The Hog Blog

Wait, don’t turn away. 

I know what it looks like, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve stooped to something so banal as blogging about what I had for dinner.  At leat not in general… but I have to say, Saturday night’s dinner was worthy of comment. 

It was no ordinary meal, and I didn’t cook it.  Heck, I didn’t even lift a finger until the dishes were served… at which point, I did my part by cleaning the plates as fast as they were put in front of me.  It was a joyous job, and one I was pleased to perform.  Heck, I’d do it again right now, and it’s not even dinner time!

I’ve mentioned Hank Shaw, the Hunter Angler Gardener Cook , a time or two.  He’s Holly’s (NorCal Cazadora) boyfriend and partner, and he’s  as talented as a chef as he is a writer.  Every year as the waterfowl season winds on, Hank and Holly throw what they call, “Duck Hunters’ Dinners”.  The guests of honor are various waterfowl the two have taken over the season, served up to a small group of select friends.  Holly had told me about these dinners, and even invited us to one a little while back… postponed, unfortunately, due to her bout with appendicitis.  Saturday night’s dinner was something of a make-up event.

Now I’m not the kind of food writer that Hank is.  I’m a little too inhibited to write in the sensual (and sensuous) tones and evocative language that he comes  up with to describe the play of flavors, smells, and textures.  I don’t know a lot of culinary terminology, and when I pair spices, dishes or wines, it’s usually by the seat of my own pants.  With that in mind, I doubt I could do the meal justice in my descriptions.  In the simplest of terms, it was abso-frickin-lutely awesome! 

I’ve eaten a lot of great food over the years, including some cooked by chefs you read about in gourmet magazines, or hear about on TV… but plenty of them prepared in a simple kitchen by folks whose culinary training came primarily from putting a couple of ingredients together in a way that seemed like a good mix.  Hank’s style seems to be a combination of the above, and it works very well!

Here’s what we ate:

• Snow goose rillettes on toast
• Goose prosciutto over green salad
• Deep-fried duck tenders with herb mustard
• Asparagus soup with duck fat and duck broth
• Sous vide duck breast with crispy skin chip and pomegranate sauce
• Braised duck Niederwald (duck legs and duck hunter sausage)
• Strawberries, mint and fresh cheese

I can’t remember the wines we had at each course, but it was a generally good match-up. 

Beyond that, I really don’t want to get into reviewing the meal.  That’s not what this dinner was about anyway.  It was about sharing the bounty of the field with friends, old and new, and enjoying an evening of telling tales, swapping stories, and discussing hot issues.  And really… that was all every bit as fabulous as the food!

A huge thanks to our hosts, Hank and Holly!

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