Seared Venison with Black Raspberry Sauce
Did you miss Part 1? You can find it here. For now, a quick recap:
- Ellyn hosted a wonderful evening around the theme Rocky Mountain High, inspired by her travels.
- The creativity reached new heights, with each course revealing layers upon layers (strata if you will) of information about the Rockies, the region, and the local cuisine.
- In the Part 1 post we took a close-up view of the Drinks and Appetizers. The Ks used blue spruce needles to flavor simple syrup (yes, this was cleared by the botanical experts) which, when mixed with gin, made an excellent Bristlecone cocktail. The Guys made a sculpture of flavored goat cheese and homemade sourdough whole wheat crackers, plus a magnificent Denver Omelette Fritatta done in the style of a tortilla Española.
- This time we will detail the Main Course and Dessert. Have a peek at the overall menu, to refresh your memory.
From left: Greg, Karen, Dan, Ann, Kathleen. Ellyn is in the kitchen, and Ilise is behind the camera.
The Menu:
Drinks – Kathleen and Karen: Bristlecones – a gin-based cocktail; and assorted wines
Appetizers – Greg and Dan: “Mountain Goat” Cheese Spread with Herbs and Lemon with Sourdough Whole-Wheat Crackers; Denver Omelette Frittata with Grandma’s Chili Sauce
Main Course – Ellyn: Roast Trout Stuffed with Lemon and Herbs; Seared Venison with Black Raspberry Sauce; Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries; Baked Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
Dessert – Ilise and Ann: A Rocky Mountain Ski-scape featuring Chocolate Layer Cake with White Chocolate Mousse Filling and Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Drinks – Kathleen and Karen: Bristlecones – a gin-based cocktail; and assorted wines
Appetizers – Greg and Dan: “Mountain Goat” Cheese Spread with Herbs and Lemon with Sourdough Whole-Wheat Crackers; Denver Omelette Frittata with Grandma’s Chili Sauce
Main Course – Ellyn: Roast Trout Stuffed with Lemon and Herbs; Seared Venison with Black Raspberry Sauce; Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries; Baked Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
Dessert – Ilise and Ann: A Rocky Mountain Ski-scape featuring Chocolate Layer Cake with White Chocolate Mousse Filling and Chocolate Fudge Frosting
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The Playlist: The playlist in Part 1 offered a mixed bag of pop, rock, folk, and country tunes which celebrated the Rockies, mountain living in general, and high times in all forms. Give it a listen here.
We’re going to set a different mood for Part 2. The playlist here is a 3-movement excerpt from An American Symphony, Charles David Denler’s modern classical piece from the album titled Portraits of Colorado. It is performed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Listen to the whole thing here. |
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For the Main Course, Ellyn brought both field and stream to the table. Forest, farm, and garden too. Roasted trout stuffed with lemon slices, rosemary and thyme was light and flavorful, evoking the simple pleasure of campsite dining next to a fire. (Our pals at Hooked on Fish sourced the trout, so you know it’s high quality, sustainable, and super-fresh.)
“Field” is represented by a lovely platter of seared venison loin, finished with an amazing black raspberry sauce bringing a welcome burst of summer’s bounty to the dead of winter. Bonus: The berries are from Ellyn’s garden, frozen from last year’s crop. Smart woman. She did a masterful job balancing the meaty, slightly gamy (in a good way) aspects of the venison with the bright, tart, and fruity sauce.
The side dishes were fan favorites as well, especially the horseradish mashed potatoes. Mmmmmmm!
How did she do it? Let’s hear from Ellyn herself:
“Field” is represented by a lovely platter of seared venison loin, finished with an amazing black raspberry sauce bringing a welcome burst of summer’s bounty to the dead of winter. Bonus: The berries are from Ellyn’s garden, frozen from last year’s crop. Smart woman. She did a masterful job balancing the meaty, slightly gamy (in a good way) aspects of the venison with the bright, tart, and fruity sauce.
The side dishes were fan favorites as well, especially the horseradish mashed potatoes. Mmmmmmm!
How did she do it? Let’s hear from Ellyn herself:
Roast Trout Stuffed with Lemon and Herbs: For the trout, I simply took butterflied whole trout, rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then stuffed with lemon slices, rosemary and thyme. Roasted at 400 until done. (AJ note: Other possible herb combos are: oregano-basil; dill-parsley; and sage-parsley.)
Baked Horseradish Mashed Potatoes:
Begin with 8 pounds peeled and cubed red potatoes. Boil until tender. Mash with butter and half-and half until creamy. Add salt and white pepper to taste . Add prepared white horseradish to taste. Mix thoroughly. Let cool until you can add an egg without scrambling it. Add one egg; mix well. Put potatoes into well-buttered baking dish. Add pats of butter evenly over top of potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 375 or 400 until browned on top. You can use broiler to do extra browning if you want.
Here are links to Ellyn's other recipes:
Seared Venison with Black Raspberry Sauce - from Jess Pryles
Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries - fromJulia's Album
Please click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Seared Venison with Black Raspberry Sauce - from Jess Pryles
Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries - fromJulia's Album
Please click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Ilise and I were excited to take charge of dessert, giving the assignment the careful planning it deserves. We considered a few things in the “Rocky” category: Rocky Road ice cream or fudge were contenders for a while, and I desperately wanted to make something with rock candy (kept hearing the old timey song Big Rock Candy Mountain in my head). There’s a cool video showing how to do it but our experiment looked like snowy mountain sludge, so back to the drawing board we went.
And then it came to Ilise as in a dream … Rocky Mountains → Snow-covered mountains → People go skiing on snow-covered mountains → And sometimes they see wildlife on those snow-covered mountains as they ski past. Boom. And just like that Ilise’s vision of a snow-covered Rocky Mountain ski-scape was born.
We’ve had other artistic and architectural dessert constructions at past themed dinners – Karen and Kathleen’s onion domes from the St. Petersburg Winter Palace, Greg and Dan’s beachy boardwalk tableau, Ellyn’s garden mud pies with (delicious!) dirt, plants, and worms. The time was right for Ilise and me to – literally – make a scene with our dessert course. Please cast your eyes upon our snowy display made of chocolate layer cake; white chocolate mousse; chocolate moose; chocolate bear; edible trees; moose pops; white chocolate shavings; and mounds of fluffy white (whipped cream) snow. And skiers. Phew, there’s a lot going on! Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
And then it came to Ilise as in a dream … Rocky Mountains → Snow-covered mountains → People go skiing on snow-covered mountains → And sometimes they see wildlife on those snow-covered mountains as they ski past. Boom. And just like that Ilise’s vision of a snow-covered Rocky Mountain ski-scape was born.
We’ve had other artistic and architectural dessert constructions at past themed dinners – Karen and Kathleen’s onion domes from the St. Petersburg Winter Palace, Greg and Dan’s beachy boardwalk tableau, Ellyn’s garden mud pies with (delicious!) dirt, plants, and worms. The time was right for Ilise and me to – literally – make a scene with our dessert course. Please cast your eyes upon our snowy display made of chocolate layer cake; white chocolate mousse; chocolate moose; chocolate bear; edible trees; moose pops; white chocolate shavings; and mounds of fluffy white (whipped cream) snow. And skiers. Phew, there’s a lot going on! Click on the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
We will dedicate a future post - including recipes - to this amazingly delicious chocolate layer cake with white chocolate mousse filling. Even if you are never called upon to create an artwork out of baked goods, this is one recipe you’ll want to keep front and center in your recipe folder. It is perfect for birthdays and other special occasions. Skiers, bears, and moose pops are optional.
Well, that'll wrap it up for this Foodies Group dining adventure. We always have a great time creating, and consuming, these themed meals and it's nice to know we've got an engaged group of readers (and vicarious diners). Last year at about this time the Foodies did a Citrus-themed dinner -- read all about it here. And if you'd like to catch up on some of our other meals you may find the posts here.
Let's conclude with a relevant quote from John Muir, influential naturalist and early advocate for the preservation of America's wilderness.
Let's conclude with a relevant quote from John Muir, influential naturalist and early advocate for the preservation of America's wilderness.
Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
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