Crepes with Oranges, Cream cheese and Maple Syrup or Blueberries

       A crepe is basically a thin pancake, a French pancake, a Swedish pancake. Add extra milk to your favorite pancake recipe to make a very thin batter .You can add an extra egg too  if you like that eggy flavor. Cook it in an 8 inch sauté pan - frying pan, non stick or a really well seasoned one so the batter doesn't stick. Less batter is more in this situation. You want a very thin pancake.
       Ladle the batter into the medium hot preheated oiled pan(olive or veg oil)  and tilt pan in a circle till the entire bottom is covered with a thin skirt of batter. Cook a couple of minutes till bronze and flip with fingers, spatula or a fork and bronze the backside. Place on plate in oven and make many more, keeping warm in oven. Serve rolled up around chopped fresh oranges, cream cheese and maple syrup, or with blueberries, cream cheese and maple syrup. Garnish with same and fresh mint - which I didn't do in the photo, but you should. I used whole wheat flour for the nutty taste and nutritional benefits, but you can use white flour or half white and wheat.                                                                                                                     

Eggplant French Fries

                Cut eggplant into strips and soak in milk and salt( 1 tsp per pint)  for 15 minutes, roll in  flour( white or whole wheat) and fry in med heat plus olive oil till golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon basil garlic mayo for dipping.

A Porterhouse With The Dog Because The Daughter Is Gone

              My 16 yr old daughter is in Florida for a week so my dog Woody and I are sharing a porterhouse steak for dinner. I bone out the steak into the filet mignon ( smaller round side of the bone) and NY strip (long side of the bone) portions, season w/ salt and fresh ground black pepper and cook them in a black cast iron pan over medium heat in a little olive oil for about 3 minutes and flip them and cook  2 more minutes. You want the filet side to be rare. Get the filet out of the pan and do the strip an extra minute or so. The strip side is denser and needs a little more cooking time.  The tender filet less.
             The filet will melt like butter in your mouth, the strip has some chew to it.
              First you want to sauté onions and mushrooms w/chopped garlic in the same pan for about a minute, move to the perimeter of the pan, then add the steaks. You can add chopped spinach and  brandy to the pan for the last half minute.
             Serve over artisanal or whole wheat toast. Give only about one quarter to your dog because it is so good and you don't want to spoil him.  

Grouse Fried Rice and More

                                         You could do this with grouse or pheasant or chicken. Lucky me I am 1 for zero on grouse this yr because my brown lab pup brought me home a grouse the other day. Good dog. It reminds me of my grouse hunting days back in the late 60's at Many Point Scout Camp in NW Mn when I got a triple on grouse once. Two hours for a limit of six was not uncommon.
                                         Jim Kadlec and I were hiking a logging trail up to the Beaver Lakes for ducks on opener.. Grouse were flushing like cazy.  The law said you couldn't shoot anything till noon.  Finally we said to hell with the law because we weren't shooting ducks early which was the point of the law and 5 grouse got up in front of us and I shot one just off the ground and the second about 10 feet up and to the right. Another lighted high in a popple tree to the left of the trail.I was yelling to Jim, " he's in the tree, he's in the tree" and Jim was hip shooting into the woods. I reloaded my JC Penney 12 gauge and shot him out of that tree. A triple on grouse. Best I've ever done.
                                However you get your grouse, one of the best ways to eat it is in a stir fry w/ brown rice and veggies - onions, sweet peppers, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, crushed red pepper, garlic, sage and parsley. Stir a couple of eggs into it. It will remind you of one of your best hunting days ever.  

Duck Soup with Lentils and Root Vegetables

                              Lentils and root vegetables are the perfect accompaniment to this luscious and wild duck soup. See previous post for marinade and cooking of duck. Saute onions, carrots, celery,add water, a beef and a chicken bouillion cube, garlic,bayleaf, sage,mint and simmer a half hr until vegetables are tender. Add finely diced cooked duck breast,frozen garden tomatoes and get hot.  Serve w/ artisan bread for dunking. Cabernet on the side. Yaas.                           

Knives. Stainless is Bling. Game is Not.

         
                    So now that you're getting your annual game, you are cutting it up, cooking it, carving and serving it. A quality appropriately shaped utilitarian knife is essential. You can spend hundreds of dollars acquiring chef branded and/or endorsed famous brand named stainless steel ones, or you can get on ebay or better yet check out local antique shops and get vintage OLD HICKORY high carbon steel knives at a fraction of the cost. Like $12.00 total for these 3 - an 8" chef's, an 8" butcher/carver and a 6 "boning knife. With a hanging wooden display board as well( not necessary).
                 Ontario Knife Company made these" Tru-Edge"  knives for many years( made in the USA). The 1050 high carbon steel knives are easy to put an edge on with a diamond dust steel and hold their edge exceptionally well. Keep them clean and unstained with soap and water and a scotch brite pad. Don't soak them in dishwater or put them in your dishwasher.Dry them with a towel after washing as they will rust if left wet. 30 seconds cleaning is all it takes after use. Far superior all around to any stainless knife that I have found or used in 40 yrs of professional knife use.
               Stainless is bling. Game is not.    

Duck Breast Pate w/ Homemade Crackers

              A wild duck tastes like everything it ever did or ever ate. That is exciting. If you are lucky enough to get one or more, you should bone it out and soak it/them in a marinade involving red wine, balsamic vinegar, onions, garlic, olive oil, herbs de Provence and crushed red pepper, worcestershire and mustard. That is complex, but so is a northern mallard. A perfect match. You could soak them for a day to a week in the fridge ,and then saute them gently in butter till done. Chill.
             Finely dice duck meat, add 1/3 cream cheese and a little milk to get a soft consistency.Shape in a round and top with jalapeno jelly. Chill. Serve with homemade crackers.