We enjoy this appetizer and decided to make a version for supper.
I don't have an easy source, for Mostarda Cherries, so had to substitute Oregon Fruit Products Montmorency Tart Cherries packed in water. I poured them, water and all into a sauce pan. This is a sweet and sour dish, added some lemon juice for the sour and tablespoon of homemade cherry jam for the sweet. Finally added about 1/2" of a butter stick, put the pan on my smallest burner on low for three hours to reduce the liquid to a thick sauce like Russia House's. It came out really well. The cherry dish is a foil to the salty smoky Elk Sausage.
Don't really like sausage unless I make it, that way I know what is in it. There is a specialty butcher shop six miles away that sells Elk. I chose the New York Strip cut. Cut one steak up thin and put it in my Traeger smoker on a medium temperature for 45 minutes. Don't have a meat grinder, used my BlendTech and yes, Elk will blend. It was really hard to get all of the Elk out of the blender, but at that price per pound, I did my best. Elk is a VERY lean cut of beef, added olive oil, some salt and some "No Salt" and then the herbs; Kathy grows fresh herbs, took a pair of scissors to collect some herbs of the field, chopped the herbs up finely and mixed them all up, (glad I did this yesterday, it is snowing and that can make low lying herbs hard to find). Put a small amount in a non-stick skillet and cooked it up for a taste test. The smokey flavor came through fine, but it was too dry and not salty or spicy enough. The winter weather has killed my fresh basil, had to use dried. Added more olive oil. For salt I used Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, (essentially salt and hot pepper). Took another small bit, cooked it up and tried it with a miniscule amount of the cherry dish on the side. Wow this is working. Formed patties, heated my skillet on my biggest burner, full on. Seared one side and flipped to sear the other side to seal in flavor. Removed and put on the smallest burner on low for three minutes, (the smoking process partly cooks the meat and I did not want to overcook). Set them aside, at show time, I will only bring them to warm.
Russia House makes the third part of the appetizer Kubotcha Squash cut up like micro fries. They seemed bland to me. Decided to substitute a rice pilaf, red rice, black rice, table spoon of red lentils, herbs, as the rice was almost done added some mixed nuts chopped fine and some crasins, ( sweetened cranberries). Tasted it, it was OK, not spectacular. Decided to create a sauce to put on top. Opened a can of chicken broth, started it on high to reduce it just a bit. Tossed in some crushed dried black morel mushrooms, some more chopped fresh herbs, and a dash of "No Salt", (the chicken broth has plenty of sodium). Thickened with a gluten free roux. With the sauce, the pilaf is quite tasty.
With the second Elk steak, I decided to put it on the Trager smoker and pan sear. Topped it with Truffle Mayonnaise. This super easy to make. I use Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil. Then mix in a small amount of truffle oil to taste. I learned about this from Smash Burger and it is a really nice topping for various meats.
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