Dana's Spring Dream Meal

I have been daydreaming about a certain spring meal for years now. I start dreaming about it at a little before equinox, and it is inspired by waking of dormant life forces. Usually I get real busy in the spring and only really end up pulling together part of my ideal spring meal in bits and pieces, whatever I have the time to throw together in the midst of the busyness. This spring, I was inspired to dedicate some time and really go for all of it (well, almost all of it). As fate would have it, I prepared my dream spring meal on the weekend of the ascension of Jesus from the tomb (or as some like to think of it, Persephone returning from her winter in Hades and bringing life back to earth). This weekend wasn't only Easter proper, it happened to be a burst of warmth and life- temperatures in the 80's, fun under the sun, all dormancy of winter broken good. The meal was almost complete (minus morels, asparagus and ramps) and was as follows:

Dana's Spring Dream Meal

Appetizer: crackers with Morbier's Charles Arnaud semi-soft cheese and fruit compote
(rehydrated dates and apricots, pistachios, honey, rosewater and water)

Spring Salad: chickweed, comfrey, violet leaves, fennel leaves, chives, French sorrel
cilantro, and bee balm with a vidalia onion dressing

Entre: Wild venison tenderloin and filet (medium rare) with a tangy marinade/
reduction sauce (fantastic recipe comliments of Donna Price)

Side: wild nettles and garlic potato pancakes fried in unrefined coconut oil and
served with homemade pear chutney

Dessert: Chocolate truffles flavored with homemade blackberry wine

Wine: Mixed Spice Mead

I used the occasion to pull out some lovely and delicate embroidered linens that were given to me by the Dirty Hoe, some lovely old fashioned yellow rose china which was given to me by Ms Emily Staton, and some lovely violet flower china which I traded for a haircut here in Hot Springs last year.

The dinner was excellent and was well received by the eaters. I think the only thing I would add would be a side of blanched asparagus with butter and a little garlic and/or sauteed morels (in butter and white wine). I did not add these things because of a lack of local availability at the time of the meal.

Happy Easter and go eat some wild food if you can- it's real satisfying!