Unheralded

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Hunter’s Chicken

Sometimes I like to try recipes that are posted on my Facebook feed. One such is for Hunter’s Chicken. It came from the website Les Repas de Mon Enance, which translates to “Meals from my Childhood. The author of the recipe is Daniel Parenteau, who describes himself the child of French-Canadian parents who was raised a small town called Biddeford …


Unheralded

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Creamy Tuscan Pheasant

Many people think of Italian cooking when they ponder delicious sauces served over pasta, lots of vegetables, olive oil and cheesy pizzas topped with a variety of meats. Ancient Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultures contributed to an Italian cuisine rich in all of those and more. Like all Italian cuisine, Tuscan food is rich in those attributes. Tuscany is also …


CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Honey Chicken

Among the favorite entrees at many Chinese buffets are the chicken dishes. Some of them combine chicken with vegetables such as broccoli, snow peas and water chestnuts. Still others are cooked a variety of ways and are mostly chicken, with names such as Coconut Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken, Sesame Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken. I’m kind …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Creamed Pheasant

Hunters who are cooks are always on the lookout for new recipes. After all, variety is the spice of life. While perusing the internet recently for pheasant recipes, I came across one for creamed pheasant that piqued my interest. The recipe has the usual suspects  — half-and-half, cream of mushroom soup and butter, i.e. — but I made a few additions …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Poultry And Pepper Stir-Fry

Stir-fry dishes can be some of the easiest to prepare yet the tastiest. And you can often make a good stir-fry with just the ingredients that you have on hand. There is no better time than summer or early fall for stir-fry, when vegetables are readily available in your own garden or at  farmers markets. Among my favorite ingredients in …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Slow Cooker Curried Chicken With Wild Rice And Mushrooms

Curry and paprika are an interesting combination in the preparation of food and are often used together in many Indian and Caribbean dishes such as chicken curry and jerk chicken. We do a fare amount of cooking with chicken and other types of poultry. Our freezers generally have an ample supply of Hutterite chickens as well as a turkey or …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Chicken And Potatoes With Tomato Sauce

Potatoes and tomatoes. Many people might think that’s an unlikely pairing — you could probably count me in that group unless you were referring to french fries and ketchup — but there are some days when you just want to try something new. So when I came across the following recipe, even though my food radar didn’t exactly light up, …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Chicken Stew

Exactly what constitutes a good stew? The vast majority of people will say theirs usually consists of some tender meat, usually beef, hearty vegetables (potatoes and carrots) and a delicious, thick sauce. But beyond this, there many options when it comes to stew. Some cooks like to lighten things up a bit and substitute chicken or turkey (I like pheasant). And …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Pheasant, Peppers and Onions

Skillet entrees have a lot of appeal. Not only do they cut back on the cleanup, they are also quick and easy. There are some foods that are just conducive to being cooked on the stovetop. Two of those are peppers and onions. Many a tasty dish starts off with that duo being sautéed in a little butter or olive …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Chicken Orzo Soup With Pesto

Pesto is often associated with pasta. So it stands to reason that the basil-based sauce would be a nice fit for chicken noodle soup or the like. I recently came across the following recipe, which was adapted from one in “Better Homes and Gardens Quick Homemade: Fast, Fresh Meals in 30 Minutes” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019). It’s not your mother’s …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — City Chicken

Chicken is the most popular meat in the United States, more well-liked than beef or pork. That’s according to 2018 statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But why is it so? Versatility is probably the No. 1 reason. The U.S. is a very diverse country, so chicken’s mild taste and uniform texture is easily assimilated into many cuisines. But …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Barbecued Pheasant

Fall is perhaps my favorite season of the year. The reason for my fondness is that I get to combine three of my favorite pastimes — gardening, hunting and cooking. The past couple of months have been especially satisfying. I finished my gardening, which started last March when tomato, kale and pepper seeds were planted indoors; canned more than a …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Garlicky Mushroom Chicken With Spinach In Cream Sauce

Comfort food is most often associated with winter, when the wind is blowing and the snow is flying and the temperature is on the nippy side, usually below zero. But there can be times when the weather is nice, perhaps with temps in the 70s or 80s, that a hearty meal really hits the spot. That’s where I found myself …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — The Cry Of The Pheasant

One more time around for pheasants and Paul Southworth Bliss, in honor of Saturday’s 2017 Pheasant Season Opener. This will be my 59th pheasant season. Actually more because before I was 12 in 1959, when my dad bought me my first shotgun, I had tagged along since I was able to keep up with him in the field, probably starting …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Creamy Chicken And Vegetables

Chicken ala king is one of those dishes that’s not only been a staple of many families over the years but also one that can be made with a variety of ingredients. As the name implies, chicken is the star of the creamy entree, which also features vegetables. But which ones complement the chicken can vary from recipe to recipe. Generally, …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Slow Cooker Hunter’s Stew

Hunting season has arrived in the Northland. For many cooks, that means it’s time to start digging through their recipe boxes for some tasty wild game dishes. Over the years, I’ve listened to some of my readers complain about wild game recipes because they can’t “bear” the thought of eating magnificent Canada geese, which mate for life, or a Bambi, with whom they …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Southwestern Pheasant Soup

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard someone say “it tastes just like chicken” when they are describing some other kind of meat. Sometimes, it’s said in jest. But more often, people really mean it. Pheasant fits into the latter category. And in my opinion, the game bird tastes just as good chicken, maybe even better. I ought to know, since pheasant has been a staple in …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Chicken With Tomatoes

Undoubtedly, many gardeners who grow tomatoes have more than they can handle — unless they do some canning. Even those who put up whole tomatoes, tomato juice, salsa or the like might have their hands full if they were overzealous and plotted too many plants, especially this summer in which there have been ideal growing conditions for those who have …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Chicken Cacciatore

If ever there was a dish that hunters should embrace, it’s cacciatore. It means hunter’s style in Italian. (The French call it chasseur, the Spanish cazadores.) The stew, which is usually made with chicken, also includes mushrooms, onions, sometimes sweet bell peppers and an assortment of spices. It is fairly low-cal and quite tasty. Apparently, the dish originated during the …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Creamed Chicken

There’s nothing better than some comfort food on a day that’s cold and windy. And today is one of those days! (Well, actually, you could say that about a lot of days if you live in the Northland, especially North Dakota and Minnesota.) Many dishes fit that bill, but one that does it for me is creamed chicken (in my case, …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Fowled-Up Stroganoff

Anyone who hunts and also is handy around the kitchen knows that most of the game that can be taken in the field is interchangeable recipe-wise with meat that is raised domestically. And those who are familiar with me aren’t too surprised by the number of entrees I’ve prepared over the years that feature wild game. The total probably vastly exceeds any of those that makes use …