Tradition

Very many years ago, an assistant of mine turned up on Christmas Eve with a brace of pheasants for us.
We had no idea what to do with them so just shoved them in the oven and hoped for the best. The usual pheasant thing happened - dry breast, bloody legs but somehow it became a tradition to have pheasant on Christmas Eve.

Nowadays it is casseroled in Madeira and wine and has shallots and chunks of pancetta added.

Bench