Wild Game!!!

No, I am not talking about the Georgia v. Georgia Tech football game. Go Yellow Jackets!!! For those of you that do not know, my husband got his Bachelors from Tech, and his Masters from University of Alabama. Yellow jackets and Elephants for us.

Enough football talk though. I am talking today about wild game meats. The stuff our ancestors ate, that many of us are afraid of now days. One of my husbands friends is giving us a deer, and he will be bringing it home this evening. My mind starts to think about all the wonderful ways to prepare it. Of course I will grind some of it for Chili and hamburgers. I will leave one of the tenderloins whole to cook on the grill. I will cut some of the tenderloin into thick medallions for steaks, and some into thin slices for frying and putting into biscuits. There are so many ways to prepare this meat besides the regular ways we are all used to. Deer is great for gourmet cooking. For instance, some of those medallions will be seared off and then simmered in a white wine reduction with mushrooms and thyme and cream, finished off with a little cognac. That whole tenderloin that is going on the grill will be encrusted in salt, pepper and rosemary, and cooked to medium rare. When it hits your palette the meat will practically melt in your mouth. In the words of Paula Dean, "It will be so good, it will make your tongue want to beat your brains out!"

I grew up in family full of hunters and during hunting season, we rarely had to buy meat. We had a lake on our property that fish and turtle were caught out of. We raised laying chickens so we always had fresh eggs. My Nanny always had a garden with fresh tomatoes, corn, okra, squash, cucumbers (you get the idea). I am thankful to have been raised by my great-grandparents because I know that if I ever had to, I could live off the land. Maybe one day I will tell you about my shooting skills and the time I shot my first deer.

Alright southern gals how many of you have ever eaten biscuits and gravy with homemade canned tomatoes on top? What about putting gravy over a freshly sliced piece of cantaloupe? For those of you who have never tried the cantaloupe it is the perfect combination of hot and cold and salty and sweet. Give it a try, your tongue will thank you.

But, we were talking about wild game weren't we? Don't be afraid to try things that nature provides for us. When they are properly prepared game meats can be a real culinary delight.

Until next time...Happy eating!!!

Meatless Mondays

Well, this past weekend was absolutely beautiful here in the low country! It made us feel an urgency to get out to the beach and let out little monkey get in the surf. Warm Summer days will soon be slipping into cool Autumn evenings.

I can't wait. As I have said before, Autumn is my favorite time of year. I am ready to bake apple crisp, and drink mulled wine. I start to crave hearty dishes like German sauerbraten. I feel the need to start making soups and breads. Though I use the grill all year round, I will start using it far less than I have through the Summer. My mind starts to wander to new dishes that I can make with pumpkin and winter squash. The thought of slow roasted meals gains appeal, because I tend to care less about how much I will be heating up the kitchen.

I also start to think about Halloween. I know that Halloween can be a controversial holiday, but my child does participate. Last year he was a space alien, complete with a space ship. Too cute!!! I think this year he will be a scarecrow. I always make his costumes, and I will continue to do so as long as he will allow me to. Thoughts of Halloween make me think of caramel apples, and popcorn balls. It is too bad that we live in a day and age that we can't pass these types of treats out any more.

Enough of that though. This week's recipe is for Garlic Monkey Brains. I love this bread, but I am a huge fan of garlic, and this bread has a lot of it in it.

Garlic Monkey Brains

I know that when you think of Monkey Brains or Monkey Bread, you probably think of that ooey gooey sweet stuff. Well, this is a savory monkey bread recipe that is sure to please.

2 loaves of frozen bread dough, thawed and each divided into 16 pieces (32 pieces total)
1 stick of butter melted
1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 (5.2 oz.) round of Boursin cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take a piece of the bread dough, and place a small sliver of the boursin cheese in the middle of it. Pinch the dough together so as to cover the cheese completely with dough. Roll the dough in the melted butter, and then in the Parmesan cheese. Place in the bottom of a tube or Bundt pan. Continue placing prepared pieces of dough into the pan until the dough is all used up. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Until the bread is nice and brown, and the garlic is fragrant. Allow to cool ten minutes. Rip a piece off and enjoy!

This is great as an appetizer, but is an equally nice accompaniment to a plate full of spaghetti.

Tofu Tuesday!!!

Just Kidding!!!!!!

Not that I have anything against Tofu. As a matter of fact there are many Asian and Indian dishes that I really enjoy which have tofu in them.

Speaking of ethnic dishes...I have come to realize that there are lots of foods that I have tried that most people reading my blog have not. For instance, how many of you have sat down to a meal at a nice little Ethiopian restaurant? When we lived in Detroit they had a really good restaurant for that there. How about Moroccan food? In Atlanta there is a great place called the Imperial Fez, serving wonderful Moroccan dishes, but there was also a place in Birmingham, Michigan next to the law firm where I worked that had great Moroccan food. Shoofly Mama was talking about craving good Chinese food like you would find in NYC. I have to agree that you just can't find that kind of Chinese food here. I have heard that there is a really good Chinese restaurant on Daniel's Island that serves dim sum. Does anyone know about that?

It saddens me when the best sushi that I have had since moving here has been from the grocery store. The fish at the sushi bars here always seems kinda fishy. There is good Vietnamese food here and Cambodian food as well. If anyone ever wants to try something new, we can definitely go have Vietnamese food together, and I will teach you all about it.

See, where Dan and I lived in Atlanta was very close to Buford Highway. What is Buford Highway known for? It is a cultural melting pot that some Food Network chefs say even rivals NYC. I am open to just about anything when it comes to food, so we tried all sorts of things when we lived there. Vietnamese food is the next big Asian cuisine, so if you want to be ahead of the crowd, stick with me.

I would like to know what your biggest food adventures have been? Did you try alligator one time when you were in New Orleans? Is Buffalo as crazy as you can get with wild game? Does the thought of eating SPAM frighten you? Did you get drunk and eat the worm? I want to know. Look for me to compile a list of the strangest things I have eaten in the next few days.

Until then, happy cooking and eating!