Hunters Pie: Paleo Comfort Food

It's funny how your tastes change over time.  As a kid I went through a phase where I hated shepherds pie, there was something disturbing to me about all that stuff under a potato crust.  Looking back on it I think it was the inclusion of peas (mom didn't cook with them all that often but they sometimes appeared in her shepherds pie).  Peas have never been a favorite for me, still not sure that they are.  Somewhere along the way though I came back around, started enjoying the warmth that a slice of shepherds pie imparts on the eater. 

Rejoining the shepherds pie bandwagon I have come up with a recipe I like (and have shared it before), given my recent dietary changes though my pie needed to undergo a little bit of a makeover.  This time around I was inspired by a venison roast we had eaten the night before (to be posted soon), the roast was delicious and yet it also yielded plenty of leftovers.  Similar to the origins of shepherds pie (a nutritious and delicious way for shepherds to take a meal with them into the fields to tend their flocks), hunters need a nutritious and delicious way to take food with them off to the hunt.  It is deer season here in Texas so there is plenty of venison to go around combine it with some sweet potatoes and tasty root veggies you get a hearty and delectible fall/winters eve meal.

Hunters Pie
1 Medium Sweet Onion, Diced
2 Carrots, Chopped
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Large Bunch of Mustard Greens, Chopped
2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, Mashed
1.5lb Venison Roast, Cubed
Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Saute Onion, Garlic and Carrots with 1 tbsp olive oil and liberal amount of ground black pepper.

2. Once onions and carrots begin to take on brown color, add meat*.  If meat isn't cooked, brown very well.  If using leftovers/cooked meat just bring to temperature.  Once meat is at desired state of brown/heated through, add greens to allow them to wilt.

3. Pour veggie/meat mix in the bottom of a 9x9 pan.  Top with mashed sweet potato.

4. Bake at 350 until top begins to brown.

*If you are not using leftovers/pre-cooked meat, season the meat well with basic, salt, pepper and garlic.

Yes, cavemen and women ate seafood

Eating like a caveman (ok cavewoman) sounds absurd, just the idea that you won't eat things that cave-folk were unable to eat.  Then you start thinking about it, that means no boxed/preserved food right? Not so crazy.  Yes, I miss Cheetoes...oh well. It also means no legumes, no dairy and no grains.  Again, you're probably thinking I'm crazy.  Maybe I am but I also am in the best shape I've been in in years, I recover substantially faster from tough workouts than I have ever and I'm learning that I have no limits, eating like a cavewoman is only a small piece of the puzzle but it's definitely helping.   So to keep myself interested in what I'm cooking and to keep what I'm doing from becoming 'routine' I have to stay creative, which means 'paleo-fying' recipes I already loved and finding new and interesting things. 

A lot of people who make major dietary changes look for ways to force their old tastes into the box of their new diet, I'm not sure I feel that is the best answer.  If this is going to stick it's better to make the switch, embrace it and on occasion allow myself a treat that is paleo but is paleo masquerading as non-paleo goodies.

In keeping with my love of the Farmers Market (and the whole, it should be wild thing that Paleo folks recoomend), I have been buying 99.9% of my seafood from a super vendor at my local market, K&S Seafood, they always have an amazing assortment of Gulf seafood, from shirmp and oysters to tuna, flounder or snapper.  All summer long I would pick up seafood from them almost on a weekly basis, for no reason other than the fact that everything I've gotten from them has been top notch.  So in the spirit of catching up on tasty things and bringing down the queue of recipes I haven't blogged here are two of my seafood delicious dishes from this past summer.


Crab Stuffed Zucchini
1 Large Zucchini, halved with the center scooped out
1/2 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 Medium Sweet Onion, diced
1/3 Cup Dessicated Coconut (Unsweet)
1/2 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 lb Lump Crab Meat, separated to remove any bits of shell
Extra Virgin Olive Oil




1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Once the oven is hot, place the zucchini halves in large glass baking dishes, put about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the dish and rub a small amount of olive oil along all exposed sides of the cut zucchini.  Salt and pepper zucchini and heat in oven until fork tender.
2. While zucchini is cooking, saute sweet onion until tender in a tsp of olive oil.  Then after onion is translucent, add remaining zucchini (what you scooped out of the center) and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Turn off heat, mix in cherry tomato halves, fold in crab meat.
4. Stuff zucchini with zucchini-onion-tomato mixture, top with coconut and green onions and put back in oven to brown.
5. Let zucchini brown, if the water has completely evaporated add another inch of water to keep things from drying out.

Poor Girl's Cioppino
1lb Snapper Filets, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 lb Lump Crab Meat, separated to remove any bits of shell

2 Fresh Hatch Chiles, seeded and stemmed
1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 14.5oz cans of fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1 Medium Sweet Onion, Diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Saute sweet onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until onion is translucent.
2. Once onion is cooked add 1 diced hatch chile and saute for about two minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and one can of water, let it come up to a boil.
4. Turn down heat so that broth/soup is simmering, let it simmer for 20 minutes.  Add salt/pepper to taste.
5. Add snapper and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces you cut, you just want the fish to cook in the broth) then turn off soup and add crap in.
6. Serve topped with a slice of hatch chile and chopped green onions.

Apples to apples

Somewhere between Halloween, the time change and today I realized the holidays are about to come crashing down upon me.  Scary thought, 10 days to Thanksgiving...OMG what is a girl to do?  Well this girl will start arming herself with all forms of delicious veggie sides, some kind of turkey recipe (we usually turn to a brined turkey but maybe something new) and of course a dessert.  It doesn't seem so overwhelming yet but just wait, I'm sure the stress will start getting to me.

Before pilgrims, turkeys and cornucopias come flying my way I want to share some non-turkey influenced recipes centering around my favorite fall ingredients...apples!  I have always enjoyed apples in the fall, between caramel apples, apple cider, apple baked goodies and just plain delicious apples it feels like fall when they are around.  I was super excited the last few weeks to receive apples in my Farmhouse Delivery box, who can beat local apples after all?   For those of you unfamiliar with Farmhouse Delivery, they are a very cool service from here in Austin that delivers bi-weekly or weekly produce boxes to your home or office.  While I am slightly outside their delivery zone I get a weekly box delivered to my parents house; each Thursday. I greedily look forward to the contents of that box  starting long before pickup on Thursday and then happily share it with my family.  It is a constant reminder of the diversity of products available in this area.  On top of the produce that is routine (and ever changing) in each box, you can order meats, canned goods, eggs, cheese and other extra grocery goodies to be delivered as well.  It's amazing how a $39 box has decreased my grocery store trips!  The other neat perk to this is that while they will swap out items due to dietary constraints, having that box delivered with whatever is available, fresh and seasonal means you have to work with it.  Just like other CSA-type programs I have opened up my box to find everything from pears to grapefruits and greens or even turnips (no, I don't know what I'm doing with those yet).

Running backwards after my trip down the Farmhouse Delivery rabbit hole...the main event today, apples. 

First up, a twist on a Cooking Light recipe, Savory Baked Apples.

Stuffed Savory Apples
Inspired by Cooking Light

2/3 cup chicken broth

4 large Honeycrisp apples, cored

1 lb ground pork 

3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1/2 cup sharp white cheddar, shredded (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Using a small spoon, carefully scoop out centers of apples, leaving a 1/2-inch-thick shell, and chop apple flesh. Brush the inside of apples with a small amount of broth. Place apples on a baking sheet, and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until just tender.
3. Preheat broiler to high.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, and sauté 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan; drain. Add chopped apple, onion, sage, salt and red pepper, sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add pork, onion mixture, walnuts and divide mixture evenly among apples; top with cheese. Broil for 5 minutes or until golden.

This year the Honeycrisp apples have been delicious, I will eat two maybe three in a day (if they aren't the massively big ones).  Apples appear in stuffings (haven't found my 'paleo' alternative to the bread yet), soups, stews, baked with cinnamon and agave nectar over the top and now as a main dish.

Apart from the stuffed apples, I also made a mean pork-apple soup a few nights back.  I don't mind soups, as a rule I used to love them as an excuse to have a nice crusty loaf of bread around, I think that's part of why I've avoided having a lot of soup since switching to my mostly-paleo diet.  Frankly this soup was delicious and would've been tasty with some crusty warm bread but being a good girl there was none to be found!

Pork & Apple Soup

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Pork and Apple Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound pork sirloin, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

1 onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds, (optional)

4 cups chicken stock

1 cups water

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 pound green cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)

2 tart green apples such as Granny Smith, unpeeled, cut into 3/4-inch chunks

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Toss pork with 2 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add meat to the pan, and brown, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, and caraway seeds, if using, and cook until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Stir in stock, water, mustard, cabbage, pork, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add apples, and continue cooking, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. Just before serving, stir in chopped parsley. Be careful not to simmer soup too long, extensive cooking will turn the pork tough.


The final recipe isn't as detailed, or even a recipe so much but instructions on making one of my favorite desserts.  It's quite simple really, core an apple (or two or three or pears or both), put it into an oven safe dish.  Put a few teaspoons of agave nectar or honey as well as flax seed granola (one of my favorite local finds - Flax Z Snacks) and then toss it in the oven (350F) until the fruit is tender.

Tailgating, it's not just for football

While many tailgate I venture to say none compare to the frequency or voracity of Texas tailgaters, for example, at any given Longhorn sporting even you are likely to see many RVs decked out (I know that's normal), a school bus or two that have been purchased and converted to classic cars be-decked with Horns, it's Texas, everything is bigger. However, tailgating is not simply limited to football, baseball, basketball, volleyball and just about every other sporting event imaginable can be celebrated at a tailgate. Frankly anything can be celebrated at a tailgate, one of the funniest (and scariest) things I've read lately on Wikipedia "(tailgating) is also used at non-sporting events such as weddings and other non-sports-related barbecue gatherings."

While I'm not about to propose wedding tailgating, to illustrate my point, we recently tailgated a regatta my boyfriend participated in! While that was celebrated at a local restaurant, we did tailgate the Longhorn football game this past weekend, while the Horns came out a little worse for the wear we at least enjoyed some tasty food and nice cold beer.

Our tailgate was an amazing combination of foods, some of which I have Hormel and Foodbuzz to thank for! In mid October Hormel and Foodbuzz sent out an invitation to participate in the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program by sharing Hormel products with friends and family (I know I get all the tough jobs!) so tasty pork dishes were my contribution to the Tailgate fare!

First, using the Hormel Always Tender Original Pork Tenderloin, Jalapeno-Honey Glazed Pork Kebabs.

Jalapeno-Honey Glazed Pork Kebabs

1 12-ounces pork tenderloin
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 fresh jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped*
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
2 Medium Red Onions, Cut into Chunks
1 Cored, Cubed Pineapple

1. Trim fat from pork. Place pork in a resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish. For marinade, in a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, the chopped jalapeno peppers, the ginger, and crushed red pepper. Pour marinade over pork. Seal bag; turn to coat pork. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours, turning bag occasionally.
2. Drain pork, reserving marinade. Cube pork and place place on skewers interspersed with pineapple and red onion.
3. Grill until pork is cooked through, brushing with marinade periodically.
4. Oven Directions: Prepare as directed in steps 1 and 2. Place pork on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast in a 425 degree F oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until juices run clear (160 degree F), brushing once with reserved marinade after 10 minutes of roasting. Discard any remaining marinade.




In addition, with some of the bite-sized Hormel Turkey Pepperoni's some Mini-Pepperoni Rolls, you might recognize the dough as the same dough my Mom and I used in our Foccacia:

Bite-Sized Pepperoni Rolls

1/2 Batch of Olive Oil Dough (recipe below)
2 Packages Hormel Turkey Pepperoni bite-sized
1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Basil

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Using 1/2 of Olive Oil Dough, roll out a large rectangle, cover rectangle with a mixture of cheese, pepperoni and spices, roll dough carefully keeping all ingredients inside of the roll.
3. Cut roll into hand-sized pieces, brush top with egg wash.
4. Grease a cookie sheet with olive oil or line with parchment paper. Bake 20 minutes (or until golden brown). Brush tops of rolls with melted butter or olive oil if desired.



Olive Oil Dough
Makes 4-1lb loaves.

2-3/4 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast
1-1/2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
2. Mix in the flour without kneading.
3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

For this crowd I doubled up both recipes, serving two tenderloins worth of kebabs and a double batch of pepperoni rolls it was a tasty treat for our tailgate!

Oktoberfest Braised Pork Chops with Apple Gravy

One last German recipe, no real story here it was just really tasty so I wanted to share!



Oktoberfest Braised Pork Chops with Apple Gravy
4 Center Cut Boneless Pork Chops
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt & Pepper
1 12oz Bottle Shiner Oktoberfest
1 1/2 Cup Apple Cider
1 Large Braeburn Apple, Sliced
1/2 Medium Sweet Onion, Sliced

1. Heat large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with butter. Salt and pepper both sides of pork chops and then sear in skillet.
2. Remove pork chops from skillet, saute onions and apple until browned then return pork chops to skillet.
3. Pour cider and beer in skillet and allow pork chops to cook approximately 30 minutes (or until done).
4. After pork is done remove it from the skillet and allow it to rest. Reduce braising liquid by 1/2.
5. Serve pork over apple and onion and dressed with reduced sauce.

Roasted Butternut Squash
1 Small (1lb) Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
2 Tbsp Sage, Chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425. Toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 40 minutes.
2. Remove from oven, toss sage over the top and then return to oven for another 15 minutes.

Oktoberfest, Ja!

I routinely mention my Texan heritage (something I'm fiercely proud of) but that's not the whole story, behind my Texas roots lies a history of immigrants from many places, a large part of that is German (you'll find them on both the maternal and fraternal family trees). I first started to explore my German heritage as a bit of a rebellion in high school, everyone took Spanish, why would I want to be like everyone else? So I took German...for many years in fact, it bled into my college courses as well! It's taken a little time, mainly because my cooking continues to evolve, but finally the German roots are starting to bleed into my cooking as well, first among my January 09 posts with spatzle and red cabbage and now with rouladen.

Rouladen is a classic German staple usually consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef, then cooked to perfection. What, may I ask, about that combination isn't to love? Oh, and did I mention a pan gravy, that's right, it can get better! Now, my post may be a little late for Oktoberfest but you'll enjoy this all fall long, it's got a delicious flavor and is perfect for a chilly fall night.


1 1/2 lbs Thinly Sliced Top Round Beef (if you have beef milanese available it's perfect for this)
Salt and Fresh Pepper to taste
2 Tsp Dried Marjoram
2 Tsp Dried Thyme
Whole Grain Mustard
1/4 lb Thick Sliced Bacon, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 Large Onion, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Parsley, finely chopped
1/4 Cup Chives, finely chopped
Six 1/2 inch dill pickle strips
4 Tbsp Butter
1 Carrot, finely diced
1/2 Cup Beef Broth
1 Cup Dry Red Wine
1/2 Tsp All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp water


1. Sprinkle salt, pepper, marjoram and thyme over beef, spread mustard over the tops as well.
2. Combine 1 Cup bacon, half the onion, all of the chives and parsley and toss. Lay even amounts on each beef slice. Place a pickle slice over the top of each, roll and secure with toothpicks.
3. In a sauce pan, melt 1 tbsp of butter over moderate heat, add carrot and remaining onions and bacon, allow veggies to brown for about 10 minutes.
4. In a large, heavy skillet, melt remaining butter over moderate heat and add meat, brown on all sides, remove from skillet. Add broth and wine to skillet and stir to loosen the bits. In a small bowl, blend flour and water then add to skillet and mix well. Return meat and vegetable/bacon mixture to the skillet, cover and reduce heat slightly. Cook for an hour, turn rolls once.


So the same way I whole-heatedly embrace my Texas-roots I proudly salute my German ones too with a Shiner Oktoberfest and a plate of spatzle alongside the rouladen. Prost!

Nothin Says Fall Like Pumpkin

At least not to me, I adore pumpkins in their many varieties, shapes and sizes...to the point of spray painting them after Thanksgiving (yes sometimes I still have them then) and putting gold or silver pumpkins under my Christmas tree....I might be crazy, I freely admit that. Needless to say as we round out the middle of October I feel it's now appropriate for me to start posting pumpkin related recipes so that I can fully celebrate one of my favorite vegetables.

The current issue of Bon Appetit has a beautiful recipe for Butternut Squash Gnocchi, I was enthusastic about it, grabbed all the ingredients and then stupidly (because I didn't read the steps in the recipe) thought it could be a Friday night dinner....well when the recipe says overall cook/prep time is 4 hours it's not a Friday night dinner! So, craving the gnocchi and trying to be creative I subbed a can of pumpkin for the squash and voila! Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter emerged!

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter
Based on Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Brown Butter by Bon Appetit


Ingredients
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 12- to 14-ounce russet potato, peeled, quartered
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups (or more) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook potato in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. While potato is warm, press through potato ricer into medium bowl; cool completely. Measure 2 cups (loosely packed) riced potato (reserve remaining potato for another use).


2. Mix pumpkin, potato, 1/2 cup Parmesan, egg, nutmeg, and salt in large bowl. Gradually add 1 3/4 cups flour, kneading gently into mixture in bowl until dough holds together and is almost smooth. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls.


3. Turn dough out onto floured surface; knead gently but briefly just until smooth. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.


4. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Sprinkle parchment lightly with flour. Working with 1 dough piece at a time, roll dough out on floured surface to about 1/2-inch-thick rope. Cut rope crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll gnocchi along back of fork tines dipped in flour, making ridges on 1 side. Transfer gnocchi to baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.


5. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

6. Working in 2 batches, cook gnocchi in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, 15 to 17 minutes (gnocchi will float to surface but may come to surface before being fully cooked). Using slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to same parchment-lined baking sheets.


7. Cook butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat just until golden, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes. Add sage; stir 1 minute. Add gnocchi; cook until heated through and coated with butter, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Serve with additional Parmesan.

While I don't doubt that the original butternut squash was delicious, the pumpking was a great substitute and really allowed a much more savory flavor to the gnocchi than I suspec thte sqaush would have. The recipe was delicious but made far too much for three people, I froze half the pasta for a later use and the half we had easily would've fed four maybe even five people. Needless to say, served alongside a roasted pork loin it was a perfect fall meal.