D-Day

Sorry for being MIA these past few days friends, nothing post-worthy has happened lately!

This post is about D-Day and in this case it stands for: Deer-Day (Thanks for helping with the post title Aaron, xoxo)  Recently my Dad gave Aaron and I some venison from a friend of theirs.  We had no idea what to do with it so we handed it over to Mikey to cook up something delicious.  I've never had venison before and frankly it weirded me out a bit.  Mike to decided to make a MikeyG Original: venison chili, which Jeanine agreed would be one of the best ways for me to dive into this venison meal (In all years we've been friends Jeanine has always understood my picky eating habits and has never been wrong about if I'll like or won't like a new food).  We went over to their house last night after work and boy was I a little nervous for the meal.

I was having a debacle over the whole situation:

Wow, I'm about to eat deer... DEER!

Okay, it's only venison, people eat it all the time, right?

Oooooh boy, I don't know if I'm okay with this.

Psh, it'll be a piece of cake, I probably won't even be able to tell the difference...

I'm about to eat Bambi!!!

A MikeyG Original: Venison Chili

½ lb Bacon, small dice

1.5 lb Ground Venison

1.5 lb Venison Stewing Pieces, small dice

2 Vidalia Onions, small dice

4 Celery Stalks, small dice

1 Green Bell Pepper, small dice

6 Cloves Garlic, small dice

1 Tomato, small dice

32 oz Pinto Beans, canned, drained and rinsed

2 c Cabernet

24 oz Chopped Tomatoes, canned

¼ c Tomato Paste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

4 c Beef Broth

3 tbsp Chili Powder

2 tsp Salt

2 tsp Pepper

2 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Cumin

2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

2 tsp Paprika

Add bacon to large stock pot and render fat over medium heat. Once fat has rendered, remove bacon bits with slotted spoon and transfer to plate with paper towels, save for later use. Increase heat to medium-high and add all venison to the pot and cook until well browned. Remove venison from pot and set aside. Add the diced onions, celery, green pepper, and garlic to the pot and reduce heat to medium, add additional olive oil if needed. Cook vegetables until tender. Add venison back to pot with all juices and add 2 c of Cabernet. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer for 10 minutes. While meat mixture is simmering, heat olive oil in small sauté pan over medium heat; add tomato paste to pan and cook while stirring constantly until paste turns a dark red. Add canned and fresh tomatoes to the pan with tomato paste and stir to combine. Add tomato mixture, pinto beans, and beef broth to meat mixture. Season with all spices and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for one to two hours. Garnish with your choice of shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and green onions and serve with bread.

And there it is ladies and gentlemen, the venison chili!  As soon as I walked in their house, my worries fluttered away because the smell of this chili cooking was overwhelmingly AWESOME!  As soon as Mike announced the chili was ready we all lined up waiting for our bowls like we were in a cafeteria line.  I sat down, took my first bite and it was delicious!  The meat was so flavorful and eating it in the chili was definitely the best route to go.  The cheese, hot sauce, and bread were the perfect choices to accompany the already delicious chili!

Way to go Mikey! Another new food that you've been able to make me love!  Kudos to you!

Last night was truly a night of firsts.  Not only was it the first time I've had venison but it was also the first time Jeanine had ever seen Dumb and Dumber!!! - I know right?! - how are there still people out there that have NEVER seen this brilliant, one of a kind movie!  It was hard for Aaron, Mike, and I to not quote every single line of the movie, but the movie had us all laughing as if it was the first time for us also.  I got confirmation this morning that Jeanine loved it also!  Now we just have to get her to sing the correct words of the "Mocking Bird" song, don't worry Bean, you can do it!  For those of you weirdos who don't know what I'm talking about and for those awesome people out there who just need/want the funny reminder... you're welcome.

Moral of this post... don't be afraid to try something new - because there's a good chance you'll really love it!