Woodville Willdlife '13

We have just attended our 5^th Deer and Wildlife Festival in Woodville, Mississippi, and we get to eat something new every time. I was working the gate this year and missed eating the samples from the “wildlife cook-off.” The big draw at this festival was having one of the Duck Dynasty people come, for quite a sum I might add. I had never heard of Duck Dynasty when the planning committee first proposed someone from the show last spring.  Unfortunately there was an extra charge to ‘meet and greet’ John Godwin so I never even saw him.

Anyway, I had a buffalo burger from the booth of the local Vine’s Meat Store in Centerville and it was quite good. Benny from Vine’s, has to order 2,000 pounds of buffalo at a time to help defray the cost of shipping. He also had an elk burger and elk sausage. I went down to his store the next week and bought some elk sausage and it was delicious, but expensive. I cooked some slices in the microwave and served it with hot mustard and it was a tasty treat. I plan on using it in my red beans and rice next week. It’s similar to deer sausage which a lot of hunters make. Vine’s is the place around here that deer hunters take their deer for Benny to make sausage.

I have just received my new issue of ‘Louisiana Cookin’ and who was on the cover but the Duck Dynasty family! They were giving the recipes they were going to be using for their Thanksgiving feast. Some of them were of interest to me so I tried their appetizer called armadillo eggs. Yes, when the peppers are cooked they do look interesting, but since I have never seen an armadillo egg I cannot say for sure if they look like their eggs! Do armadillos lay eggs? Apparently not, so where did this dish originate.  It seems that it started in Texas.  I had not had any experience with armadillos until I came to Alabama (they have not yet populated North Carolina), but there is an armadillo festival in Victoria, Texas where armadillo eggs may have originated. They also serve real armadillo, if you are interested. I guess armadillo eggs have traveled northeast with the armadillos to Monroe, Louisiana where the Duck Dynasty clan live. I did not try their cornbread and rabbit dressing but it did sound good. Their dessert of sweet potato tarts sounded tasty so I may give that a try also.

Both recipes from ‘Louisiana Cookin’, November-December 2013, issue

Armadillo Eggs

 

These are slightly large for a pickup at a cocktail party, but would be nice for a first course using a knife and fork or they could be sliced to use as a pick up treat.

Makes 8 servings

8 jalapeños, halved and seeded

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 pound ground breakfast sausage

1 pound bacon, thinly sliced

 ¼ cup butter, melted optional

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and top with a metal cooking rack.

Fill each jalapeño half with cream cheese. Make 16 sausage patties. Mold a patty around each jalapeño half, making sure to cover the whole pepper. Wrap one piece of bacon around the sausage.

Bake until bacon is crispy, and sausage is thoroughly cooked, about 12 to 15 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, and brush with melted butter, if desired.

 

Sweet Potato Tarts

Makes 2 (10-inch) tarts

2 Homemade Piecrusts (recipe follows)

2 pounds sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and mashed (about 3 cups mashed)

2 cups sugar

6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup butter, melted

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out homemade piecrusts; and fit into 2 (10-inch) fluted tart pans with removable bottoms. Gently press crusts into bottom and up sides of tart pans and trim. Line crusts with parchment paper, and place pie weights on top.

Bake until crusts begin to set, about 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment paper, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes more. Let crusts cool on a wire rack 10-15 minutes.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sweet potato, sugar, egg yolks, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, evaporated milk, and vanilla. Mix on low speed to combine.

Divide filling evenly among prepared crusts. Bake 10 minutes; decrease heat to 300°, and bake until tarts have set and are dark golden brown, about 45 to 50 minutes.

 

Homemade Piecrusts

Makes 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and frozen

5 tablespoons ice water, or more, as needed

In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour and salt. Add butter and pulse until mixture has pea-sized pieces of butter.

Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until dough comes together. Add more cold water, if necessary. Remove from bowl, and place on clean work surface. Separate dough into 2 even disks, being careful not to overwork. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours or up to overnight.