Recipes to cap off the end of a long day of field trialing.
Woven deeply into the tradition of field trialing is time at the end of the day to gather for a good meal and swap stories. Here, members of the Esmont-Greenfields Field Trial Club share recipes for a couple of their favorite dishes.
Oyster Stew
Recipe by Sharon Townsley, Richardsville
1 pound country bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 large bag baby spinach
2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
1 gallon of shucked oysters, with liquor
salt and pepper
1 ½ quarts half and half
1 ½ sticks butter
Cook bacon halfway, and then add onion and celery, cooking until tender. Add spinach and garlic and cook until wilted. Add oysters with liquor and salt and pepper to taste and cook about 10 minutes on low, stirring occasionally. Add one quart of half and half (add remaining pint if there is not much oyster liquor available) and butter and simmer until oysters curl, or to desired degree of doneness. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve with crackers.
Serves 8
Greenfields Farm Risotto Roasted Quail
Recipe by John Milton, Scottsville
2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 ½ cups trimmed mushrooms, diced
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup dry white wine
3-5 cups of chicken broth
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
8 partially deboned quail
To make the risotto, place butter or olive oil in a large nonstick pan and sauté on medium heat. Add onion and cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and cook until tender (about 10 minutes), stirring frequently. Add the rice and stir until coated, and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the white wine and allow it to boil away. Then add the broth, a half-cup at a time, waiting for it to almost evaporate and stirring after each addition. Keeping the heat at medium to medium-high, cook for 20-30 minutes until al dente. Season with Parmesan to taste.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Stuff the body cavity of each bird with about three tablespoons of freshly made risotto. Insert a toothpick at the neck and one near the legs to hold risotto inside. Put birds breast-up in a baking dish with about one inch of chicken broth in the bottom and cook for 30 minutes or until done, spooning broth over the birds five or six times while cooking. Once cooked through, broil on low for 3-5 minutes to brown. Serve warm over remaining risotto.
Serves 8
These recipes originally appeared in our December 2017 issue. To read more about shooting dog field trials, click here.
