Venison and Barley Soup

As I write this, Hurricane Sandy is churning up the Atlantic and making her way into the area. Winds are high, rain is falling, and it is generally a miserable day to try to do anything outside. What a perfect day to stay inside and cook!

As soup goes, this is one of my all time favorites. The flavor is fantastic and it's light enough for a mild day, yet still hearty enough to warm a  winter chill. I like to serve this with a nice crusty french loaf.


1/2  lb venison (lean beef may be substituted) cut into small cubes
6 cups of game stock or beef bouillon
1/2 cup Barley
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp oil
1 carrot diced
1 stalk celery diced
1 onion chopped
pinch of dried thyme
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot, and saute' the vegetables until tender. Add the meat and sear. Add the stock, and bring to a boil. Add the barley, the bay leaf, and a good pinch of thyme. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper, and serve the soup piping hot!

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Venison Meatloaf

Colder nights are coming, and heavier dinners are starting to make their way into my weekly rotation. I love the classics like stew, meatloaf, roasted chicken, etc...but I really feel the need to make things a little more interesting this year and take it to the next level. The classics are what taught me how to cook, but I am a far better Culinary Artist than I was 10 years ago (Yes, I really just called myself a "Culinary Artist", and Yes, I really was totally kidding!!)

This dish is something that keeps it simple yet adds a little flare to an old family favorite. It's really easy to do, and while 95% of the red meat dishes that you read on this blog will be venison based, you can always substitute with ground beef if deer is not readily available to you. Just keep it lean!!

Venison Meatloaf stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

2 lbs of ground venison
1 onion finely chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1.5 tbsp tomato paste
1 egg white, beaten
pinch or two of Italian seasoning
couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce to taste

For the stuffing:

3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
1 package (10oz) of frozen chopped spinach
salt and pepper to taste

1 can of tomato bisque

Mix all of the meatloaf ingredients together and spread out on a 12x12 sheet of aluminum foil. Meat should be about 1 inch thick when spread and almost reach the edges of the foil.

Mix all of the stuffing ingredients together, and spread out in the center of the meat.

Roll up and seal the ends well with a couple extra pieces of foil.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, and coat the meatloaf with tomato bisque. Return to the oven, and continue cooking for an additional 25 minutes.

You should let the meatloaf stand for about 15 minutes before slicing. enjoy with a nice spinach salad and roasted rosemary potatoes.

Going Green - Chesapeake Style!

As I write this, my kitchen is filled with the smell of a roaster chicken doing its thing in the crockpot with fresh rosemary, sage, and some root vegetables. I needed a good side to go with it, and I can't think of any better than a fresh pot of mixed greens. We jumped in the truck and headed over to a little farm not far from the house. As we rounded the bend on the old country road, the fields of green started to come into view. I could see the signs labeling each section of greens that were planted in the field, and my mouth instantly started watering. Kale, Collards, Mustard, Turnips,...It was a green lovers Valhalla! ...And, I am a green LOVER!!! $2.00 to pick your own grocery bag full, sounded like a great deal to me, as did the 6 for a $1.00 fresh turnips. We loaded up at the little farm in short order and headed home for a real treat. 

Greens are cheap, easy to cook, and delicious. They grow well in colder months, and most greens when young and tender, make an excellent and nutritious alternative to lettuce for cold salads. Some folks even use greens to make smoothies....ummm....yeah, thats ok. I like them and all, but a strawberry smoothie is good enough for me!   

Today we're going to focus on the old faithful pot of stewed greens. We slow cook these for hours with just the right seasonings and they are to die for....Below is my take on this soul food staple, and one that has been making kitchens across America smell heavenly for generations. If you want to use the leftovers or hold out some fresh leaves to make a smoothie, knock yourself out! I'll stick with this cooked version. Enjoy!

1 pound of seasoning meat (Fat Back, Smoked Turkey Wings, Ham Hocks, Smoked Neckbones)

1 quart of chicken stock

1 quart of water

1 grocery bag full of fresh mixed greens (about 2 1/2  pounds) or 3 12 oz bags of mixed greens pre-cleaned and trimmed

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp of granulated sugar

3 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 medium onion chopped. 

2 hot peppers of choice (optional)

In a large pot, combine water, chicken stock, and seasoning meat and allow to simmer for 1 hour. 

While that is simmering, wash and trim your greens. After meat has been simmering for an hour, add greens and remaining ingredients to stock pot and stir well. Greens will wilt as they hit the hot water, so continue to stir until all greens have been submerged. Cover the pot and continue to cook the greens over medium heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. 

Serve hot as a side dish with your favorite meat and fresh homemade cornbread. 

Enjoy!

Stuffed Venison Burger

When I had the vision for Chesapeake Cuisine, I wanted to bring you all of the things that we love to do, and how we love to eat. The name is more about the region than the body of water or what comes from it. Our focus is on the wonderful food found in Chesapeake country, and our interpretation of how to prepare it. So this week, we take a detour away from seafood, and go to one of my favorite foods. Venison!

Now before you get all uptight about venison and say,  "I've heard deer meat is dry and tough", let me explain something. Deer meat is dry and tough...if you don't know how to cook it. Once you learn the secrets of preparing quality cuts of deer, it is a pleasant, tender, juicy choice of red meat that is high in protein, low in saturated fat, and all around healthier than their much larger, mass produced cousins that are readily available in the supermarket. And if you take the deer yourself, you cannot get much more of an organic product that that.

We love to deer hunt. No question about it. When the leaves start to change color, and the crisp cool mornings of autumn are upon us, our thoughts start to turn to sitting in a treestand, bows in our hand, waiting on a nice buck to walk to within bow range. On more than one occasion, while a deer was walking in and I was preparing for the shot, I had already started thinking about what I was going to make with the venison before I had even pulled the trigger...I know..I need a therapist...

So if you are a deer hunter, and have some burger in your freezer, try this recipe and then tell me you don't love it!...If you are not a deer hunter, I suggest you buddy up with one this fall, and maybe, just maybe, they will share some hard earned venison with you. Especially if you come with an offering...one that say...comes in 30 packs?? Just sayin...... ;-)

For this recipe you will need;

1 pound ground venison
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz of your favorite cheese (colby, cheddar, pepper jack, swiss, etc)

1. Mix everything together except the cheese

2. Shape the mix into patties, placing the cheese in the middle of each

3. Top with another patty of the same size and seal the edges by pressing together carefully with your fingers

4. Cook on a preheated grill, or skillet until cooked all the way through. Should take about 10-15 minutes depending on your heat source.

5. Serve on fresh toast brushed with butter, and you favorite burger accompaniments.

Eastern Shore Clam Chowder

I love summer. No question about it. I love spending time on the water in shorts and a t-shirt, and usually if I need to find a "happy place" I daydream about the tropical waters of the keys. However, the change of season from summer to fall is probably my favorite time of year. The change that goes with spring is great also, but what gives fall the edge are the incredible foods that go with this time of year. So, when I let the dog out this morning, I felt the rush of cool air come in through the back door and it alerted my senses to the impending cool down. The air had that fall smell to it, and the refreshing crisp feel of autumn. I immediately started thinking about 3 things. Bigger fish coming back into the bay, Venison coming back into our house, and coming home to a hot bowl of soup after a long chilly day spent chasing either of the first two. 

I like to make a big pot early in the week so that I have enough for lunch for a couple days afterward. I love soup with lunch, and often times I just have the soup and forget the salad or sandwich that usually accompanies a bowl. One of my favorites is Eastern Shore Clam Chowder. This one is made with fresh clams that we dug ourselves from the salty marshes behind Ocean City, MD and Delaware resort towns. They are plentiful in the shallows on a low tide, and we had a good summer digging them out of the sand. We were able to save some in the freezer, along with clam liquor after steaming them. Here's the recipe with the alternative ingredients just in case you do not have your own fresh clams or fresh clam liquor from a summer trip to the beach.  

1.5 pound of fresh clam meat chopped in a food processor (or two 14.5 ounce cans of chopped clams)

3 cups of reserved clam liquor (this is the juice left in the pot after steaming fresh clams) or 3 cups of bottled clam juice

4 slices of bacon cut in small pieces

3 carrots diced

3 ribs celery diced     

1 medium onion diced

1 green pepper diced

3 white or red potatoes diced

1 28 ounce can tomatoes chopped

1.5 cups of water 

1 Tbsp fresh Thyme chopped (1 tsp of dried)

1 tsp of dried parsley

In a soup pot, add bacon and fry until just starting to crisp (about 3-5 minutes). Add carrots, celery, onion, and green pepper and saute over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften. Be sure to scrape the fond left on the bottom of the pot from frying the bacon. This has a lot of great flavor and when you add the vegetables and start to saute them, it will be easier to scrape. 

 

After the vegetables have cooked for a few minutes, add your potatoes, tomatoes, clam liquor, water, thyme, parsley and clams. 

Stir well, and allow to come to a boil over medium/high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for a couple hours or until vegetables are tender.  

Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy with a fresh crusty piece of bread!

Crab Tarts...Might just be the perfect appetizer

Crabbing season 2012 has been less than exciting in the Chesapeake and its tributaries. It was good early, but then it dropped off and hasn't really ever bounced back. There have been a ton of small crabs, so the hope is that by October, all of those crabs will have sloughed into keeper male hard crabs and there should be plenty of meat to pick and store for the winter. When we do get a freezer full of crabmeat, Crab Tarts are one of the tasty treats that I like to make during football season.

Crab tarts are one of those foods that when presented at a party, their serving plate is usually the first one empty. If you are planning a gathering for seafood lovers, these are sure to be a hit. First of all, it fits right in the palm of your hand. So it is great finger food, which I think all good appetizers should be. Secondly, it is easy to assemble for those last minute guests that show up to watch the game. And third, It has crab meat and bacon!! Absolutely nothing can go wrong with that combination!

No words can really describe them. You just have to try them for yourself. So, I'll stop rambling on about it, and get to the recipe...Now, get up, go get your ingredients, and get started...you can thank me tomorrow.  ;-)

Ingredients;

8 slices of bacon cooked crisp and chopped
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 mild onion chopped
3 oz. Swiss cheese grated
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup mayo
1 lb crab meat
1 can (10oz) flaky biscuits
miniature muffin tin
cooking spray
flour

Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Open biscuits and separate the layers thick enough to be shaped, but not too thick so that your tarts are doughy. I usually get about 3 tarts out of 1 section of biscuits. dust all layers with a very thin coating of flour to prevent sticking to the shot glass that we will be using in the next step. I usually just sprinkle a little on each side and spread evenly but very thin.

Lay the separated layers across one of the mini muffin cups and using a shot glass that is also dusted with flour, carefully punch the biscuit into the muffin cup to form the pastry cups.

Combine the first 7 ingredients, and stir to mix well.

Using a spoon, Fill the pastry cups with the crab meat mixture. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the pastry starts to brown, and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly, but serve warm. I guarantee you that these crab tarts will not last long enough to get cold.

Good luck to whomever you cheer for on Sunday. These crab tarts are sure to make the game more enjoyable, and make your guests wonder where you have been keeping this secret. Make sure you direct them to chesapeakecuisine.blogspot.com...after all, it's not nice to keep secrets from your friends :-)

Enjoy!!

Grilled Softshell Crab with Chili Lime Marinade

 I'm going to go out on a limb here, and ask you to do something very scary. I know, I know...we barely know each other, but if you have a trusting bone in your body, I need you to reach down deep inside and follow along with me on something. It's a request to think outside the box, and I know that can be a scary thing for most people, but if you can trust me, I promise to open your eyes to something very exciting. Here it is...Softshell crabs do not have to be fried to a crispy, tasteless, piece of grease soaked mess on your plate.

I know. Crazy, right?

Now before the droves of old timers come knocking on my door in white crabbing boots, khaki dickies, and  trucker hats to tell me that I don't know my a-- from a hole in the ground about crabs, let me explain..

There is nothing wrong with the traditional method of cooking softshells by dredging them in seasoned flour and frying crisp. I still do it myself every now and then when I feel like thumbing my nose at my family doctors' advice. But, when I learned that softshells could be cooked other ways, I couldn't wait to experiment. And boy am I ever glad I did! So this isn't about ignoring tradition. It's about trying new things.

Now, I realize grilling softshells is nothing new, it just hasn't really caught on here in Chesapeake country. Trendy chefs across the globe have been doing it for a few years now, but here in the land of the beautiful swimmers, tradition still reigns supreme. So, most restaurant menu's that feature softshell crabs around these parts, will present them battered and fried. If you are like me and enjoy a little variation in your life, well I suggest you go to your local crab market and grab a few fresh softshells (or better yet, go for a little stroll through the shallows during the next warm full moon..you might just live a little and catch your own)...but be forewarned...after you try this recipe, you may never give them a hot oil bath again.

2 softshell crabs
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 clove garlic chopped
1/2 fresh lime, juiced
pinch or two of dried cilantro

Combine all ingredients except crabs. Stir to mix well, and brush marinade on both sides of crabs. Allow to sit  for about 15 minutes while you pre-heat your grill.

Place crabs on grill (directly or in a fish basket) and baste with marinade while grilling over low heat. Reduce flare ups by closing the lid on the grill. As the butter in the marinade melts and falls down on the flame or coals, this will cause flare up and smoke. Keep crabs away from direct flame, but encourage the smoke by closing the lid. The smoke will add a nice flavor to the crabs. Continue to baste 2-3 more times until crabs are cooked through. (about 15-20 minutes over low heat)

Serve as a main course with a spinach salad and corn on the cob, or as a sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and a nice garlic aioli spread. (recipe below)

Leave a comment and let me know what you think..Enjoy!

Basic Garlic Aioli;

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Combine the garlic and salt, and mash into a garlic paste using the flat side of a knife or a mortar and pestle. Add the garlic to a bowl and mix or whisk together with the rest of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors blend well.

This is a basic aioli. Have fun with this base recipe by adding any fresh herbs and seasonings to suit your taste.