For the Love of Bambi - and Mustard and Garlic and a Neighbor Named Mike.

Yes. The post title is too easy. Maybe a touch insensitive to vegetarians and old-school Disney fans but even more to the sweet, innocent, tender fawns that started their young lives this spring.

Simply put: I love game. I LOVE venison.

A few months ago one of our wonderful neighbors, Mike, who loves to hunt gave us some of the bounty from a recent excursion. A venison backstrap and a venison steak. We had the backstrap in January. This tender cut is almost like a tenderloin. I made medallions and cooked up a port wine and cherry sauce. So good.

The steak? We dove into that this evening.

This cut is more like a flank steak than a tenderloin. I didn't want this dish to taste like an autumn dish since it's June so I had a little research to do. It didn't take long before I had a plan.

Enter Michael Symon's "Carnivore" - a Christmas present from the hubs. He's a keeper for so many reasons.

I found a recipe for "Mustard Grilled Elk Chops" - which is easily adaptable to venison. What drew me to this? Mustard, garlic, lemon...a light, flavorful marinade.

This recipe would work well with beef or lamb or venison or elk if you have access to it!)

Step 1 will take about 40 minutes. Make roasted garlic with lemon and parsley. (This little gem is going to be added to my repertoire for sure!)

You'll need the following ingredients:

• Head of garlic
• EVOO (enough to brush on the garlic- about a TBS)
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 TBS chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Cut a head of garlic in half crosswise and brush each cut side with olive oil. Place the halves back together, wrap in foil (no need to be tightly wrapped - just pull corners together and seal) and roast in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or so until the garlic is all good and roasty/caramalized.

Cool it slightly and squeeze* the cloves out of the skis into a small mixing bowl. Mash it up with a fork - it will start to form a paste (and is easier to do when warm). Add lemon zest, juice, parsley oregano and salt and mix it up. This will keep for up to 1 week in the fridge. My head of garlic was smaller than normal so I eyeballed some of these ingredients (especially the parsley...)

Look closely at this photo I call "Selfie with Deer"
(This was taken at m friend Kristina's
cabin in the north Georgia mountains in May.)

--Note: if your garlic shows a green center in each clove do your best to squeeze that center out after cooked. Or use a fresher head of garlic. The green center will have a bitter taste but once roasted will have less of an edge.

*Hands reek of garlic (or onion?) See below.

Step 2: Time to make the chops, or flank-ish steaks as the case may be.

I had butchered the meat to 4 smallish steaks - two thin and two thicker. (I did have some remaining meat that I cut into smaller pieces and will use for something later this week. Perhaps a venison "steak and cheese." Not sure yet.)

• Kosher salt for seasoning the steaks/chops
• 6 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup of the Roasted Garlic with Parsley and Lemon
• 2 TBS brown sugar (this is part of the magic...I LOVE brown sugar in my meat marinades)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pink pepper (truth be told I just ground some mixed pepper - about half a teaspoon....)
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 TBS dried)
• EVOO

Season both sides of the meat with salt. Whisk mustard, roasted garlic goodness and brown sugar. In a separate bowl mix the peppers and rosemary. Brush the meat with the mustard mixture and then liberally season with the rosemary/pepper mixture. Set aside to allow them to reach room temp for 30 minutes. (NOTE: because venison is such a lean meat, we added some diet coke to this marinade. While it may have diluted some of the mustard/pepper flavors, it added a nice sweetness to the finished product.

Heat your grill (or in my case...grill pan. We have really stupid grill rules in my neighborhood.)

Depending on the thickness and how cooked you like your meat - grill them up. These flank steaks were thin and it's easy to overcook venison, which results in tough, dry meat, so I cooked at a high heat for a few minutes each side. I like a little spring in my steaks (Ok I like a LOT of spring in my steaks. I actually prefer a french blue - cold in the center, caramelized on the outside. But in this case - I cooked to medium rare.)

We enjoyed our meal with some take out mac and cheese from a local restaurant (because hey, I'm a little lazy...I was going to make salad but we eat that for lunch every day...so mac and cheese it is!)

The finished product tasted amazing. Perfectly gamey and perfectly garlicky.

Not as tender as beef (venison is super lean) but oh so tasty.

What's a blog post without Fenway!?
Here she is during a recent visit to Charlotte. Some have said she resembles a deer (but don't get any ideas!)

* Many people know this trick but if you don't - hold onto your hat. (That sounds dramatic but trust me on this one.) I know the easiest way to rid your hands of garlic or onion stench. Stainless steel and cold water is all you need. I usually use the knife I was cutting with - simply rinse the knife and then run cold water off of it and let it (the water - not the knife) land on your skin.  Be sure to get good water running under your fingernails if they're long. You can rub your hands a little on the (non sharp side!) knife and then wash with warm soap and water. Presto - no more stink!