Pheasant Braised in Red Wine

First of all I want to wish my readers a very happy belated Thanksgiving! Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to get to post during the holiday since I was busy making a full Thanksgiving feast for about 30 people but I want you all to know that I was thinking about how blessed I am to have readers of my little blog! So thank you and I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

So recently my dad went hunting for pheasant and did very well. As a result, he gave me a beautiful fresh pheasant to make for dinner. I wasn't sure what to do with it in all honesty, but pheasant is just such a comforting meat to me so I wanted to make a really hearty meal of it. So I decided to braise it using red wine.

The pheasant came out great. Every piece was very tender and flavorful. If you've never had pheasant I urge you to try it, however it really doesn't taste much different from chicken and if you needed to sub out chicken that would obviously be fine. But this was a great variation from braised chicken and I really enjoyed it. Perfect for those cold winter days that lie ahead!
Ingredients
Adapted from this recipe by Good Things Catered, originally from Williams-Sonoma

1/3 c. all-purpose flour plus 2 Tbsp, divided
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 pheasant, broken down
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 c. red wine
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bay leaf
About 5-6 small/medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Directions
-Preheat an oven to 375 degrees.
-In a large bowl, combine 1/3 c. flour, salt and pepper. Add the phesant and toss to coat evenly.
-In a Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil to almost smoking.
-Add half of the chicken and brown on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes total.
-Transfer to a plate.
-Brown the remaining pheasant and transfer to the plate.
-Add the onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.
-Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine.
-Set the pan over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, to reduce, about 5 minutes.
-Return the pheasant to the pan and add the garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and potatoes.
-Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven.
-Cook until the chicken is very tender, about 45 minutes.
-Season with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf, pheasant and potatoes.
-Place Dutch oven over medium high heat.
-Add flour and whisk to combine, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes.
-Pour thickened braising sauce over chicken and serve immediately. Serves 4.