Showing posts with label game dinner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game dinner. Show all posts
Game Dinner 2010 Rundown - Food Edition
So, last night was the big annual event that I look forward to every year: the Nelson Rod & Gun Club Game Dinner! I love this. Every year, as a fund-raiser, the club puts on a banquet featuring locally-hunted game meats (and some ham & turkey if the odd person there doesn't fancy the other stuff) donated by the hunters in the club. In addition to the food, there are prizes galore, the gun club awards ceremony (my dad always wins a big trophy and so he did again last night), a lot of camo, gun & archery vendors, and loads of taxidermy. This year, my dad got the tickets for the four of us (my brother & SIL came, too) and we all went together as a family.
Last year, the food was superb and the club brought in a professional to cook up the roasts. Her name is Jennifer, and she is the proprietor and chef at Vienna Cafe in Nelson, somewhere I frequent when I visit that city. I was thrilled to see last night, when I popped my head into the kitchen before dinner, that Jennifer was back! I knew the dinner would be excellent.
And so it was. And it was quite different, too, as there were some new dishes on offer I guarantee you wouldn't find anywhere else on this planet.
Exhibit #1: Roast elk. I didn't have any of this, as I was gunning for the roast moose. I like elk, but sometimes it's rather dry. I didn't get a picture of the roast moose (the buffet was very busy and it was awkward to take pictures) but I can tell you that it was excellent. I really love moose meat - so tender & tasty!
Exhibit # 2: Elk sausage in some kind of sauce. Again, I skipped this dish because I knew there was more moose on offer farther along the line. Apparently this was OK, though.
Exhibit #3: Moose goulash. Now we're talking! Jennifer at the Vienna Cafe makes a homemade goulash, and I suspect this is a game-spin on that dish of hers. This was one of the new dishes to make an appearance at the game dinner, and it was so good. I can't describe for you how good it was, in fact. Just superb. This went very fast and there were no leftovers, unfortunately.
Exhibit #4: Ginger elk. OH MY GOD!!!!! This was the dish of the evening - completely fabulicious. Jennifer of Vienna Cafe made the sauce for it and it was so delicious. This tasted just like the Chinese ginger beef dish you get at any westernized Chinese food place - only much better, and way less fatty & greasy. This was probably the most popular dish at the meal. I snapped this picture between the time the game dinner attendees served themselves and the kitchen staff came out to eat, and as you can see, the kitchen staff were pretty much going to be SOL with this one, because there was very little left after all the diners had gone through the line. I didn't get seconds myself because the pan was scraped bare after the kitchen staff were done. Oh, man, this was a killer dish!
Exhibit #5: Spatzle. This is something they serve at Vienna Cafe, too, and I suspect Jennifer's hand was in its appearance at this dinner. I didn't have any because it was near the end of the line and my plate was already full! I don't know how much of it was eaten in the end; this picture was snapped at the same time I took the elk ginger one, so it was just before the staff served themselves. My dad had some though and he really liked it. I'm not sure how something like this would have gone over with this crowd; most probably didn't have a clue what it was or what was in it, and it's a bit...shall we say..."cultural" for these folks.
Exhibit #6: My plate! OK, here is the plate I piled high for myself. Clockwise, starting at 12:00: Bun (obviously); stuffing; moose goulash; white tail deer meatloaf (awesome and so moist!); salmon (not great; it might have been steamed, and it was almost waterlogged); baked potato; salads (a coleslaw & a green salad were available); roast moose; and in the centre above the potato in the foil, the ginger elk. Also served at the dinner were a bunch of homemade pickles, different olives, and some homemade cranberry sauce. There was also turkey and ham available for the people not so keen on game meats, and there was gravy for the roasts.
Exhibit #7: Dad's plate. Dad likes his veggies, and there was a dish of steamed mixed veggies available. Dad had the spatzle, roast elk, and moose goulash, amongst other things. Shan had the elk sausage in the white sauce and she said it was OK. Everyone had the meatloaf and loved it. Shan and Jem had turkey, too.
There was no bear this year - thank God. And no cougar, either - thank God again. Before dinner, as people mulled around the prize tables, appies were offered: elk beer sausage, elk pepperoni, and elk garlic sausage, and mini moose meatballs, along with crackers, cheese & pickles. I had a moose meatball and it was delish.
Dessert is not even worth mentioning. You do not go to this event for the desserts, let me tell you. They are always el-cheapo supermarket crap desserts, and last night was no different.
As I mentioned, there were a ton of prizes to be won via door prize draws and bucket draws, where you buy a book of tickets for $20 and put the tickets in a "bucket" attached to a pack of prizes. I have never won anything, but my dad always seems to win all kinds of stuff. But last night was different: I actually won something! My prize pack included two beautiful, etched glasses; some hickory smoked sea salt; a six pack of organic beer made by the Nelson Brewing Company; and a $25 gift certificate to a clothing store in Nelson. I was totally stoked!
Now, I do not drink beer at all, so I am looking for ideas to use the beer in my cooking. Actually, it's a honey ale, to be precise. Shan suggested BBQ sauce and making some beer-battered fish. I plan on making a sourdough starter with one can. I can put it in beef stews, too. Do you guys have any ideas?
The hickory smoked sea salt is my first flavoured salt. I have some ideas for that, too. It will be great on popcorn, for one thing. Also on fish and chicken.
So, an excellent evening, when all was said and done! Now all I can do is look forward to next year!
The full Flickr set from last night is here.
Non-food related rundown is here.
Last year, the food was superb and the club brought in a professional to cook up the roasts. Her name is Jennifer, and she is the proprietor and chef at Vienna Cafe in Nelson, somewhere I frequent when I visit that city. I was thrilled to see last night, when I popped my head into the kitchen before dinner, that Jennifer was back! I knew the dinner would be excellent.And so it was. And it was quite different, too, as there were some new dishes on offer I guarantee you wouldn't find anywhere else on this planet.
Exhibit #1: Roast elk. I didn't have any of this, as I was gunning for the roast moose. I like elk, but sometimes it's rather dry. I didn't get a picture of the roast moose (the buffet was very busy and it was awkward to take pictures) but I can tell you that it was excellent. I really love moose meat - so tender & tasty!
Exhibit # 2: Elk sausage in some kind of sauce. Again, I skipped this dish because I knew there was more moose on offer farther along the line. Apparently this was OK, though.
Exhibit #3: Moose goulash. Now we're talking! Jennifer at the Vienna Cafe makes a homemade goulash, and I suspect this is a game-spin on that dish of hers. This was one of the new dishes to make an appearance at the game dinner, and it was so good. I can't describe for you how good it was, in fact. Just superb. This went very fast and there were no leftovers, unfortunately.
Exhibit #4: Ginger elk. OH MY GOD!!!!! This was the dish of the evening - completely fabulicious. Jennifer of Vienna Cafe made the sauce for it and it was so delicious. This tasted just like the Chinese ginger beef dish you get at any westernized Chinese food place - only much better, and way less fatty & greasy. This was probably the most popular dish at the meal. I snapped this picture between the time the game dinner attendees served themselves and the kitchen staff came out to eat, and as you can see, the kitchen staff were pretty much going to be SOL with this one, because there was very little left after all the diners had gone through the line. I didn't get seconds myself because the pan was scraped bare after the kitchen staff were done. Oh, man, this was a killer dish!
Exhibit #5: Spatzle. This is something they serve at Vienna Cafe, too, and I suspect Jennifer's hand was in its appearance at this dinner. I didn't have any because it was near the end of the line and my plate was already full! I don't know how much of it was eaten in the end; this picture was snapped at the same time I took the elk ginger one, so it was just before the staff served themselves. My dad had some though and he really liked it. I'm not sure how something like this would have gone over with this crowd; most probably didn't have a clue what it was or what was in it, and it's a bit...shall we say..."cultural" for these folks.
Exhibit #6: My plate! OK, here is the plate I piled high for myself. Clockwise, starting at 12:00: Bun (obviously); stuffing; moose goulash; white tail deer meatloaf (awesome and so moist!); salmon (not great; it might have been steamed, and it was almost waterlogged); baked potato; salads (a coleslaw & a green salad were available); roast moose; and in the centre above the potato in the foil, the ginger elk. Also served at the dinner were a bunch of homemade pickles, different olives, and some homemade cranberry sauce. There was also turkey and ham available for the people not so keen on game meats, and there was gravy for the roasts.
Exhibit #7: Dad's plate. Dad likes his veggies, and there was a dish of steamed mixed veggies available. Dad had the spatzle, roast elk, and moose goulash, amongst other things. Shan had the elk sausage in the white sauce and she said it was OK. Everyone had the meatloaf and loved it. Shan and Jem had turkey, too.There was no bear this year - thank God. And no cougar, either - thank God again. Before dinner, as people mulled around the prize tables, appies were offered: elk beer sausage, elk pepperoni, and elk garlic sausage, and mini moose meatballs, along with crackers, cheese & pickles. I had a moose meatball and it was delish.
Dessert is not even worth mentioning. You do not go to this event for the desserts, let me tell you. They are always el-cheapo supermarket crap desserts, and last night was no different.
As I mentioned, there were a ton of prizes to be won via door prize draws and bucket draws, where you buy a book of tickets for $20 and put the tickets in a "bucket" attached to a pack of prizes. I have never won anything, but my dad always seems to win all kinds of stuff. But last night was different: I actually won something! My prize pack included two beautiful, etched glasses; some hickory smoked sea salt; a six pack of organic beer made by the Nelson Brewing Company; and a $25 gift certificate to a clothing store in Nelson. I was totally stoked!
Now, I do not drink beer at all, so I am looking for ideas to use the beer in my cooking. Actually, it's a honey ale, to be precise. Shan suggested BBQ sauce and making some beer-battered fish. I plan on making a sourdough starter with one can. I can put it in beef stews, too. Do you guys have any ideas?The hickory smoked sea salt is my first flavoured salt. I have some ideas for that, too. It will be great on popcorn, for one thing. Also on fish and chicken.
So, an excellent evening, when all was said and done! Now all I can do is look forward to next year!
The full Flickr set from last night is here.
Non-food related rundown is here.
Game Dinner 2009 Rundown
All righty: the post you've all been waiting for - the Nelson Rod & Gun Club Game Dinner Rundown, Food Edition! A rundown of the events of the evening aside from the buffet can be found over here.
So, I had assumed after my 2007 experience that the food would be terrible. In fact, I made sure I ate a big late lunch, and even suggested to my brother that we might need to nip out to the A&W down the street during dinner because the food might be that bad. We were told well in advance that the club ladies would be doing the cooking, which indicated to me that the food wouldn't be that great - maybe a bit like gamey camping grub.
I am thrilled to report the food was great, and unlike 2007, which featured mainly elk meat done in various ways, there was a lot of variety this year. Thank God. The club actually brought in a professional to cook all the roasts. Her name is Jennifer, and I recognized her as the owner and cook at Nelson's Vienna Cafe, a place I go to quite often when I'm Nelson, because it shares a space with a second-hand book shop. Vienna Cafe serves great lunches, great coffee drinks, nice baking, and does beautiful celebration cakes. The roasts last night (moose, elk, white tail deer, mule deer, turkey, bear ham, and salmon) were done to perfection, and I was impressed.
So, Let's get started, shall we?
As we entered the hall, we were offered appies, and as we circulated around the hall looking at all the prizes on offer (door prizes, bucket draws, silent and live auction items) appies were circulated. This alone indicated to me that things might be a bit better than my previous experience, and right away the tone for the evening was set: game meat at it's best! The appy platters were all the same, containing cheese, crackers, three different types of elk sausage (pepperoni, garlic coil, and one other I can't remember), big horn sheep meatballs in sweet & sour sauce, and, yes, you are reading this right, cougar meatballs in cranberry sauce. The elk pepperoni was excellent, and the big horn sheep meatballs were pretty good, but the cougar meatballs were kind of gross. The meat was dry and tasted funny, and the sauce wasn't very good. They were also cold. 
Now, I am actually not a fan of cougar hunting on any level for any reason, and I was reluctant to even partake in any cougar, but I thought - it's already dead, I might as well try at least one ball, if for no better reason to tell all my foodblogging pals that I actually ate some cougar. So, yes, I tried some cougar, I didn't like it, and I'll never try any again. It was kind of weird to be eating cat of any kind, especially when a stuffed cougar stared down at us from its place on the stage with it's glassy eyes. In fact, it was downright creepy.
OK, onto the buffet. Like I said lots of variety, and even some non-game offerings for those not totally into the whole game meat thing. There were also salads, buns, mashed potatoes, homemade pickles, and some homemade condiments - cranberry sauce, horseradish, and oregon grape jelly. I actually tried the oregon grape jelly and found it to be quite delicious! We have so many oregon grapes around here that I might have to pick a bunch and try making some jelly myself!
Exhibit #1: Mule Deer. I couldn't get a good picture because there was a lot of bustling action going on at the buffet table, but you're not missing much because this looks exactly like roast beef. I didn't take any, but my brother Jem did, so I tried some of his. He didn't care for it, and neither did I; very strong and gamey.
Exhibit #2: White Tail Deer & Turkey This year's non-game selection included Glace Ham (I didn't eat it or take a picture) and turkey. In this picture, we have the star of the show for me, the roast white tail deer. It was AWESOME! Cooked to absolute perfection and decently rare, it was the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat I had ever tasted in my entire life. It was like butter. I had seconds! Next to it, was the turkey, which was very moist and flavourful, but not wild - it was a Butterball. Well, who knew? Butterballs rock, obviously, because this turkey was fantasic! It went quickly and I never got any seconds.
Exhibit #3: Moose & Elk Nothing terribly exciting about either of these game meats, which I've had before (my dad used to hunt moose and I had my fill of elk at the 2007 dinner). I took some pictures but didn't try either.
Exhibit #4: Sockeye Salmon This was cooked to perfection as well, and stuffed with lemon. It's hard to do salmon well in a buffet situation where chafing dishes are used, but this salmon was the bomb and it went quickly, too, so there were no left-overs when I went up for seconds.
Exhibit #5: Cougar Stew and Cougar Meatballs Couldn't do the stew, for reasons mentioned above. My dad and my brother really liked it, though, and there wasn't much left over at the end of the night. The one appy meatball I had was enough, but they put of them out a pan after all the tables had gone through the buffet line because I guess there were a lot of leftovers.
Exhibit #6: Elk Meatloaf This looked promising, and elk is OK meat, but when I tried this meatloaf, I didn't care for it. It came with a creamy sauce that was sort of sweet, but the meatloaf itself just wasn't very good. This was quite a popular dish, though; this pan went fast and they had to bring another one out.
Exhibit #7: Bear Ham OH MY GOD. I couldn't do this one at all. It just looked absolutely grotesque - and fatty, too, for some reason. In fact, it was the fattiest meat there. I tried some bear sausage at the 2007 dinner and really didn't like it. There didn't seem to be any point in my trying this. And there was a stuffed bear looking at us as we ate (see above taxidermy pic)...
Exhibit #8: Tomato & Basil Elk Sausage This was OK. The sauce was good and the sausage was OK, though a bit on the dry side. This was also a very popular dish that went quickly.
Exhibit #9: Dessert I have absolutely no idea what this was. It was a very strange cross between lemon meringue pie and ambrosia. It had a cakey bottom, a lemon pudding layer, then all these marshmallows. It was OK, but it was very weird.
The full Flickr set from the evening can be viewed here.
I encourage you to read about the rest of the evening here, including how I became the proud owner of a Hot Lips Elk Call - with picture of me trying to learn how to toot the thing!
So, I had assumed after my 2007 experience that the food would be terrible. In fact, I made sure I ate a big late lunch, and even suggested to my brother that we might need to nip out to the A&W down the street during dinner because the food might be that bad. We were told well in advance that the club ladies would be doing the cooking, which indicated to me that the food wouldn't be that great - maybe a bit like gamey camping grub.
I am thrilled to report the food was great, and unlike 2007, which featured mainly elk meat done in various ways, there was a lot of variety this year. Thank God. The club actually brought in a professional to cook all the roasts. Her name is Jennifer, and I recognized her as the owner and cook at Nelson's Vienna Cafe, a place I go to quite often when I'm Nelson, because it shares a space with a second-hand book shop. Vienna Cafe serves great lunches, great coffee drinks, nice baking, and does beautiful celebration cakes. The roasts last night (moose, elk, white tail deer, mule deer, turkey, bear ham, and salmon) were done to perfection, and I was impressed.So, Let's get started, shall we?
As we entered the hall, we were offered appies, and as we circulated around the hall looking at all the prizes on offer (door prizes, bucket draws, silent and live auction items) appies were circulated. This alone indicated to me that things might be a bit better than my previous experience, and right away the tone for the evening was set: game meat at it's best! The appy platters were all the same, containing cheese, crackers, three different types of elk sausage (pepperoni, garlic coil, and one other I can't remember), big horn sheep meatballs in sweet & sour sauce, and, yes, you are reading this right, cougar meatballs in cranberry sauce. The elk pepperoni was excellent, and the big horn sheep meatballs were pretty good, but the cougar meatballs were kind of gross. The meat was dry and tasted funny, and the sauce wasn't very good. They were also cold. 
Now, I am actually not a fan of cougar hunting on any level for any reason, and I was reluctant to even partake in any cougar, but I thought - it's already dead, I might as well try at least one ball, if for no better reason to tell all my foodblogging pals that I actually ate some cougar. So, yes, I tried some cougar, I didn't like it, and I'll never try any again. It was kind of weird to be eating cat of any kind, especially when a stuffed cougar stared down at us from its place on the stage with it's glassy eyes. In fact, it was downright creepy.
OK, onto the buffet. Like I said lots of variety, and even some non-game offerings for those not totally into the whole game meat thing. There were also salads, buns, mashed potatoes, homemade pickles, and some homemade condiments - cranberry sauce, horseradish, and oregon grape jelly. I actually tried the oregon grape jelly and found it to be quite delicious! We have so many oregon grapes around here that I might have to pick a bunch and try making some jelly myself!
Exhibit #1: Mule Deer. I couldn't get a good picture because there was a lot of bustling action going on at the buffet table, but you're not missing much because this looks exactly like roast beef. I didn't take any, but my brother Jem did, so I tried some of his. He didn't care for it, and neither did I; very strong and gamey.
Exhibit #2: White Tail Deer & Turkey This year's non-game selection included Glace Ham (I didn't eat it or take a picture) and turkey. In this picture, we have the star of the show for me, the roast white tail deer. It was AWESOME! Cooked to absolute perfection and decently rare, it was the most tender, melt-in-your-mouth meat I had ever tasted in my entire life. It was like butter. I had seconds! Next to it, was the turkey, which was very moist and flavourful, but not wild - it was a Butterball. Well, who knew? Butterballs rock, obviously, because this turkey was fantasic! It went quickly and I never got any seconds.
Exhibit #3: Moose & Elk Nothing terribly exciting about either of these game meats, which I've had before (my dad used to hunt moose and I had my fill of elk at the 2007 dinner). I took some pictures but didn't try either.
Exhibit #4: Sockeye Salmon This was cooked to perfection as well, and stuffed with lemon. It's hard to do salmon well in a buffet situation where chafing dishes are used, but this salmon was the bomb and it went quickly, too, so there were no left-overs when I went up for seconds.
Exhibit #5: Cougar Stew and Cougar Meatballs Couldn't do the stew, for reasons mentioned above. My dad and my brother really liked it, though, and there wasn't much left over at the end of the night. The one appy meatball I had was enough, but they put of them out a pan after all the tables had gone through the buffet line because I guess there were a lot of leftovers.
Exhibit #6: Elk Meatloaf This looked promising, and elk is OK meat, but when I tried this meatloaf, I didn't care for it. It came with a creamy sauce that was sort of sweet, but the meatloaf itself just wasn't very good. This was quite a popular dish, though; this pan went fast and they had to bring another one out.
Exhibit #7: Bear Ham OH MY GOD. I couldn't do this one at all. It just looked absolutely grotesque - and fatty, too, for some reason. In fact, it was the fattiest meat there. I tried some bear sausage at the 2007 dinner and really didn't like it. There didn't seem to be any point in my trying this. And there was a stuffed bear looking at us as we ate (see above taxidermy pic)...
Exhibit #8: Tomato & Basil Elk Sausage This was OK. The sauce was good and the sausage was OK, though a bit on the dry side. This was also a very popular dish that went quickly.
Exhibit #9: Dessert I have absolutely no idea what this was. It was a very strange cross between lemon meringue pie and ambrosia. It had a cakey bottom, a lemon pudding layer, then all these marshmallows. It was OK, but it was very weird.
The full Flickr set from the evening can be viewed here.
I encourage you to read about the rest of the evening here, including how I became the proud owner of a Hot Lips Elk Call - with picture of me trying to learn how to toot the thing!
Saturday Laugh
I think I'm going to make this my regular Saturday feature.
...And just to get you all excited about an upcoming post, tonight I am attending the Nelson Rod & Gun Club's annual Game Dinner. Oh yeah! The social event of the season in these parts! The meat is supplied by local hunters, and this year the ladies of the club are preparing the meal. It's probably going to be absolutely horrible (it usually is), but at least I'll get a good post out of it! Just to give you an appetizer, you can read about my last experience at this dinner, the 2007 Game Dinner, here.
...And just to get you all excited about an upcoming post, tonight I am attending the Nelson Rod & Gun Club's annual Game Dinner. Oh yeah! The social event of the season in these parts! The meat is supplied by local hunters, and this year the ladies of the club are preparing the meal. It's probably going to be absolutely horrible (it usually is), but at least I'll get a good post out of it! Just to give you an appetizer, you can read about my last experience at this dinner, the 2007 Game Dinner, here.
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