Last night we celebrated my uncle’s 70th birthday with a big party in their backyard. I say backyard, but their “yard” is a really a large field that looks out to the Crazy Mountain range. Usually there are at least 5 deer grazing in the pasture, and occasionally some cattle make their way down as well. My uncle and aunt invited over some of their close friends from around the area and served a gorgeous dinner outside catered by Mustang Caterers. The same caterer had cooked for Martha Stewart while she was in Yellowstone the previous week!

I wanted to share what was served, because the caterer keeps a strong focus on local foods, and it gave me exposure to what “here” tastes like in Livingston, Montana. For appetizers we had crostini topped with sirloin and basil aioli, mushroom and potato pierogis, and gorgonzola popovers. The dinner was lamb chops with a delightful mint sauce, bison sausage with mustard, wild rice salad (with barley, forbidden rice, brown rice, and wheat berries), roasted vegetables, and a mixed green salad with toasted almonds. Usually lamb chops are served with an offensively neon green mint sauce, but this version was perfectly gelatinous with hints of other cooling herbs like basil and cilantro. The bison sausage was bold and full flavored, without any unnecessary spices or other garnishes. And the roasted vegetables were a rainbow of delight. For dessert my aunt made a blackberry crisp, a Swedish almond cake, and my uncle’s favorite cookie. The blackberry crisp was from the Union Square Café Cookbook, which is written for rhubarb, but my aunt used the sweet and slightly tart fresh berries from around here.

Tomorrow I head back East, back into my familiar food world. I will miss the local beef, which is almost a given on every menu, and the chance to try different game like elk and bison. And of course, I will miss my aunt Vanessa’s cooking.