Making History

INGREDIENTS

8 each- 4 ounce Venison shanks cut for osso bucco

2 quarts venison or veal stock

10 ounces Spanish onion, chopped

5 ounces carrot, peeled and chopped

5 ounces celery, chopped

1 ounce roasted garlic cloves

4 each chile chipotles, dry or 2 each if canned in adobo sauce

8 ounces tomatillos, roasted

2 tomatoes, roasted (peeled & seeded)

1 Tablespoon fresh epazote, chopped or 1 teaspoon dry

6 ounces Spanish Sherry

2 ounces vegetable oil

To Taste - Salt, Pepper and Cumin

METHOD:

1) In a two gallon, oven-proof pan, heat the vegetable oil until smoking.

2) Season meat with salt, pepper and cumin. Sear, remove and set aside.

3) Add the onions and carrots to pan and caramelize.

4) Add the celery, garlic, chipotles, tomatoes, tomatillos and epazote, cook this for a few minutes.

5) Add the Sherry to deglaze

6) Put the venison back in the pan, add the stock and bring to a boil.

7) Turn down to a simmer, cover and place in a 250 degree oven for about 2 ½ hours or until meat is fork tender.

8) Remove the meat, strain the stock through a chinoise and reduce the stock until you have enough to it lightly coat the meat with a thin even layer .

9) Plate and serve with your favorite potatoes and vegetables. 

Together, the polished musicians in Jimmy Stadler’s band count more than a half century of playing La Fiesta Lounge, either backing up Bill Hearne or in solo and duo configurations. It’s still the best gig there is in Santa Fe, says Jimmy.

With a repertoire that tops 600 songs spanning blues, rock, country, and Americana, the multi-instrumentalist Stadler and his bass player Dave Toland (married to our own Street Feet co-owner, Lou Ann) and drummer Mark Clark are pleased as can be that the band’s original tunes are the most requested. They have won New Mexico Music Awards for best CD and best song, and after decades of playing La Fonda, they’ll often look out to see the audience singing along.

“It’s always special at La Fonda,” says Stadler, noting that many of the hotel staff have been around as long as the band has. He’s been playing with Toland, a regular in Bill Hearne’s band, for 17 years. Drummer Clark has been with them four years, and previously toured with Ottmar Liebert and John Popper of the Blues Travelers. Nowadays, says Stadler, they just tailor their sets to the crowd that shows up, which always includes some devoted dancers. He likes to jam—“I can go off on piano, guitar, or mandolin”—but he always yields the floor to Mark and Dave for solos. “When they rock out, I’m always so proud. It’s really a treat to play with these guys,” he says.

Ski bums who make their home in Taos, the band enjoys playing the City Different because it doesn’t shut down at 10 p.m., Stadler laughs. “It’s such a happening thing, the Plaza. I feel pretty privileged playing there. I meet people from all over the world, and it opens doors—that’s how we got to go play Chicago this summer. It’s a prestigious gig.” Catch Jimmy Stadler and his band in La Fiesta Lounge the weekends of Jan. 20-21 and Feb. 10-11.

Catch the powder before it disappears! Ski season is short in New Mexico, so don’t wait to hit the slopes or trails. You don’t need any skills but just a love of fun to grab an inner tube and make like a kid at any tempting incline in the Santa Fe National Forest.

You can sled pretty much where you like in the national forest. Just head up Hyde Park Road toward Ski Santa Fe and pull over where you’re inspired. One popular spot is Hyde Memorial Park, a few miles up, where plastic sleds and snow gear are sometimes sold on site. The Dale Ball Trail system is also popular, as is Aspen Vista Trail—though these two are also used by snowshoe and cross-country ski enthusiasts. Several stores in town rent skis, snowboards, snowshoes, and the like, or sell plastic toboggans and discs. Tire shops in town will not be surprised if you stop in to buy an inner tube, the sliding device of choice in the Land of Enchantment.

The Santa Fe Symphony introduces a new principal conductor, Guillermo Figueroa, with a concert of Sibelius, Mozart and Brahms (Jan. 22) at the Lensic, followed by Rodrigo, Dvořák and Schubert, including the latter’s “Unfinished Symphony.” Grammy Award-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux joins the symphony for a guitar concerto (Feb. 19), following a solo concert recital of classical and contemporary adaptations (Feb. 16) at the Lensic. The Santa Fe Pro Musica orchestra will celebrate Mozart’s birthday with violinist Benjamin Beilman at the Lensic (Jan. 28-29), with an optional artist dinner on Sunday.

Elsewhere, the Brentano String Quartet plays a concert in honor of the New Mexico Museum of Art’s centennial in its St. Francis Auditorium (Jan. 15). Enjoy another vocal concert at the Cathedral Basilica with Grammy-winning polyphonic octet Roomful of Teeth (Jan. 21). The New Mexico Performing Arts Society plays its annual Valentine’s concert “La Catrina Quartet” at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel (Feb. 5). The chamber ensemble Serenata of Santa Fe gathers unique compositions under the headings “Harmonic Divergents” (Jan. 15) and “Complex Stories” (Feb. 12) at First Presbyterian Church. And Joseph Illick continues his popular performance talks with an exploration of Franz Schubert at the United Church of Santa Fe (Jan. 31). 

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