Ooooh...Pie

One de-boned pheasant cut into pieces. Skip the legs.

Olive oil and chopped garlic

Chopped celery, butternut squash, potato, carrots, peas and pearl onions – slightly precooked but not soft and mushy. Go for blanched. You’ll want enough to fill a couple of pie tins.

Butter

About two cups of chicken stock

1 c of milk

½ c of Half and Half or light cream

Fresh rosemary

2 frozen pie crusts (the kind that you unroll). Thaw to room temperature.

Sauté the pheasant pieces along with olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until well browned. Set aside and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bring the stock to a boil in a small pot. In a saucepan melt 5T of butter. Whisk in ½ c of flour. Add the stock, the milk and the cream. Bring to a boil until thickened.

Add the cooked pheasant and the veggies to a pie pan. Sprinkle with rosemary, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Ladle-in the cream mixture.

Drape the pie plate with your pie crust and crimp the edge to seal. Cut some vents in the dough.

Beat an egg with 2T of water and brush the top of the crust.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with a bold red wine.

Makes two 9-inch pies.

Don’t hunt? Substitute boneless, skinless turkey or chicken breast.

Recipe adapted from the November, 2009 issue of Field and Stream.