hungarian goulash

the first signs of autumn

has meandered on to our ranch

cool evenings

transitioning to near frosty nights

just the kind of weather

that gets me back into the mood

for hearty stews

and

slow cooked meats

hungarian goulash

(printable recipe)

2 1/2 lbs stew meat (beef or venison)-- cut into cubes {at least 1"}

1/2 cup (about) all purpose flour for dredging

olive oil

1 large onion--cut in half then thinly sliced in have moons

10-12 crimini mushrooms--sliced

4 cloves of garlic--smashed and kept whole or near whole

1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp hot paprika

1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds

14 ounce diced tomatoes-with juice

1/2 cup water

2 cups beef broth

salt and pepper to taste (about 1 tsp of each)

1/3 cup sour cream

 1 Tbs lemon juice

 1/4 cup chopped parsley

heat oil in bottom of a dutch oven (just enough to coat the bottom).  dredge the meat cubes in flour and shake of excess.  toss into the hot oil and sear meat on all sides.  do not crowd the pan, work in batches if necessary.  once the meat is seared add it back to the pan with juices (if working in batches) and add onion, mushrooms and garlic.  add a bit more olive oil if needed. allow to cook down for a few minutes. add the sweet paprika, smoked paprika, hot paprika and caraway seeds and give it a good stir, so the spices are evenly distributed.  this will also toast the spices a bit. add the tomatoes and water and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pan.  add beef broth and cover.  place in a 350 preheated oven and allow to cook for about 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is fall apart tender. 

remove from oven and add lemon juice.  add salt and pepper to taste.  allow to sit for a few minutes, then taste again for salt.  stir in sour cream and parsley (check one more time for salt). serve over buttered wide-noodles or dumplings

venison tagine {moroccan}

i may have mentioned before

(a time or three)

that hubs is a hunter

which

affords us a freezer full of rich meats

antelope, boar, venison, elk

venison works well with the heady spices 

found in an african pantry

 

venison tagine

serves 4

(printable recipe)

1 1/2 lbs venison (or lamb) cut into chunks

1/2 cup (about) flour

olive oil

salt to taste

3/4 tsp pepper

1 Tbs garam masala-after grinding*

large pinch saffron threads

2 cups warm water

1 medium onion-grated

1 clove garlic-finely chopped

generous handful dried cranberries or cherries

1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into slivers

1 lemon-grated zest and juice

1 cup blanched almonds

1/4 cup honey

2 Tbs unsalted butter

dissolve saffron in the warm water. preheat oven to 350F. heat olive oil in bottom of heavy bottom (oven proof) pot or dutch oven.  coat the venison pieces in flour and brown in olive oil.  once brown, add in onion and cook until the onion just begins to brown on edges. toss in garlic and give it a few stirs. allow to cook a couple of minutes.  add saffron water, cover and place in preheated oven.  cook until venison is very tender about 45-60 minutes).  remove from oven, add in cranberries (or cherries if using), apricots, honey, lemon zest and juice, almonds, and honey.  place over medium heat on stove and cook for about 15 minutes more. if it appears to be too dry add a bit of warm water just to loosen a bit. if it is too watery, remove the top and cook and stir to slightly thicken.  remove from heat and stir in butter just before serving.

serve with couscous or over rice
*i use whole spices-toast them and then grind in mortar and pestle...but if you can find garam masala in your spice aisle, by all means use it!

venison stoup

i call this stoup because 

it is a soup-slash-stew

or stew-slash-soup

it cooks for about 3 hours

but is brothy

and a great way to use some of the less tender pieces of venison

but would also be great with beef

if that is your thing

this is really delicious

even if you think it is sad that anyone would eat bambi

no one eats bambi

bambi was a cartoon, silly

this is bambi's mother

venison stoup
(printable recipe)

4 strips of bacon-diced

2 lbs venison-cut into chunks

1 medium onion--diced

3 cloves garlic--chopped

2 ribs celery--chopped

2 turnips--chopped

2 large carrots--cut into rounds

4-6 small red or white potatoes--quartered

1 head cabbage--cut into pieces

14oz can stewed tomatoes--sqeezed to crush

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup venison or beef broth

4-5 cups water

cook the bacon in a stock pot and render all the fat.  meanwhile, dry the venison with paper towel.  once the fat is rendered and the bacon starts to get crunchy, add the venison and cook until browned on all sides. toss in the onion, celery and garlic and cook until they begin to soften.  toss in the rest of the vegetables, including the tomatoes.  add the chili powder, salt and pepper.  give it a stir or two and then add the liquid.  you want enough liquid to cover the meat and vegetables.  give it another stir and then cover and cook over low heat about 3 hours.  check often to make sure it is not boiling (you want a simmer), and that you have enough liquid.

serve with crusty sourdough bread

i am linking to tuesday night supper club

and

hearth and soul blog hop

and
tasty tidbits

deer camp soup {tuesday night supper club}

During the 3 minutes of fall weather that we had this past week, I started thinking about soup.

I heart soup

And then it warmed up

...but my taste buds don't know anything about atmospheric temperature

So I was still craving soup

I married a hunter.

Have I mentioned that about 100 times already?

Well..it is relevant to the story.

When he was a kid his father used to make what they called deer camp soup.

It was what they ate at deer camp.

Now mind you...I grew up in Los Angeles.  For me camp was where city kids went in the summer to sing songs and earn leathers.  The first time I heard deer camp I was slightly confused.  I thought perhaps it was DEAR camp...like a place that he really longed for or that was expensive. But then I thought...that is not how my husband talks.

So I asked...

...in a sort of way that made me feel like a complete and total Chrissy....

me: So...what goes on at this camp for deer?

him: Huh?

him: camp for deer?

him: city girl

me: nevermind

I caught on...eventually....after writing letters to his family in Camp Douglas.  What is it with the liberal use of the word-slash-action camp?

Anyway

Mike had very fond memories of this soup and wanted me to recreate it.  Here is the direction I received. It's tomatoey and I know it has tomato juice in it....and chunks of tomato...and meat..and some sort of beans....but it is very tomatoey.

Well...that's a start

Then one summer in Alaska we were going camping (notice the proper use of the word) and king salmon fishing.  And we set up camp, along side Willow Creek. And it was a bit cold, even for July. And I thought, this would be a great day for soup.  So I started concocting. By the time the guys arrived with their prizes in hand...

...I had something pretty good. And very welcomed.

I have played with the recipe a bit since then...making it a bit more spicy. But you can fine tune it to whatever you like.  It is basic and simple...and a whole meal in one bowl.

Deer Camp Soup
(printable recipe)

slug of olive oil

1/2 large onion--diced in small pieces

2 cloves garlic--finely chopped

1 lb lean ground beef 

(i used ground venison for this particular batch)

3 cups Mr and Mrs T's bloody mary mix

4 1/2 cups tomato juice

1 tsp lemon pepper (optional)

1-15oz can kidney beans--drained

1-28 oz can diced tomatoes

2-3 dashes worcestershire sauce

pinch cayenne (optional)

hot sauce to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of a heated pot, to coat in a thin layer.  Drop in onions and cook until translucent and starting to brown.  Drop in the garlic and cook for about a minute.  Add beef or venison and cook, breaking up pieces, until no longer pink. Drain if there is fat at the bottom of the pan. If you use venison, you can skip this part.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes allowing all the flavors to meld.  Taste for spice, salt and pepper.

If it is too thick for your liking add chicken stock or water.

I served mine with a cheesy crouton, but that is totally optional. It is great with saltines or oyster crackers crumbled on top.

Eat up!

Tuesday Night Supper Club

It's no secret that I am married to a hunter.  Well, my hunter came home last week with a cooler full of deer meat. We butchered it down, packaged it up and filled the freezer.

Venison does not taste like beef.  It has a more intense flavor, more earthy. I have heard it called gamey, but gamey makes me want to gag.  Venison doesn't want to make me gag.
It is very lean and can be gussied up or dressed down.

Tonight I am dressing it down.

My hubster likes pizza and we are always on the hunt for a great pie with a thin crust. I thought I would try and make a dough with minimal yeast and low gluten to minimize the lift and chewiness of the dough...in an attempt to get a thin crispy crust.
I figured I would give it a try for Tuesday Night Supper Club.
The results were fairly successful.  The pizza tasted much better than it looked. It looked homemade and scrumpy (scrappy and frumpy at the same time)....but my toppings rocked!

At Mike's request I made him a half and half pizza...half pepperoni and half ground venison.

"veneroni" pizza

Dough

2 1/4 cup tipo 00 or cake flour

1/8 cup olive oil 

1 cup tepid water

1 tsp active dry yeast

pinch sugar

1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, place the flour and salt.  Make a well in the center.  Drop a pinch of sugar in the water, then add yeast.  Let sit a few minutes making sure the yeast is alive.  Add olive oil to liquid.  Pour liquid in the well and mix to incorporate.  Remove dough from bowl and knead incorporating more flour if needed.  You should knead for about 10 minutes. You want your dough to be smooth, but it won't be completely springy.  Place in an oiled bowl.  At this point you can place in the fridge overnight---or for the afternoon and bring out about an hour before you want to make the pizza.  You can also buy pizza dough...but I think it will be more bread-y than this recipe.

Toppings

You can buy pizza sauce but I like to use marinara sauce. I always have some in the freezer.  

 1/2 lb ground venison or other meat--cooked well and in small crumble.

pepperoni slices

grated parmesan cheese

grated mozzerella

fresh basil leaves

mushrooms--thinly sliced

dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

very good olive oil

cornmeal

Roll out the dough to your desired thickness. I like it thin and crispy, so I go very thin.  I immediately put it on the pizza peel that I have dusted with cornmeal.  Trying to get the dough off the counter is a challenge otherwise.  Spread sauce on top, sprinkle with oregano and sprinkling of parmesan.  Top with meat.  Place mushrooms on top, along with basil.  Put as much mozzerella as you can stand. I like to dot with a bit more marinara--top with salt and pepper and drop on a pizza stone in a very hot oven. When it comes out of the oven, drizzle a bit of olive oil on top. Place the pizza stone in the lowest rack and turn the oven to the highest temp. Allow the stone to heat with the oven.  I usually get the oven going about an hour before I start to put the pizza together.  

I was craving a cheese pizza, so I made this for myself

cheese pizza

Topping

marinara sauce

parmesan cheese

pinch dried oregano

fresh mozzerella--sliced

grated mozzerella 

arugula leaves tossed in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper

Roll out dough, top with marinara.  Sprinkle parmesan and oregano.  Arrange sliced fresh mozzerella on top--add basil and top with some grated mozzerella. 

 I don't like gooey-gooey, so was a bit sparing on the cheese.  Once the pizza comes out of the oven, top with the arugula.  It will sort of melt into the pizza and make a lovely warm salad.

So there you have it.  Homemade pizza.  The good news is, you can make the dough in advance or you can buy it.  The rest is really easy.  I still maintain that it is less expensive than delivery pizza...especially if you are a generous tipper.  Tip yourself instead!

Eat up!