Quail in Claret

2 quail, thoroughly cleaned and split lengthwise
1 ounce brandy
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup consomm? or chicken stock
1/2 cup claret or red Bordeaux wine
Pinch of celery salt
Freshly-ground pepper
Juice of 1 orange, strained

Rub quail with a cloth soaked in brandy and dust with flour. Melt 1/2 butter in skillet and let it brown. Add quail and cover, allowing it to cook 5 minutes on each side.

In a saucepan, melt remaining butter. When hot, add mushrooms and saut? until tender.

To quail, add mushrooms, consomm?, claret, celery salt and pepper. Simmer gently about 10 minutes, until quail is tender.

A minute or two before serving, add orange juice.

Quail

Quail
Flour
Butter
Curry powder, to taste
Pepper, to taste
4 cans chicken broth
1 cup sherry

Dredge quail in flour and brown in a LOT of butter. Put the quail breast-side up in an electric skillet and pour chicken broth over them 1/2 inch deep. Sprinkle with curry powder and pepper. Put the lid on and simmer for 45 minutes, checking about every 15 minutes and adding more broth if necessary. The last 10 minutes, add sherry and simmer covered.

To make a gravy, add a mixture of flour and milk to the remaining broth and stir and simmer until of desired thickness.

Serve with wild rice.

‘Possum and ‘Taters

1 opossum, cut into serving pieces
Water to cover
2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 baking size sweet potatoes, pared and quartered
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, chopped

Skin and dress opossum. Put in Dutch oven and cover with water. Add salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until very tender. Place opossum pieces in center of large baking pan and arrange sweet potatoes around them. Sprinkle sugar and margarine over potatoes. Pour 2 cups of broth from cooked opossum over all. Place in preheated 375 degree F oven and bake until potatoes are fork tender, slightly browned, and broth has evaporated.

Pheasant with Mushrooms

1 pheasant, cut for frying
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup cooking sherry
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 small can button mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour

Roll pheasant pieces in flour, salt and pepper mixture. Brown in melted butter. Place in greased casserole.

Mix sherry, mushroom soup, drained mushrooms, parsley and onion. Pour over pheasant. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours. Remove lid and bake 15 minutes longer.

Pheasant Stir Fry

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot or 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
1 1/3 cups water
1 boneless skinless pheasant breast (about 3/4 pound) cut into strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup julienne carrots
1 cup julienne celery
1 cup julienne onion
1 cup frozen snow peas
Hot cooked white or wild rice

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, cornstarch, ginger and bouillon. Add water; set aside.

In a skillet or wok over medium-high heat, stir-fry pheasant in 1 tablespoon of the oil until no longer pink, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and keep warm.

Add remaining oil to pan. Stir-fry broccoli and carrots for 2 minutes.

Add celery, onion and peas; stir-fry until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir soy sauce mixture and add to the skillet; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Return meat to pan and heat through.

Serve over rice.

Yields 4 servings.

Pheasant Paprika

1 pheasant, cut into serving pieces
3 tablespoons fat
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Roll pheasant pieces in flour and brown in fat in a Dutch oven. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Add cream and cover. Let cook over low heat until the meat is tender – about 40 minutes.

Pan Roasted Doves

16 doves or dove breasts (4 to 5 per person)
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
2 tablespoons pre-browned flour
1 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon freshly-ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon currant jelly
1 can beef or chicken stock

With 1 tablespoon flour, dust doves and place in medium hot drippings. Brown well, stirring constantly. When brown, add 1/2 cup wine and boil down to essence.

Add 1/2 of the stock slowly, then currant jelly, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring until tender to fork and red juice no longer appears (approximately 45 minutes).

Remove doves and increase heat. For gravy, add flour, wine and stock mixture. Use more stock to thin if needed. Place gravy in a preheated gravy boat.

Serve doves on a bed of wild rice or natural brown rice.