Tammy's Recipes

Today's guest chef, Andrea Cummings, is sharing her favorite recipe for preparing venison, which she calls "Rummy Deer". In her own words, "This recipe is a classy looking dish...Tender cuts of venison, marinated in a brown sugar, soy sauce, rum and cola mixture is sure to please, whether for a weeknight dinner, or weekend entertaining!"

Andrea also notes, "I've had venison prepared a whole slew of ways, but this is by far my favorite!" Served with green salad, buttered cooked sweet potatoes, and rolls, you have a delicious and hearty meal!

A graduate student at UW Milwaukee currently studying for a double masters' degree in English and Library Science, Andrea also stays busy working part-time and caring for her home in Southern Wisconsin.

Andrea and her husband, Aaron, were married in June of this year, after dating for two years. They don't have children yet, but do have four wonderful dogs: Bella Dogga (border Collie), Deuce (black lab), Hurricane (yellow lab) and Rusty (yellow lab).

"Aaron and I love simple, Midwest style cooking...nothing fancy for us! We love going out for Friday fish fry, and one of our favorite foods is this roasted venison!"

When asked about her favorite cooking experiences, Andrea says, "...Just learning how to cook... that's the most special thing I can remember. After that, it was the day I got the bakeware I use now. I never made a successful batch of cookies until then!"

"I grew up cooking on non-stick bakeware, and burned every batch of cookies I ever made on them. Then my aunt bought me some Southern Living at Home bakeware, and with the pretty pebble grain finish, its wonderful. It is also all aluminum...you can't grease them due to the pebbling, but I have wonderful results with parchment paper! I suppose the aluminum pans would work regardless of brand...they're almost too pretty to use!"

"...Also, I remember cooking with my grandmother. She went Home in March of 2005, but after raising 7 children and helping to raise countless grandkids, she knew how to cook! Making enchiladas with her at Christmas time (all 200 of them!) was something I looked forward to all year!"

How does Andrea fit cooking into her average day? "It dictates my day! I LIVE to eat...I don't work a full 40 hours, so I'm home before my husband, cleaning up and cooking dinner. Lunches are bag lunches or left overs from the night before, and neither of us really care to eat breakfast...its usually an oatmeal cookie and a mug of coffee!"

Andrea's current job allows her a lot of personal internet time, and she loves to search the web for frugal but tasty recipes. She says she tried menu planning, but just could never remember where she had her master menu saved! :)

Bio: Andrea Cummings, 24, lives in southern Wisconsin with her husband Aaron and their four dogs. Andrea loves to spend her free time reading cookbooks, cooking magazines, and historical fiction. She's also learning how to knit! Andrea blogs at Wandering Through Leaves of Grass.