This morning started up bright and early; prepping for the dinner party. I had a special dish to prepare for 9 special friends and my beautiful bride. There's food you cook for company and food you cook for foodies and a third level too; food you hold in reserve for people who will appreciate and respect it. Today was one of those days. I had a whole hind quarter to cook and I did it long and slow. Lots of fresh veggies; carrots, onions, garlic, peppers, home grown apples. Fresh herbs; tarragon, sage, parsley sea salt and whole pepper corns. Pile it all up on a baking sheet and plunk it down on the grill. 7 hours on the grill at 300 F. Somewhere along the way it got soaked with an entire bottle of Merlot and one bottle of fat tire beer. Ah, the smell. A few crab apples placed directly on the grill to add flavor.
Along with dinner there was leek and roasted garlic soup, polenta and salami appetizers, wonderful cheese and olives that tasted like butter, a salad with super fresh veggies from the garden, corn bread that could have been for desert and to top it all off a tart cherry Demi Glace to pour over the meat. Lots of good wine and Flathead Cherry Coffee for a closer.
What a great group of people to share a special evening with. What made the evening so special? The last time I tried this, no women showed up! Why? The meat of choice for dinner? Bear, yes bear. If you were to poll all 11 people (I'm not counting myself), they loved it. Tender, juicy and full of flavor. Sometimes you like what's for dinner, sometimes what's for dinner likes you.
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