Spanish

Grilled Doves a la Mancha

This is my signature dish for dove season. Grilled dove is one of my favorites, and this Spanish-inspired take on them never fails to please.

Spanish

Spanish Clams and Chorizo

The Iberian tradition of combining shellfish and pork is one of the great pairings in the world. Here is the most famous of the many such dishes: Spanish clams and chorizo.

Fish

Pickled Pike

If you're not from the Northwoods, you may have never heard of pickled pike. Well, this is to the boreal forest what ceviche is to the tropics: A great way to snack on fish with saltines...

Fish

Boquerones, Fresh Cured Anchovies

Fresh cured anchovies sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn't. This is more like a ceviche than the red, salty anchovies you get in a can. Called boquerones in Spain and gavros in Greece, these are fantastic on crackers or by themselves.

Salmon and Trout

Smoked Lake Trout

Smoking a lake trout (a/k/a mackinaw) is a lot like smoking a salmon, but I recently had the chance to smoke a couple fish in Manitoba, Canada with some Cree Indians and learned a lot about the process.

Recipe

Pickled Walnuts

Pickled walnuts? Yep, you read right. Pickled unripe, green walnuts is a British thing that originated because in parts of Britain the climate's too harsh for walnuts to fully ripen. They take a while to make, but once you do, they are a great sweet-sour condiment to cheeses as well as cured and roasted meats.

Venison

Teriyaki Meatballs with Venison

Pretty much every culture in the world loves meatballs, and Japan is no exception. This is a venison version of the Japanese niku dango meatball, which is normally made with pork. If you like teriyaki, you'll love this.

Sweet Things

Anise Cookies

I don't eat a lot of sweet things, but I do have a soft spot for cookies. These I call "Bacchus Biscuits," and they're my take on a Greek fennel seed cookie. It's like a shortbread cookie, not too sweet, with toasted fennel seeds in it. They last a while and are great as a quick snack.

Recipe

Louisiana Boudin Sausage

Boudin, the ultimate Cajun comfort food. Not quite a sausage, boudin is more like jambalaya in a hog casing. You eat it on crackers or just by hand, right out of the casing. I learned how to make it at Legnon's in Lafayette, and here's my version.

Fish

Smoked Sablefish

It's time to catch black cod, a/k/a sablefish or butterfish out here in the North Pacific. If you've ever eaten this fish, it's like eating silk -- mild, velvety and just a little oily. This means it's perfect for smoking.

Fish

New England Style Fried Clams

I love fried clams. A lot. Maybe too much. My sisters will attest to this. Well, this is how they make fried clams in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where I've been eating giant baskets of them since at least 1974. This recipe is so good you'll want to head out to the clam flats ASAP.

Preservation Recipes

Pickled Fiddleheads

Catching the ephemeral fiddlehead is a tricky business, and I find that pickling them is a great way of preserving this zephyr of spring. This is an old-style brine pickle, lacto-fermented with no vinegar.