Sparring

Back from my yearly Adirondack sojourn. The family and I enjoyed copious amounts of North Country fun: swimming, hiking,canoeing, boating, cocktailing and campfire relaxation.
Now, back to the business of law and sporting pursuits. As to the latter, yesterday my Heavyweight sparred in preparation for his 8/31/2012 fight at Mt. Airy Casino in Tannersville PA. Joey sparred Bryant Jennings for 5 rounds. Jennings is a Philadelphia boy who is on the rise at 14-0 and tough as Hell with fast hands and good power. I am very pleased with how Joey handled the work-out. he took some shots and delivered some quality shots too. The overall experience sharpened his confidence and certainly helped get him ready for the Friday fight.
saturday will find my son and I in the sunflowers hunting doves in Delaware...so a Sportsman's weekend is on the card. If schedule permits, we will finish the weekend betting the Penna. Derby at the racetrack on Monday....hard to believe Summer is waning.

Off Line

Heading to the Adirondacks tomorrow...first a stop on the way in Manhattan and a stay at the Yale Club for the wedding of the daughter of one of my dear friends. ( May even have a drink with the Trad if he and I can get it arranged on the tight schedule.)
The following days will feature fishing,canoeing,water skiing, time with family and friends-that-are-like-family, perhaps some wagering at Saratoga, hiking,swimming,cocktails... and all the singular relaxation that one can find in the Saranac lake region of the North Country. No posts for the duration...carry on.

Skeet Gold

Not a lot of coverage or hoopla for shooters from the U.S.A. Nevertheless, American sportmen were keenly aware of 2 gold medal triumphs in these 2012 games. Specifically, our shotgunners took gold medals in both Men's and Women's Olympic Skeet shooting. U.S. Olympians Kim Rhode and Vincent hancock took the medals in impressive fashion.

Impressive fashion to the tune of Rhodes shooting 99 of 100 and Hancock shooting 148 of 150. If you have ever shot skeet before...you can appreciate how serious an accomplishment was turned in by these young Americans. I do not know if these feats get one on a Wheaties box...but this sportsman is damn impressed.

A Summer Place

A familiar soundtrack...used in Animal House when a young pledge has a moral quandry with a passed out Townie girl. The movie is what the boys are watching in Diner when Mickey Rourke's character has bet that he can get Carol Heathrow to touch his wood. He employs a popcorn box machination to accomplish his goal.

One Summer when I was hanging out at the Bridge Avenue House in Bay Head, I found on the bookshelf the book upon which the movie is based. It was a fun beach read and occupied the weekday slow time until the Lehigh boys came back down to tear it up on the weekend.

Presently, my Summer place is the back patio at my house. One of my favorite things about Summer is a Saturday or Sunday evening drinking a few Meyers's Rum and tonics while I wait for the coals to light. If I am cooking chicken there is ample time to enjoy a few more drinks and perhaps some guacamole or smoked trout mousse in between periodic openings of the grill, flipping of bird, and application of sauce. If it is Sunday evening and we do not have guests,this is the time I can devour the Sunday NY Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Cooking steak or fish is more time sensitive and precise so the liesure is restricted.

I only cook with charcoal. My Dad was a charcoal adherent and used a plug in electric loop device to light the fire. He was a biochemist and eschewed the use of lighter fluid. To hear him tell it, the residual petroleum toxins imparted to the food would hammer your liver or make your scrotum shrivel or something in between....suffice it to say, being raised with this repeated warning was enough to keep Kingsford liquid from appearing in my barbecue regimen. He used a Weber; I have graduated to a bigger cast iron grill with removable porcelain grates which affords better tempature control on a larger cooking surface and more smoking options. Pictured is the patio....and the grill....you can almost hear the theme in your head.

Throwing the Game

Now, I am not so sure that a backyard game which we used to play with beers in hand should really be an Olympic Sport. Badminton was something we played at cook outs and usually devolved into a session of whacking misquitos with the raquets. We did play it in gym in Junior High. Despite one's opinion of this sport/game....it seems there is some unsportsmanlike conduct taking place over in London. This report hit my computer this A.M. from NBC Olympics:

Both China's Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli and South Korean's Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na appear to attempt to throw their women's doubles badminton match.
LONDON (AP) — Eight female badminton doubles players were disqualified from the London Olympics after trying to lose matches to receive a more favorable place in the tournament, Indonesia's team leader said Wednesday.
The Badminton World Federation investigated two teams from South Korea and one each from China and Indonesia. It accused them of "not using one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" in matches Tuesday night.
Erick Thohir, the head of Indonesia's Olympic team, told The Associated Press that the Indonesian team will appeal. He also accused China of losing on purpose in the past.

Sportsman's Daughter

My oldest is once again working as a Counselor at a YMCA camp on the Eastern Shore. This Summer she is a water-ski instructor and works on the Waterfront with the kids. She is having a tough Summer in some respects because there have been some serious thunder storms that swept thru the region and the camp sustained some serious damage. Her last session campers were boy-crazy and this made her cabin duties an adventure.

However, she still loves the place and the people. This weekend she was home for time off with 3 co-counselors. One of the girls was from Wales...the Camp has many foreign exchange counselors and it really enhances the experience for all this kids. The girls enjoyed a cook-out with us and we took them to see the new Batman film. They departed bright and early Sunday to get back for the start of a new session and I miss my daughter already! We will get some time together in the Adirondacks in a few weeks but she leaves for her Sophmore year of College shortly after we get back.

I love this photo of her sent to me by one of her friends...it captures her million kilowatt smile and her love of water skiing and watersports...she is a great kid and a joy.

Buddies With Benefits

One unique benefit of hanging around other sportsmen and hunters is the gift of game meat. There are many tired old jokes about not being able to give away extra fish one has caught. Such is never the case when one of your gang kills a wild boar.

Recently my fellow sportsman and attorney Marc was fortunate enough to stalk and shoot a large wild pig. There was copious amounts of meat butchered off this monster and I was the lucky receipient of nearly 40 lbs. of prime wild swine. I grilled some of the tastier and more tender cuts this weekend. Last night I set about making a Wild Boar Ragu with some of the less desirable cuts. This recipe is based on a Northern Italian peasant recipe and is served over Paperdelle pasta. The process requires about 3 hours of slow simmering after construction but the resultant rich and flavorful ragu is just devastatingly delicious.

The process is as follows:

Procure some wild boar(if you are a non-hunting candy ass or do not know a boar slayer,you can use pork shoulder or order boar from D'Artagnan but it ain't the same.)

This reminds me of a joke about Albanians told to me by an Albanian bartender: The recipe for roast lamb, the National dish of Albania, begins as follows: First, steal a lamb.....

Chop 2 large yellow onions and saute in olive oil in a Le Cruesette or other suitable cast iron vessel. Add 5 cloves of chopped garlic and then add the cubed pig. I add a few of the bones(to be removed later) in order to impart more rich flavor to the dish.

After browning all the meat add 2 cans of chopped tomatoes followed by bay leaves(5)sage, basil, oregano and salt and pepper. Next a few anchovy filets. Then add about 2 cups of decent red wine. I used a Chianti.

As the mixture begins to simmer add 2 or 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and a few cloves. Toss in some red pepper flakes and then reduce heat to simmer. Place a lid on the vessel but leave it a tad ajar so steam can escape and so the mixture reduces.

Simmer for 3 hours or until the meat is falling apart and much of the liquid is reduced. If you have a kitchen "wand" with a strong motor you can whack the mixture a few times to foster a smoothness while still leaving a fair amount of chunks. Plate this sauce over wide paperdelle pasta and give each serving a healthy crown of freshly grated Parmagianno.

Serve with quality Itailian Bread...Sarcone's from Philly is best on the planet....some good Red Wine and a Ceasar salad.

I suggest a Nocella or Limoncella with an Espresso afterward to ward off the food coma symptomatic of your urge to gorge on this entree...perhaps a cigar as well. . This Wild Boar ragu knocks the crap out of any wimpy Bolognese you may have ingested in the past...there is really no comparison.

So when some hipster or city dweller or non-hunter asks if I actually eat what I kill....I smile and say yes....and describe this meal as an example....and advise that they would pay 28 bucks a plate for the pleasure in a restaurant....but it would not be the same since the boar would be farm raised and not wild.