OK. I'm back after a prolonged absence. Not that anyone particularly cares, but I would like to hold forth on a couple of recipes, and one activity in particular.

What has been the reason for my absence? Army duty. I've been confronted with a lack of cooking equipment, facilities, and opportunity...Hence my absence from the blogosphere.

Anyway...here goes. I've been in Texas for the last 5 months. And I have crossed into the redneck world (RR - you're close to being fired here...). Back in September, I went on my first hunting trip. The uninitiated would think that I was on some sort of appalling, sell-out expedition. Wrong. I thought this through, long and hard. I wanted to go hunting. With real Texans. And I did. And I wasted doves. Those doves fed my friends, with tasty, gamey meals.

It was one of the most beautiful days I spent outdoors in my life. The doves flew over, and we tried to get them as best we could. The more seasoned among us maxed out legally soon, but those neophytes there (myself prominently included among them) needed some more shots. So we spent the afternoon shooting at passing doves, got a few, and retired for steaks and drinks. One of the better days of my life....

Anyway. So there I was. Back in Virginia, that is. For a couple of weeks of leave. Turns out that Uncle Sam couldn't afford my salary for a couple of weeks, and I was only too happy to take some time off...

What was I to do with all of this free time? Well, I nailed three recipes that any of my intrepid readership could handle...

1. Jaime Oliver's Pike Perch on Beet Salad
2. Julia Child's Bouef a la Catalane
3. David Rocco's Wild Boar Stew

Let me tell you. If you have any of these dishes with proper ingredients and care, they will blow away any top restaurant you can imagine. Trust me. I've been to Per Se, and others, and wasted my money there.

By the way, I believe the Michelin starring system is screwed up. I went to Le Grand Vefour in Paris in   January, 2010, when it was rated at 2 stars. I went to Per Se in New York in the same year, when it was rated at 3 stars. I must honestly say, Le Grand Vefour, and Chef Guy Martin, blew away Per Se. In spite of the rating. In any case, give me Le Grand Vefour any day. And trust me, I am one true asshole of a critic. Per Se left me scratching my head...what was the big deal? Le Grand Vefour destroyed in a three course lunch what Per Se tried in a 9 course dinner.

Alors, Guy Martin, felicitations, et vous avez gagne....Vive Le Grand Vefour!!