By Colin Kearns

OK, I know what you might be thinking: Summer doesn’t start for another month. If you’re the type who lives strictly by such things as, um, calendars then, yes, that’s correct. But for me, summer—at least the spirit of summer—began this past Sunday when some friends and I gathered for the first afternoon barbecue of the year.

By Colin Kearns

It's always nice to work with chefs who are also hunters. You can bet that: A) They really know what they're doing in the kitchen. B) They'll be respectful of the harvest. C) They understand why we love to spend time outdoors.

Jason McConnell is one of those chefs.

Chef McConnell, originally from rural Tennessee, runs the popular restaurant Red Pony in Nashville, where he includes fish and game on the menu—including the quail dish that he shared below.

And when he's not busy whipping up amazing meals in the kitchen, McConnell loves to hunt. He even managed to bag this gobbler this spring. Speaking of turkeys: If you don't have any quail meat in your freezer, McConnell says you can use wild turkey instead. Enjoy. —Colin

By Colin Kearns

Last week I asked readers to send in their best fish and game recipes for a new segment on the Wild Chef blog called, Reader Recipe of the Week. And in hardly no time, F&S reader Phil Traynor shared his recipe for Halibut Pot Pie.

Halibut will win any beauty contests, but they're one of the best-tasting fish in the ocean—and just one fish will get you a ton of meat. Just ask Phil: "I came up with the dish while trying to find new uses for the freezer full halibut during a long Alaskan winter."

I'm hungry just looking at the dish. Thanks for the recipe, Phil.

By Colin

Before I introduce this week’s contest, let's first announce the winner of last week’s “How Would You Cook This Turkey?” recipe-off. Many of you sent in some great-sounding recipes, so I’m glad I have enough turkey meat that I can try more than one of your suggestions.

Fruguy101 immediately got my attention with his Cajun turkey sandwich. There’s absolutely nothing I like more than a satisfying sandwich. Quite simply, sandwiches favorite food.

But, in the end, I’m awarding top honors to Koldkut honors for his turkey cordon bleu recipe. For one thing, I’ve never cooked cordon bleu (chicken, turkey, or any variety), and it sounds like fun. Also, how can you go wrong with any dish that calls for ham?