Roasted Pheasant Pheasant Alla Fiorentina Food

SCHIACCIATA ALLA FIORENTINA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
• Add flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, orange juice, eggs, milk, and oil. Beat with a hand mixer until thoroughly mixed together, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the batter to the buttered pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick inserted into the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
• Let cool for about 30 minutes on the counter, then flip the cake out of the baking pan. Slice and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar.

ROASTED PHEASANT (PHEASANT ALLA FIORENTINA)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the pancetta to the hot oil and render its fat. Once it begins to brown, add the ground pork and prosciutto and cook, while stirring, about 4 minutes. When the pork is no longer pink, add the garlic and sage and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the bread crumbs. Remove the stuffing mixture to a bowl and allow to cool.
• Season the cavity of the birds with salt and pepper.
• Divide the stuffing evenly between the two pheasants' cavities.
• Roast the pheasants 25 minutes. Add 1/2 cup white wine to the bottom of the pan. Turn the oven heat up to 425 degrees F and cook another 25 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees F. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving so the juices can redistribute.
• Remove the dressing from the bird and serve along side. Garnish the dish with fresh sage leaves.

FUNGHI ALLA FIORENTINA (SEARED MUSHROOMS WITH WILTED ARUGULA)

Steps:

• Heat a straight-sided medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil; heat for another minute. Add the mushrooms and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts; cook 1 minute more. Turn off the heat, add the arugula and another 1/4 teaspoon salt, and toss gently with the mushroom mixture to wilt.

PHEASANT WITH CRANBERRY HONEY

Steps:

• Render bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pheasant parts and sear on all sides, then add red wine and onions. Sprinkle cracked pepper, bay leaves, tarragon, salt and mint over pheasant parts. Reduce heat to low and cover pot. Cook until tender and juices run clear (no longer pink), about 25 minutes. Remove pheasant carefully to a utility platter, cover and set aside to keep warm. Transfer liquids from pot to a heat resistant glass container (such as a 2 or 3 cup measuring vessel) and allow the layer of fat to rise to the top. Spoon or pour off most of the fat and return the rest of the juices, herbs, bacon and onions to the pot over medium heat. Add cranberries to the sauce and cook until the berries pop to make a rustic sauce. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and whisk in honey and sour cream.
• Arrange pheasant on serving dish, spoon sauce over, and garnish with mint.

EMERIL'S FAVORITE ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
• Season the cavities and the outside of each pheasant liberally with salt and pepper. Divide the chopped onion and carrot equally among the cavities of the pheasants. Squeeze the juice from both halves of the orange and set aside. Cut 1 of the squeezed halves into 3 pieces, and tuck inside of the cavities along with the veggies. Insert 1sprig of thyme into the cavity of each pheasant.
• Arrange the pheasants in a large roasting pan, breast sides up. Lay 2 strips of bacon over the top of each pheasant, cutting the bacon into pieces if necessary to cover as much of the pheasant as possible. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove the bacon strips and continue roasting for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear. (It is important to not overcook the pheasants, as they are very lean birds.) Remove the pheasants from the oven and transfer to a serving platter, loosely tented, while you make the sauce.
• Using a spoon, carefully remove as much extra fat from the pan as possible. Place the roasting pan over high heat and, when hot, deglaze with the reserved orange juice and Madeira, using a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. When the orange juice and Madeira have reduced by half, add the chicken stock and continue to cook until sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes. Swirl in the butter and remove from the heat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Remove the back bone from each pheasant, then cut along the breast bone to divide the birds into two halves. Serve 1/2 pheasant per person, napped with some of the sauce and with some of the Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Essence, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and have given off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the beer and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and until the mixture is almost dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of Essence, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and whisk well to combine. Add the mushroom mixture and cheeses and stir well. Add the bread cubes and let sit until the bread has absorbed the liquid, 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Add the bread crumbs, shaking to cover the bottom evenly. Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and uncover. Continue baking until risen and firm in the center, and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Stir the chopped rosemary and thyme into the olive oil and set aside. Rub the pheasant inside and out with salt and pepper. Place into a close-fitting roasting pan. Pour the herb oil over top.
• Bake the pheasant in the preheated oven for 1 hour, then cover with aluminum foil, and continue baking an additional hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone reads 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing. Baste the pheasant with the hot oil and juices from the pan every 30 minutes while cooking.