I have been instructed to drop all important activities and write something immediately “about the debate…please…” also.

So, my apologies for not blogging today. Also, sick children, doctors, playdates that went horribly wrong (of course it involved The Maniac. He phoned this afternoon from his playdate’s house and said sadly, ‘Mum, I am having a bad day. Can you come get me.’ It reminded me that Friday afternoon, also, is probably not the best time for the Smalls to have playdates - my fault entirely). Also.

And honestly, I don’t have much to say about the debate, other than, also, how much more interesting was it than Obama/McCain? Also. Honestly, I fell asleep after about twenty minutes of the Presidential one, but last night was riveting. Also. All I’ll say was Palin was far better than I expected, also did far better than in the Katie Couric interviews (although, darn! Can that woman talk…), also, and Biden? Well, let’s put it like this. I may now be in love with Biden. Also.

‘Wouldja?’ Beloved asked, as we lay in bed and I kept going on and on about how wonderful he is.

‘Well…yeah, maybe’ I said, at which point Beloved started making disgusted faces and saying, ‘Oh my God, you want to sleep with a man older than your father, that’s just horrible.’

Also, I should have pointed out that I don’t want to sleep with anyone other than the gorgeous hunk a’ burnin’ love lying in bed next to me, but I didn’t. Also, I just continued to point out Biden’s pearly whites and twinkly eyes. Also.

The End. (also)

The Smalls have just left, and we have a - relatively - kidless weekend. The eldest daughter is staying tonight, and all of us are feeling under the weather so we are having comfort food for dinner, and I will confess, I did not cook today, I have bought. We have this fantastic pasta store - Villarina’s - and everything is fresh, and I just whizzed over there on the way back from dropping The Smalls at The Republican, and picked up eggplant parm and broccoli rabe.

I don’t normally like buying prepared food, but it feels like it’s been a long week, and honestly, what I really want to do is soak in a hot bath for a while and crawl into bed.

But before I go, I have tracked down the recipe for the Venison Stew from the other night. Whilst it was was amazingly delicious, it’s not my kind of recipe as it seems like a tremendous amount of work. I’m all about the easy recipes that take no work at all but taste like you’ve been slaving for hours. In this, you will have to slave for hours, but worth it for a special occasion perhaps?

Venison Stew (from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins)

2 cups chicken stock
2 cups Madeira
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
8 juniper berries, crushed
1 bay leaf
3 pounds boneless venison shoulder, cut into 1 1/2″ pieces
8 oz bacon cut into 1″ pieces
3 tablespoons flour
1 rutabaga (about 2 1/2 lbs) peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
12 small white onions
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups pitted dates
1 large fennel bulb, julienned
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley

(Cor Blimey. I’m exhausted already just typing all of that…)

METHOD:

* In a large bowl combine the stock, Madeira, red wine, vinegar, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon of pepper, juniper berries and bay leaf. Stir well and add venison. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 2 hours.
* Preheat oven to 350
* Drain venison, reserve marinade. Pat meat dry.
* Place a large flameproof casserole under medium heat, add bacon, and cook until lightly browned and fat is rendered. Using slotted spoon remove bacon and set aside.
* Add venison to casserole in batches and brown quickly over medium-high heat, adding more oil if necessary.
* Return all meat to casserole, sprinkle with flour and stir well. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then add reserved marinade, cook another 2 minutes.
* Add rutabaga to casserole and bake on center rack for 45 minutes.
* While venison is cooking, place onions in pan of cold water. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain onions, rinse in cold water, slip off skins but leave root end intact. Cut in half lengthwise
* (I’m thinking, at this point, my neighbor deserves a medal for making this…)
* Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Add onions, cook for 2 mins, add 1 teaspoon of sugar and cook 1 more minute until caramelised. Remove onions set aside, also set aside skillet.
* Kill yourself
* (Kidding)
* Add onions and dates to venison, stir gently. Cover casserole and continue baking until tender. They say another 15 minutes. Our experience the other night says you might wanna try a little bit longer, say…45? Not for the meat, but those rutabagas can be bastards if they’re not soft enough…
* Meanwhile, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to skillet. Add fennel, cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook until caramelized, 2 minutes, and set aside.
* When the venison is cooked, gently fold in the cooked fennel, adjust seasonings, and sprinkle with parsley.

Okay, if any of you actually can be bothered to make this recipe, and send me a picture, I will send you a prize. Honest. You’ll deserve it.

I may even send you a signed book. Also.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 pm and is filed under Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.