Venison, bacon wrapped with rosemary

I think this was a leg cut. I made it into filet-looking medallions by making thick slices, removing the membrane, marinating in vegetable oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary, then wrapping them in bacon affixed with two crosswise skewers.

I pre-heated an oven safe skillet @ 450F, seared them on the stove top on all sides (including the bacon edges) and returned them to the oven, serving them medium rare with a deglaze of balsamic.

Next time I will cook the bacon more on all sides which, with a thick cut can be done by placing them upright turning them on the edges - the skewers got in the way, so I will cut the skewers more or try some other arrangement of fasteners.

Thanks again Dan P. for the protein.

Seth's Pablano Rice

* 1 dried pablano (ancho, or other variety) pepper (see prep below)
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 large yellow onion, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 cups rice (typically long-grain, in this case we used arborio (short-grain, aka, risoto rice.)
* 3 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
* 3/4 teaspoon salt

Prepare a dried pablano. (see Rick Bayless )
In hot skillet, roast the dried pepper, turning until browned and fragrant.
Place in warm water to reconstitute.
Slice, discarding seeds and inner flesh to reduce heat.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepper; sauté until onion is translucent, about 9 minutes. Mix in rice; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is just tender and broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes. (If needed add additional water.) Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Serve with home brewed beer.

Based on Rick Bayless + Epicurious via Bon Appetit.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mexican-Rice-109800

Curry Hummus - Chickpea Curry: The Aftermath

If you've made a large batch of Chickpea Curry like I usually do, there comes a time to re-invent.

The Indian inspired simple Chickpea "Curry" may be insulting or puzzling to a South Asian in and of itself, but simply based upon a common ingredient, transform it to a Middle-Eastern dish? Out of my culinary and cultural obtuseness this Curry Hummus was born - certainly a better alternative to party dip than what you can find on the shelves.

1 - 1 1/2 quarts of Chickpea Curry
1/2 c tahini paste
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c hot water
1 T olive oil
1 t kosher or sea salt
3 T flat parsley (including stems) or Cilantro

Pulse in food processor until smooth. I have made batches that came out too dry, so I recommend adding hot water to the food processor to keep the mixture moist. If you have undercooked the chickpeas, this will also help break down the mixture.

Serve as you would any hummus - we like it with pita, tortilla chips, and/or fresh sliced vegetables.


If you're interested in a primer on Indian cuisine, check out CLASSIC INDIAN COOKERY by Julie Sahini (AKA CLASSIC INDIAN COOKING.)

Kick off the Summer with some potato salad.

I more or less followed The Joy of Cooking recipe and added minced carrots, curry powder, and sour cream (which I think freshens up and lightens the dish a bit.) [Perhaps introduce some yogurt?] It also was good topped with hot Hungarian paprika at the time of serving. (Hot Paprika has a similar flavor to chipotle powder or smoked Spanish paprika.)

American Potato Salad (The Joy of Cooking, variation.)

6 to 8 servings


Boil in salted water until tender:

2 pounds potatoes

Drain. Peel if desired and cut into bite-sized pieces. Rince, cool, and pat dry potatoes then combine in a large bowl with:

2 celery stalks, diced

2 carrots, minced

2 scallions, minced

3 hard-boiled eggs, diced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon curry powder

Salt and black pepper to taste

sprinkle with hot Hungarian paprika at the time of serving

http://www.thejoykitchen.com/

Day 2: Polenta Fries

Perfect for left-over polenta (from the Day 1 recipe) or keep a tube of pre-made polenta in your pantry for a quick meal.

Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Slice chilled polenta into fries - 3" x 1" seems like a good size.
Lightly oil a baking sheet and lightly spray fries with oil.
Bake for 30 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through cooking, remove when crispy and golden brown.

Day 1: Basic Italian Polenta (AKA corn grits)

Polenta is a wonderful staple, also known as corn grits. It's delicious and also makes a very nice leftover meal, polenta fries.

Ingredients
* 6 cups Water
* [Proportionate amount of Chicken Base for 6 cups water (usually 6 tsp.) adds a rich flavor to the Polenta. Optional but recommended!]
* 1 tsp Sea Salt [Omit salt if adding chicken stock.]
* 2 cups Corn Grits-Polenta
* 3 Tb Butter

Directions
Grate or shred 1/2 cup cheese such as Parmesan, Romano, Fontina or Monterey Jack for topping.

[Delicious on it's own, but you can add sauce.]
Sauce: Any meat or tomato sauce that is intended to spoon onto pasta.

In a large, deep pan over high heat bring water and sea salt to a boil; gradually stir in polenta. Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring frequently to prevent sticking until mixture is very thick (about 30 minutes) [I think Polenta is best when cooked longer than 30 minutes. Shoot for 45 minutes at lower heat if necessary.]; use a long-handled spoon because mixture pops and bubbles and can burn.

Stir in butter, if you wish, and more salt if needed.
[When using chicken stock and parmesan, salt should not be necessary.]

Oil a deep medium sized bowl, spoon polenta into bowl and let set for 10 minutes. Invert onto a flat plate. Mixture will unmold and hold its shape. Cut polenta into thick slices and serve hot. Top with your favorite tomato sauce and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Makes 6 Servings.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Grilled Venison Steak and Vegetables

Grilled venison steak (courtesy of Dan Putnam.) Grilled vegetables, roma tomato & fresh mozzarella, and dollop of fresh homemade pesto.

Prep:
On steaks - salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, vegetable oil.

On sliced sweet peppers & onion cut into 1/8ths - salt, pepper, vegetable oil.

Sliced tomato, topped with sliced fresh mozzarella, olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh basil (or dried basil or oregano.)



Grill veggies and steak to liking.

Serve with pesto on the side.