Quail and My First Homemade Bread

Roast Quail,
Balsamic Drizzle

I miss having more time for writing on both of my blogs - I like having a busy schedule but I just miss my writing time, especially when I’m inspired to drink or create something really awesome in the kitchen and have no time to relive the moment.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that for a dinner with my sister, we’d have quail.  And I also decided that with the quail, I’d bake my first loaf of bread.  I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.  See, at the local grocery stores and butchers, I’ve seen quail available.  But the day before our dinner, I couldn’t find quail anywhere.

Fresh from the Oven

So the search for quail began.  I called probably around 20 stores on Long Island to see where I could find the quail.  The issue at that point was hardly the fact that I couldn’t seem to find the quail - it was actually the poor customer service I was receiving on my quest.  And this time, I’m not holding back on the names of the businesses.  Most locations I called had no idea what quail was.  An Uncle Giuseppe’s worker went so far as to ask me if quail is seafood.  How can customers possibly find what they’re looking for if the store employees have no idea what’s in their store’s inventory?  After much frustration with local stores, I called D’Artagnan directly, and spoke with a customer service representative - I attempted to order quail for next day delivery, but missed the cutoff by an hour.  I asked her if I could pay a penalty fee to have it shipped next day - I know how this stuff works, as I have to process sales orders for my own job - instead of answering me, she simply hung up on me.  Needless to say, finding quail was an aggravating experience.

Herbed Homemade Bread

And then I called a poultry farm in Huntington - and they had quail - and said they’d hold 4 quails for me.  See?  It’s that simple.  And that’s one of the many reasons why it’s best to shop small and seek good customer service.  So I made the drive to Huntington and was very pleased with what I saw at the farm and shop - I’ll be going back there again!

So what happened with the quail?  We trussed them, rubbed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt, and sauteed them in the Le Creuset pot for a while, and then transferred them to the oven, until they became golden brown and crispy, and then made a quick balsamic drizzle for them, and voila - perfect quail for dinner!

Langhe Nebbiolo

And about the bread - well, I found what looked like a fairly simple bread loaf recipe, and for someone who makes bread all the time, it probably is very easy - but doing this late at night after work and doing it for the first time made for a challenge and a mess of dough everywhere, but it wasn’t so bad after all - I think I was just worried that it wasn’t going to rise!  But rise it did.  And it was a beautiful and delicious loaf of bread.  The flavors I used were fresh chopped basil, thyme, and rosemary from my rooftop garden, and lemon zest - and a crust of grated parmigiano reggiano - not bad for a first attempt at baking bread!  (And for a bread loaf pan, I highly recommend Emile Henry - heat is distributed correctly and the loaf doesn’t stick to the pan.)  And the leftover bread after our dinner was used for a delicious breakfast with poached eggs - perfect.

What did we pair with our quail and herbed bread dinner?  A Langhe Nebbiolo from Piemonte - dry and bright and clean with lovely cherry and flower petal notes.  There’s an ideal pairing right there.

So, all challenges and frustrations aside, that was a fantastic dinner!