Squirrels and chanterelles

Local butcher: "Squirrel? Seriously?"

Now, this is not a proper recipe because I failed (through no lack of trying though!) to get the main ingredient.

You can view and admire at the weirdness and complexity of the original recipe here. It is taken from a "hairy biker recipe book", and it makes me wonder...

Anyway, I did try to get some squirrel. Actually went to a butcher whose sign said, more or less, "we'll get you anything as long as it has legs". So I ask, do you have squirrel?

Mushroom mix: almost ready
(note the bright orange of the milk
caps - they always keep their colour)

You should just have seen the look they gave me. In the end, we settled on a wood pigeon since hey, it lives in the same woods, eats the same food, and climbs the same trees. Therefore, it must taste exactly the same, right? Right??

The pigeon, as it turned out, was composed mainly of bones, but it did make an unexpectedly nice sauce. And, of course, the mushrooms! The original recipe suggested chanterelles, but I used a mix of bay boletes, slippery jacks, chanterelles and saffron milk caps, fried until they were crispy. I must say, it indeed makes an excellent topping for any meat dish. I'm definitely going to cook something similar again, but maybe use something with more meat on it next time. Perhaps, venison meatballs. That would at least meet with butcher's approval...