Nothing said comfort food to me like a steaming hot bowl of mom’s stroganoff growing up. I don’t know what she put in hers, but more than likely it was a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup and some beef chuck. It wasn’t something we’d have every week, but it was definitely in the…
Four-Legged
Lamb Shanks Braised with Cardoons and Tomato
I’ve done a lot of research as the executive chef of Lucia’s. The restaurant, once known as the Chez Panisse of the Midwest lost it’s way somewhere along the line, the chef got bored, let the restaurant slide into disarray, then left. What was once a bastion of locally sourced food slowly evolved into what…
Beef Neck Terrine
I’ve created more versions of pates and terrines than I can count, and some of them blur together, but one sticks out above the rest: the beef neck terrine. It was a crowd favorite, but also burned in my mind as one server repeatedly asked me to show her where the fruit was. She was…
Rabbit Chasseur with Wild Mushrooms
I planted my first plant ever this year-a squash. Well, I should say that I anger planted squash by scattering them around late in the season after I killed my skirret by planting it on the side of an old road, and not keeping a close enough eye on it. Either way, I think I…
Blood Bread
Blood bread. This is a great example of historical harvest preserving, and something my Scandinavian ancestors might have made. It’s also spooky sounding and perfect for Halloween. It’s all about being resourceful. When an animal is harvested, the very first things you can collect are blood, and offal, in that literal, visceral, order. These things…
Maple Sugar Venison Bacon
Venison bacon is a thing, a smoky, delicious thing. But I don’t see many people making it. Do a google search for venison or deer bacon and what you’ll find is definitely not bacon, they’re basically recipes for a sort of spiced meat loaf made with pork. Calling something like that bacon, to me, is…
Ramp Leaf Burgers
Ramp burgers are one of the first things I ever made after I discovered everyones favorite wild leek. That was years ago, and, unfortunately, the friends I made the burgers for can probably still taste them to this day. Don’t get me wrong–I like garlic and all the oniony, things, but they were a little…
Smoked Venison Ribs with Spicy Wild Plum Glaze
If you’re a hunter, and you throw away the ribs, all I have to say is you’re missing out, and you might consider taking them sometime, because they’re a helluva meal. As a chef, I never had time to hunt. Now, freelancing, consulting, and doing my own thing, I do have more time, and although…
Smoked Venison Shanks Glazed with Birch Syrup
I don’t know if there’s anything more satistyingly primal than a whole venison shank. I got to have a couple of them this year, braised and glazed with wine, or reduced grape juice, like I did with goose confit. Really though, my favorite way to have them is glazed with their braising juices reduced into…
Venison Rib Chops with a Black Trumpet Crust
The best part of butchering your own animals is the creativity, giving you the ability to make all sorts of things, and one of the grand daddy’s of them all is a rack of venison. If you want to know how to cut a rack, just search you tube, there’s lots of info out there….
Desert Stew
Learning to forage food in my backyard in Minnesota and Wisconsin has made me do a lot more than find food where I live and learn about my environment. Now, whenever I travel, I find myself going on the same sort of culinary scavenger hunts wherever I go. Barrel cactus fruit were the latest desert…
Jaegerschnitzel with Leccinum Gravy and Acorn Spaetzle
The snow is quickly melting, and I’ve been working hard to use up my stores of 2018 preserves. I have a lot of mushrooms and game (mostly venison), but, it was a great year for acorns too-I discovered a new white oak that gave the best acorns I’ve had yet. Thinking of how I could…
Hotch Potch
The “green holiday” is coming tommorrow, and, while I won’t be eating corned beef and cabbage, or drinking beer with green food coloring in it, I do have a fun Scottish recipe for you, and, a video replete with Scottish themed music at the end to go with it. It’s not Irish, but it’s close…