The Bounty of the Hunt: A New Year's Celebration (posted a couple of weeks late)

Please note the following blog was originally written a couple of weeks ago, but its posting got interrupted by a trip up the Rhine River - which you will hear more about in coming blogs.

Tonight’s dinner was grilled pheasant in a honey garlic glaze, with grilled apples, and spinach salad with acorn squash and pomegranate.

                 

So where do you find pheasant, you might wonder. Well, the answer is you don’t; you depend on a really good bird dog to find them for you!  In my case the bird dogs belonged to the Flying B Ranch (www.flyingbhunting.com) in Kamiah, Idaho, where Jacque and I were guests a couple of weeks ago. We had joined our friends, Dr. David Bradford and his wife Susan, for my first real bird hunt.  David is a frequent guest of the Flying B, and I am destined to follow in his footsteps.

The Flying B Ranch is the 2014 Orvis Wing Shooting Lodge of the Year.  David and I enjoyed two and a half fun filled days of great bird hunting and shooting sports, thanks to Chad, our guide.  (I really can’t say enough about Chad as a guide; I know all the guides at the Flying B are great, but I am requesting Chad on all my future hunts!) Meanwhile, Jacque and Susan enjoyed relaxing in the main lodge, massages, and tours of the several thousand acre ranch. 

Additionally, any mention of the Flying B would be incomplete without a mention of Ryan the Chef.  (This is a FOOD BLOG, after all.) Ryan prepared one phenomenal meal after the next. His signature dishes  included venison loin, pheasant enchiladas for lunch one day, crusted halibut, and a trio of game bird appetizers featuring the three different types of birds David and I had killed that day: Hungarian partridge, chukers, and of course, pheasant.

With the Jewish High Holidays just concluding, I found myself craving apples and honey. These are traditional foods enjoyed during the Jewish New Year to remind us of the sweetness of the coming year. 

I found it only appropriate, therefore, to start the meal off with a pre-dinner Apple Martini with a base whiskey of Eve’s Apple - hmmm!

(Attention Local Followers:  5 O'clock Somewhere will be offering tastings of their spirits at the Okanogan Omak Rotary Wine and Cheese Acution, November 8th, 2014.  If you have not bought your tickets for this great benefit, email me, call me,find a rotarian, or follow the link below for information.  http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/Events/EVPEventDetails.aspx?accountid=1496&eid=bdb8d033-6764-42a1-8b67-00704a544d25&tid=1)

 “Doug’s Wicked” Appletini!

           

2 parts Eve’s Apple Pie – Washington Moonshine whiskey from its 5 O’clock Somewhere Distillery (www.its5distillery.com)

1 part Grey Goose Vodka

Apple wedge and pomegranate seeds for garnish

Just a few drops of Pomegranate Liqueur to finish        

Our main course was pheasant breast - (pre-picked for gunshot pellets)- soaked in apple cider and olive oil.  I grilled the pheasant with just a little bit of salt and pepper. The glaze was inspired by www.allrecipes.com Honey Glazed Chicken (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/honey-grilled-chicken/).

I changed the glaze recipe to the following:

            2 tablespoons butter

            2 cloves minced garlic

            ½ cup honey

            1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar

I melted the butter in a saucepan, added in the other ingredients, and cooked together on medium heat for a few minutes.  I then let it cool to room temperature before using it as a glaze on the grilled pheasant.   I did not add glaze until I flipped the breast on the grill, and then when the birds were done, I flipped it again and added more to the other side.  I have learned the hard way that you can burn glazes and sauces very easily on the BBQ – don’t add them too early!

As a side dish, I prepared grilled apples with Parmesan cheese, walnuts, and drizzled honey over the top.  I sliced the apples and cut the cores out.  I then tossed them in a little grape seed oil and just a little sugar and cinnamon before grilling them over medium to high heat.  Depending on the thickness of your slices, you only need to grill them about three to four minutes on each side.   Here is the link that served as inspiration for this dish: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/grilled_apples_with_cheese_honey.html. 

Again, I modified the recipe by using grape seed oil and walnuts.  I will try it again one day soon with cheddar cheese and a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a dessert.

Our salad tonight was baby spinach with roasted acorn squash and pomegranate seeds in an Apple Vinaigrette dressing.  Since I was keeping a biblical theme, I thought the pomegranate was a nice touch.  There are mentions of pomegranate in the Bible: Exodus 28:33-3 and 1 Kings 7:13-22. The fruit is depicted on the capitals of the two pillars which stood in front of the temple, and King Solomon is said to have designed his crown based on the “crown” of the pomegranate. The significance of the Jewish pomegranate is further exemplified by its appearance on ancient coins of Judea, one of only a few images that appear as a holy symbol. http://www.jewishgiftplace.com/Symbolism-Of-Pomegranate.html Seems that such a worthy fruit merited inclusion in our holiday meal!

I cut the acorn squash into small bite size pieces, and roasted them in the oven after first tossing in a little olive oil, apple cider, and adding salt and pepper to taste.  I roasted the squash at 400 degrees for only about 25 minutes.  Then I cut the skin away before adding to the salad.

The Apple Vinaigrette dressing was made in my Blendtec. As an aside, I just have to say that I love the Blendtec (www.blendtec.com) blender; it is definitely the Ferrari of blenders!  Jacque and I use it at least once a day for either making a breakfast smoothie, soup for lunch, (it actually heats soup while you blend it), or while making dinner.  If you don’t already have one, go out and buy one!  I added the following to my Blendtec for my salad dressing:

          1 cup apple cider – in the future I might only go ½ cup

1 whole apple cut in half (seeds, stem, and all – remember Blendtec in use here, so why lose the nutrition by discarding essential parts of the fruit?)

          3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

          ½ cup olive oil

          salt and pepper

                       

Our wine with dinner was a recent find from a “date”.  After 27 years of marriage, I still love going on dates with my wife! Our find: a CSR Sabrina, 2013, an unusual and unforgettable white. (www.crsandidgewines.com/wines).  Here’s how we found it:

We had decided to head to Lake Chelan for a drive in hopes of finding some fall colors, but ended up going wine tasting in Manson instead.  The first winery we wandered into was CR Sandidge, commonly referred to as CSR.  Ray the winemaker is the winemaker at Lake Chelan Winery, and this is his private label. He puts out some incredible wines that I am sure will become some of our favorites from that region.   The tasting experience was heightened by the pairing of each wine with food, and we really enjoyed and appreciated the detailed explanations by Ray’s wife who expertly walked us through our tasting. 

Jacque and I are not big white wine drinkers, but the Sabrina 2013 was full bodied in a way you would think reds should be, had complexity, yet a smoothness that got two red drinkers to buy a white.  In hindsight, we should have bought more than just one bottle, and we should have saved the wine for a meal with more spice than the sweetness of honey-glazed pheasant.  Note to self:  buy more Sandidge Sabrina.

We enjoyed tonight’s dinner outside on our deck, wondering how many more nights we will be able to do this before the weather starts to turn.

I welcome your comments, and don’t forget to like me on Facebook, and to add your email to follow my blog - FoodByDoug.  So many more unique dishes to come as we enter the fall season. Stay tuned!