Grouse Three Ways

Three for the price of one! Having never cooked grouse before, I decided to hedge my bets and make two little appetizers and a third, longer cooking dish. We enjoyed all the dishes, but I think my favorite is the first one.

These grouse were field dressed, then soaked in salt water for several hours and cleaned again. After that, I mostly just treated them like chicken (speaking of which, grouse stock? Sound good? Maybe this weekend).

Bacon-Jalapeno Grouse Rolls

Ingredients

breast of grouse, cut into strips
bacon, extra fat removed, cut the same size as the grouse
sliced jalapeno
flour
olive oil
toothpicks

Lay the grouse strips onto the bacon strips. Place a jalapeno slice at one end and roll into a small package. Hold together with a toothpick. Dredge lightly in flour and brown in the oil till cooked through.

Salsa Grouse

Ingredients

breast of grouse, cut into strips
flour
olive oil
salsa

Dredge the strips in flour, brown in oil. Combine with salsa and simmer until cooked through.

Braised Grouse

Ingredients

meat from 2 grouse, cut into bite-sized chunks
flour
salt
pepper
ground red pepper
olive oil
1/2 c chicken stock
1 c white wine
rosemary
sage

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and red pepper. Dredge the meat in the flour and brown in oil. Move grouse to an oven-safe pot. In the skillet, bring the stock, wine, and herbs to a boil. Pour over the meat. Cover and bake for 1 hour. Serve over rice. Or biscuits, if you are lazy and don't want to make rice.

Salmon Sandwich

When the Husband came home, he told me that on the flight into Anchorage, a tourist had asked where he should go to eat first. After several minutes of debate, everyone in the plane was in agreement - he ought to go to Glacier Brewhouse and have the salmon BLT. It was then my sad duty to inform the Husband that the Brewhouse stopped carrying the salmon BTL. WTF. That's what I said the last time I was there and tried to order it. I think I almost cried.

However, when New Sagaya got some late silvers in, we decided to try and make our own version. Here it is!

Ingredients
salmon fillets, cut into sandwich-sized portions
salt
pepper
bacon
tomato
baby spinach
pesto
kaiser rolls

Remove the skin and pin-bones from the fillet. Gently rub the fish with the salt and pepper and set aside. Sautee the bacon until crispy; remove from pan and drain. Return the pan to heat - once it is hot, add the salmon. Sear 2-3 minutes on each side, or until light pink.

Meanwhile, toast the kaiser rolls and spread with pesto. Top with bacon, spinach, tomato and, of course, salmon!

Low, Slow, and Totally Sexy Chicken

This chicken is so incredibly easy, amazingly versatile, and fantastically delicious. What it isn't is quick. But still, it's not so bad. You can very easily come home from work, pop it in the oven, take care of the family or things around the house, and take it out in time for dinner.

Sexy Chicken

Preheat the oven to 265. Rub a chicken breast with your favorite seasonings - I recommend salt, pepper, and garlic and wine seasoning (plus cayenne if I'm feeling spicy!). Wrap the chicken in a foil packet, making sure the edges are well sealed. Bake in the oven for 1 hour.

The finished chicken can be served as it, or it can be easily shredded for other uses, like my delicious chicken-spinach go wrap:

Shredded chicken, baby spinach, and marinated mozzarella, melted in the oven for a crispy crunch on the tortilla!

Watch out, or the cat might steal it! That's how good this chicken is!

Pizza, pizza!

So, after seeing my friend's delicious pictures of her pizza posted all over facebook, I hopped over and borrowed her dough recipe from her blog over at Magnifico! and made myself some pizza and cheese sticks. I really need to restrain myself when it comes to the cheese, and endeavor to get a thinner crust, but it came out quite nicely. Now I need to convince the husband to buy me a pizza stone or two!

Pizza Dough
Ingredients
3/4 c warm water
1 t active dry yeast
1 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c bread flour
1/2 t salt
1 T olive oil
1 T honey
dash of oregano

Mix the water and yeast in a small cup - set aside for 5 minutes to proof. In a bowl, blend together the flours, oregano and salt. Stir in oil, honey, and the yeast mixture. A dough should form, sticky but not damp. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead for a few minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place it seam-side down in a clean bowl. Cover and set in a dry, warm place to rise approximately 1 hour.

Turn back onto floured surface and knead for about 30 seconds. If you want two smaller pizzas, pull the dough in half and form two balls; otherwise just form one. Leave on the board and cover. Allow the dough to rise again for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

After the first 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 500.

Once the dough has risen, gently stretch to the desired shape and thickness. Add sauce and toppings and bake for 10 minutes.

Sauce
Ingredients
4 parts tomato sauce
1 part pesto

Blend the two together and spice to taste.


Toppings
Let yourself go crazy! I used some roasted chicken and five different kinds of cheese.