Kitchen Follies

A friend of mine is a big bird hunter. He goes quite often to various states around the country, depending on when and where birds are in season. He's pretty good at it, so he usually has a freezer full of different birds. He gave us a few pheasants recently, so I figured I'd make roast pheasant for dinner last night.

Those of you that cook with wine know that most dishes only use a cup or less. That means most of the bottle is available for drinking, since wine really doesn't keep that well. The recipe I was using called for a cup of wine, so I opened a bottle, measured out a cup, and set it aside. Then I poured myself a glass and commenced to chop and mix as I sipped.

Chop ... sip ... chop some more ... sip some more ... chop some more ... refill glass ... chop ... sip ... mix ... sip ... shop ... chip ... six ... well, you get the idea.

Plus I may have neglected to mention that I had a few beers during the day while watching football. That may have contributed to what happened next.

One of the ingredients called for in the recipe was chili powder.

Have you ever noticed how much chili powder and cinnamon look alike...?

Actually, the birds turned out pretty good. The cinnamon gave them a somewhat unusual flavor, but there weren't any leftovers, which is how I judge a meal's success.

Still, I don't think I'll recreate that particular recipe...