Chef Kipp Bourdeau
Pine Creek Sporting Club
Okeechobee, FL

Ingredients
4 fresh hog snapper fillets, skinned, pin bones removed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 fresh lemons, sliced thin
8 shallots, sliced thin
Sprigs of fresh dill (enough for 4 snappers)
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups fresh vegetables, steamed
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2 Using a large shallow baking dish, brush with 1 tablespoon of butter, arrange lemon slices, shallots, dill, and Old Bay seasoning in the dish.
3 Place the hog snappers over the aromatics in the dish and add white wine.
4 Dot fish with remaining butter, cover loosely with foil.
5 Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
To serve, arrange the steamed vegetables on a large plate. Arrange the fish over the vegetables. Drizzle the remaining cooking juices, which will be plenty flavorful, over the fish.

The first bird up was a chukar partridge and it skied rapidly and then cut left. The sweet-mounting and swinging Caesar Guerini 20-gauge loaner gun barked and the partridge folded. Thank goodness my first shot was a hit, and I gladly accepted the “nice shot” accolades…

… Our visit to Virginia’s premier sporting resort was off to a good start, and it only got better with nice-working pointers, hard-flying chukars and ringneck pheasants, and beautiful surroundings in the heart of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

Ingredients
1 red onion cut in quarters
1 ripe peach, pits removed, cut in quarters
4 quail, dressed
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto
4 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Watercress or greens
Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2 Heat the canola oil in a roasting pan large enough to hold all the ingredients in one single layer. (If one pan is not large enough, use two – one for peaches and onions, one for quail.) Remove the pan from the heat and carefully place the red onions and the peach halves, cut side down, into the pan.
3 Wrap the prosciutto around the quail. Season with salt and pepper and place the birds into the roasting pan along side the peaches and red onion.
4 Place the roasting pan in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the quail are cooked through.
5 Remove the quail, peaches and onions from the pan and arrange on a large platter. The onions should be tender and golden brown and the peaches should be dark brown. If necessary, cook them both cut side down on the stovetop until well colored. Decorate with the watercress. Reserve.
6 Add the sherry vinegar, chicken stock and honey to the pan and bring to a boil ontop of the stove. Season with salt to taste. Whisk in the butter and pour over and around the quail.