Deliciously Retro: Venison Meatloaf + Old Bay Brussels Sprouts

I was raised by an amazing single mom. During the week my grandmother was my caregiver, but on the weekends I wasn’t visiting my father, my mom tried her damnedest to be the mother she wished she had time to be. I had a blast helping her make dinner and dessert (usually some sort of comfort food followed by dark chocolate chip cookies) on a Friday night, dancing as we did so. These nights were joyful and often accompanied by fingernail painting and classic movies. We were essentially living an episode on Gilmore Girls. These laughter filled evenings felt more like a slumber party with a friend than a night in with my mother, and this feeling is one I’d like to pass on to my children one day.

One of the staple recipes my mom made was a 50’s style meatloaf with, as she calls it, “an egg surprise.” I’ll try to recreate that delightfully retro dish here, in honor of my mom and our weekend dinner/ joy fests.

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground venison (my mom used beef or turkey but I’m still using up the venison C procured during his last hunting trip)
1 onion
1 cup matchstick carrots
4 hard boiled eggs
2 regular eggs
2 slices of toast crumbled
Barbecue sauce (use your favorite)
Salt
Black pepper
White pepper
Oregano
Cajun seasoning
Cumin
Garlic powder
*Note on spice measurement: Although I used about a tablespoon each of the spices, this kind of heavy seasoning is only appropriate for wild game. If using beef, turkey, etc. season lightly.*

Accompaniment: Sriracha or Mang Tomas (both sauces are easily found at Asian markets)

Performance:
I began by hard boiling four eggs. * I’ll give a quick lesson on how to perfectly hard boil eggs every time—I placed the eggs in a small pot of cold water then brought the pot to a boil. Once the pot started boiling I set my timer for 12 minutes. When the time was up I drained to eggs, then plunged them into an ice bath to halt the cooking process. And that my friends, is how you make perfect hard boiled eggs every time.* While the eggs were boiling I diced up an onion and sautéed in olive oil it until golden in a medium pan, then transferred it to a large bowl. Then, I unwrapped and placed my ground venison into the large bowl with the onion. Next, as a precaution, I donned some nytril gloves because frankly, I didn’t want to be picking raw meat, raw eggs, and spices out from under my fingernails until kingdom come. I cracked 2 eggs into a separate smaller bowl, whisked, then added them to the venison. I toasted two slices of wheat bread, tossed them into a large Ziplock bag, and handed the bag of toast to C to scrunch into breadcrumbs (he thought this was fun) then add it to the venison and eggs. I then had C shake in the matchstick carrots, salt, black pepper, white pepper, oregano, Cajun seasoning, cumin, and garlic powder. I squished and mixed everything until it was fully combined, then greased a glass meatloaf pan with olive oil. Next was the fun part—I smoothed half of the mixture into the bottom of the pan, then placed the four hard boiled eggs, end to end, into the mixture. I then placed the remaining mixture on top of the eggs and smoothed it into a dome shape. Finally, I smothered, and I do mean smothered, the entire meatloaf with barbecue sauce. I slid the meatloaf into the oven at 350 degrees for one hour and the internal temperature was 155 degrees.

C and I sliced the meatloaf, tasted, and giggled at the pure comfort food pleasure. We complemented it with two awesome Asian sauces called Sriracha and Mang Tomas (it was fun to take a forkfull of meatloaf and dip it into either the spicy Sriracha or the sweet and savory Mang Tomas), Old Bay Brussels sprouts, and a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a good Friday night.

Bonus Side Dish: Old Bay Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:
2 pounds Brussels sprouts
Olive oil
Old Bay seasoning
1 microwave safe Ziplock bag

Performance:
Make sure the Brussels sprouts are clean, then place them in a Ziplock bag and toss it in the microwave for 5 minutes. When the time is up, carefully transfer to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning, and mix. It’s the quickest, easiest, tastiest side dish ever.

Filipino Recipe: Guinataang Alimasag (Crab in Coconut Milk) *The Low Budget Version*

When I was a little girl my grandmother used to make guinataang alimasag (crab in coconut milk) for me on special occasions. She would take me to our local Asian food market, lead me to the large container of live crabs, and hand me some metal tongs. I would lift the dancing water creatures with the tongs, giggling as I did so, and plop them into a paper grocery bag. They would snap their claws audibly, and rustle about in the paper bag in the back seat on the way home. My grandmother would cook them on the stove and tell me about her childhood in Manila as I sat, watching and listening closely, with my knees hugged to my chest. I remember intensely how it made me feel to eat that dish. The crabmeat was tender and yielding, and the coconut milk a comforting sweetness that managed to be heavy and light at the same time.

I wanted to recreate this dish, but didn’t want to shell out (LOL I "crack" myself up!) the big bucks for real crab, so I used imitation crab and it was still wonderful. This also makes the dish safe to eat for anyone who is allergic to shellfish (still be cautious and read the label before use if that is a concern). The use of imitation crab also makes this recipe very quick and easy to make, so it would be no problem to throw together as a midweek meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb imitation crab
Coconut oil (honestly any kind of oil will do to oil the pan)
2 cans coconut milk
3 cloves garlic
Ginger (about a tablespoon, freshly grated)
6 green onions (cut in thick 2 inch pieces)
Black pepper
White pepper
Salt
Cooked rice (to serve with completed dish)

Performance:
I began by slicking the pan with coconut oil and sautéing the garlic and ginger until golden. I then added the coconut milk and stirred casually for about 20 minutes. I then added the imitation crab and added the spices to my taste. Once the crab was well incorporated, I added the green onions and cooked until they were slightly tender. I served over rice and was transported back to childhood.

Sick Day Edition: Spicy Chicken Soup + Apple Cider Hot Toddy

A few weeks ago, I came down with a nasty cold. Nashville had been struck with another snow/ice storm and of course, everything was shut down once again. C had gone out of town for business and was stuck in New England, so I was all by my lonesome self. Fortunately this time around I actually believed the weatherman when he announced another bout of the snow and ice was on its way, and I hopped over to the grocery store and stocked up before the storm.

My cold hit me with the same force as the weather did. It was sudden, and it shut my body down. Even though I had bought a variety of healthy foods to keep me occupied during my days in, I found I didn’t feel like they were what my body needed to feel better. I was craving orange juice, saltine crackers, Jello, (not all at once of course), and honest to god chicken soup. I knew once I’d had a bowl of spicy chicken soup I’d feel loads better, so I convinced myself to get out of bed and make the ambrosial concoction.

Ingredients:

***NO JUDGEMENT for not boiling the heck out of a whole, raw chicken, carefully seasoning it with spices, and babying it for 3 hours. I know how to do that, and lord knows it tastes way better and is supremely elegant when its finished, but I was sick ok ya’ll?! ***

Chicken stock (32 fl oz and pre-seasoned)
Chicken (I bought packaged pre-cooked and pre-sliced kind typically used for salads)
Baby carrots (whole bag)
Mushrooms (whole package)
Celery (one stalk, because frankly I don’t like celery that much)
1 glass of white wine (veering into Coq Au Vin Blanc territory here, but it’s a delicious addition)
Salt
Black Pepper
White pepper
Cayenne
Oregano
Garlic powder
Bonus: Sriracha (A little squirt of this potent Asian hot sauce in your steaming soup will cure what ails you!)

Performance:

I dragged my pathetic self out of bed and into the kitchen. I glugged the chicken stock into a large pan, and groaned pitifully and felt sorry for myself until it began to boil. Very carefully, attempting not to drip snot into my soup (Eww!) I added the chicken, baby carrots, mushrooms, and celery. The stock was already seasoned but it tasted kind of bland (maybe because I couldn’t breathe out of my nose, and therefore couldn’t taste) so I shimmied in some salt, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne, oregano, and garlic powder. I also added a glass full of white wine. Once all the ingredients had softened, I ladled some into a bowl, gave it a hefty squirt of Sriracha, plopped myself back into bed, started an episode of Gilmore Girls on Netflix, and slurped away. Though the weather was terrible outside and I missed C, I had a big bowl of spicy chicken soup all to myself—and that made me happy.

Drink Recipe Bonus: Apple Cider Hot Toddy

When the chicken soup is gone and you need something to nurse your cold and help you sleep, nothing is better than my Apple Cider Hot Toddy.

Ingredients:

1 packet Alpine Spiced Cider Mix
2 Cinnamon Sticks
Honey
Lemon (just a little slice)
1 shot of bourbon (your choice)

Performance:

Heat a kettle of water on the stove. While you’re waiting for the water to come to a boil, add the powdered spiced apple cider mix, cinnamon sticks, honey, lemon, and bourbon to your mug. Once the water is boiling, tip the water into your mug and stir. You’re welcome.

Snow Edition: Filipino Fried Rice (With Guest Post by C)

Last week in Nashville it snowed. Readers from the northeast must be thinking, “Yeah, so?” But the fact that the city of Nashville has no equipment whatsoever to combat icy roads means that the presence of snow shuts the city down. It didn’t help that after it snowed an ice storm came through, covering the city in stunningly beautiful, dangerous ice. It's poetic really, and sort of speaks to the balance in life that beauty is usually accompanied by danger.

C and I had just come home from our Valentine’s Day trip to Chicago a mere 2 hours before the storm hit. We made it home at 1:30 am and awoke to a powdered sugar world. We were stuck. To make matters worse, all the stores in the city had shut down, but honestly, there was no point in venturing out when you had fleece pajamas and a Netflix account.

The only thing was, we had no food in the house. I mean, almost none. We knew we were going to be away for the weekend, so we hadn’t bothered to buy groceries. And that stuff about snow coming? To Nashville? Pfft! We didn’t believe it! Boy, did we regret that skepticism, because by about 5 pm after eating nothing all day, we were really, really hungry.

I peered into our sad looking, nearly empty fridge. All we had were 2 eggs and green onions. That was it. I opened the freezer and noted a package of frozen shrimp and a package of frozen longanisa, which is a chubby little Filipino sausage that’s chock full of spices. C was morosely staring at our cupboard, “All we have is a bag of rice” he said in a brittle voice. It was at that moment I realized I could make some dinner out of this motley crew of ingredients.

I relaxed, poured myself and C a glass of red wine, shooed him to the couch with his copy of “Criminal Law: Cases and Materials” and set to work.


Ingredients:

Frozen Longanisa (This can be bought at any Filipino store, but most Asian markets carry them as well. Mine were already cured, which made the cooking process really quick)

Frozen Cooked Shrimp (Tails off and de-veined.)

Green onion
2 Eggs
Rice (Any kind will do, but I’d be a bad Asian if I didn’t tell you to try to use rice of good quality.)
Chili Olive Oil
Sesame Seed Oil
Soy sauce
Garlic Power (Mine has parsley in it too.)
Chili powder
Pepper

Performance:
While I assembled my ingredients I asked C to start cooking some rice. He’s actually become quite the expert on rice cookers these days, and I thought it would be fun to have him guest author the bit about rice. C writes:


Calynn called me back from the couch to cook her some rice. A few years ago, when I was in Japan, I learned about the wonders of computerized rice cookers. Rejected by most westerners as a silly affectation, high-end Japanese-built rice cookers are held in the highest regard by Asians from Changchun to Singapore. If you’ve never had rice cooked in a good rice cooker, you can’t fully understand what you’re missing. These things make essentially perfect rice—of any type—with just a few clicks through some menus on a screen. Last summer, I bought myself a rice cooker to end all arguments, a Zojirushi NP-HBC10. At the time, this purchase caused me all sorts of grief from more practical people; however, all the rice cooker’s detractors have at last been won over. My computerized contraption has an LCD screen on its front, a superb non-stick pot in the middle, and a speaker that plays “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on its back. Lest you forget its illustrious provenance, MADE IN JAPAN is emblazoned on the front, in letters as large as the brand name.

I rinsed off two cups of short-grain white sushi rice and poured them into the rice cooker. The cooker has little hash marks to show you how much water to use. After filling the pot appropriately, I closed the lid, set the program to the type of rice I was using, and pressed the COOK button. After the machine serenaded me with my favorite lullaby, I reluctantly returned to the couch and engrossed myself in second-degree murder cases.


…And I’m back! I hope you enjoyed C’s addition. Let’s return to our regularly scheduled recipe:

While C made the rice I de-frosted the longanisa and shrimp in warm water and cut the green onions into little emerald rings. Once the longanisa was no longer frozen, I cut them into medallions and tossed them into a wok glazed with chili olive oil. I cooked the longanisa until they were crispy on the outside, then added the shrimp. The longanisa imparted lots of different spices that the shrimp absorbed, and since the shrimp were already cooked, it took only a few seconds in the wok to get them pink and adorably curled. I tossed in the green onions and took a moment to appreciate how pretty all the ingredients looked, all tumbled together in the wok. I then added C’s rice and shimmied in soy sauce, sesame oil, chili powder, garlic powder, and pepper. I combined everything, then asked C to crack two eggs into the middle of the mixture, and stirred vigorously to scramble the eggs into the waiting rice, shrimp, onions, and longanisa.

C dubbed the meal “Filipino Fried Rice,” and I realized that’s exactly what it should be called. We ate our dinner with white and blue ceramic chopsticks we bought at an antique mall in Charlottesville, Virginia before we moved. The hot food made us take quick inhales with each bite to cool our tongues. We talked about how we were snowed in last year, when I made pancit in our little barn house in the Virginia countryside. How quiet it was there with nothing but the trees and each other for company. And how now, even in this loud city, the snow hushed everyone up.

Verde Chicken and Venison Enchilada

Tonight I wanted to take a second stab at Mexican food, but experiment with traditional flavors, and maybe add my own twist. I peered into my fridge and noted the following: leftover venison (from the tacos the night before), chicken, plain Greek yogurt, and a jar of salsa verde. I decided then and there, that I was going to make enchiladas. Never having made enchiladas before, I allowed my past devourings at Mexican restaurants to guide my hands in the kitchen. I announced my maiden voyage to C, who was poring over his casebooks at the table. “I’ve never had enchiladas before,” he grinned. This was a small comfort knowing that if I messed this up, he’d be none the wiser.


You will need:
A lasagna pan
6-7 large corn tortillas
1 bag low fat Mexican shredded cheese
Package of chicken tenderloins
About 2 cups ground venison sausage (mine was already cooked)
Half a small bag of frozen corn
Broccoli
Beech mushrooms
Cilantro
Green onion
1 jar of salsa verde
3 cups Greek yogurt
Chili infused olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Chili powder
Garlic Powder
Caribbean jerk seasoning
Cumin


My adventure began by cooking the chicken on medium in a pot with chili infused olive oil. I then removed the chicken, shredded it with a fork, then returned it to the pot. I added the leftover venison from the fridge and warmed it through. Then I poured in about ¾ of the jar of salsa, 1 cup and ½ of the Greek yogurt, and about half a bag of frozen corn. I also included some broccoli and beech mushrooms, (even though those ingredients are decidedly not Mexican) just because. I shimmied in salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, Caribbean jerk seasoning, and cumin all to my taste (which is spicy). For freshness, I included a handful of green onions, and cilantro. I stirred, waited for my potion to bubble, then tasted--not bad. The contents in the pot were somewhat soupy, so I decided the leftover juices would become part of the topping sauce. I then preheated the oven to 400 degrees, oiled my lasagna pan with the chili infused olive oil, and got out 6 tortillas. With a slotted ladle, I spooned my mixture down the center of a tortilla, folded in the sides, and laid it gently down into the lasagna pan. I repeated this 5 times, snuggling each next to the other like children in sleeping bags. I then turned my attention back to the leftover soup/sauce in the pot. I added the last ¼ of the jar of salsa verde, and about 1 cup and ¼ of Greek yogurt. I tasted, then added more chili powder and pepper. My topping sauce complete, I drizzled it happily over my cozy little enchiladas, sprinkled some low fat Mexican cheese on top, then put them in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the top was golden bronze and bubbling. By the time it was done, C had already emerged from his casebooks and was sniffing expectantly in the kitchen. Once removed from the oven, I gave it a flourish of cilantro and green onions. He loved it.

Venison Tacos

Five years ago, I spent some time in Mexico teaching ballet classes at a fitness spa and resort. The meals served for the guests and employees were all vegan in nature, and while all the food was amazing I had a craving… for meat. I spoke of this desire to my fellow instructors and they informed me that I could procure exactly that for which I yearned at a local taquería stand in town. So one night, they spirited me away to this magical stand, which while incredibly tasty and satisfied all my needs, left a little to be desired in the manner in which they served their food. As I stood in line, repeating the phrase in Spanish I knew would get me what I wanted, I watched as the cooks seized paper plates, covered them with a wrinkled grocery bag, and tossed the tacos onto them with a splat. When the customers were finished, the clean up process was simply removing the used grocery bag and placing on a new one on the paper plate. The smell of the tacos was so heavenly that I didn’t care. When it was my turn, I said in a terrible American accent, “Tacos de maíz con carne asada, por favor,” then repeatedly said over and over again in my head, “Please God; don’t let me get hepatitis from these tacos!” Of course I was fine, and the sublime perfection of the tacos was amazing. Tonight, I decided to make a quick, homemade version with ingredients I had on hand.

Ingredients:
1lb. Venison sausage

Shredded cheese
Green onion
Salsa
Sour cream
Mixed greens
Soft corn taco shells

Performance:
I began by cooking the venison sausage in a skillet until cooked through. I took great satisfaction in using this particular venison sausage because it was made from a deer C procured last hunting season. The processing company he uses puts a ton of great spices into their sausage, so the flavor is very intense and the meat is tender. I then spooned the sausage onto the centers of the soft taco shells, and topped with salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, green onion, and mixed greens. It was too tasty and too easy.

Thanksgiving Edition - Peking Duck

This Thanksgiving was the first C and I have ever spent away from our families. I took this opportunity to challenge myself and cook an entire Thanksgiving meal. For the main dish, I wanted to do something different—something that was traditional, but with a nod to my Asian heritage. After a lot of thought, I decided to make an at home version of a Peking duck. Traditional Peking duck is very labor intensive, and takes at least 3 days to prepare. It involves hanging a duck to dry for a day, then blowing air into the duck to separate the skin from the meat (this is done usually by mouth), scalding the duck with boiling water to tighten the skin, hanging to dry for another day, and careful roasting in a stone oven with various exotic woods from trees I’m sure aren’t found in North America. After some careful research, I thought up a way to recreate the traditional method without all the fuss. Of course, the process does take some time, maybe 3 hours start to finish, but at least it doesn’t take days!

Ingredients:

5 lb. Whole Duck

Soy Sauce

2 Oranges

1 Bulb of Garlic

Chili Powder

Garlic Powder

Ginger Powder

Paprika Powder

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Sugar

Performance:

I began by absolutely freaking out. When I unwrapped my duck, I found it was almost completely covered in tiny pinfeathers. Pinfeathers and I had never crossed paths until Thanksgiving morning, 4 hours before our guest would arrive. After some frantic phone calls and desperate Googling, I found I had essentially no choice but to carefully pluck out as many of the pinfeathers as possible and then rely on the oven to burn away the bits sticking out and soften the rest remaining under the skin. C and I took turns plucking pinfeathers out of the duck with my Revlon tweezers for about 30 minutes. This would have been humorous if I weren’t level 10 stressed out about the situation. After this, I very carefully pricked and slightly lifted the duck skin with a fork, to simulate the whole blowing-in-the-duck process to separate the skin from the fat—because quite frankly, hell would freeze over before I would blow into Mr. Quack Quack. I then brought a large pot of water to a boil with about a cup of sugar and a cup of salt stirred in. I lowered the duck into the water and turned off the burner. I left the duck in his little bath for about 5 minutes until his skin turned a light tan color. When I brought the duck out of the water, the skin had tightened around the body; this step apparently is what gives it a crispy skin. After the duck had cooled down enough to touch, I donned some nitrile gloves, cut an orange into quarters, and stuffed it in the cavity. I also cut the top off a large bulb of garlic and stuffed that into the duck as well. I then placed the duck onto a roasting rack pan, cut another orange into quarters and had C squeeze the juice all over the duck while I rubbed the skin. I then had C pour a cup of soy sauce over the duck, and I rubbed that into the skin as well. C sprinkled chili powder, garlic powder, ginger powder, paprika powder, cumin, salt, and pepper on the duck and I evenly dispersed the spices on the skin. I added about 2 cups of water to the bottom of the roasting pan so the water would steam up and keep the duck moist. I tossed out my gloves, donned some oven mitts, and placed Mr. Quack Quack into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. After that, I lowered the heat to 350 degrees and roasted the duck for 45 minutes. I then flipped the duck, basted with the juices from the bottom of the pan, and roasted for 35 minutes. After this time, I flipped the duck again, basted, and roasted for 15 more minutes. Once the time was up, I removed the duck from the oven, and checked the temperature; it registered at 175 degrees, which is the ideal internal temperature. When our friend arrived, he came bearing brandy, which I of course sipped on in a ladylike glass and poured about half a shot glass over the steaming bird.

When we sat down to the table, I was still a little bit nervous about the pinfeathers. The duck smelled heavenly, and I silently hoped my efforts had brought me success. To my delight and surprise, all the leftover pinfeathers had burned off and disappeared into the duck skin, and we were left with a perfect roasted duck that reminded me of my Grandma Trina’s Peking duck. It was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. The skin was crispy and flavorful and the meat was juicy. C and our friend agreed.

*Bonus: To make a gravy, simply tip the juices collected at the bottom of your roasting pan to a small saucepan. Add about 2 tablespoons of cream (add more of you like a creamier gravy) and about a teaspoon of flour. Stir on low heat until velvety, and pour over your duck. It’s practically sinful over mashed potatoes as well.