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Hunter's Dinner, 2010

Members and Guests host game feast January 31st, photos by Liz King, Cathy Summers and Grenelle Delany (see Gallery)

Hunter’s Dinner, January 31st

Frigid temperatures, fresh snow and icy back roads didn’t stop over 110 FHC members and guests from attending a fun and successful fund raising and “friend raising” food event at the Clubhouse in Free Union. Grenelle Delany spared no effort in decorating the clubhouse and working with BJ Korol to make it a welcome venue for an unforgettable evening and dinner. Kay Barquin and Beth Sutton assembled a fine group of volunteer Hunt Club and FHC friendly chefs who prepared a delicious feast of Virginia oysters, wild game and seafood plus a roast ham served by Collins Huff from Gryffon’s Aerie, (a local sustainable agriculture farm near Whitehall). Gordon Sutton’s friend John Sherman helped Pam French shuck 300 raw and roasted oysters that were eaten as fast as we could get them to the table; Issy and Addie served 250 grilled goose “poppers” that were harvested from Roseland Farm and the King Family Vineyard, painstakingly rolled and skewered earlier that afternoon in the Sutton kitchen by Pam , Issy , Addie  and Beth. Peter Easter donated many dozens of quail, venison came from Gibby Evarts and the Easters, prepared with favorite recipes by Peter Delany, Pam French, Robin Lundgren and Tom Bishop. Pam  made a delectable assortment of quiches using fresh farm eggs from Gibby’s hens at Windemere, Carol and Steve Ham brought dozens of fresh stone crab claws from Florida, and  Gordon Sutton stayed busy for 2 hours at the grill cooking it all including Sutton caught wild salmon from Lake Michigan. The Cowles prepared a hearty “Gamekeepers Pie” with pheasant and rabbit, and some lucky people got to taste pheasant supplied by the Barquins and roasted to perfection by Carol Ham. Sam Wells and Kay Butterfield made their special salads and “Planet Earth Diversified” in Ruckersville delivered a special batch of freshly picked micro greens and edible blossoms to create a truly colorful splash of spring. Our neighbors at King Family Vineyard provided a selection of white and red wines to complement the menu.

To finish the feast pastry artist Debbie Wright prepared a sumptuous array of cakes, pies and sweets that were a delight to the eye and palate. The entire menu was donated courtesy of our hunters, our chefs and many generous contributors to make this a successful fund raising effort to benefit the Farmington Hounds. We would like to thank Evie Cowles for her help in making wonderful decorative labels for each dish using the original art work created by Becky Barlow for the invitation. The evening was a success thanks to big team of volunteers who worked so hard to make it a fun evening for members, guests and landowners. A special note of appreciation goes to our incomparable hunt staff, Tommy McCauley, and Alison and Daron Beeney for making the road and parking area safe for travel and for making the clubhouse warm and inviting for our guests.

This popular dinner was a truly local food affair, demonstrating the FHC commitment to promoting open space and land conservation. This was a chance to share some of the products we have in our area and to support the farms that help keep the land open for us all to enjoy. It was a creative gastronomic adventure that provided a great opportunity for neighbors and farmers- both equestrian and not, to get to know each other better with the common interest in the land around us and the local food it provides.
Gib Evarts hens produced eggs enjoyed at the dinner!