Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice

Put the first brace of South Dakota birds through the crucible also known as "Cooking With Steve."

The plan: Two birds, cleaned and stuffed with celery, onion, and carrots, wrapped in bacon and garnished with fresh-squeexed orange and rosemary.

Roast for 15 minutes at 500, remove bacon, and continue for 20-30 minutes or until juices run clear.

Remove from oven, split birds into equal halves (remove backbone if not already done) and serve over wild rice with a side of asparagus and a nice mellow cab.

Pretty good recipe - meat was tender and not dry or overdone. The gamey flavor of the pheasant was noticeable but still tasty, but the cab was a little much. Doc says: "it looks like chicken but tastes like pork - weird." I give it about a B- overall - it didn't come out quite as well as the quail from last winter.

Maybe next time I will call up the Undercurrent and see if they will cook it up for us, if we bring a large enough party along.