Continental Pheasant Hunt

Hi everyone;

Wow, two posts in one day - what's going on?? But as promised I wanted to highlight Hickory Grove Hunting Preserve in Wyanet, IL. Mike and Lori Wirth, the owners along with their son and a group of great guides have one of the best hunting preserves in North Central IL. Located in rural Wyanet, it is 1100 acres of some great habitat - timber, native grass, creek bottoms along with corn and milo strips galore. If you are interested in any pheasant, quail or chuckar, hunting it is open to the public and they will treat you right!

Anyway, the subject of this post is a "Continental pheasant hunt" and for those of you that don't know what that means, it is an Americanized version of the English "driven" hunts where workers used to drive the birds towards the "hunters" and they would shoot the birds - as incoming or crossing shots. While we don't have servants to drive the birds we do utilize a common release tower in some trees and we surround it on all four sides. They release 10 birds per hunter. We rotate evey so often so we get to shoot from all 4 sides and it is a lot of fun.

But what I like is "the clean up" afterwards for all the birds we miss (and we miss our share). That is when Ike got to get out and strut his stuff. He really did well, hard pointing at least two separate occasions and finding a wounded bird all on his own. His energy and enthusiasm is just something to behold and if any of you have had the privilege to see a dog work, it is an amazing testimony to the beauty and grace of "man's best friend".

The other thing I enjoy about going to Hickory Grove is the TREMENDOUS lunch Lori puts out. Think about it, you have been out in the cold (last year it was MINUS 14*) for 4 hours walking at least 4 miles of clean up carrying 6-8lbs of shotgun and shells, trudging through mud and snow... You work up a heck of an appetite... Take a look at the pictures - now that's good eatin'!

This is the menu:

Pan Fried Chicken

Homemade Meat Loaf

BBQ Pork

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Green Beans

Corn

Peas

Home Made Bread

and your choice of Pie (apple, cherry or pumpkin)

If you leave hungry it is your fault... The worst part is after you get warm, eat a meal like that you almost need a nap before you go home.. They do a great job and are great people...

Until the next time, "Ike find that bird!"

Pheasant Chili

Hi everyone;

As promised here is my pheasant chili recipe... It sure isn't brain surgery (I apologize to any brain surgeons who would stumble into my blog) but it, like Dirty Harry, is packin' some heat and some intense flavor.

Ingredient list:

1 lb Ground beef

1/2 pound smoke pheasant breasts

1/2 pound fresh pheasant breasts or legs (check for shot please:)

1 package of Carroll Shelby Chili mix (you can make it as hot as you like with this)

2 small cans black beans or 1 can black beans and one can red chili beans your choice

1 Medium Onion chopped

One big can crushed tomatoes (or whole ones if you like as they will cook down)

1 small can green chilies chopped

I small can Chipolte Chilies in adoebo sauce

extra cumin to taste

extra chili powder to taste

Masa flour

Beer (12 oz or less depending on how much room you have in the pot, but don't waste it as the rest goes into the cook!)

black pepper and salt to taste

Here goes:

I take some of the smoked pheasant breast from earlier posts

and chop it up into smallish cubes (or grab it out of the freezer since I didn't eat all of them the last time) and put it aside. Brown ground beef and add fresh pheasant (either ground if you have a grinder or chopped relatively finely with a knife) - depending upon the level of fat in the ground beef I may or may not drain as the pheasant is pretty lean and could use the fat. Add seasoning from Carroll Shelby chili packet and follow instructions on box.

I then add the onion (chopped medium) and let those soften. I add the tomatoes, beans and green chilies and let those simmer for a few minutes. While they are simmering, I open the Chipolte chilies and drain the adoebo sauce into the chili and chop up the chilies themselves and add them to the mix. I now add the smoked pheasant chunks. After simmering for about 15 minutes I like to add a little more cumin (I really like the earthy and smokey flavor that gives the chili -without the heat but then I add some more chili powder anyway, so go figure :). What I don't add is the cayenne pepper - just seems hot to me but knock yourself out if you like it 5 alarm style. Then add some beer (I like an amber or a lighter beer as opposed to a stout or porter - I think that flavor gets in the way of the chili). To thicken it I use the masa flour - Masa is a corn flour that is used to make tortilla chips and tamales. If you don't have any (the Shelby chili mix provides some) here is a little tip, take corn tortillas and crush them in a zip top baggy and add them to the simmering chili and that will work too ;).

Simmer for a couple hours adjusting salt and pepper to taste (as well as heat) but trust me the heat will develop as it cooks...

To serve - ladle into a bowl, top with sour cream (usually laced with a little lime juice) some tomatillo salsa (salsa Verde`) and a little Heinz chili sauce (I know, I know out of a jar??? but yes I like the flavor). A few chopped green onions, cilantro and a couple of tortilla chips as garnish and you've got yourself a Big Game Day chili that will get your metabolism working overtime!

Homemade Marshmallows

Hi everyone - Merry Christmas - Happy Hanukkah!
My brother in law and sister in law Mike and Nancy have an annual Holiday party and they really lay out the spread - including a Chocolate fountain with assorted fruit and sweets to run through the fountain. So I made some homemade marshmallows that went over pretty well. I promised to post the recipe on the blog - (still trying to get this blog to go viral so I can retire, hunt, cook and play golf so tell all your friends :p )
OK so by popular demand here is the recipe for the homemade marshmallows - with props and credit to Alton Brown - his show is where I saw it first a few years ago and I used his recipe...
Ingredients:
3 packets unflavored gelatin
1 Cup Ice cold water -divided
12 oz by weight of granulated sugar (about 1 and 1/2 cups by volume if you don't have a scale)
1 Cup Light Corn Syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar
1/4 cup Corn starch
Non Stick Spray
Candy thermometer
Oh and a strong Kitchen Aid or other brand stand Mixer with whisk - these will test a machine's oomph :)

Directions:
Place the gelatin into the bowl of the stand mixer along with 1/2 cup water -have whisk attachment standing by.
In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes. Uncover and clip candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240* F - about 7-8 minutes. (for you candy makers that is the "soft ball" stage). Once it reaches that temp, IMMEDIATELY remove from heat. (OK SAFETY WARNING HERE- THIS STUFF IS HOT AND WILL BURN LIKE NO ONE'S BUSINESS - SHOULD PROBABLY NOT HAVE THE KIDS HELPING FOR THE NEXT STEP)

Attach the whisk and turn the mixer on low speed and while running SLOWLY pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture - careful it is hot and you sure don't want that to splash up on to you. Once it is all in the bowl increase the speed to HIGH. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and lukewarm. about 12-15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. I am always amazed at watching the transformation from hot syrup to white shiny clouds. While it is mixing prepare the pan as follows:

Combine the confectioners sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 metal (I use Pyrex too) pan with nonstick cooking spray. add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move it around to COMPLETELY coat the bottom and sided. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.
When ready (and take my word for it your mixer will be ready to take a rest) pour, with the help of an oiled spatula into the prepared pan. Use the oiled spatula to spread the mixture around to the corners of the pan. Dust the top with enough of the sugar cornstarch mixture to lightly cover and reserve the rest (I use a small Ziploc bag or prep bowl) for later. Allow the marshmallows to set for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1" squares using a pizza cutter dusted with the cornstarch/sugar mixture . Use the rest of the mixture (I always have to mix up a little more at this stage -50/50 mix remember) to lightly dust the cut marshmallows so they don't stick... You can store them for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container..... Yeah RIGHT that'll happen. I am going to try some variations - Creme` de Menthe instead of vanilla, perhaps?????

Anyway below is the link to the recipe I used so if you want to go there directly and print off the recipe card - I give full credit to Mr. Brown-but want you to know that it isn't hard and really not too time consuming but they can be a little messy. Happy Holidays :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html