Berries of the Coastal Range
I went to Marin County in search of huckleberries. I left with a full huckle bucket, but also something I’d never seen before: Salal berries. It pays to keep your eyes open.
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Recent Posts
Berries of the Sierra Nevada The high Sierra, or really any Western mountain range, is a treasure trove of summer berries. We recently found four different kinds on one trip.
Berries of the Central Valley I’ve been on a wild berry rampage this month. This will be the first of three berry posts, starting with picking elderberries and blackberries here in the Central Valley.
Manzanita Cider If you live on the West Coast, you’ve seen the stunning, red-barked shrub called manzanita. But I bet you did not know the berries make a delicious cider…
Venison Charcuterie For me, charcuterie is the endgame of every successful hunt, but each animal needs a different treatmeant: sausages, cured whole cuts, salami, etc. This is what I did with my deer from Catalina.
Hunting Deer on Catalina Island A deer hunt on Catalina Island offers me a glimpse of a potentially bright future for the pursuit – and hits home how much you need to know if you want to be a master deer hunter.
Shark Fishing in San Francisco Bay The only thing better than catching sharks? Eating them. We came home from shark fishing in San Francisco Bay with our first leopard sharks, which we soon learned are delicious: firm, juicy and white.
How to Make Pici Pasta I had a few questions about the pici pasta with tomato-fennel sauce I made last week, so I thought I’d do step by step instructions on how to make pici by hand.
Dove and Pigeon Recipes
Cajun Grilled Doves
I love grilled doves. Doves and squab, which is a domestic pigeon, are generally low in fat but tender, so they grill really well. Both should be served pink inside — medium-rare to medium, in my book — and both take a good Cajun or Creole spice rub really well. This recipe is ridiculously simple: [...]
Deep-Fried Doves Middle Eastern Style
I initially came up with the idea for this dish after reading a 1940s recipe for deep-fried doves in Roy Wall’s Fish and Game Cookery. His recipe is old school, with the doves fried in shortening and served with a red-eye gravy. Good, but not my style. I decided to make this dish Middle Eastern, [...]
Tortelli of Pigeon
I love the richness of pigeon. Ever have really good beef, especially skirt steak? It is just so beefy. Pigeon is the same way. A wild pigeon is dense and juicy and savory, and that flavor comes through in these tortelli, which are large tortellini. If you are not a hunter, use a store-bought squab [...]
Turkish Roast Pigeon with Bulgur
No one cooks pigeons the way the Muslims do. Period. From Morocco to Persia, the Islamic world loves its pigeon — squab is just a young, domestically raised pigeon. This recipe is inspired by the Hamam Mahshi bil Bughul recipe in Claudia Roden’s The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, which has lots of pigeon [...]
Doves on Toast
Consider this gourmet comfort food. Making this recipe requires about an hour’s effort, and you’ll finish it in minutes — what’s not to love? It has dove breasts, fried eggs, brown gravy and toast. But not just any dove breasts, fried eggs, brown gravy and toast. First off, this recipe really needs to be done [...]
Doves on the Feed
This is my name for a warming, earthy dish that welcomes us to cooler weather. I invented it after finding barley inside the crops of several doves I’d shot, giving me the idea to pair the doves with a barley “risotto.” Not a hunter? Use squab, available in some fine markets. Can’t find squab? Use [...]
Grilled Doves a La Mancha
This is a simple, satisfying way to get into some doves. Doves are so easy to pluck that you should really be ashamed of yourself if you don’t — I can pluck one in less than a minute when I get my groove on. Besides, gnawing on the little legs is primal and slightly naughty; [...]
Become a Hunter
Want to Learn to Hunt? Start Now
Want to learn how to hunt but haven’t the faintest idea how? This should help get you started – but you need to begin your journey soon, as hunting season will soon be here…
