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Special Ingredients - Partridge

Special Equipment - None

Poached pears -

2 cups red wine

4-6 firm pears, peeled

1 cinnamon stick

6 allspice berries

1 nutmeg nut

6 cardamom pods

4-6 cloves

The zest and juice of 1 orange (or two if you don’t have any dried orange slices)

3 dried orange slices

2 tablespoons honey

Add all the ingredients, sans the pears, in a pot and bring to a boil and dissolve the honey. Reduce to a simmer and add the pears to the liquid. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, occasionally turning the pears so they get evenly stained by the wine.

After 30 minutes, remove the pears from the liquid to cool. Strain out the solid bits from the wine sauce and return to the heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the sauce by half and add 2 tablespoons of butter. This can be spooned over the pears when served.

Butternut squash puree -

Peel the squash, cut in half, and remove the seeds and pulp. Put 2 tablespoons of butter in the cavity, wrap the squash with foil, and roast in a 325ºF oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and open the foil to allow it to cool. Puree with a hand mixer and put the puree into a sauce pan on medium heat. Add 2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup and whisk to incorporate.

Walnuts and cranberries -

In a small skillet, bring 2 tablespoons of butter to foaming. Add a handful each of walnuts and dried cranberries and toss to coat in the butter. Add a half teaspoon of chili powder and a tablespoon of maple syrup, sorghum syrup, or brown sugar. Cook until brown, soft, and sticky. Keep on low heat to prevent them from sticking too aggressively to the pan before serving.

Broccoli trees - slice a head of broccoli length-wise from the canopy to the trunk to make segments about a half inch in thickness. Place them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes in a 400ºF oven, or until singed and brown along the edges.

Poultry- season a whole chicken with olive oil, salt, and pepper and dot the skin with butter. Roast uncovered for 3 hours at 325ºF. In the last half hour, increase the temperature to 400ºF to crisp the skin and to get the oven up to temperature for the broccoli, which will go in after the chicken is done. When the chicken is lightly browned and the internal temperature has reached at least 165ºF, remove it from the oven and put the lid on. This will stay piping hot for at least 45 minutes, which is enough time to prepare the other components of the dish.