Deer season started around here a short time ago, and we were invited to a barbecue being held by some of the visiting hunters. We were expecting hotdogs and hamburgers, lots of beer and not much else. I made a macaroni salad and we even wondered if they would have paper plates to serve it on.
I realized how completely wrong we were about two minutes in when one of our hosts asked if we’d like some homemade wine. They grow the grapes themselves and then take them somewhere in Monterey to be processed. We had an excellent Chardonnay, which packed about twice the punch of a regular store bought wine.
The food started off with Kielbasa made from wild boar. Some of the Kielbasa had jalapenos and cheese baked on, which is apparently the way everyone around here likes it.
Next, we had Albacore tuna, freshly caught from Monterey Bay marinated in a chili sauce, and served over a green salad. By this point, I had eaten the equivalent of a normal dinner, which was more than usual lately, in the insane 110 degree heat we had been experiencing most of the summer.
The main courses consisted of Salmon (also freshly caught), Tri Tip steak, chicken, corn on the cob and huge bowls of beans. We left pleasntly stuffed, and I wondered how our hosts would have the strength to get up and go hunting the next morning.
When the weekend was over, they gave us another bottle of homemade wine, which we are saving for a special occasion.