Entertainment

The Fox's Kitchen: Cherished Recipes from Philadelphia’s Historic Radnor Hunt, Virginia Judson McNeil, The Derrydale Press, 2018, hardbound, color, 300 pages. Available from Radnor Hunt and Amazon, $46.00.Lively, sophisticated, sumptuous. Here’s a book of recipes and ideas for entertaining foxhunters in memorable fashion. The Fox’s Kitchen: Cherished Recipes from Philadelphia’s Historic Radnor Hunt is the first-ever cookbook made available to the public by the Radnor Hunt. With kennels in Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania, Radnor lies just twenty-five miles west of the venerable city of Philadelphia.

Published by the Derrydale Press, the three hundred-page, full color hardback features recipes from Radnor Hunt members and friends, color photos of mouth-watering dishes, and anecdotes of foxhunting history and etiquette. As the book explains, “It’s no secret that foxhunters love a good party, a good drink, and especially good food.

Book Review by Norman Fine

Horse Racing Terms: An Illustrated Guide by Rosemary Coates, Merlin Unwin Books (UK), hardbound, illustrated in color, 140 pages, available online or directly from publisher, £8.99

Though this book is about the language of horse racing, much of the content is common to all horse people. And hunt racing and steeplechasing terms are included. And the little volume is the work of Rosemary Coates—a favorite illustrator of ours, whose work illuminates Deirdre Hanna’s humorous and continuing series about the two nineteen-year-old girls who left post-war England to work with horses in America.

Maiden, weaver, hands, claimer, the going, pony (the verb!), schooling, stayer—these and more than a hundred other examples of the arcane language of racing and horsemanship are tackled, many accompanied by Rosemary’s clever paintings. Also included is an alphabetic Glossary of Terms and a serious page on “How to read a Racecard.” Just the latter alone could turn the modest price of this book into a sound investment for the occasional race-goer’s next outing at the steeplechase course or racetrack.

Awash in the political tsunami of hopeful presidential nominees swarming over us on TV, Bena Mae Seivers, writing for the Corbin News Journal in Kentucky, is reminded of something she read a few years ago. At the time she just thought it was just a funny story. Now, she says, it begins to make some sense.

by Bena Mae Seivers

The story goes that one fine evening a Mrs. George Wood called a Dr. Martin Satterfield, a veterinarian, from her home. It was about her mule, Horace. After asking a few questions and hearing the answers, Dr. Satterfield said, “Give him a dose of mineral oil, and if he ain’t alright in the morning, call me, and I’ll come out and take a look at your mule.”

She wanted to know how to give the mule the mineral oil and the Doctor said “Give it through a funnel.”

She protested that the mule might bite her, and the Doctor, becoming exasperated, said, “You’re a farm woman, and you know about those things. Give it to him in the other end.”

Matthew Klein photo Cool weather and foxhunting make for big appetites, so FHL is holding a Hunt Breakfast Recipe Contest. If you point to the Social drop-down menu above and click on Hunt Breakfast Recipes, you will see that our recipes are organized into seven categories: Appetizers, Breads, Desserts & Sweets, Flask Concoctions, Main Dishes, Side Dishes & Accompaniments, and Soups & Salads. Here are the contest rules: You are invited to submit a favorite recipe in any category. You may submit as many recipes as you like. Recipes will be judged by prominent chefs on aptness, gustatorial satisfaction, and ease of preparation. All recipes received through December 31, 2010 will qualify for the contest. The winner—one for each of the seven categories—will be announced, interviewed for additional useful tips on putting on hunt breakfasts, and will receive a gift of FHL‘s DVD, Calls on the Horn, featuring John Tabachka. Winners will be announced after the new year. To enter, click on Submit One Now here or on the Hunt Breakfast recipe page and upload, type, or paste your favorite hunt breakfast recipes into the appropriate spaces. Images may be uploaded as well. You don’t have to be a subscriber to enter. The idea is to provide the best resource possible for the satisfaction of tired, happy, and hungry foxhunters. Let’s see what you got!November 2, 2010... This content is for subscribers only.Log In Join Now

Want your cell phone to ring like this (click the horn)? Foxhunting Life invites you to ring in the new hunting season with free hunting horn ring-tones! Select and download the calls of your choice for your cell phone, courtesy of two-time National Horn Blowing Champion John Tabachka, huntsman for the Deep Run Hunt (VA). (Just remember to turn your ringer off in the hunting field, or we’ll all be in trouble!) You may choose doubling, gone away, gone to ground, or whip-to-me—all calls from John’s popular FHL video—and download them directly to your computer. If your phone does not have computer connectivity, we can send a text message containing the audio files directly to your cell phone, which you can save to your list of ring-tones. If we do not already have your e-mail address, you will be asked to enter it before downloading files. We will use your e-mail address to send you our periodic e-letters with the latest postings and news on Foxhunting Life. Remember, you can unsubscribe at any time, and keep your free foxhunting ring-tone. Get your ring-tones now! FHL wishes you a safe and enjoyable hunting season. Share this with your friends using the “share” button below to email, Tweet it, post to Facebook, and more. {sharethis}... This content is for subscribers only.Log In Join Now

The first time I saw Redmond was on a snowy afternoon in February, 2005. It was the closest thing to love at first sight that I’ve ever experienced.