ManCave Test Kitchen

So, remember that friend of mine that brought over that deer meat?  Well he brought over some sausage yesterday that he made from some of his venison… It was good on it’s own, but I had some leftover, and needed to stretch it out a bit so I could feed the rest of the crew coming over (yeah I ate a bit too much of it…whoops…).  So what did I do?  Took a page out of Grandma Prosciutto’s cookbook and hooked up some polenta.  This easy recipe can be done with any sausage (or left over meat for that matter) and is heartier than…well…it’s just hearty.  This hooks up enough to feed 4-6:

• 1  lb. Venison sausage (or hot Italian sausage)
• 1/2 c. julienne roasted peppers
• 1/4 c. GOOD olives, quartered
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 1 tbsp. oregano, chopped
• 1/4 c. tomato sauce
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. Polenta
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c. heavy cream

1. Cook the vension sausage about 3/4 of the way, you still want it to be a bit pink inside so it doesn’t dry out later (especially with the Venison, it’s very low in fat compared to other meats).  How do you cook it?  Well, however you want.  The grill is nice, under the broiler is efficient, and the oven is easy and a saute pan is…another good method.  Let the sausage cool.  While it’s chilling out, let’s start the polenta.
2. Put the chicken stock and half the garlic into the pot and bring to a boil.  Turn it down to a simmer after it’s heated up.  Add the herbs and slowly whisk in the polenta.  You don’t half to stir this constantly, but I would give it a stir every minute or so (or when you hear a sizzle type sound).
3. Depending on the polenta, it could cook for 5 (instant) to 15 (course grind) minutes.  Just follow the instructions for the time on the package. When the prescribed time has past,add your oregano, parmesan, and cream.  Stir these until smooth.  The polenta should be a bit loose right now.  That’s fine it will tighten up a bit as it gets to a more edible temperature.
4. Now for the easy stuff,  slice your sausage on the bias. And hold it off to the side for now.
5. Start up some olive oil in a saute pan, at medium heat.  Add the rest of the garlic and sweat it for just a minute.  When you can smell the garlic, add the peppers and olives.  Toss these through and just warm them up.
6. Now add your wine and let it reduce.
7. Add your tomato sauce and sausage.  Heat the sausage through and season the sauce up.
8. Your polenta should be cool enough to eat now and should have stiffened up a bit.  Take the polenta and lay if down in a big bowl or a platter, or whatever.  Make a little well with back of your spoon or ladle, then gently spoon or ladle the  sausage and the sauce over the polenta.

Now how’s about that for rich, delicious, and just plain damn good.  So can you add other herbs too it?  DUH!!!!!  C’mon you know me by now.  If you’re feeling really adventurous, try it with some cheddar, grits and pulled pork, just replace ingredients as you see fit.  This is a really easy recipe to play with and get creative.  You want some more ideas?  Just comment below.

Happy Eating,

-The Doctor

WHOA DOC!!!!  What’s up with the squash thing you got goin’ on ?!?!?!?  It’s fall stunad.  They’re everywhere, and they go with just about everything, so get used to it.  Besides, they’re CHEAP!!!!!!  So you’ve got a great inexpensive side or entree.  Now…on with the recipe.  Shrimp and Grits is an American classic, and so is pumpkin, so I thought, why not put them both together?  Well I did.  This will serve four.

• 1 lb, peeled and de-veined shrimp
• 1 tbsp. Old Bay
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 lb pumpkin (or another squash, whatever.  I used a little Sugarloaf pumpkin)
• 1/2 c. Cheddar Cheese
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3/4 c. grits
• 2 c. Chicken Stock

1. This is another crazy one for you…NO OVEN PRE-HEATING!!!!!!  What I like to do to soften up the pumpkins a little bit and make then easy to peel is split them and pop them in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, depending on the size.  Let them cool for a minute, them either cut the skin off with a knife, or scoop it out with a spoon.  Now dice the pumpkin into 1/4  inch pieces.
2. Take just a bit of the butter and melt it in a saute pan.  Add your squash and let it caramelize.  Toss or stir after a minute  Season with salt and pepper and add the cinnamon.  Keep cooking it for a few more minutes until it’s  nice and brown.  Set this aside for now.
3. Now for the grits.  Take some of the butter and your garlic and start it on low heat.  Sweat the garlic for just a minute, then add your grits and stock and let them cook on low heat.  Stir them with a whisk every minute or so until they’re soft.  This can take about 15-20 minutes (there’s usually instructions on the bag…just sayin’)
4. Add most of the pumpkin you caramelized, save just a bit for garnish.  Then add 1 tbsp of butter, and the cream.  Season with salt and pepper. Set this aside to set up for just a minute.
5. SHRIMP TIME!!!!  Heat up the last of your butter in a saute pan, on a medium flame, and wait until it starts to sizzle.  Toss your shrimp in the Old Bay and cook it slowly in the butter.  This is one of the very few times you don’t want a good hard sear.  Why not?!?!  Easy, it wouldn’t be shrimp and grits.  Add the last bit of pumpkin after a couple of minutes and heat it through.  If you like, you can add some of the last bit of cream and make a quick sauce.
6. Now just put it together.  Lay the grits down in a bowl and pour the shrimp over top.

If you want to do your grits ahead of time, you can certainly stop the cooking process right before you add your cream and pumpkin.  When you’re ready to heat them up, just add some water or chicken stock and loosen them up a bit.  Not a pumpkin fan or a squash fan?  Tough.  Try it, trust me you’ll like it. Happy Eating -The Doctor.

I had a fan stop by the other day that gave me challenge. He wanted me to come up with an easy recipe
for Venison, that he could use for just himself or for a huge community meal on his next hunting trip. I
had this recipe made up and ready a couple of hours later for him and a few of his hunter friends. Done
right in a Dutch oven, over a fire. The dish was a HUGE hit, so it ended up on the blog. C’mon Dude, you
gotta make it harder than that!!!! I made enough to feed 4-6 people from just this:

• 1 1/2 Lb’s Venison Stew meat
• 1 small onion, sliced thin
• 2 small Yukon gold potatoes (or Red Bliss, no big deal), quartered then sliced 1/4 inch
• 1 cup quartered Crimini Mushroom (really any mushroom will do)
• 1 cup parsnips, roll cut ( I’ll show you in a second, don’t freak out over here)
• 1 tbsp. chopped Thyme
• 1 tbsp. chopped rosemary
• 1/2 c. red wine
• 1 c. Pomegranate juice
• 1 c. Chicken Stock
• 1/2 . Pomegranate seeds
• Roux as needed (y’know equal parts flour and butter)

1. Get a pot (or a dutch oven) nice and hot.  Add some oil and start searing you venison meat.  While your meat is browning, cut up any of the vegetables you have left to cut.  Like those roll cut parsnips.  How do you do them?  Easy  place your knife at a 45 degree angle on the parsnip, then roll 1/4 turn, then cut, now repeat until the entire parsnip is cut.
2. When you meat is brown, add your onions, parsnips and mushrooms.  Let these cook on high heat and caramelize.  Stir these every 2-3 minutes or so, then add your wine when the onions are soft and cooked down.
3. let the wine reduce by half, then add you herbs, stock potatoes and pomegranate juice.  Turn this down to a simmer and let it cook for about 60-90 minutes, depending on how big your venison chunks are.  I was taking the oven lid on and off about every 15 minutes or so.  Just so it would reduce, but not too quickly.
4. At the very end, pull everything out of the pot and hold it for just a minute.  Taste your sauce.  If it’s think but has a lot of flavor, add some roux to thicken it.  Really 1-2 tbsp should be good.  if your sauce is think and has no flavor, let it reduce.
5. When your sauce is to your liking, add the meat and vegetables back to the pot, season and serve.  OH, and uh…don’t forget the pomegranate seeds.

Happy Eating

-The Doctor

This is my favorite time of year.  The time of year when summer and fall start to mesh and you get great mussels from up North and you still have fantastic summer produce.  This recipe comes straight from a little old Filipino lady that worked in one of my kitchens in Atlanta.  It was part of our “family meal”  every week, and eventually became part of a bar menu every late summer when the papayas were at their best.  I know deep down she wanted to use the unripe green papayas she had back home, but mature papayas are good enough for us.  This will hook up a pound of mussels:

• 1 lb mussels, cleaned and washed
• 2/3 c. coconut milk
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sweet rice vinegar or fruit vinegar (optional)
• 1 1/2 c. papaya medium dice
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
• 1/2 c. rough chopped cilantro
• 1/4 c. rough chopped basil
• 1/4 c. rough chopped mint

1. First up, we need to make our coconut base.  Take 1/3 of the papaya, and puree it into the coconut milk.  Set this off the the side for the time being.
2. Start up your sesame oil on a medium high flame.  Add you garlic, ginger, and lemongrass and sweat it out for just a little over a minute.
3. Add half of your herbs and sweat for another minute.
4. Add the vinegar and fish sauce.  Let that go for just a minute, then add your mussels.
5. Add your coconut milk mixture and cover the pot.  Let these steam for about 8-10 minutes.  Give them a good stir, then add the rest of the herbs and papaya.

Sweet and briney, just how I like ’em.  Mussels are incredibly versatile and lend themselves so well to the flavors in this recipe.  I’ll be putting up some more mussels recipe as the fall goes on.  You got requests?  Lemme know in the comments.

Happy Eating,

-The Doctor