Bread sauce

source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2730/bread-sauce

Ingredients

600ml milk
50g butter
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves
6 peppercorns
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
3 thyme sprigs
100g white breadcrumbs
4 tbsp single cream or mascarpone
pinch nutmeg, freshly grated

Method

Simmer the milk, butter, onion, cloves, peppercorns, garlic and herbs in a pan for 20 mins. Strain and return the liquid to the pan. Add the breadcrumbs and simmer for 3-4 mins. Stir in the cream or mascarpone. Add nutmeg, season and serve. Can be made up to 3 days in advance and heated up on the hob or microwave on Medium for 3 mins.

Pot-roasted pheasant

source: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1660644/potroasted-pheasant

A true autumnal treat, this pot roast works equally well with partridge, guinea fowl or chicken

Ingredients

2 pheasant, tied (ask your butcher to do this)
1 tbsp plain flour, well seasoned
50ml vegetable oil
2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, thinly sliced
8 shallots, peeled and left whole
2 carrot, peeled and quartered lengthways
2 parsnip
, peeled and quartered lengthways
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
1 thyme sprig
1 marjoram sprig
2 bay leaves
100ml marsala or sweet sherry
50ml red wine
200ml chicken stock
1 tsp caster sugar
bread sauce, to serve

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Dust the pheasants with the flour, then heat the oil in a large flameproof dish. Brown the pheasants all over, then remove from the dish.

In the same dish, fry the bacon, vegetables, garlic and herbs with 1 tbsp of the dusting flour for 5 mins, until the vegetables start to colour. Put the pheasants and any resting juices back in the dish, pour on the Marsala, wine and stock, add the sugar, then cover and cook for 1 hr 30 mins - 1 hr 50 mins or until the leg meat easily comes away from the bone. Serve with bread sauce.