Post # 92
For a couple weeks in a row I was at a historical reenactment. This is what seems to be the busy season for me. Most of the events I attend for the year happen between the end of July to the first week of October. I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks, and in September I have three in a row, followed a week later by one in October.
All this means I have to cook things to eat, and all of that cooking is on the open fire. Oh, I do try to eat at one of the fine eateries in a tent kitchen once in a while. There is Doyle's, and there is Baby's. They both sell great frybread, and concoctions involving frybread. Baby's has the best fruit filled frybread (and Doyle will even say so too). She also makes a frybread filled with a wild rice hot dish. Doyle makes great frybread tacos, but I really like going over to his place on Sunday mornings before the rendezvous church service for his omlettes and all you can eat buckwheat blueberry pancakes. He also has his own line of home made root beer and sasperilla. My favorite is his "Red Birch Root Beer."
The rest of the time though, We have to cook stuff up ourselves. There is a couple that camps with me a lot, Barry and Annie. Barry is one great cook with the dutch ovens. We often have grilled venison that has been marinated in his special concoctions. He also makes a lot of stews, voyageur pea soup, dishes containing much manoomin (wild rice), and much more. He also makes great pies, biscuits,and corn bread in the dutch ovens.
There are many events I go to that Barry and Annie don't come to, so then I get to do the cooking. Having a background in a restaurant that was a 4 1/2 star when I was there (couldn't quite get to the five star status - fresh seafood products don't ship well to this part of the country, so they were missing from our menu, and without them you'll never get that 5 star rating), I like to step up the game a little, while still using foods of the period and the area.
A lot of times I just use my experience and make it up as I go. Then I find someone to help me "test" my recipe. That's how I came up with the raspberry-wild rice custard.
A week ago I made up another. I knew that I would be camping next to some dear friends of mine, the Southerton Family. I knew that they would try to just feed me the whole time (because they are just that way - hospitable and kind). I did play the role of "camp dog" for a couple meals, and it was well appreciated, but I was prepared to treat them as well. I suggested that we pool our meals for Saturday's dinner.
Braised Chicken in Raspberry Sauce With Wild Rice
Even though I just made this up off the top of my head (yeah, That's what I'll call it), I'm sure this recipe is most likely out there already, since all the ingredients have been out there for thousands of years. I can imagine Jaques Pepin making it on one of his programs ("an zen you pour ze razberry zose over ze shiken"). Either way, here's the recipe:
Cut up a goodly portion of the Trifecta of Taste; onions, green peppers, and celery. Cut them up small, and saute it all in real butter, and lots of it. When done pull it from the fire and set it to the side.
Then take pieces of chicken (you could also use pheasant or grouse for a wilder flavor), and salt and pepper them, put them into the bottom of a hot cast iron kettle with more butter. I used thighs, because they have the most flavor as well as enough meat. Don't crowd the pan - only brown a couple or a few pieces at once.
Once you've browned all the chicken put it all back in the dutch oven with half of the sauteed mix. Over that pour enough raspberry sauce to cover the chicken 3/4 of the way up (I make raspberry sauce every year from the berries from my patch - raw berries and boiled sugar water, put in mason jars, 15-20 minute hot water bath - besides cooking with it, or just eating them like peaches or pears, it also makes a great ice cream topping). On top of that pour a generous splash of wine. For this dish a blush type of wine works the best (dark meat, red sauce, but you wouldn't want the robustness of a red wine).
Put on the lid. Hang the pot low enough to start it boiling, then hang it up high enough to simmer it for about an hour.
At this same time start some wild rice to boiling. After the manoomin has been boiling at a low boil for about 20 minutes, take it off the heat, cover it and let it swell for a while. After it has swollen for about 20 minutes, add the remainder of the sauteed mixture, then boil it again for another 10 to 20 minutes. This will avaporate the water and pop the kernels that haven't popped open yet.
The Manoomin is ready to serve now, and so also should be the chicken. Add one more small splash of wine for flavor. Let the alcohol evaporate a couple of minutes and serve it all up. All the flavors really permeate the meat.
This dish was a hit, and I will be making it again in a couple of weeks.
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