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A Valentine’s Day Feast at the Château

For an interesting article on the tradition of Saint Valentine's Day (there are actually three such saints and the legends are old and varied) visit http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day.  After sending your loved ones a handwritten card and bringing them some flowers, how about serving them a meal at home.  At the château, we serve this Valentine's Day favorite five-course French meal: Steamed Crab Legs Salade Cheese Fondue Steamed Lobster Brussels Sprouts Chocolate Fondue Café and Brandies

By |February 16th, 2013|Categories: Cuisine, Recipes|Comments Off on A Valentine’s Day Feast at the Château
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Game Day Recipes for the Super Bowl

On Super Bowl weekend, more than a billion wings are consumed by Americans, making them America's favorite party food.  In fact, there are several books written on just wings, such as Debbie Moose's book, Wings.  She writes, "A whole wing comes in three clearly defined parts:  the 'drumette,' which looks like a miniature drumstick; the piece with the two small bones, called the flat; and the pointy tip, called the flapper."  We like the drumettes, which you can buy in an already-cut-up package.  In addition to wings, these are our favorite game-day recipes: Mex Chip Dip – from Mom (An Abbreviated Seven-Layer Dip Recipe) Mix the following in a blender: 1 avocado, 8 oz. cream cheese, 4 oz. sour cream, 1 T. lime juice, dash salt and Tabasco.  Spread on large platter.  Top with layers of finely chopped lettuce, onion, tomato, (we added a layer of New Mexico Green Chiles, diced and another layer of guacamole)  and, then the final layer of shredded cheddar cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips and salsa. Buffalo Quesadillas - Brooklyn’s Sauté 1 T. olive oil, 2 t. minced garlic, ½ c. minced yellow onion, 1 minced jalapeno, 2 stalks celery minced,  over medium heat.  When onions are translucent, add 1 lb. ground buffalo until browned.  Season with Mexican seasoning. In sauté pan, place tortilla with one side buttered and spread 2 oz. meat mixture and 2 ounces cheese onto tortilla just long enough to melt cheese.  Add second buttered tortilla and flip.  Cut into wedges and arrange on platter with shredded lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, and picante salsa. Spicy Chicken Wings - Brooklyn’s Our favorite wing recipe comes from Brooklyn's, and it is a combination of the two most common

By |February 2nd, 2013|Categories: Recipes|Comments Off on Game Day Recipes for the Super Bowl
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The stable wears out a horse more than the road does.

"The stable wears out a horse more than the road does." - French Proverb The first photo we snapped on a recent trip to Missouri shows a father on the Sporting Road, driving his two sons to the grocery store, which is charming with their little straw hats.  And, the second photo really shows the juxtaposition of modern society with the society that the Plain People, or what we call the Amish, are striving to preserve.  We ordered some leather goods from our new friend, one of the Plain People, who we stumbled across on the dirt roads of the Ozark hills, where the wooden wheels left tracks that reminded you of a time gone by as we felt a bit odd about erasing three or four at a time with our big rubber tires.          

By |January 15th, 2013|Categories: Coaching|Comments Off on The stable wears out a horse more than the road does.
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Jalapeno Jelly Recipe from the Polo Player’s Foxhunting Braai

Marge Stevens and Mim Willyard started making jalapeno jelly some 16 years ago to support the local Christmas bazaar.  What started out small soon grew big and the largest demand is for the hotter jalapeno variety!  Lise Stevens introduced the Arapahoe Hunt to her mother's famed jelly during hunt breakfasts.  The recipe was recently featured in Covertside Magazine, together with the equally famous annual Polo Player's Foxhunting Braai. This jalapeno jelly recipe will fill 8 of the 8 ounce canning jars (be sure to sterilize them in the dishwasher before using), which after they cool can be kept in a cool dark place until you need one for your next Braai or lamb dish.  Use a large stock pot for cooking the jelly ingredients, as the sugar will foam up with the boiling, so it is also helpful to keep a hair dryer on hand,  using it to blow down the foam so it doesn't boil over.  It's a very simple recipe which takes only about 20 minutes to prepare. Click this link for the full recipe and to read the entire article in The Polo Players Foxhunting Braai in Covertside

By |December 17th, 2012|Categories: polo, Recipes|Comments Off on Jalapeno Jelly Recipe from the Polo Player’s Foxhunting Braai
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Fleur De Sel de Camargue

Our favorite salt for cooking or for seasoning is the French Fleur De Sel de Camargue.  Fleur De Sel de Camargue is hand raked and harvested in the Brittany salt flats of France. The name Fleur De Sel comes from the aroma of violets that develops as the salt dries. Only the premium, top layer of the salt bed is used. Each signature container is sealed with a cork top and signed by the Salt Raker who harvested it. We keep a salt pig or small jar of this by the stove, for use in cooking.  And, after allowing to dry out of the tin for a few days, it is perfect to add to our salt grinder, for seasoning as well.  We use it on everything.  As it is very salty tasting, a little bit goes a long way, which also reduces your sodium intake, as you need less to add a "salty" flavor to any dish. It is readily sourced from Salt Works or gourmet grocers.

By |October 26th, 2012|Categories: Cuisine|Comments Off on Fleur De Sel de Camargue
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Bodhi’s Mountain

Bodhi was my first bird dog.  My first bird dog, not my dad's that is. As a Bodhisattva should do, he graciously gave up his path to enlightenment so that others may attain it, mostly so that I may strive to attain enlightenment.  We returned to Bodhi's favorite spot for blue grouse this year, to find many others already hunting his hallowed grounds.  Being one who doesn't like change, this had me reeling wondering what to do.  We quickly found change and decided, with considerable trepidation to hunt a spot down the road to his and my favorite spot, a spot which we  had never been to before, but was at least free from other hunters.  After all, this is public land, they had as much right to be there as did we, and they had beat us to the spot on Opening Day of Grouse Season, so it was all done fair and square.  Remy, Bodhi's grandson, didn't seem to mind, as he is still a pup himself, he didn't know any better, or at least he tried to persuade me so.  I, on the other hand, knew better---that this spot could not be as good as our favorite spot which we had enjoyed for so many years.  We headed off up the mountain, but at least it was the same mountain as Bodhi's Spot was on, so who knew what might await us. To our surprise, we found grouse.  A lot of grouse.  Dusky grouse (formerly known as Blue Grouse) here and dusky grouse there.  And we made a new spot our own, it would never be Bodhi's Spot, but this one became Remy's spot.  Perhaps Remy will lay there some day in

By |October 26th, 2012|Categories: Wingshooting|Comments Off on Bodhi’s Mountain
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I See You

"I See You (Theme from Avatar)" (also shortened as "I See You") is a pop ballad performed by British singer Leona Lewis. But sometimes "I see you," just means that, it is not a song but just a question--something of a koan you might say.  When you honestly offer "I can see you," it may mean nothing more than that, and horses seem to be born with that gift for honestly returning the favor, seeing us for what we are, nothing more nothing less.  If you are kind, they see that.  If you are mean, they see that too.  If you have good intentions, they see that.  If you have bad intentions, they see that too.  Sometimes we have to just look each other in the eye first before asking anything of the other and see what there is to be seen of the other, if it is all good then we can progress from there with more questions and the request for more answers.  We hope that all of us on two legs can come to see that which four-legged animals seem to take for granted.  Children also seem to have the same gift, one that is often hard to accept by adults, as the answers remain unknown until the question is honestly asked from the heart.  I find myself at the same cross-roads, as I always try to be planned out years in advance, but, perhaps for the first time, I am attempting to look at the others around me and simply state, "I see you," and I hope that they can honestly see me in return, without an answer in mind.  I hope to offer the same in return, perhaps for the

By |October 26th, 2012|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on I See You
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Falconry

My friend Hal Webster, was co-author of one of the most famous books on falconry with Frank Beebe), entitled  North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks, was in his 70's when he introduced me to some falconry friends many years back, including Stu Hutchinson, who took me hunting with falcons and hawks.  I had the initial idea of grandeur that a falcon might replace my side-by-side in a poetic sort of way, but I quickly realized in hunting ducks with one of his Master Falconer friends that this was real work, and a lifetime of dedication to the birds they fly and live with, year round.  I can't wait to see them soar again, but this is not a something that one takes up casually, as I quickly realized it involves a life-time of education, dedication, breeding, and training.  We made several trips with Hal for fly fishing, wingshooting and dog training.  He passed in June 2019, after a long life of adventure, living into his late 90's. For falconry supplies:  www.westernsporting.com

By |October 26th, 2012|Categories: Uncategorized|Comments Off on Falconry
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Yerba Mate

Our new friends from Argentina are going home, as summer polo season is about over here in the West and they left with us a special gift this year, a matero (a bag for holding a the mate gourd, the yerba mate and a thermos).  The also left a leather covered mate gourd, which we added to our small collection, but this mate is the one we reach for every morning now, as it is the perfect size and it is of the best quality. Yerba mate is consumed all over South America in place of tea or coffee, or in addition to it.  It has an earthy taste, like green tea, though sometimes slightly more bitter taste due to the high tannin content of the leaves, which are a member of the holly family.  We were introduced to it at polo from the Argentines, and I love it.  Oprah's doctor promotes it as the only healthy caffinated beverage and studies seem to indicate it significantly reduces cholesterol, especially when brewed with hot water, but not boiling, as is the traditional way.  Yerba mate con polo, with a higher amount of sticks and stems, will typically have more of a woodsy taste than pure leaf mate.  Some add sugar and milk, particularly for children. You add hot water (never boiling) to the yerba mate, which is traditionally drunk from a gourd with a bombilla straw, and as the tea and be steeped multiple times, it is perfect for sharing with friends.  Each cup is consumed and then the gourd is passed back to the maker of the tea for a refill of hot water and then it is passed on to the next drinker, when

By |July 26th, 2012|Categories: polo, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Yerba Mate
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