I have to admit I was horribly nervous about sharing the way I had learned to cook venison in Tennessee with my snobby sophisticate gourmet New York friends. Bringing an entire back strap with me from Knoxville (not a tenderloin as I had thought), I was determined to show off and impress. With some fancy unsweetened cocoa from Simon's favorite Jewish market and the perpetual Baleine fine sea salt, I set out to prepare an unforgettable dish. Dressed as a clown (literally), not sober, and surrounded by good friends, I loosened up and just went to it. As I let the meat rest before bringing it to Simon's skilled sashimi slicing hands, I did not know what to expect. What happenned as I passed the sliced thin 4 inch diameter disks of perfectly cooked meat for ninja turtles and ravens and Yosemite Sam to eat should not have surprised me. Simon had prepared a warm space for his friends to enjoy a beautiful beautiful fall day in NY, and this dish was able to complement it. Smiles to laughs to the visceral pleasure of a great bite, I was really happy to be able to share. Great memories of people place and food. Thank you.
