Venison Tater Tot Shepherd's Pie #SundayFunday

This comforting casserole uses Venison instead of Beef, Tater Tots instead of Mashed Potatoes, and offers Gravy on the Side.

The Sunday Funday blogging theme for today is Hunter/Gatherer.....

Venison and Green Bean StirFry and the Weekly Menu

Venison steaks, thinly sliced and quickly marinated in Asian flavors, before being stir-fried with fresh Green Beans.  A quick and easy weeknight meal.

This can also be made with beef, yielding similarly delicious results.

Exploring a Dealcoholized Wine

So as the New Year begins I, as I'm sure many of you, think about taking better care of myself.  I work out several times a week, I walk daily, and I try to eat healthily for the most part.  But I DO like my wine and that wine turns immediately to sugar and belly fat.

I had been seeing and hearing more and more about non-alcohol and dealcoholized wines and decided to do some tasting research on my own.

Venison Cutlets, A Book Review and the Weekly Menu #LitHappens

Venison Cutlets are dredged in seasoned flour and fried to a crisp golden brown on the outside and a perfect medium rare on the inside. 

I was inspired to make this dinner while reading our Lit Happens selection for last month......

Ginger Venison with Baby Bok Choy #SundayFunday

Venison Steak marinated with ginger and garlic before being stir-fried with sweet onions and baby bok choy is a delicious and nutritious way to start the New Year.

The Sunday Funday Bloggers are serving up Chinese today.......

All is Quiet as we cuddle up with Goulash and a Book for the 10th Day of Christmas

This easy, one-pot meal is perfect for those busy nights as life returns to normal and we welcome in 2024.  It is pure comfort on a cold winter's night.

I was inspired to make this goulash after reading The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen.

Venison Banh Mi Burgers and a Book Review of Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club #LitHappens

I just finished reading our Lit Happens Selection for September.  This book did, of course, inspire a recipe but more than that it inspired me to be grateful for the relationship that I had with my mother and left me wishing that I could spend another day with her.

Marinated Venison Steaks #SundayFunday

Did you know that tomorrow is National Navajo Code Talkers Day?  I didn't either until my friend, Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures, named it as the theme for this week's Sunday Funday.

Navajo Code Talkers Day, celebrated every year on August 14, is a day that holds great importance in the history of the U.S. This is because the day recognizes the contributions of Navajo marines during World War II. Yes, Navajo marines encoded and transmitted messages using a complex Navajo language-based code during a time when secret communication was essential to win a war. And guess what? The code was never broken by Japanese forces in the Pacific and proved to be of great assistance to the U.S. Marines. On this day, celebrate the great American heroes and their service to the nation!  (source: National Today)

image courtesy of DVIDS graphics

Enchanted BBQ Venison Casserole and a Book Review #LitHappens

A warm and comforting casserole with southwestern flavors and a corn bread topping.  This recipe was inspired by the fun, magical novel Keeper of Enchanted Rooms, our Lit Happens selection for November.

A Strong Brunello is perfect with a Venison Meatball Stew #ItalianFWT

The Italian Food Wine and Travel group are spending the next few months exploring the 3 Big B's of Italy, Brunello, Barbaresco and Barolo. 

 I am hosting this month as we start the adventure with Brunello.......

Venison Stew with the Hidden Gem of Sicily, Nero d'Avola #ItalianFWT

Tender chunks of venison, browned in butter and olive oil and then braised in a tomato base seasoned with Italian herbs and citrus zest served over egg noodles and paired with a wonderful bottle of Nero d'Avola.

Join the Italian FWT group as we visit the lesser known wine regions of Italy today.....

Navajo Tacos and a Book Review

Indian Fry Bread topped with seasoned ground meat and beans, topped with cheese, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.

I was inspired to make this dish after reading Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie for our Lit Happens Book Club.

Venison Shepherd's Pie #EattheWorld

This casserole made with ground meat and vegetables topped with cheddar laced mashed potatoes is a classic comfort food from our friends across the pond......

Join us as we travel to England to Eat the World.........

Countdown to 2018: Main Dish

Today, Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, has asked us to share our favorite Main Dishes from the past year.  

I didn't even know where to begin so I decided to share entrees from each of the following categories.

Beef

This skillet seared filet mignon paired with roasted vegetables in a salad was a wonderful start to the New Year last January.  I think it may become a tradition since just looking at this is making me drool.

Chicken

This Provencal Chicken, marinated in seasoned olive oil and then grilled was one of my personal favorite new poultry recipes.

Venison

OH MY YUM!!!!  This venison marinades in red wine for 3 days before it is braised to tender, juicy perfection.  I hope somebody gifts me some venison this year because I can't wait to make this again. This French Style Braised Venison Roast was to die for.

Pork

My favorite pork recipe was just published a couple of weeks ago.  I made this Pork Wellington for my first Christmas dinner party of 2017.

Seafood

I had a lot of new seafood recipes last year but I finally had to settle on this Lobster Pot Pie that I served as a first course at a dinner party last January.

Meatless Entree

Noodles and Cabbage have long been a favorite around here.  I can't believe I had never shared them before this year.

Pasta

If there is anything better than a slow braised, meaty, flavorful pasta sauce I certainly don't know what it is.  This delicious sauce is made with with Beef Shank in the Slow Cooker.  It doesn't get any easier than that.  

I hope you enjoy these recipes and I hope you stop by and see what the others are sharing today as well.  See you tomorrow.

More Main Dish Delights

An InLinkz Link-up

French Style Braised Venison #CooktheBooks #MadeinFrance

Our Cook the Books selection for this round takes place in rural France.  The novel, The Patriarch, by Martin Walker, is the 10th installment of the Bruno, Chief of Police series, chosen by Claudia of Honey From Rock.  You can learn all about our club and how to join us here.  It is still very early in this round so you have until the end of November to pick up the novel and join in the fun.

In fact, I will send my copy to the first person (in the USA and Canada) who comments below that they would like to join our group. It will be my gift to you.

This novel contains not only a murder to be solved but also numerous other problems for Bruno to resolve in his little village where everyone knows everyone.   On one hand he lives in the middle of hunting country where many of the villagers a huge proponents of hunting for food, sport and conservation purposes.  On the other side are the animal rights activists including one in particular who has offered refuge to the deer population on her large, fenced property.

Unfortunately, the property is not large enough for the deer population that has exploded over the years with no culling being permitted on her reserve.  The deer have eaten everything available on her property and are now being forced to actively hunt for food.  This causes them to leave her property and run into the roads, first causing an accident involving a school bus and then an accident taking the life of a wife and child of a prominent politician.

Bruno, busy on the investigation of a murder that took place while honoring a WWII hero who owns a winery, needs to find a way to keep the kind hearted deer-lady safe from harm while still allowing the culling of the deer who have become dangerous.

Add into this mix Bruno's realization that his relationship with his girlfriend is reaching an end and the onset of campaign season by the local politicians and you have a very busy police chief and a very busy read.

I loved the setting of this novel.  I could envision the beauty of the land.  I wanted to taste the wine and partake in the many feasts in the story.  I wanted to rent a vacation house on the property bought by Bruno's girlfriend and spend some time with the horses.  I wanted to vacation in that little village and hopefully, while there, get to know the characters a bit better.  

I don't feel that the author developed the characters all that well.  I didn't get to know them or to care about them.  My favorite parts of the novel were those dealing with wine, food and animals.  None of the characters resonated with me nor did the novel leave me with the desire to read the other adventures in the series except, of course, for the wonderful images of food and wine that I am sure they offer.

I finished up this novel while in the middle of our #MadeinFrance event sponsored by Whole Foods.  

You can read all about the event in the links to the blogposts from out French Winophiles group at the bottom of this post.  Whole Foods provided us with a case of French Wines and some beautiful French Cheeses that were perfect to enjoy while curled on the couch with this novel.

None of the bloggers in our group were given any monetary compensation and all of the posts below contain each blogger's personal opinions and thoughts.

I was inspired to make a venison roast.  We eat venison regularly in this household but I have never really considered that other Countries eat venison as well.  I wanted to use a French recipe for this roast both in honor of the novel and of the Made in France event.  A google search led me to a website called Traditional French Food where I found this recipe that I adapted to the one I'm sharing with you today.  

I also found a lot of other recipes but that will be a different story for a different post.

Of the wines, provided by Whole Foods, I chose to use the Clos Siguier Cahors in the recipe.   I needed 2 cups of wine for the marinade and the recipe calls for the roast to refrigerate in the marinade for 3 days.  That left 2 glasses of Cahors for Frank and I to sip in the evening while we watched Outlanders.  The Cahors area is located in Southwest France and grapes grown are primarily Malbec. Wines from this region pair very well with game.

The wine was very satisfying on it's own also.  It was a deep ruby color and very smooth and soft.

We invited the Bendas over to share this meal with us.  I served up the bottle of Bordeaux with a harvest dinner that included barley vegetable soup, a roasted beet salad, the venison, garlic mashed potatoes,  ratatouille, and a nice crusty baguette that I had baked up that morning.

We had enjoyed the soup at our sister in law's house over the weekend, when she invited us for dinner.  She provided us with leftovers and my  guests enjoyed her soup as much as we had.  The venison was in the freezer from Spencer's last hunting trip, the eggplant came from my friend, Kim's, garden and the tomatoes from our son in law, Pierre's, garden.

I thought the fact that this meal was a "community" project fit in well with the "village" theme of the novel.

There were 5 of us for dinner, we each started with the Chateau Haut Sociondo Bordeaux.  The venison was tender, juicy and flavorful.  The gravy was smooth, herbal and citrusy.  I thought it paired well with the Bordeaux that was smooth and rich.

When we were ready for a second glass of wine, we opened the Paul Joboulet Aine Cotes du Rhone.  We poured 5 glasses.  Our friend, Mike, took the first sip and said "Oh, now I like this wine, it is much better than the first".  

This wine is much bolder than the Bordeaux.  It is heavy in the mouth with flavors of anise.  It leaves a chalky feel in the mouth.  These are characteristics that I love in a red wine and evidently Mike does as well.  

I think that all three of these wines were the right choice for this braised venison dish.  It is really a matter of preference.

The next time I make this dish, I will buy several bottles of the Cahors so that not only am I able to use it in the marinade but also enjoy it with the finished project.

You will find this recipe and review, along with many more, over at Foodies Read.

Braised Venison (Civet de Cerf)

adapted from Traditional French Recipes

Marinade:

2 glasses red wine

2-3 T. olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

1 T. gin

5 allspice berries 

1 bayleaf

handful of parsley

Roast:

1 (3 lb) venison roast, well trimmed of any silverskin and fat.

1 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

1 large Spanish onion, sliced

3 carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks

3 stalks celery, cut into chunks

4-5 sprigs of thyme

3 sage leaves

4-5 sprigs of parsley

1 bay leaf

pared rind of 1 orange

Gravy:

juice of 1 orange

2 c. beef broth

1 T. cherry jam

3 T. butter

1 T. cornstarch

1/4 c. water

Place the wine, olive oil, onion, gin, allspice, bay leaf and parsley in a pot and bring to a boil.  Let cool.

Place the venison into a gallon size freezer bag that seals.  Pour the cooled marinade into the bag.  Remove as much air as possible, surrounding the venison and refrigerate, flipping the bag occasionally, for 3 days.

Remove the meat from the bag, reserving the marinade, and dry the venison with a paper towel.  Heat the 1 T. of olive oil and 1 T. of butter in a dutch oven over high heat.   Add the meat to the pot and sear for about 5 minutes per side, until nicely browned all over. Remove meat to a plate.  

Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot, reduce heat to medium and let cook for a few minutes. Lay the roast on top of the vegetables along with any juices collected on the plate. Add the marinade and stock to the pot.

Place the thyme, sage, bay leaf and parsley onto a piece of cheesecloth.  Gather the cheesecloth around the herbs and tie shut with kitchen twine, making a bouquet garni, and add it to the potathe along with the pared orange rind.

Cover and place in a preheated 350* oven for 3 hrs, flipping the roast every hour.  Remove the roast to a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes while making the gravy.

Strain the liquid from the pot into a small saucepan, discarding all solids.  Add the juice and jam to the liquid and bring to a boil, stir in the butter until melted.  Make a slurry by combining the cornstarch with the water.  Add it to the boiling liquid, cooking and stirring until glossy and thickened.

Slice the meat and place on a serving tray.  Ladle the gravy over the meat and serve. Print Recipe

Great Ideas for French Wines and Cheeses

Take a look at all the great French Wine and Cheese ideas posted by our French Winophiles, thanks to Whole Foods Market!

• A Curated List: Wines and Cheese from France #MadeinFrance by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Domaine de la Fruitière Muscadet + Baby Octopus Salad #MadeinFrance by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Up Your French Wine & Cheese Game With Whole Foods & the French Winophiles by Jeff at Food Wine Click!
• Building the Perfect Cheese Board #MadeinFrance by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Stinky Cheese Matches Wine with Depth #MadeinFrance by Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• One Stop French Wine and Cheese Party: Whole Foods Market by Jeff at Food Wine Click!
• Pairing French Cheese and Wine: #MadeInFrance by David at Cooking Chat
• #MadeinFrance; A Wine and Cheese Tasting Event by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Savoring French Wine and Cheese #MadeinFrance by Jane at Always Ravenous
• Made in France: Wine and Cheese Pairing Facebook Discussion TODAY by Gwen at Wine Predator
• A Wine & Cheese Night #MadeinFrance by Nicole at Somm's Table
• Pumpkin and Fish Stew #PumpkinWeek #MadeinFrance by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• A Wine and Cheese Pairing Party #MadeInFrance by Martin at Enofylz Wine Blog
• What Does it Mean to Be Made in France? by Jill at L'Occasion

Countdown to 2017: Best Crockpot/Slowcooker Recipes

Welcome to Day 5 of our Countdown to 2017.  Today we are featuring our favorite Crockpot/Slowcooker recipes.

Do you call it a crockpot or a slowcooker?  I vary between the two. Whatever you call it, I think we can all agree that it makes our lives much easier.  I use my crockpot in the summer to help keep my house cool, during the winter because it is perfect for soups and stews and throughout the year because it does all the work while you are off running errands or playing.

In fact, I found slow cooker recipes in nearly every category of my Recipe Index.  Let me demonstrate......

Appetizer-October Fest Fondue

Pork-Root Beer Pulled Pork

Vegetarian-Crockpot Baked Lentils

Beef- Irish Stew

Drinks-Hot Buttered Rum

Chicken-Slow Cooker Chicken Fricassee

Venison- Venison Stroganoff

Soup- Beef and Cabbage Soup

Join us tomorrow when I share your favorites from the past year.

An InLinkz Link-up

Countdown to 2017: Best Main Dish Recipes

Today for our Countdown to 2017 we are featuring our favorite Main Dish recipes.  When you go to my Recipe Index you will find subsets that include Beef, Chicken, Lamb and Game Meat, Pork, Fish and Seafood  and Meatless entrees.

I decided that, for today's event, I would share one recipe from each of the above categories.  I hope you enjoy them.

The next time you are looking to impress family and/or friends, serve up this tender and juicy 

Spice Crusted Rib Roast.

Looking for something on the healthy side?  Try this tasty and nutritious Chicken Broccoli Bowl . It  is Phase 1 Friendly on the Fast Metabolism Diet.  What a great way to get yourself back on the path of wellness and self care.

I adapted this Venison Stroganoff to be made in the crockpot.  I served it up over brown rice noodles to make it friendly for those who are gluten intolerant.

This Yuk See Chau Mein is unlike any Americanized version of Chow Mein you may have ever had.

  

I was so excited when I made this Crab Souffle, my first ever, and it turned out perfectly!!

My final selection is this wonderful baked Pasta ala Norma.  Perfect for Meatless Mondays or anytime you get a hankering for a comforting  meal to soothe your soul.

Now let's take a look at what the others are sharing today.

An InLinkz Link-up

The First Meal Cooked in our New Home

Let me tell you guys, this moving stuff is Hard Work!!!  It has been a looooong week of 12+ hour days and we are exhausted.

Yesterdays I was unpacking even more boxes (only 748 more to go) and Frank was hooking up the washer and dryer.  He called to me and asked if I had a minute.  I went to see what he needed and he held me close and we danced.

It was the first time in a week that we had stopped to breathe for just a moment.  It was the first contact we have had that didn't have to do with moving or cleaning or smiling at each other in passing.  Conversation has been limited to what we need to do, where we need to put things, what we need to fix, what we need to buy, who is waiting for the deliveries and who is running to the store.

You may have noticed that there was no Weekly Menu posted for last week.  It has been crazy here. Often our first meal has been at 2 or 3 in the afternoon when one of us brought home carryout that we picked up while running errands.  Dinner on Monday night didn't happen until 11:30 when we heated up some chili that our daughter, Amy, had brought out on Sunday for lunch during the move.

Each day has been carryout, sandwiches or restaurants but thankfully we are slowing down a bit.  All the essentials are in the house and put away.  We can now start going through the tons of boxes in the outbuilding at a more leisurely pace and breathe a little.

Yesterday, determined not to eat another meal out, I opened the freezer and pulled out the first package of meat I found, venison stew meat.  I plopped it in the sink to thaw and began unpacking.

When the hunger pangs struck I realized that, after pulling the venison out, I had not given another thought to dinner.  I went into the fridge and pantry to see what I had.  I pulled out an onion and some bell peppers.  I always have Gourmet Garden Herb Pastes in the refrigerator so I pulled out the chunky garlic and basil.  I grabbed a can of diced tomatoes, a can of Gumbo soup and some Orecchiette pasta and got to work.

I sauteed the onion, garlic and peppers in a little bit of olive oil.  

I added the venison that I had cut into bite sized pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper.

When the meat was browned, I added the tomatoes, soup, basil and pasta.

I let it simmer away until the pasta was tender and the liquid was absorbed.

Poured a nice bottle of Bordeaux to go with it.

We toasted our new home and all the hard work that we have been doing and dug in.  I don't know if it was because we were starving or if it was really that good but man, did we enjoy that meal!  Frank said "This is really good".  I thanked him and said I needed to come up with a name for it.  Frank suggested "Harold".  He is a funny, funny guy.  I decided on Venison Gumbo Goulash.  I hope you enjoy it.

I will be posting photos of the new home in the days to come.  I know that this is going to be a happy home for us.  The dogs are adjusted and relaxed.  We actually got to sit for a moment last night to watch Blindspot.  Do you watch that show?  We enjoy it.

The chickens have not made the move yet.  They are getting a new house too.  It arrived yesterday so Frank will get it assembled in the next day or two and we will move them over.  The kids that are living in our old house are taking good care of them for me and their folks have agreed to allow them to order up their own laying hens in the Spring.

Venison Gumbo Goulash

2 t. olive oil

1/2 small onion, diced

1 t. garlic paste (or one clove garlic, minced)

4 mini or 1 large sweet bell pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 lb venison stew meat cut into bite size pieces (can substitute beef stewing meat)

salt and pepper to taste

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (10 1/2 oz) can gumbo soup

2 t. basil paste or fresh basil, roughly chopped

6 oz. orecchiette pasta or pasta of choice

freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired

Heat oil in large skillet over med high heat.  Add the onion, garlic and peppers.  Cook and stir until they begin to soften.  Season the meat with salt and pepper.  Add it to the skillet and sear until browned on both sides.  Add the tomatoes with their juices, the can of soup and the basil.  Stir, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the pasta and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until pasta is al dente and the liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan, if desired. Print Recipe