat bread or a large lettuce leaf and enjoy - just remember to have a napkin ready as you can see in the picture above, I always make them Extra Sloppy!

Fat Charleys

Last year I experimented with preparing venison  in several different ways and one of the favorites was venison snack sticks. Of course mine were thicker and tastier than the commercial options so rather than calling them snack sticks I decided to call them Fat Charleys because they were more filling and better for you than the ones named after some skinny guy named James! The kids were especially fond of them and Alex and I took them as our regular snack when we headed out to the hockey games which was always appreciated by most everyone around us because we were more than willing to share.

I took out a couple of packages of meat this week and when I saw the last one was ground venison I decided that I would whip up a batch tonight when I got home from work. After I finished mixing in the spices Rebecca assisted me with cranking as I fed the meat into collagen casings. I started them in the oven and finished them off in the smoker with some chucked maple. I'm sure this first batch wont last more than a day or two but thankfully we have plenty of fresh venison in the freezer so I have a feeling they will be a staple in our house once again throughout the upcoming year!

Thanksgiving Poop on a Shingle

The joys of Holiday Left Overs - I spent today running errands and stacking the last 3 cord of wood Alex and I split. After cleaning up my amazing wife made my favorite left overs meal, Poop on a Shingle. Of course with Thanksgiving having just past instead of beef we used shredded turkey meat and left over gravy. She seasoned it with red pepper flakes and an extra large helping of fresh ground black pepper, once it was heated through she thickened it with a little flour and served it over country style toast. Yummy for my Tummy!

We enjoyed our dinner with a glass of Sparkling Apple Raspberry cider and one thing was guaranteed there are no leftovers from this meal!

Simple Sandwich - Makes Mouths Happy

There is nothing fancy about this post but it is a meal that stirs my memories as the flavors dance on my taste buds. As a kid I was usually the runner when we were butchering deer - I would take different cuts of meat and run them into the kitchen where I would fry them up in a hot cast iron skillet with nothing more than a little butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Each year that I am blessed with harvesting a deer we enjoy the tenderloins either that night or the next but my favorite meal is the meat we cook while cutting and packaging the meat. Yesterday Rebecca was out shopping and the kids and I had venison sandwiches. Country style white bread with thin sliced venison cooked perfectly, pink in the middle and still dripping with juice! All I can say is...Amazing!

Thanksgiving Feast and Black Friday Traditions

Thanksgiving is always a day of food indulgence and family traditions and I have the honor of making the turkey every year. This year I made 2 turkeys so there would be lots of left overs and we skipped making a ham. Each and every person added something special and delicious to our family feast and for that I am truly Thankful!

 The smaller of the 2 Turkeys

 My favorite side - Olives!

 The Big Turkey!

 Of course there was Pumpkin Pie

 Uncle Fred's Homemade whipped cream

 Oh ya - Cherry Pie

It wouldn't be the holidays without Chocolate cream pie - Don't fret - the cream was added after the picture!

Friday

While many people find their savings by getting up early and going shopping with the masses I have my own traditions for saving money on Black Friday and of course it's food related! Next to the leftovers the next best thing that comes from cooking turkeys is the homemade broth I make from the bones. Every time we cook a turkey or a chicken I take the carcass and break it up cover it with cold water and bring it to a boil. I  strain the liquid into a separate pot and do it all over again. I usually make a full day of this and will refill the pot of bones several times. Each time you boil them you will end up with a little different stock. The first time will be more clear with a high fat content, the 2nd and 3rd time you will end up with more of the creamy collagen from the bones which will give your stock a silky feeling in your mouth with a great creamy flavor. I usually mix all the batches together prior to packing them for the freezer.

 Waiting for it to boil...

 The finished stock - Beautiful and Tasty!

The next tradition I have around Thanksgiving week is the processing of Ariel's and my deer. After skinning the deer I debone it so that the meat doesn't get the strong flavor from the bone marrow. I put the meat into my large cooler and finish processing it into steaks, stew meat, ground burger and of course a roast or two.  

 Boneless Deer

 The most amazing meat a boy could ask for.

 Making sandwich steaks for Alex

 Thankful for my kids - because I still use a crank grinder

 They take turns - get it turns, because they turn the crank!

 Yes - they are mine, they are real and all natural :)

Packaged and ready for the freezer

Not only do we save money by filling the freezer with fresh homemade broth and organic venison we get to enjoy the savings throughout the entire year while eating some of the best food anyone could ask for!