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Ingredients:

1 cup butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

8-10 wooden sticks

8-10 medium tart apples

Directions:

Wash and dry the apples, removing any stems. Insert a wooden stick into the end of each apple.

Combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 30 to 40 minutes, or until syrup reaches 248 degrees (firm ball stage) on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Dip each apple into the caramel mixture, swirling to coat. Set apples on wax paper to cool completely before serving.

(Recipe courtesy http://www.allfreecrafts.com/halloween/candy-apples.shtml)

Ingredients:

8 medium sized apples

8 wooden sticks

3 cups white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Wash and dry the apples. Remove any stems or leaves and insert a wooden stick into the end of each apple. Set apples aside.

Heat and stir sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan until sugar has dissolved. Boil until the syrup reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer, or until a little syrup dropped into cold water separates into breakable threads.

Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon and food coloring, if using.

Dip one apple completely in the syrup and swirl it around a little with the stick to coat. Hold the apple above the saucepan to drain off excess. Place apple, with the stick facing up, on a well greased pan.

Repeat with remaining apples. If syrup thickens or cools too much, simply reheat briefly before proceeding. Let cool completely before serving.

Variations: After coating each apple, quickly dip the end or press and swirl apples in shredded coconut, colored M&M’s, chopped nuts, granola or colored sprinkles.

(Recipe courtesy http://www.allfreecrafts.com/halloween/candy-apples.shtml)

Ingredients:

1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup (2-1/2 oz) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups powdered icing sugar
1/3 cup powdered milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Red and yellow food coloring

Directions:

In a large saucepan combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil over high heat while stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium and continue boiling for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat and add vanilla extract.

Combine the icing sugar, powdered milk, and salt in a separate bowl and add to the mixture in the saucepan, mixing thoroughly. Allow the dough mixture to sit until it’s cool enough to handle.

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and place each part in a small mixing bowl. Add orange food coloring to one part (a combination of yellow and red) and yellow food coloring to another part, leaving the remaining part uncolored or white.

Knead the dough in each bowl until smooth and stiff enough to hold its shape, and the colors are even. Wearing plastic gloves can help prevent your hands from being stained by the food coloring.

Still using your hands, roll each part into a long, thin rope, making each rope of equal length. You may need to use a long countertop or tabletop covered with a strip of waxed paper for this. You’ll also need to be careful when rolling as the ropes can easily break if you form them too thin.

When you’re done, lay the three ropes of dough along side each other with the orange dough in the middle and carefully press them together to make a long, narrow rectangle. A gentle, light rolling with a rolling pin along the length of the rectangle helps to press the rope edges together, but be careful not to flatten the dough so the rectangle stays as narrow as possible, plus you’ll also want the kernels plump looking and not flat.

Finally, cut the dough into triangles or “kernels” using a sharp knife and gently shape the kernels with your fingers, if needed. Allow the kernels to sit for a while and become firm.

You’ll end up with over a pound of homemade candy corn, some with yellow tips and some with the traditional white tips.

Serves 4

If you’re fortunate enough to have a pheasant that has lived its life in the woods, this enticing dish will showcase the wild bird’s taste, which is gamier than that of a farm-raised pheasant. It plays well against the robust flavors of Swiss chard, wild mushrooms, and sweet potato perfumed with orange and vanilla.

Ingredients

• Sweet Potato-Purée (recipe follows)

• 2 teaspoons juniper berries, finely ground

• 2 male wild Scottish pheasants, 1 ¾ pounds each, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry, wing tips turned under

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 2 medium bunches fresh sage

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

• ¾ pound red Swiss chard

• 1 cup assorted wild mushrooms, trimmed, wiped clean, and sliced

• ¼ cup dry white wine

• ¾ cup diced onion

• 1 ounce smoked slab bacon, sliced into thin pieces

• 1 cup chicken stock

Directions:

1. Prepare Sweet Potato-Vanilla Purée. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Rub ½ teaspoon ground juniper berries into upper cavity and on breast and sides of each pheasant. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 bunch of sage in cavity of each bird, and truss birds with kitchen string. Using 1 ½ tablespoons of the butter for each bird, rub entire bird with butter.

3. Heat a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add oil, then birds, and sear, turning to lightly brown all sides. Transfer skillet to oven with birds breast side up. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast reads 135°F for medium, about 15 minutes. Transfer birds to a platter, keep warm, and allow to rest for 10 to 12 minutes. Reserve pan and drippings.

4. Remove stems from Swiss chard leaves, and cut stems into 1 ½ inch pieces; chop leaves into medium pieces and reserve. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet, add mushrooms, and sauté quickly until mushrooms are lightly browned and begin to soften; set aside.

5. Bring white wine to a boil in a small nonreactive saucepan over high heat, and reduce by three-quarters. Add it to pan the birds were roasted in and, over medium-high heat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon to deglaze. Add onions and bacon, and lower heat to medium. Stir until onions are transparent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add Swiss chard stems, and sauté until barely render, about 4 minutes. Add chard leaves and chicken stock. Reduce chicken stock by half. Add sautéed mushrooms and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining tablespoon butter until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.

6. To serve, carve pheasants, removing the breast meat, drumsticks, and thighs. Debone drumsticks and thighs. Divide mushrooms, Swiss chard, and sauce among 4 warmed dinner plates. Top with a breast, drumstick, and thigh, and serve with Sweet Potato-Vanilla Purée.

NOTE: Wild game may contain tiny pieces of shot that can’t be removed before cooking. It is not harmful to the meat, but caution should be taken when eating it.

Ingredients for Sweet Potato-Vanilla Purée

• 1 ¾ pounds sweet potatoes

• ½ cup heavy cream

• 1 teaspoon firmly packed grated orange zest

• 1 vanilla bean

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions for Sweet Potato-Vanilla Purée

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place whole potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake, turning two or three times during cooking, until a fork can pierce them without any resistance, about 45 minutes. Allow potatoes to cool enough to be handled. Split in half lengthwise.

2. With a spoon, scoop pulp into a food processor; avoid including any skin. Combine heavy cream and orange zest in a small saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape pulp into pan; reserve pod for another use. Place pan over high heat, and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat. Let purée until very smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Season with salt and pepper. If necessary, cover and reheat in a preheated 300°F oven, or transfer to a microwave-safe dish and reheat until hot.

(Recipe courtesy D’ARTAGNAN’S GLORIOUS GAME COOKBOOK written by Ariane Daguin, George Faison, and Joanna Pruess. http://www.dartagnan.com/51262/a3151/Game-Birds/Roast-Wild-Scottish-Pheasant-with-Swiss-Chard-and-Wild-Mushrooms-With-Sweet-Potato–Vanilla-Puree.html)

The earthy, complex flavors of bourbon do magic for a lot of game meats.  In this slowly braised pheasant casserole, we use Jack Daniel’s, but any fine-quality bourbon will do.  It marries elegantly with the cream and mustard in the sauce.  Partnered with cabbage that is sauteed until its natural sugar caramelizes and turns sweet, this is a dish to savor on a cold winter night.  The renewed popularity of this American spirit makes it especially appealing.  Serve with sauteed spinach or green beans.

Ingredients:

3 tbps. unsalted butter

1 1/2 tbps. canola oil

2 large onions, chopped, plus 1 medium onion stuck with 6 whole cloves

1 large green cabbage (about 2 1/2 lbs.), tough ribs cut off, cored & shredded

Salt & freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

7 to 8 Juniper berries, crushed

1 pheasant, 3 to 3 1/2 lbs., giblets & neck removed, patted dry

2 tbps. Dijon mustard

All-purpose Flour for dredging

2 thick slices unsmoked bacon, ventreche, or pancetta

1/2 cup Jack Daniel’s or other bourbon

1 cup Heavy Cream

Directions:

Heat 2 tbps. of butter with 1 tbsp. of canola oil in a large heavy casserole over medium-high heat.  Add chopped onions and saute until lightly colored, 6 to 8 minutes.  Add cabbage and continue cooking until cabbage is caramelized and medium brown in color, 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Use a combination of uncovered and covered cooking, and lower heat if cabbage browns too quickly.  As moisture evaporates and cabbage browns, cover pan to prevent burning.  As moisture collects on cover and drops into cabbage, lift cover, stir cabbage to incorporate liquid, and continue cooking.  Repeat as necessary.  Season generously with salt and pepper, and stir in juniper berries.  Set aside. (Cabbage may be cooked ahead, covered, & refridgerated.  Reheat when ready to continue.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Season cavity of bird with salt, pepper, and mustard, then insert the whole onion.  Tie legs together with string and turn wing tips under.  Dredge bird all over with flour.  Heat remaining tbsp. butter and 1/2 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Quickly brown pheasant on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes.  Transfer pheasant, breast side up, to casserole with cabbage.  Lay slices of bacon breast, pack cabbage around and over the bird, cover, and bake in the middle of the oven until juices are pale pink when bird is pricked deep in thigh, 35 to 45 minutes.   Baste with pan juices a couple of times as it cooks.  Remove pan from oven, push cabbage off pheasant, discard bacon, then cover pan and return to oven.  Cook until juices run clear and thigh moves easily in its socket, about 10 minutes.  Remove pan from oven, untie legs, discard whole onion, and drain juice from cavity into the casserole.  Transfer pheasant to a heated platter, lightly tent with aluminum foil, and keep warm in turned-off oven.  On top of stove, add bourbon to pot, adjust heat to high, and boil liquid for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often to prevent cabbage from burning.  Add cream, lower heat, and simmer 3 to 4 minutes.  Taste to adjust seasoning.  Present pheasant whole and carve at table, or cut it into pieces and serve on the cabbage bed.  Serves 4.

(Recipe courteousy D’Artagnon’s Glorious Game Cookbook)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 1/2 cups water

2 cups uncooked wild rice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

3/4 cup diced celery

1/2 cup sliced green onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring broth and water to a boil. add the rice, salt, thyme, pepper and rosemary. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 60-65 minutes or until rice is tender; drain.

In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, celery, green onions and garlic in oil. Add the rice; heat through.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup low-fat ranch dressing

2 tablespoons chipotle salsa

1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

4 (8-inch) flour tortillas

12 ounces sliced oven-roasted turkey breast (from deli)

1 ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced

2 cups mesclun lettuce or sprigs of cilantro

1 1/2 cups grated jicama

1 tomato, thinly sliced

2 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the ranch dressing with the salsa and orange zest. Lay the tortillas on a cutting board, and spread the ranch mixture evenly over each one, leaving about a 1-inch border on all sides. Layer the turkey, avocado, lettuce, jicama, tomato, and scallions evenly over each tortilla, still leaving a border. Season with salt and pepper. Roll up like a pinwheel. Halve, and serve.