Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 30 minutes
Ease of preparation: difficult

Batter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Milk
Salt

Fried Cream

4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, sifted together
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups fresh bread crumbs mixed with 1 cup ground almonds
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Pheasant Croquettes

1 pheasant, roasted, cooled, boned and shredded
1/4 pound prosciutto cotto, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 pound Gruyere, grated
Nutmeg, to taste
1/4 pound veal loin, cut into chunks and seared
5 chicken livers, sauteed
1 1/2 pounds lamb loin, cut into 1-ounce chunks and seared
1 half of 1 calf's brain, blanched, cooled and cut into slices
1 1/2 liters extra-virgin olive oil
4 baby zucchini
4 large mushroom caps
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch rings
Chopped parsley leaves
Lemon wedges

To prepare the batter, in a large bowl, combine the flour, olive oil, and enough milk to form a somewhat loose batter. Season with salt and set aside.

To prepare the fried cream, combine the eggs and the sugar and whisk until the yolks are pale yellow. Meanwhile, bring the milk almost to a boil, remove from heat, and pour half of it into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the egg and milk mixture to the pan with the rest of the milk and, continuing to whisk, mix in the flour/cornstarch mixture. Cook over high heat, now stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir in the lemon zest and vanilla, remove from heat and allow to cool in a wide-surfaced bowl that has been set atop an ice bath. Once the cream has cooled, spread it onto a small, lightly greased plate with high sides. Once the cream has solidified, remove it carefully from the plate and roll it in the bread crumbs to which ground almonds have been added. Pass it through the beaten eggs, then again through the bread crumb and almond mixture.

To make the pheasant croquettes, in a large bowl, combine the shredded meat, the prosciutto, the Gruyere, and a pinch of nutmeg. Mix with hands to bring ingredients together but do not overmix. Form the mixture into 2-tablespoon quenelles and pass through the bread crumbs, the beaten eggs and again through the bread crumbs.

Make spiedini of the veal, livers, lamb, and brains, alternating the type of meat on each stick. Dip each spiedino in the batter, shaking off the excess, then roll each skewer through the bread crumbs.

In a tall-sided pot, heat the olive oil to 375 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the custard, the pheasant croquettes, the spiedini, the zucchini, the mushroom caps and the apples in the oil until they are golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, salt while draining on a plate lined with paper towels, and serve, arranged on a platter, with the parsley and the lemon wedges in a side dish.