Tag Archives: pigeon

Get your game on

Great_British_Game_Week_Logo_918Oh dear Reader, this week has had its ups and its downs to say the least.  It started with the car breaking down on the school run (homeward bound thank goodness, otherwise Primrose would have been stranded at school).  The three of us ended up being towed away in the end after the breakdown chap decided that our car was indeed dead.  Arriving home from the school run 4 hours after Poppy and I set off was not as planned but Primrose was thrilled as it gave her something to talk about for her ‘show and tell’!  Never let a 6 year old tell you a joke about a car breaking down at a petrol station on the way home from school……it just might come true.  This incident was quickly followed by losing my watch – something which wasn’t hugely expensive but was irreplaceable sentimentally as Jerry gave me the watch for my 21st birthday.  I’ve spent the last few days searching everywhere for it to no avail so shall mourn its loss.  The last in the series of my Margot disasters happened on my way to talk about all things game on BBC Radio Solent with Blackmoor Game when I had a tonk in Jerry’s Lanny at a set of traffic lights.  They say things come in threes….let’s hope that I am covered now for any further mishap.  Not sure my nerves could take anything else this week, dear Reader.

Still, onwards, and there’s nothing like Great British Game Week to warm the cockles and wet one’s appetite for some gamey goodness.  So I thought I might bring you my week in game, dear Reader:

Roast Wild Mallard, marinated in sloe gin (of course!) and Plum Chazwinkle’s

Wild Mallard

Raised game pie – pie but something very traditional.  Think pork pie only more gamey.  This is a labour of love to cook but so worth it – a perfect Boxing Day feast, cut into thick slices and served with a deliciously spiced pickle or preserve.  Great with a little snifter of something….

Raised game pie

Pheasant terrine –  a quick and easy pâté that can be whizzed up in minutes (literally) and cooked in a bain marie in the oven for an hour and a quarter.  Made the day before, all it needs is some warm bread or melba toast.  Two lovely additions could come in the form of quince jelly or another delicious pot from Chazwinkle’s, this time Rhubarb.

Pheasant terrinePigeon with red wine jus – something a little special for the weekend

Pigeon

Game pie – smoked garlic, chunky smoked bacon lardons, a teaspoon of anchovy essence and a good couple of dollops of Beetroot Chazwinkle’s added to the pot before slow cooking really make this recipe like a huge hug and a kiss.  Just the right thing for bringing cheer to someone who has given the front end of their husband’s car a bashing…..

Venison pie

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 leek, finely chopped

2 cloves of smoked garlic, finely chopped

150g smoked bacon lardons

500g mixed game

150ml port

250ml game stock

1 tbsp of plain flour

1 tsp anchovy essence

2 tbsp of passata

2 tbsp Beetroot Chazwinkle’s

ready made puff pastry

beaten egg

a handful of chopped winter savoury (you could use a mixture of thyme and rosemary instead)

Add a drizzle of oil to the pan and fry leek, carrots, celery, garlic and bacon until the vegetables have softened.  In a bowl, season the game with salt and pepper and add the flour, coating the game in the flour.  Add the game to the pan and fry for five minutes or so, stirring to avoid too much sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Spoon in the Beetroot Chazwinkle’s – this adds an earthy note and touch of sweetness to the pie.  Pour in the port and cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes before adding the stock, passata and anchovy essence.  Stir in the winter savoury, before popping into the slow oven.  Cook at 100 degrees Centigrade for at least six hours before either turning up the heat to 180 degrees for 30 minutes or placing in the top oven for the last part of the cooking.  The sauce should look rich and unctuous and the meat should be falling apart as soon as a fork touches it.

Spoon the stewy mix into a large pie dish and cover with the puff pastry top, rolled to the size of the dish leaving a little overhang to allow for shrinkage.  Paint the pastry with the beaten egg and bake the pie in a hot oven (200 degrees) until the puff pastry is golden and feels crisp to the touch.

Go on dear Reader – get your game on too!  I’d love to hear about your game numbers and if you fancy tuning into my little game stint on BBC Radio Solent, then do go over and listen here from 01:32.

Autumn drawing nearer

The oilman cometh!

The oilman cometh!

It is completely bizarre that I found myself thinking of autumn last week when we were all basking in glorious late summer sunshine but needs must in these parts and so the oilman was a forward planning necessity!  Having lived with mains sewerage and mains gas for so long, it was rather daunting knowing when to summon the oilman and how low our oil tank could get before steaming hot water would be replaced with a very cold shower!  Apparently, I could have left it a bit longer….  After a demo, it would appear that if in doubt, use a large stick as oil dipstick (same as cars…I know this much) and test how far the oil comes up to on the stick to get a rough estimate as to what is left in the tank.  I can just see myself now as winter draws in and it is pitch black for many more hours in the day, trying not to fall into the compost heap (right next to the oil tank) or get my Brora cardigan covered in oil as I plunge sticks into the tank and no doubt lose them.  Surely that is a Jerry job?!

Tank refuelled, we addressed the next item on the list in preparation for autumn.  4 pairs of shoes and obligatory oversized uniform bought for Primrose as well as hundreds of wretched name tapes sewn in all in the nick of time as Poppy and I packed Primrose off to school for her first day.  Our lovely girl was very brave and simply waved us off from the door, leaving me to run back to the car with Poppy for a little sob.  Needless to say that Primrose had a fabulous day but Poppy, Monty and I were bereft of the usual jokes and japes on our morning walk and Poppy really noticed her sister’s absence.

To try and keep ourselves out of trouble whilst Primrose is out at ‘work’, Poppy and I have taken on a significant number of projects: dejunglifying the garden, clearing a space for chickens (if we can ever persuade Jerry that fresh eggs are seriously worth the effort), trying not to be chastised by the gamekeeper as Monty chases partridge and pheasants all over the place……oh, dear Reader, I could list on and on and on and on.  I think that the villagers have taken US on as a project too and it is lovely getting to know all the fabulous characters in the village.  All quirky and individual and keen to recruit us as part of their particular tribe!  I have considerably more to do in the countryside than I ever had to do in London!  A bizarre turn of events, dear Reader!

Ooh nothing more wonderful than picking your own!

Ooh nothing more wonderful than picking your own!

First on the list, foraging for Jerry’s favourite, BLACKBERRIES!!!  Poppy and I have been gleefully plunging ourselves into hedgerows in order to gather plenty of these sweet ebony jewels for a crumble or some bramble jelly.  Not all of them are ready yet but the excitement of seeing them on our walks still hasn’t waned.  Poppy and I did manage a little haul and miraculously, having snaffled rather a lot of them, we did have enough to make a warming plum and blackberry pudding with a couple of fallen apples thrown in for good measure.  Blissfully autumnal!  My Barbour and wellies have even had their first outing so autumn must be drawing nearer.

Next on the list, the chimney sweep and dear Reader, we do really need him as pigeons have been cooing down the chimney since we arrived.  Imagine our shock when we found this little chap, far from home and without Mr and Mrs Pigeon to care for him.  Monty barked himself hoarse trying to tell us where Master Pigeon had fallen!

Our new addition...temporary accommodation only for this one!

Our new addition…temporary accommodation only for this one!

Primrose christened him Pecky, and was determined to help her new found friend in the form of fledgling wood pigeon on the road to recovery.  She made a little bed for him, feed him wild bird seed and even made him a little water trough.  Welcomed into our laundry room and allowed to roam free, Jerry was VERY quick to say that we would not be adopting any pigeons unless we were prepared to bring this one on for the pot!  Primrose and I thought it best at this point to secure Pecky a speedier convalescence than we had initially planned for him.  Safe in his box and on top of a very high fence post (Mr Foxy, I know your game…), we left him to bed down for the rest of the afternoon and evening.  By dusk, he had fledged and Primrose was terribly disappointed that she was not going to have a pigeon pet.  Thank the Lord too as pigeons are not high on my list of creatures to cuddle up to!!  Don’t tell Primrose but I popped straight to the butchers the next morning after the school run.  All that talk of game had put me in mind of a good recipe…..well, roasted pigeon does go remarkably with blackberry and red wine jus, dear Reader!

Our autumnal bounty!

Autumnal bounty!