Love venison and live on it when I can. I'm guessing you mean whitetail venison... mule deer and elk are different meats all together. My current lust is cajun venison. Hot frying pan of bacon grease and toss in venison coated with cajun spice. I like mine rather rare... it will turn to jerky if you go for well done (which is not all bad). If it is home butchered watch close for any stray hair. One stray hair and the whole pan will take on a oily gamey taste. The hair has a protective oil that keeps the deer dry when they run around outside. Home butchered is often best given a quick rinse with cold running water before it hits the pan... I don't rinse but then I have years practice butchering so no stray hair or other booboo. If you pan fry it and it strikes you as gamey I highly recommend A-1 steak sauce... that should keep it edible to even the most sensitive taste buds. I don't recommend tomato based dishes unless you eat venison regular. There is a chemical in many meats that gives the "gamey" taste. After awhile your sense of tastes adjusts so that it is not remarkable. Tomato will bring out that taste and highlight it... as in venison chili. I eat venison chili but vension is regular table fare for me. My dad always likes a stroganoff dish. Fry venison, make cream sauce, stir in cooked noodles (kluski!). My grandfather's favorite burger was half venison and half pork. I don't recommend boiling venison. It won't be ruined and I boil scraps from butchering for my animals. I have tasted boiled venison... not bad. My cat Tuna loved it that way and could eat her own weight in just a couple days. For human consumption you want the meat juices to get on the hot pan and turn to a sweet brown carmel... the browning on meat. Buffalo venison I don't recommend as anything other then ground meat. It is so lean it starts shoe leather tough and gets tougher. Elk is one of the finest meats in the world. More fat then whitetail/buff so it can be panfried. The sweetest and mildest of the venison family that I have tried. Mule Deer are fairly fatty with a beef like texture. I find it stringy but tastey. So... don't let it sit in the freezer! Get out a package and make something. If it tastes bad give it to the dog and try again. Letting it sit until freezer burned is a waste... it won't improve with age. : ) lyra

Miles, As MLC virgins, Peppi, BunnyMan, and I had to "deflowered" in front of an audience so consider yourself lucky! Here ya' go: Molten Lava Cakes -From Sol ½ pound bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped ½ pound butter 6 whole eggs, room temperature 1 ½ cups sugar ½ cup flour Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter the bottom and sides of 8 6-ounce ramekins and sprinkle with baking cocoa, tap to remove excess cocoa. Set aside. In the top of a double boiler or in a microwave, gently, melt the chocolate and butter. Whisk until completely melted. Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar and flour until just blended. Gradually whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Evenly divide the mixture between the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are firm and beginning to crack and the edges are set. Remove from oven and serve immediately, with ice cream, your favorite chocolate sauce, a few chocolate-covered coffee beans and giddyap baby!. I can almost feel my zippy-self coming back to life, just thinking 'bout it ;-à Note: I didn't use ramekins. Instead I used mini wonder-molds for these cakes 'cause I liked their shape. These molds are quite a bit larger than the ramekins, so for me, this recipe only yielded 5 servings. Chocolate Sauce 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1/3 cup light brown sugar 1/3 cup light corn syrup 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or liqueur Heat the cream, sugar, salt and corn syrup in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Allow to stand a few minutes until the chocolate has melted, then whisk gently until smooth. Whisk in vanilla or liqueur.

What a great get together ya'll had!! And already planning another. Cool. Lake sure caught on quick to protect the wine, eh? Sherry I'm sorry about your FIL. My condolences to you both. Your house is so beautiful. The crab quiche looks perfect and I too look forward to the recipe for that mousse cake. Yummm. Thanks for all the pics Annie. I wanted to see the gazebo too.. lol.. but you did better than I would have just getting the food and people!

I agree with you michael. I hate posing for pictures too. It is nice to see a few more posts on this topic. I spend all day working on computers that i don't always want to be near one when i get home. Anyway, I am a male, and i love my powertools. My favorite has got to be the recipricating saw. That is why the first part of my name, the second part came from my youngest daughter. Someone asked her where i worked and without missing a beat told them i was the computer geek for the schools. She wants to be one too when she gets older. I already have both of them trained for running all the wires and cables for my house. The are still young enough to not realize that this is really work. lol. Well hope you all had a great day!! Mike