Had my first radio interview in many years yesterday. The local public radio talk show wanted to talk with me about Hunter Angler Gardener Cook and the James Beard Awards, and of course I said I would go on the air. Topics ranged from how I got into this to whether using nitrites in cured [...]
I have been faithful to my first love for all of my years. Others have entered my life, diverted my attention for a while, caused me to swoon and wax rhapsodic about their supposed virtues. But I can never leave what first set me on the path I have been walking since I was able [...]
I’ve always loved corned beef and its cousin pastrami, especially in Reuben sandwiches. As a child I always wondered how in the world they got the beef that pretty red color. And what in hell was with the “corned” part? Years later, when I began to make my own sausages and salami, I occasionally came across [...]
Well this is pretty cool. It seems the folks at the James Beard Foundation like Hunter Angler Gardener Cook enough to nominate me for an award for Best Food Blog. I am a finalist in the category, along with Andrew Knowlton’s blog over at Bon Appetit magazine and a crew of writers over at Sunset [...]
I get so many notes from visitors who read this space and enjoy the recipes, but who have never picked up a gun and have little or no access to hunters generous enough to share some true wild game. So I get questions like, “Can I substitute chicken for pheasant? I can buy domestic ducks at the [...]
Pheasants and pomegranates just seem to go together; the bird’s mild flavor is nicely offset by the tangy flavor of the juice. It’s part of that whole connection between game and fruits: Duck and orange, venison and prunes, wild boar and apples. I had no real foreknowledge that I would make something with pheasants and [...]
I’m from New Jersey, and much of what I learned about how to interact with others I learned from my stepfather Frank. Frank’s main rule was, “always have favors you can collect on, and don’t be afraid to do other people favors.” I do something for you, you return the favor — scratching each other’s [...]
There is a truism in any endeavor: If you are afraid to fail, you will never achieve true success. I’ve made no secret of the fact that, more than just being a decent home cook, I am trying to delve deep into fish and game cookery and return with nuggets of wisdom that I can [...]
Holly and I went mushroom hunting in the Sierra Foothills yesterday, guided by our friend Evan, who lives in the area. Evan wanted to help us find two kinds of delicious mushrooms he calls “pinks” and “buckskins,” which we hoped to gather by the bucket given the torrential rains we had last week. I couldn’t wait [...]
