Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing

A dish from President Barack Obama's inauguration lunch.

Yield: Serves 10

10 pheasant breasts* with skin, boneless, tenders removed and reserved for stuffing
1/2 cup olive oil with chopped rosemary, thyme and sage
1 pound wild rice, long grain
2 quarts chicken stock or bouillon
1/2 onion, small dice
2 carrots, small dice
2 Tbsp. roasted garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt or to taste
2 tsp. pepper or to taste

*substitute for chicken if preferred

Filling

Boil the rice with the chicken stock and salt until soft and most of the liquid is gone. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and apricot cook until the vegetables are soft and all liquid has been absorbed. Refrigerate rice mixture until cold. While rice is cooling, in a food processor, puree pheasant tenders to a paste consistency to use as a binder for rice mix.
When rice is cool, combine well with the pheasant puree. Season filling with salt and pepper and return to refrigerator until ready to stuff the breasts.

Assembly and Serving

Preheat oven to 400° F and position rack in the middle of the oven.
Create a pocket in each pheasant breast by making a cut lengthwise down the side of the breast, leaving at least 1" uncut on the other side and on the ends. Gently stuff each breast with the filling, careful not to over-stuff.
Rub herb olive oil on outside of each breast and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 8-10 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 180° F.