Hank Shaw

This is doro wat, arguably the national dish of Ethiopia, and a dish close to my heart. I once worked in an Ethiopian restaurant called the Horn of Africa in Madison, Wisconsin. This was by far the most popular dish. It is normally done with old chickens, and pheasants or grouse are great alternatives.

White chili is one of those Tex-Mex hybrids that you won’t find in Mexico, or even very often in Texas. It seems to be a Northern adaptation of traditional chili, with white beans and chicken as its base. It’s good with pheasant or any other white meat.

Difficulty: ** 

An excerpt from Duck, Duck, Goose by Hank Shaw.

Ever eat a tree? I know, I sound like Euell Gibbons. But really, you can eat the fresh growing tips of spruce or fir trees in any number of ways. My favorite is steeped in a simple syrup. The syrup smells like a pine forest, tastes a little citrusy — moreso if you add lemon juice — and adds a wonderful woodsy note to glazed pheasant, grouse or chicken.

This is one of the cooler dishes I’ve ever made. I’d heard about Chinese tea eggs before, but had never made them. Then I found myself working with madrone bark, which peels off in cinnamon-like curls every summer. The Indians here in California used madrone bark tea medicinally, and I’ve been experimenting with the concoction, which tastes like a combination of cinnamon, mushrooms, woodsmoke — and something I can’t quite pin down.

This is a pretty standard pickle, good for both sea rocket pods and saltwort. If you are inland, you can also use it for purslane, another succulent plant. Keep the proportions of salt, vinegar, and water and you can then vary the flavors to your liking. This recipe can be halved.