My brother and his family gave us a smoked pheasant for Christmas.  There are so many ways to serve it but we wanted to share it with alot of our friends at a recent get together.  Working with a bed of caramelized onions infused with orange juice is a great way to highlight the pheasant but I’ve also used this base with pork tenderloin. 

Smoked Pheasant Crostinis

Makes 36

1 baguette, cut into 36 slices
olive oil
5 onions, peeled, halved and sliced thin
1/2 cup orange juice
1 smoked pheasant, meat removed into chunks
1/2 cup dried cherries

Place the baguette slices onto cookie sheets and baste lightly with the olive oil.  Bake in a 250 degree oven until firm, about 20 minutes.

Saute the onions in some olive oil until caramelized, and light brown, about 20 minutes.  Add the orange juice and continue to cook until the juice has been absorbed and evaporated.

Mound some of the onion mixture on top of each baguette slice, add a few dried cherries and top with a bite of the smoked pheasant.