Game Meat

Well, just when I thought the holidays were over, the “kids” from California arrived bearing gifts.

Gifts, I’ve noticed, run in categories. The most obvious (a.k.a. most desired), a gift certificate to Starbucks for an undisclosed amount. The most practical, “I’ll pay for half of the laptop; you pay for the other half” or as someone suggested to me, “I really do need a big girl’s purse.” And finally, the most exotic, especially when presented by vegetarians: game meat.

The recipient, fortunately, loved his gift of venison sausage, snake fillet, boar chop, and ostrich steak, but this M. was the one who had to unpack and store these items in the freezer when they arrived, still not frozen (despite the packaging) and still humming with some sort of life…force. Even though my ancestors did not partake of the Mediterranean Diet in the Old Country, I, for one, would never have made it to New Jersey if I had had to depend on wild meat. (I like to think the wild salmon got me here.)

Nevertheless, the proud recipient of the most exotic holiday gift eagerly awaits a dry, cold day when he can grill in his packed-snow backyard with his scarf and gloves on.

That’s one dinner party I won’t regret missing.
M.