{"id":10582,"date":"2016-11-26T22:12:21","date_gmt":"2016-11-26T22:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=10582"},"modified":"2016-11-26T22:12:21","modified_gmt":"2016-11-26T22:12:21","slug":"venison-quince-compote-camote-chipotle-gratin-lacinato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=10582","title":{"rendered":"venison; quince chutney; camote chipotle gratin; lacinato"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10586\" src=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/cabbage_balsamic_juniper.jpg\" alt=\"cabbage_balsamic_juniper\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>with no hint of the richness of the entr\u00e9e, a light cabbage saut\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10589\" src=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/venison_gratin_lacinato.jpg\" alt=\"venison_gratin_lacinato\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>(&#8216;butter&#8217; still melting)\u00a0the empty space in the middle? reserved\u00a0for quince\u00a0chutney<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10592\" src=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/quince_compote.jpg\" alt=\"quince_compote\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>..and here it is (I had taken the second picture before serving the chutney)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10596\" src=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/4_cheeses.jpg\" alt=\"4_cheeses\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>tiny cheese, big toast, but the toast was very thin<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10591\" src=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/pecan_pie_gelato.jpg\" alt=\"pecan_pie_gelato\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>we decided to call pecan pie a Venezuelan desert (inside joke)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Thanksgiving with venison.<\/p>\n<p>The bad part: no leftovers; the good part: no leftovers.<\/p>\n<p>I had no interest in serving a turkey, and there were to be only 4 people at the table this year. Besides, turkey is hard, and it would have meant I couldn&#8217;t oversleep on one of my favorite holidays.<\/p>\n<p>We had venison; it was the best venison I have ever cooked.<\/p>\n<p>We both love game, and <a href=\"http:\/\/westviewnews.org\/2015\/06\/o-ottomanelli-sons\/\">Ottomanelli&#8217;s<\/a> had some thick New Zealand venison chops when I visited the shop last week. These rich cuts are at least as simple to prepare as a steak, and everybody thinks they can cook a steak, and they&#8217;re right. My now-favorite approach for venison chops\u00a0is to season them well, give them a quick searing on each side, then about 5\u00a0minutes in the oven, no turning required, followed by\u00a0a few minutes rest on warm plates before serving.<\/p>\n<p>The simplest of recipes does invite a little tweaking however. It could be as simple as deglazing the pan with spirits or putting together a composed butter to spread on the top of the cooked meat. I went for the latter this time, a blue cheese-fennel butter.<\/p>\n<p>The long, informal little dinner party began with a toast.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>there were Italian breadsticks\u00a0(terrific rustic ones,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariofongo.com\/eng\/grissini-stirati\/integrali-senza-strutto\">Mario Fongo <em>grissini integrali<\/em><\/a>, from Buon Italia<\/li>\n<li>the wine was a French (Champagne) sparkling,\u00a0<span class=\"wine-info__winery\"><a class=\"link-color-alt-grey\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vivino.com\/wineries\/domaine-laurent-perrier\" data-item-type=\"winery\">Laurent-Perrier<\/a> <\/span><span class=\"bold text-color-alt-gray wine-info__wine\">Champagne Brut<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The sitting part part\u00a0began with cabbage, almost a salad, but warm and savory.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10651\" src=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/cutting_cabbage.jpg\" alt=\"cutting_cabbage\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>love cutting cabbage; think it&#8217;s about the texture and\u00a0the simple movement<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>inside a large enameled cast iron pot, one chopped garlic clove from Stokes Farm, saut\u00e9ed in a tablespoon of olive oil only until golden, followed by\u00a0less than 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar, 6\u00a0crushed juniper berries, and roughly half of a pound of a\u00a0&#8216;conehead&#8217; cabbage (also known as &#8216;caraflex&#8217; or &#8216;arrowhead&#8217; cabbage) from Norwich Meadows Farm, very finely sliced, after the triangular core had been removed, sliced thinly and set aside, the cabbage seasoned with salt and pepper, the heat raised, the mix\u00a0fried for about one minute, stirring, then arranged on plates, the reserved core triangles arranged on top (I&#8217;ve used the basic recipe a number of times as an appetizer when we have guests, a favorite with cook and guests for its convenience and its deliciousness, respectively; it&#8217;s from &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abebooks.com\/Healthy-Italian-Cooking-Stucchi-Emanuela-Stewart\/1657544334\/bd\">Healthy Italian Cooking<\/a>&#8216;, by Emanuella Stucchi, a small &#8216;stealth&#8217; vegetarian tome I had been using it for years before I realized there was no meat or fish in any of the recipes<\/li>\n<li>slices of a\u00a0whole wheat sourdough miche from Bread Alone, in the Greenmarket<\/li>\n<li>the wine was an Oregon (Rogue\u00a0Valley) white,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.chelseawinevault.com\/foris-vineyards-rogue-valley-gewurztraminer-oregon-2014#.WDe1cLU8KaM\">Foris Vineyards Rogue Valley Gew\u00fcrztraminer Oregon 2014<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The entr\u00e9e included the venison chops finished with a gorgonzola-fennel seed butter, a quince and cherry chutney, a spicy-smoky sweet potato gratin, and a sweet &#8217;embossed&#8217;\u00a0leafy vegetable.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>four thick loin chops (6- 7 ounces each),\u00a0New Zealand\u00a0farmed venison, via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ediblemanhattan.com\/departments\/indigenous-industry\/ottomanelli-empire-after-60-years-on-bleecker-these-butchering-brothers-still-cut-everything-but-corners\/\">O. Ottomanelli &amp; Sons<\/a>, on Bleecker Street, brought to room temperature, generously seasoned on both sides, seared in a little olive oil and butter inside an enameled cast iron pan, placed in a 425\u00ba oven for about 5 or 6 minutes, removed, and allowed to rest, a tablespoon or so of a composed butter\u00a0placed on top while they were still warm (the butter was some softened \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/kerrygoldusa.com\/products?category=2\">Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter<\/a>\u2018 flavored with a small amount of toasted and crushed dried fennel seed; a few drops of Worcestershire sauce; salt; pepper; a couple ounces of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.casarrigoni.it\/en\/unici-gorgonzola.asp\">Gorgonzola Casarrigoni<\/a> from Whole Foods; and a sprinkling of crushed dried, very dark, heatless habanada peppers, rolled into a &#8216;log&#8217; one inch in diameter, and refrigerated until needed)<\/li>\n<li>quince chutney, made following <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thekitchn.com\/recipe-quince-c-160946\">this theKitchn.com recipe<\/a>, using a shallot from Keith&#8217;s Farm, a garlic clove from Stokes Farm, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.harvesttotable.com\/2007\/12\/quince_cooked_quince_has_a\/\">quince<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Red Jacket Orchards, dried sweet cherries from Whole Foods, fresh ginger from Lani&#8217;s Farm, apple cider from Locust Grove Fruit Farm (the recipe asked for apple cider <em>vinegar<\/em>, and I do have a bottle of the local stuff, from Race Farm, but I misread the instruction and the dish\u00a0still turned out more than fine)<\/li>\n<li>two pounds of Japanese sweet potatoes from Lani&#8217;s Farm, sliced thinly, seasoned with salt and pepper, arranged in 4 layers separated by portions of 2 cups of heavy cream that had been mixed in a blender with one chipotle pepper\u00a0and a small amount of adobo sauce (the layers beginning with the potatoes), inside a 8&#8243;x12&#8243; glazed ceramic casserole dish, baked inside a 350\u00ba oven for about one hour, or until the cream had been absorbed and the\u00a0potatoes\u00a0browned, finished on the plates with a scattering of micro radish from Windfall Farms (the gratin recipe, one I&#8217;ve used many times, is from &#8216;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.strandbooks.com\/celebrity-chefs\/bobby-flay-s-bold-american-food-more-than-200-revolutionary-recipes\">Bobby Flay&#8217;s Bold American Food<\/a>&#8216;, where, minus the micro radish, it appears as &#8216;Sweet Potato Gratin with Smoked Chiles&#8217;)<\/li>\n<li>about half of a pound of small tender leaves of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.discoverkale.co.uk\/what-is-cavolo-nero\/\">cavolo nero<\/a> (also known as lacinata, black kale, or Tuscan kale) from Tamarack Hollow Farm, briefly wilted with olive oil and 4\u00a0halved garlic cloves from Stokes Farm, the garlic first heated in the oil until they became pungent<\/li>\n<li>the wines were a California (Calaveras) red,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/us.nakedwines.com\/wines\/f-stephen-millier-black-label-red-angel-red-blend-calaveras-county-2014.htm?cid=USA\">F. Stephen Millier Black Label Red Angel Red Blend Calaveras County 2014<\/a>\u00a0from <a href=\"https:\/\/us.nakedwines.com\/winemakers\/stephen-millier.htm\">Naked Wines<\/a>; and an Italian (Sicily) red, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tenutaterrenere.com\/en\/wine-etna-red-wine-grapes-doc-nerello-mascalese-cappuccio-sicily.php\">Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 2014<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There was a cheese course.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>four\u00a0different cheeses, &#8216;Bigelow&#8217; goat cheese from Ardith Mae; Consider Bardwell&#8217;s &#8216;Reconsider&#8217;, which is a one-time event: a cow cheese finished in the &#8216;Manchester&#8217; goat cheese cave;\u00a0Consider Bardwell&#8217;s &#8216;Dorset&#8217; cow cheese;\u00a0and an untitled Consider Bardwell blue goat cheese<\/li>\n<li>thin toasts of a\u00a0fantastic &#8216;8 Grain 3 Seed&#8217; bread from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/newyork.seriouseats.com\/2013\/05\/good-bread-rock-hill-bakehouse.html\">Rock Hill Bakery<\/a>, Gansevoort, NY (the ingredients are:\u00a0&#8216;unbleached, unbromated wheat flour, water, organically grown\u00a0whole wheat flour, honey, corn grits, millet, oats, cracked barley, cracked rye, cracked wheat, flax seeds, brown rice flour, sunflower seeds, buckwheat flour, pops seeds, salt&#8217;),\u00a0made on my\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.camp-a-toaster.com\/\">\u2018Camp-A-Toaster\u2019<\/a>\u00a0[see <a href=\"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/2016\/02\/08\/thick-bacon-fresh-eggs-tarragon-salt-pepper-real-toast\/\">this post<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There was a sweet (well, <em>another<\/em> sweet).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a magnificent pecan pie, from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lepainquotidien.com\/\">Le Pain Quotidien<\/a>, the gift of our guests, beside a scoop of Ciao Bella &#8216;Madagascar Vanilla&#8217; gelato frm Whole Foods, served on glass <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Charger_(table_setting)\">chargers<\/a>\u00a0requisitioned for functional service the first time ever.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We topped the evening with neat sips of a very good Venezuelan rum,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/esnobgourmet.com\/2012\/12\/09\/4-razones-para-probar-el-ron-roble-viejo-ultra-anejo\/\">Roble Viejo Ron Extra A\u00f1ejo<\/a>, also from our guests.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the music was entirely from the Americas [Renaldo Hahn was born in Venezuela], drawn from a <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/user\/bhoggard\/playlist\/29USJPojJNAIcC7mviLtDV\">Spotify playlist<\/a> assembled by Barry for the afternoon and evening (we enjoyed slow food dinner and conversation for\u00a08 hours)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>with no hint of the richness of the entr\u00e9e, a light cabbage saut\u00e9 (&#8216;butter&#8217; still melting)\u00a0the empty space in the middle? reserved\u00a0for quince\u00a0chutney ..and here it is (I had taken the second picture before serving the chutney) tiny cheese, big toast, but the toast was very thin we decided to call pecan pie a Venezuelan &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meals-at-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}