Get the party started with an unruly pack of appetizers. Chef Daniel Aguera’s Venison Sloppies, or wild game Sloppie Joe’s, on poppyseed slider buns from Mediterra Bakehouse are intriguing, especially when paired with his goat cheese dredged in wild sumac berries and slathered in local honey, poached pears flavored with the fruits and twigs of wild spiceberry bushes, and homemade membrillo (quince paste) from foraged fruits.

Venison Sloppies Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 green bell or poblano pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves
1 lb ground venison
8 oz canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground chipotle
2 cups red wine

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, peppers, and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add venison and cook through, breaking apart with a wooden spoon.
3. Once meat is browned add tomatoes, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, apple cider vinegar, cumin, chipotle.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer until mixture thickens, about 25 minutes.
5. Add wine and reduce. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve in a slider, a hamburger bun, or over rice.

Membrillo (Quince Paste) Recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs quince, peeled, cored, and chopped
3 3/4 cups sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Cover quince with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes. Let it cool down in the water. Drain the water and add sugar. Cook on low heat until the sugar mixes in with the fruit. Stir with a wooden spoon from time to time. This should take about ten minutes. Liquefy fruit and sugar using an immersion blender. Keep cooking on low and stirring from time to time until the spoon stays straight on its own. The quince paste will firm up as it cools down. Pour into containers while still fluid.

Pears with Spicebush Berries Recipe

INGREDIENTS

2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp spicebush berries, ground
6 pears, medium-sized

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring water, sugar, and berries to a boil in a pot large enough to hold the pears. Cover pot and remove from heat. Peel, core, and cut pears in half. Add pears to the liquid. Cook pears at medium heat covered until tender.
2. Remove pears from liquid. Reduce cooking liquid by half and pour onto pears.

Goat Cheese Dredged in Wild Sumac Berries Recipe

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup fresh goat cheese
1 tsp sumac berries
3 tbsp local honey

INSTRUCTIONS

Form the goat cheese into a flat disk. Dust with sumac berries, and drizzle generously with local honey.

Recipes by Chef Daniel Aguera / Photography by Adam Milliron / Styling by Ana Kelly

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition.