Sarah Nigbor

It’s hard to believe that Halloween is over and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. I know, I know, you probably don’t want to hear it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Or maybe you already have your Christmas tree up. I know at least one person who does. It’s not me.

With the holidays comes our special section we publish the day before Thanksgiving called the Journal Jingle. In those pages you’ll find ads from your favorite local businesses just in time for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. But we also need your help because this is the time of year we collect your favorite recipes to publish in the Jingle.

Last year we asked readers to send in their favorite recipes and the response was outstanding. We’re hoping you’ll be as enthusiastic this year in sharing them with us. Whether it’s your great-grandma Esther’s lemon meringue pie, your uncle’s secret homemade sausage gravy or your mother’s famous fruit salad, we want to publish your favorite recipes! Drinks, appetizers, side dishes, desserts, main courses, we want it all. They don’t have to be Christmas or Thanksgiving related; they just need to be delicious. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a few you want to try yourself.

Asking for recipes reminds of a time I wish I hadn’t asked to try something. One of my college roommates, Dave, was an avid hunter. He brought home pheasant and was going to make us a dinner we’d never forget, he said. He was right, but not because it was so amazing. More like amazingly bad.

After taking a couple of bites of the stringy bird, which he had breaded and deep-fried in Shore Lunch fish batter, it became quite apparent he hadn’t cleaned the buckshot out of the meat very well. My molars were dodging little metal balls as I tried to be polite and choke down the dry meat. It’s a miracle I didn’t crack a tooth. My other roommate Kelly and I sneaked glances at each other as we picked through the meal trying to figure out how to make it end.

Dave’s girlfriend was over for the fine dining experience as well, and she seemed to have no issue with the buckshot-laced poultry. My mouth dropped open when she asked for seconds. “Suck up,” mouthed Kelly, and I nodded in agreement. There was no way she thought it was good, and if she did, she hadn’t ever eaten a good meal. We heard all the time what a great cook she was. It just didn’t add up.

Somehow we made it through dinner without taking a trip to the dentist. I like most wild game I’ve eaten; in fact, we cook with venison often. But that was not a good introduction to pheasant. Years later another friend made pheasant and wild rice casserole for me and my tastebuds were thankful. It was much better than Shore Lunch fried pheasant a la buckshot.

If you send me a recipe, please make sure I won’t crack a molar if I try it. You can send your recipes to Sarah at sarah@piercecountyjournal.news or Pierce County Journal, PO Box 4, Prescott WI 54021.