Letters from the Hunting Shack

I can tell we’re getting close to opening weekend. Last Tuesday my neighbor’s brown dog went walking past my living room window and I instinctively ducked behind the sofa. I’ve started reading the paper with my head cocked to one side and looking through my right eye only. When taking out the garbage, I automatically look for fresh sign on the way. I have the urge to use earth scent instead of deodorant so nobody can smell me. Like Spiderman at a criminal convention, my senses have become heightened to everything around me. Good thing deer hunting only comes once a year or I would be a wreck.I don’t know about you, but I like to watch those hunting shows on ESPN on the weekends. The guys that go on these hunts are without a doubt major studs. They never fail! They always get their deer and believe me, it ain’t no forkhorn they drag home. Speaking of dragging, have you ever seen one of them work? Hell no they don’t work. This is a job we should all have. You get to go to some game farm, where the deer are fed and coddled and the owner puts you in a stand (probably near a feeder, I bet) and you simply wait for the big guy to show up. The most they have to worry about is if the camera man remembered to take the lens cap off the camcorder. When I win the lottery I’m going to get me one of them jobs.I’m not quite as frantic about the weather as I was last week because I figure that the end of daylight savings will spark the rut a little sooner, so no matter the temps, the hormones will be just right. Not mine, the deer. I know everyone has fond memories of the 2001 deer season. That’s the year I was hunting in a blaze orange swimsuit. Sure, it was nice and cool to start the day, but around 10 or 11, it got downright warm. I didn’t get a deer that season, but I sure got some quality naps in the great outdoors. I’m still going to keep my fingers crossed for a little snow this year, although it’s not looking too good right now.The one thing I am starting to sweat over is what to have after Friday and Saturday night. Pork chops on Friday and crab legs on Saturday, but after that, I’m drawing a blank. I always like to try something new at least one night of the week. I have been toying with the thought of marinating some chicken breasts in a chipotle- raspberry sauce and grilling them on the Weber. Maybe we should create a recipe for that right now.Let’s take a package of boneless chicken breasts and put them in a plastic bag and gently pound them with a mallet to flatten. Then let’s make our marinade/sauce. We’ll use two parts raspberry jam and one part chipotle tabasco and mix together. I think some red wine should help to make our sauce a little thinner. Salt and pepper the chicken with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper and marinate the breasts in half of the sauce and save the other half. I think they should soak in the sauce for about an hour. Surely, we need to grill them slowly so the juices don’t run out. After the chicken is done, pour some of sauce on them just before serving. I bet if we boil some rutabagas and mash them with butter and a splash of cream and maybe saute some blanched asparagus in garlic, butter and sherry, that would be a dandy meal.Enjoy and good huntingby Clarence JordanI can tell we’re getting close to opening weekend. Last Tuesday my neighbor’s brown dog went walking past my living room window and I instinctively ducked behind the sofa. I’ve started reading the paper with my head cocked to one side and looking through my right eye only. When taking out the garbage, I automatically look for fresh sign on the way. I have the urge to use earth scent instead of deodorant so nobody can smell me. Like Spiderman at a criminal convention, my senses have become heightened to everything around me. Good thing deer hunting only comes once a year or I would be a wreck.I don’t know about you, but I like to watch those hunting shows on ESPN on the weekends. The guys that go on these hunts are without a doubt major studs. They never fail! They always get their deer and believe me, it ain’t no forkhorn they drag home. Speaking of dragging, have you ever seen one of them work? Hell no they don’t work. This is a job we should all have. You get to go to some game farm, where the deer are fed and coddled and the owner puts you in a stand (probably near a feeder, I bet) and you simply wait for the big guy to show up. The most they have to worry about is if the camera man remembered to take the lens cap off the camcorder. When I win the lottery I’m going to get me one of them jobs.I’m not quite as frantic about the weather as I was last week because I figure that the end of daylight savings will spark the rut a little sooner, so no matter the temps, the hormones will be just right. Not mine, the deer. I know everyone has fond memories of the 2001 deer season. That’s the year I was hunting in a blaze orange swimsuit. Sure, it was nice and cool to start the day, but around 10 or 11, it got downright warm. I didn’t get a deer that season, but I sure got some quality naps in the great outdoors. I’m still going to keep my fingers crossed for a little snow this year, although it’s not looking too good right now.The one thing I am starting to sweat over is what to have after Friday and Saturday night. Pork chops on Friday and crab legs on Saturday, but after that, I’m drawing a blank. I always like to try something new at least one night of the week. I have been toying with the thought of marinating some chicken breasts in a chipotle- raspberry sauce and grilling them on the Weber. Maybe we should create a recipe for that right now.Let’s take a package of boneless chicken breasts and put them in a plastic bag and gently pound them with a mallet to flatten. Then let’s make our marinade/sauce. We’ll use two parts raspberry jam and one part chipotle tabasco and mix together. I think some red wine should help to make our sauce a little thinner. Salt and pepper the chicken with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper and marinate the breasts in half of the sauce and save the other half. I think they should soak in the sauce for about an hour. Surely, we need to grill them slowly so the juices don’t run out. After the chicken is done, pour some of sauce on them just before serving. I bet if we boil some rutabagas and mash them with butter and a splash of cream and maybe saute some blanched asparagus in garlic, butter and sherry, that would be a dandy meal.Enjoy and good hunting