From field to table
One unusually warm, winter morning the clouds hung low in the sky, my bright orange camouflage hat shielded the hazy sun from my eyes. I eagerly tumbled from the truck, my feet heavy in oversized hunting boots. I was at the Black Point Hunt Club off of Highway 37 helping local chef, Rob Larman, unload his two wildly excited, panting French Griffons. We were in for a morning of working with these bird-retrieving dogs, Dixie and Rufus. Even though being out in nature on this beautiful morning was inspiring enough in itself, I hoped to bring home some pheasant. You know how I love game bird. The pastoral, flat farmland and natural grass prairies at Black Point are lovely, while also creating perfect birding conditions. The Club manages the hatching of the birds, releasing them into the wild as needed, with members then paying for the birds taken home.
The dogs were impressive, rushing ahead of us, noses to the ground, eager to flush a bird from the brush. These skills are deeply bred into them and this is just what they live to and love to do. It was fun to watch! Suddenly, there was a flurry of fluttering feathers from where Dixie had her head buried in a small bush and out flew a flash of brilliant color. Rob’s quick and accurate shot brought the bird down, where it was skillfully retrieved by Dixie. Amazingly, she swiftly delivered it before hastily returning to the business at hand of finding more birds. By the end of the morning, we had four big, beautiful pheasant thanks to the dogs and Rob’s crackerjack shot.
Back home, all excited about my birds – that Rob so graciously plucked for me – I flung open the cooler, let out a little gasp of horror and thought, “Oh boy.” There, looking up at me were little beady eyes, little bird feet and even little bits of feather here and there. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not typically squeamish when it comes to food. I truly adored the wild game dishes my mom prepared, even strange dishes of livers and such, but I was never made to pluck a bird or butcher a pig. My duck and quail come conveniently plucked and deboned from the butcher. But here, in this cooler, sticking up from their beds of ice, were little bird feet. Get a grip girl, you do love game birds after all. Yes, but do I love them with their feet still on? Of course I do! I’m a foodie after all. A gourmet. A self-proclaimed lover of all things edible. A local-is-better, organic-minded, and of course a bird-still-sporting-head-and-feet-is-better kinda girl. So, I did what any gourmand in their right mind wouldda done. I yanked one of those beauties, right by the feet, out of the ice. I asked for strength and guidance from my culinary heros – Alice and Julia, of course – poured a huge glass of wine and got cooking. A truly memorable day for me where I scored more than just dinner, but a greater appreciation for how our food gets from the field to the table.
On the Menu
Do you hate to see figs, apples, olives or berries simply going to waste in so many of Sonoma’s yards? Well, join me and the “Sonoma Fallen Fruit Project” for a discussion of gleaning in our community and learn how you can get involved to harvest this bounty or donate yours. Friday, February 4, 9 a.m. at Junipero & Co. on the Plaza at 115 East Napa Street. Complimentary coffee will be served. Call 939.9065 for details.
• In important news close to my heart, all Sonoma Valley Schools will have gardens come spring! It’s all thanks to the extremely hard work of the School Garden Project and the Project’s Director, Kathleen Hill. Funded through the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation and many generous donations – from Stone Edge Farm and Wedekind’s, to name a few – the goal of the Project is to establish planted garden areas and living classroom spaces for outdoor learning, ultimately improving school lunch nutrition. To make a donation, to learn more or to find out how you can help, visit svgreatschools.org or call 935.9566.
• Mondo American Beer Garden officially closed this past Saturday to make way for Willy Brooke and Margie Tosch-Booke’s newest venture, the Community Cafe. In addition to serving a home-style breakfast and lunch, featuring the seasonal “bounty of Sonoma,” the new restaurant will also provide the community with a much-needed private event location. For additional information, visit the Community Cafe’s website at ccsonoma.com. 875 West Napa Street.
• On Saturday, February 26, join the Sonoma Ecology Center and expert landscape designer, Maile Arnold, for a workshop on “No Till Gardening.” You’ll learn to work with nature by creating a “soil blanket,” with techniques for both annuals and perennials. The workshop fee is $10, which benefits the Ecology Center, and will be held at the Sonoma Garden Park on Seventh Street East at 10 a.m. For more information or to register contact Sandi Funke at 996.0712 extension 110.
• Also on Saturday, February 26, join Schug Winery at the beautiful Atwood Ranch for a Wild Mushroom Foray with expert David Campbell. Your $85 ticket includes the mushroom hunt, a mushroom cooking demonstration and lunch – back at Schug – with wine, catered by Olive & Vine. Call 939.9363, extension 206 to make your reservations.
• Learn how to keep bees the natural way during Randy Sue Collins’ “Organic Beekeeping 101 for Bee-ginners.” During this in-depth, two-day class you’ll discover how to get started from the ground up. February 19 and 26 at 10 a.m. Sonoma Valley Grange Hall, 18627 Sonoma Highway. The cost is $45. To register, call 365.4330 or visit Randy Sue’s website at organicbeekeeping101.blogspot.com.
• Oh happy day! Two of my favorite spots are – or will be soon – receiving their licenses to sell beer and wine. El Molino Central is now offering a lovely, unique selection of affordable wines that pair perfectly with their to-die-for Mexican cuisine. The Fremont Diner will also soon be serving up a sure-to-be interesting selection of beer and wine. Not that I ever need more of a reason to visit either spot, but can anyone say mimosas with breakfast?!
Best thing I ate this week
While most Mexican menus remain unchanged through the seasons, El Molino Central’s menu is now bursting with the bounty of winter. A lovingly fried Chile Relleno is drenched en Nogada, a sauce of this season’s walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Enchiladas are stuffed with braised Swiss Chard and their mind-blowing tamales are appropriately filled with pumpkin and white cheddar. Nothing says winter to me more than a steaming, chile-inflected bowl of pozole and their version was seriously, “the best thing I ate all week.” The corn hominy was the epitome of corn, a cornier corn. The combination of cool slivers of avocado and crunchy radish paired with shredded bits of succulent pork was sublime. The gargantuan bowl, enough to feed a small family, was a mere $10.50.
Braised Pheasant with Red Cabbage Wild Rice
Serves 2
For wild rice:
1/2 cup wild rice
1 cup chicken broth
1 T. olive oil
4 slices best quality bacon
1 small onion, sliced thin
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 tsp. red-wine vinegar
For pheasant:
One 2 pound pheasant
1 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 1/2 T. olive oil
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup gin
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. fresh minced rosemary
1/2 cup halved red and/or green seedless grapes
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a fine sieve rinse wild rice well and drain. In a small saucepan bring broth to a simmer. Sauté rice in oil over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Stir in hot broth, salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and place in the oven for 1 hour, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. In a large skillet, cook bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Transfer all but 1 tablespoon drippings to a small bowl and set aside. Heat remaining drippings over moderately high heat and sauté onion until softened and then add cabbage and sauté until softened. Add vinegar, salt and pepper and sauté 1 minute more. Chop bacon. Just before serving, stir cabbage mixture and bacon into wild rice. Check for seasoning and add more salt, pepper and/or vinegar if necessary.
Cut pheasant into 6 serving pieces, transferring feet, back, neck, and wing tips to a small saucepan. Add water and bay leaf and simmer, 15 to 20 minutes, or until reduced to about 3/4 cup. Strain stock through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl. In a small bowl stir together salt, pepper, and allspice. Pat pheasant dry and sprinkle evenly with allspice mixture. In a large, ovenproof skillet heat oil with 1 tablespoon reserved drippings over moderately high heat and sauté pheasant until golden, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer pheasant to a plate. In the same skillet, cook raisins and shallots over moderate heat, stirring, until shallots are softened. Stir in gin and boil until most is evaporated. Stir in wine and boil until reduced by about half. Stir in stock, tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste and bring sauce to a boil. Add pheasant to sauce, skin sides down, and braise, tightly covered, at 350°F. oven until breast meat is cooked through and tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer breasts to a clean plate and keep warm, covered. Braise legs and thighs until cooked through and tender, about 10 minutes more. Transfer legs and thighs to plate and keep warm, covered. Stir minced rosemary and grapes into sauce and boil until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Divide pheasant between 2 dinner plates, spooning sauce over it, and serve with red cabbage wild rice.
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