Pheasant with Orange and Chestnuts

A friend of mine went pheasant hunting and bagged a few birds so I thought I'd share the AGA cookbook's Pheasant with Orange and Chestnuts recipe. This is the one that warns that if the birds are old or badly shot they will take 3-4 hours to cook. It actually sounds pretty good.

6 oz dried chestnuts soaked overnight in cold water (probably have to get this on line)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 oz butter
a brace of roasting pheasants
2 oz flour
8 oz good red wine
16 oz chicken stock
2 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
juice and rind of one orange - peel this like you do when making candied orange peel (see blog)
2 teaspoons red current jelly
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Strain the chestnuts and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoonon of the oil in a large pan with the butter and brown the pheasants on all sides. Remove the pheasants to a plate and add the remaining oil to the pan. Add chestnuts to the pan and brown the chestnuts, then remove them to the plate with the pheasants. Add the flour to the pan and whisk it together cooking for a couple of minutes to cook the flour. Whisk in the wine and the stock and bring to the boil, stirring until thickened.  Add the onions to the pan with the orange rind, juice, red currant jelly and seasoning and blend well. Return pheasants and chestnuts to the pan. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes on the stove top. Place the covered pan of pheasants in the oven and cook for 3-4 hours, depending on the age of the birds. Taste to check seasoning and remove the rind before serving.

Shortbread Cookies

I've told you all about my AGA cooker in other posts. Cooking on an AGA is a little different from the usual American electric or gas stove, so AGA gives all its new owners an AGA cookbook. Since the AGA is manufactured in England, the cookbook is for English cooks. I know what you are thinking! England is not known for its cuisine.

But the AGA cookbook is pretty good reading. The recipes are so different from American cookbooks. For example, as I leaf through the book (its a slim volume) I see a recipe called "Beef Oxford".  The recipe is cubes of stew beef browned then simmered in the oven for 4 hours. The ingredients list includes onions, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, red wine and apricot jam! The tag line says: "Perfect for supper on a cold winter's day."

Another recipe is for "Pheasant with Orange and Chestnuts". The tag line on this one is: "The timing of this recipe is for roasting birds, but you can use old birds very satisfactorily or even ones that are old and badly shot. They may well take 4-5 hours to get really tender." Old pheasant, badly shot. I think I'll pass!

But some of the recipes sound really good. My favorite, and one I make often with my own special twist, is for Butter Shortbread. Here it is. It's a great old fashioned Christmas cookie and gets better with age. I give you the recipe straight from the cookbook as well as my version.  Note:  I have a kitchen scale and weigh the ingredients. Cup measures just don't work.

Butter Shortbread

The AGA Version

12 oz butter

12 oz plain flour

6 oz ground rice, cornflour or semolina

6 oz caster sugar

demerara sugar

In a stand mixer with a dough hook, cut up the butter into small pieces. Put everything together in the mixer bowl and mix with the dough hook until all is combined.  You can also use a food processor or a pastry cutter. Work it like pie pastry.

Lightly grease a large, heavy rimmed baking sheet. (My AGA came with a large 11" by 15" roasting pan which the recipe says to use and I do). Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Smooth the dough with a damp off set spatula. Prick all over with a fork and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 or 25 minutes (maybe longer as ovens vary)  or until the shortbread is a very pale golden color around the edges.

Remove the shortbread from the oven and cut into 40 pieces. Lift out the pieces and cool them on a wire rack. Store in cookie tins.



                                                                  Butter Shortbread

My Version

When I first made this recipe I didn't have ground rice or semolina and I wasn't sure what cornflour was, so I used fine yellow cornmeal.  The cornmeal turned out to be a perfect substitution and I've made this shortbread with corn meal ever since.  I am serious when I say this cookie gets better with age. I don't like to touch it until its at least a week old. I keep the shortbread in cookie tins in a cool place. This is my 88 year old father's favorite cookie. I've also taken it to several cookie swaps and have been told by at least one other gentleman that this shortbread is almost better than sex!  Try it, see what you think.

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

So, its Monday and its raining again. I'm trying hard to get in the holiday spirit but this rain and unseasonably warm temperatures are straining credibility.  So I think its time to do a little baking!

Here is a recipe that always says Christmas to me. It was handed down from my Grandmother McGarity. I have no idea where she got the recipe. I got it from my Mom. She has it written down in a little black notebook where she keeps all the recipes her mother gave her when she was married.

These are strong flavored cookies. They are similar to gingerbread cookies but have more flavor.  The full cup of molasses and the brown sugar really comes through. My Mom always makes these at Christmas. They are great with a little powdered sugar on top and a cup of strong black tea. Enjoy!

Old Fashioned Molasses Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees



3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup brown sugar packed tight

1 cup molasses (unsulfured)

1 cup buttermilk

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a wide bowl or onto a piece of waxed paper.

In an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy, two minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy three or four more minutes. Add molasses and mix thoroughly. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with the milk . Continue adding flour mixture and milk, ending with milk. Drop batter by rounded tablespoon fulls on parchment lined cookie sheets. Spread batter slightly with the back of a spoon. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. When almost cool, dust with a little powered sugar using a fine mesh sieve.