As the winter comes to a close so does rabbit season. The last day of the hunt found me braving a late winter snow storm to bag two nice, plump cottontail rabbits.

The 2013-2014 rabbit season has seen more success then the past few years as the rabbits are once again on an upswing in their 10 year population cycle.

Since I was freezing from the snow storm, I thought that the best way to celebrate these rabbits was in a hardy southern Italian stew. This recipe was handed down to me by my grandmother who was an immigrant from Calabria, Italy.

The key to this recipe is to allow the rabbit to braise slowly in the saffron liquid and attain a tender consistency. Serve it with wild rice, a nice green salad and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.