Buttermilk Fried Quail
If you like fried chicken, you’ll love fried quail. This is a Southern style recipe, where you marinate the quail in buttermilk, then fry it in a cast-iron pan. Pure Southern comfort food…
Fish Risotto
If there is one episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” that sticks with me, it is his trip to Venice. In that episode he has risotto di go, an ethereal dish that hinges on a magical fish broth. I’ve remade this risotto here with striped bass. It will transport you.
Wild Onion Kimchi
It’s wild onion season pretty much everywhere, and there happens to be a cool kind of Korean kimchi that uses green onions. So I made a big batch last month and let it ferment. Lo and behold, it’s awesome – especially as an accompaniment to fish.
Ice Fishing, T-Shirts and Fried Trout
Ya gotta love ice fishing in California. First of all that it exists, second that you can fish through 2 feet of ice wearing a T-shirt, third that you can catch gorgeous rainbow trout. And when you do, you should treat them simply – with brown butter, parsley and lemon.
Wild Turkey Carnitas
Quite possibly the best thing to make with wild turkey drumsticks and wings, which can be uber tough and stringy. Braise them slowly until the meat falls off the bone, then pull the meat, crisp it and serve it in tacos or burritos.
How to Butterfly a Fish
Butterflying, also known as splitting or kiting a fish, is a basic skill you will want to know, especially when dealing with smaller fish. It keeps the fish whole but largely debones it. The technique is ideal for either quick pan frying or for stuffing the fish, in this case a trout.
Seedlings
One look at a garden will tell you something about the mind of the gardener. A well-tended garden is a symbol of stability, and of peace. A weedy one betrays neglect or indifference. Now, after a long time fallow, my garden is full of seedlings.
Hare Krishna
When you make an Indian rabbit curry, you kinda just gotta call it “Hare Krishna,” especially if you use actual hare, as I did. This is, more or less, a south Indian curry.
Food Plot Venison Stew
There is a cook’s maxim that goes something like, “if it grows together it goes together.” Well, this venison stew puts that into practice. Almost everything in this stew can be found in commercial deer “food plot” seed mixes. Shoot the deer, and serve it with the field you shot it in.
Steelhead with Sorrel Sauce and Salsify
Salmon and sorrel sauce is a French classic, a harbinger of spring. This is my updated, albeit fancy version, done with steelhead trout from the American River. Getting the fish cooked perfectly is pretty easy with this method. It’s the sorrel sauce that’s tricky.
