Roast Pheasant with traditional Irish stuffing - a family recipe

Roast pheasant the way my mother cooked it for my father,

and the way my own children enjoy it now.

Pheasant, in my family, is something you never bought from the butchers, or, when you were given them, never asked where they came from! What changed hands would be a rabbit or some eggs or plants  or just a cup of tea and a friendly chat.

So, I was really pleased last week when my mother asked me if I'd like some pheasants, as she had some in the shed. 

The first thing to do is to pluck and clean them.

Pluck what you can, then cut off the head and neck, wings and feet,
then finish plucking.

Clean by making a small incision at the bottom and pulling everything out.

Remember to check the crop for corn and food.

Keep rinsing it all through.

If squeamish, buy them already prepared from your local butcher.

(About £8.50 a brace)

Then prepare the stuffing.

As you can imagine, potatoes are the main ingredient of the Irish stuffing.

However, the strong flavours of the other ingredients make sure it's not bland and tasteless.

So, in no particular order,
and in no precise amounts

put

the meat from a few pork sausages
some chopped smoked streaky bacon
chopped onions
sage  - dried /fresh or both
grated strong cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

add one or two raw eggs to bind it

and stuff the birds with the raw mixture.

Put them on their sides and wrap in streaky bacon

To prevent the meat from becoming dry, pour some red wine (a couple of glassfuls)
into the roasting dish and cover with foil.

Cook in a hot oven for about 15 minutes and then give it about an hour in the bottom oven

Take off the foil and brown it off for another 15 minutes in the top oven.

And there you have it.

Any left over stuffing can be cooked in the oven and eaten with the meal. 

Boiled Savoy cabbage is an excellent accompaniment

There are lots of delicious juices in the roasting pan.

Serve up the food.

Pour over some hot juice

Enjoy!

Sunday Lunch at Gidleigh Park

Well done to Michael Caines for achieving 2nd place in The Sunday Times top hundred Food List.

Sunday Lunch at Gidleigh Park is an amazing experience.

Chagford

Gidleigh Park is just a few miles from Chagford. An historic stannary town, one of only four in Devon, miners traditionally brought their tin here to be weighed and valued. Located above the River Teign on the edge of Dartmoor, the name means "The ford where the gorse grows" and although the Tin Mines are a thing of the past the town continues to be very much a thriving community.

This is also a good location to begin a walk exploring the surrounding moorland and hillsides or take the 3 mile route to historic Castle Drogo, built in the early part of the 20th Century this is a replica of medieval castle set on a rocky crag, well worth the walk.

Gidleigh Park is  notoriously difficult to find,

but certainly worth the effort.

It was a grey and rainy Sunday, and on a day like that, there's nothing better than pulling up infront of an enormous country pile and having two liveried men waiting with large umbrellas, offering to park the car  whilst escorting you into a stately drawing room for champagne cocktails by the roaring fire.

Gidleigh Park has two Michelin stars, thanks to the dedication and creativity of Michael Caines one of Britain's most acclaimed chefs. 

AA Chef's Chef of the Year in 2007, and awarded an MBE in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry, Michael returned to Britain in 1994 to take up the position of Head Chef at Gidleigh Park. Gidleigh's restaurant was already rated amongst the most prestigious in the country so the position represented a massive challenge and opportunity for a young and ambitious chef. Yet, only two months into the job, Michael suffered a terrible car accident in which he lost his right arm. Remarkably, he was back in the kitchen part time within two weeks, and full-time after just four. With the support of then owners Paul and Kay Henderson and an unwavering belief in his own ability to overcome obstacles, he returned to the kitchens of Gidleigh Park more focused and determined than ever to pursue his dream of reaching the top of his profession.

The only decision, which menu to go for!

Ahh..... no choice ...the Nine course Signature Menu !!!!

So

After a small amuse bouche we began.

Tartar of marinated tuna

scallops and lime , Oscietra caviar, soused turnip and beetroot, wasabi cream, honey and soy vinaigrette.

Terrine of foie gras

Madera jelly, truffled green bean salad

Cornish sea bass

roasted with anise spice, lobster and bouillaisse sauce

Partridge

quince puree, braised chicory, marinated raisins and a Gewurztraminer wine sauce

West Country beef fillet

wild mushrooms, shallot and horseradish comfit smoked bone marrow and a red wine sauce

A selection of Southwest cheeses

Sharpham Elmhurst, Quickes Mature Cheddar,Sloe Tavy and Harbourne Blue

Exotic fruit salad

passion fruit sorbet and crystaline of pineapple

Caramel and cardamon foam

All washed down with an amazing bottle of St Joseph Villard

We should have finished with coffee and petit fours

however

couln't have eaten another thing.

Total cost 365.00 for two.

Mummy / daughter time at Charlton House Spa - Shepton Mallet

Dating back to 1639, Charlton House was bought and refurbished by Roger and Monty Saul, the founders of the Mulberry Design Company, in 1996.

Sophie, Millie and I went for lunch there for Mother's day a couple of years ago,  (May 2009), against popular advice.

The food was disgusting and the service was slow and poor. The decor was tatty and dusty,

Weird hangings covered the chairs.

that made funny pointy hats.

And a creepy waiter.

We agreed that we would never go back there again.

It went into administration in June 2009.

Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne is now the  owner of the four-AA-red- star, 26 bedroom Charlton House hotel in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

His company, the Bannatyne Group,  purchased the property from administrators BDO, for 3 million in May 2010, safeguarding the jobs of all 62 staff. ( That's probably the whole of Shepton Mallet and ten surrounding villages).

Anyway, my son Stewart, recently went to a wedding reception there, and was impressed. Not hugely gobsmackingly blown away, but after talking to Bannatyne's daughter, who was managing the place, recognised the hard work, thought and money that was being invested there.

So, despite our misgivings, when Sophie and I were looking for a spa day to chill and unwind from ,

we decided to give it another go. We booked in for a Spa day, the cost was 40, this included full use of the spa and a two course lunch, unfortunately wine wasn't included. If we wanted any treatments we could book them on the day.
.

The style of the house is Georgian and reflects the interest in classical architecture that was popular at the time. It looks very similar to my mother's house, well, up to the first drainpipe on the left!

A little fountain with a pissing nymph

Inside

 The rooms connected to the spa have slightly more exotic style

lots of purple and gold velvet throws etc

Sophie insisted that we did an hour cardio before we could start lazing around.

It was a very small gym and fun while we had the room to ourselves.

 A quick whiz through the sauna, tropical shower, pool, steam room and then three hours of relaxing in the warm jacuzzi outside.

With the sole purpose of working up an appetite for lunch

The two course lunch is £11.95, this is included in the Spa Day price.

We were both on the 'attack' phase of the Dukan diet, so carbs were off limits.

This proved really difficult when we were presented with a basket of warm crusty white bread and chunky rustic olive bread.

I ordered mussels to start. They were o.k., but tasted as if the chef had thrown in a whole pot of cream just before serving them.Oh well, I ate most of the sauce, then thought I had better mop the rest up with the bread!

Sophie had a tomato and rocket salad with basil and Parmesan shavings. And no bread.

We both had shoulder of lamb on mash. This was really rich and heavy, again the mash tasted as though there was a pint of cream in it. Oh well, mop it all up with more bread....and wash it all down with a second bottle of Prosecco

We'd sinned so much by now, that we decided that we'd might as well order a pudding, some brandy and coffees. This was a strawberry and black pepper sorbet...quite unusual... rather sweet on the way in....the left a burning sensation at the back of your throat!

A view of the outside terrace

The conservatory

The interior of the restaurant has been tastefully furnished

The walls are now painted a chic grey, the peeling Harlequin wallpaper has gone.

The shabby shag pile has gone

The strange chair coverings have disapeared

The creepy waiter was still there.

The verdict

There is something quite decadent about eating in a fluffy white dressing gown and toweling flip flops.

Taking it off and bobbing up and down in the jacuzzi after all that food and drink is quite another thing!

To be fair, there is a lighter menu to chose from.

Excellent value for money, I would recommend it and will certainly return.

Week 2

Anne Hathaway's House

Studywise, we continued reading and discussing our short stories.

On Tuesday we visited Frome, Sabine met my mother and my brother Bernard and his wife, Petra, who is also German. Although all conversation had to be in English!

Sabine and my mother and I went for a walk around Shearwater lake

On Wednesday evening we went to The Halfway House to listen to a visiting Blue Grass Band called 'Telegraph Road'.

Band members -

Charlie Edsall ( Lake Tahoe - California) on guitar....he is a postman 'back home'

Craig Mosely ( Hitterdal - Minnesota) Bass Fiddle

Seth Mulder ( Louisville - Kentucky) on a kind of small guitar thing

and

Johnny Butten  - originally from Taunton and now from Hawley - Minnesota on Banjo,

come to visit the 'old folks' back home.

Johhny actually holds the Guiness World record as fastest banjo player.

I asked Helen, ( Charlie's wife and a dental technician), if she knew my Camenzuli cousins over in the US of A, but unfortunately she didn't.

 Johnny in action

I would, at this point, like to add some  Duelling Banjo music to give you a flavour of the evening, but  need  some help from Marta with this.

                   A happy person on the fiddle.

Dave from Langport 

On Thursady afternoon, Sabine and I visited the Cotswolds.

We had been reading Evelyn Waugh's, 'An Englishman's Home', which was set in a quaint village in the Cotswolds and came in search of one.

Driving into the village of Bourton - on - the -Water

An area of 'Outstanding beauty'.

A sunny and warm early Autumn afternoon.

Stowe on the Wold

Cotswold stone is warm and yellow

Sabine, sitting and enjoying the beauty of it all.

Moreton in Marsh

Everywhere I go I catch a glimpse of my father

We then drove to Stratford-upon-Avon to Anne Hathaway's Cottage

From the Guest Book:

Dear Carol,

First of all I want to thank you for a wonderful time in Street. As an experienced teacher you always knew how to combine hard work with fun. The lessons with you were sometimes challenging, but they should be like that, shouldn't they? However, I enjoyed them and I really feel a bit sad that I have to leave for home tomorrow.

I will never forget the wonderful excursions to all the gorgeous places, our evnings in the pubs with live music and the tears that rolled down my cheeks after extensive reading ( do you remember, it was the novel 'Of Mice and Men'...).

Thank you again for everything, for all the conversation, for your hospitality, and of-course, your warm-hearted personality.

Hope you will come to Germany one day.

Sabine