I remember when I was young Sunday was a day to gather at my grandmother’s house. After church it was the satisfaction of gathering with cousins and with good comfort food. My grandmother was a very good cook; always cooking with the best ingredients she could fine.
Not sure why I think of Cornish Game Hens as a Sunday Supper dish. I have stuffed them, cooked them with prosciutto and figs as well. They have great flavor. And what are they, really? I found out that they are the product from a cross between the Cornish and White Plymouth Rock chicken breeds, that it is served young and immature, weighing no more than two pounds ready to cook.
We have a good butcher here in Rehoboth Beach. Hickmans!! I picked these Cornish Game Hens around the holidays. They were pretty big. Last week I made this recipe. By no means the recipe is my own, but I did give it my own spin.
They are easy to prepare. I usually do not serve a guest a whole hen even though you could depending on the size.
2 Cornish Game Hens
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, cut in half
rosemary sprigs (2 per hen)
olive oil
15 cloves of garlic and more if you do like garlic like I do
2/3 cup of white wine (it is a great additions to the sauce)
2/3 cup of chicken broth (I used chicken stock)
More fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish
honey
The first thing to do is to preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Then take gizzards and neck from the hens and put them aside. You will use them in the broth.
Rub the hens with salt and pepper. Place one of the lemon wedges in the cavity along with a sprig of rosemary. Also put one garlic clove in each of them. If you look closely you can see that I drizzled honey over the top. Very yummy!!
Arrange them in a heavy roasting pan. Take some of the rosemary leaves and spread them around the pan. Put the whole garlic cloves around the hens in the pan. In order to avoid the garlic to burn since you at first will be cooking on a high temperature, take some extra chicken stock and pour into the pan in order to cover the cloves a bit.
This is how they will look before going into the oven.
You are going to roast them in that temperature for 25 minutes.
The gizzards and neck that you took from the oven place in a pot and cook for 10 or 15 minutes. Once that is done, cut the gizzards, heart and set aside. This is totally optional. I just think it adds to the broth.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the cut gizzards, etc.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Pour the broth above the hens and continue roasting about 25 minutes longer or until hens are golden brown. Baste with the pan juices every 10 minutes.
Transfer the hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. You can put the pan on top of your burners and heat up the juices, smashing those garlic cloves which will be amazing combining them in the broth. I used a little bit of corn starch because I wanted the broth to be a tad thicker.
You can cut them in half or serve them whole. Cranberry looked pretty and appropriate with them. And, those veggies? I will give you the recipe because they went perfectly with the hens. Easy too. Next post.
Here is a photo of the hen in half. It depends how hungry your guests are. And please make sure to put a lot of broth in the plate.
Enjoy!! Talk to you later.
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In 1997 my children went to Worcester Country School in Berlin, MD. Since then the school is now known as Worcester Preparatory School.
Over the years a lot of parents were involved in the school and I was one of them. Book fairs, galas, Christmas Programs, Reading Programs, Teacher Appreciation Luncheons, etc. etc.
Years before my time the school had published a cookbook called A Collection of Recipes. It was as I mentioned above 1997 and the Parents Association decided to do another cookbook called A Collection of Recipes II.
As you can see the book has been used over the years. I was the Chairperson on this journey that took many months with parents giving us their best recipes. It took a school not a village to complete this project.
I don’t think the book is available anymore. Parents supported this book and it was a great success. The book is probably in your cabinet, but I keep my handy because the recipes are really good. I still feel strong about those words in the dedication that said “But food not only nourishes our minds and bodies. Food serves as a way for people to come together — sharing ideas, experiences and cultures”.
Tonight I made a recipe from this book called Pickled Shrimp. I was invited to a friend’s house. Pickled Shrimp is an easy recipe and it is usually liked by everyone. You can serve it year-round.
1 pound medium shrimp, uncooked
1 tablespoon pickling spices
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 white wine vinegar
2 green onions sliced, including the greens
Pull shrimp from shells. Discard shells. I bought shrimp already peeled and I just pulled the tails out. Make sure if you buy frozen shrimp to defrost them.
In a 2-quart saucepan, cover shrimp and pickling spices with water. Bring to a boil; simmer over medium heat about 2 minutes. Strain water leaving spices on shrimp. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine mustard, horseradish, oil, salt, celery salt, vinegar and onions. Pour over drained shrimp. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. The longer you marinate it the better they taste. Pour in a pretty bowl with the sauce and enjoy. Serve cold.
This recipe could easily be doubled, as well.
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“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” anthelme brillat-savarin
Everyone’s is a food critic these days. I find that the experience comes from eating out often. It is actually very personal. You might love the restaurant and then someone will come back saying; what were you thinking?
The more relaxed you are while eating, the best it will be for you and your dining companion.
Kris Etze and I chose The Station on Kings located at 720 Kings Highway, Lewes, DE 19958. Tel. 302-645-0300. You can reserve tables online and the restaurant has plenty of parking. They are open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Early morning coffee and baked goods are served. Every day you can enjoy lunch and dinner. Website? http://www.thestationlewes.com
Kris is a well known local personal chef. If you would like to know more about her…..she gives cooking classes too, please check her website http://www.abracadinner.com.
I love to see a beautiful plate full of colorful and well seasoned food. Kris can dissect how perfectly cooked a dish is. A pro at what she does.
The Station on Kings is a one stop shop. Beautifully displays of food, baked goods, home accessories.
Our server was very attentive. We ordered some wine and then jumped into the appetizers.
Have you ever had Blistered Shishito Peppers? Or, even know what they are?
Up close and personal…here is the photo. They are great for snacks. Easy to “blister” too. They are from Japan and sweet. But, caution is in order. 1 in 10 peppers are spicy. Don’t worry, nothing extreme. People that are in the know like Kris, will probably tell you that high heat and quick cooking is what you want. You want them fairly firm but with charred blisters on all sides.
My expert told me they were perfectly cooked. And me, the eating expert, will tell you that they were mild. The dipping sauce of kimchi aioli was also very good.
There is plenty to choose if you are vegetarian or have to eat gluten free.
Kris chose the Vegetarian Risotto. This dish was composed of farro, grilled corn, shaved fennel, house ricotta and chives. It was a nice portion and Kris really commented on how good it was.
I really do love octopus, so every time I see it being offered I order it. You want it to be firm but not dry and chewey and at The Station on Kings it did not disappoint. Perfectly done!! It was served with smoked potatoes, romesco, chorizo jam and salsa verde. Romesco is a tomato-based sauce that originated in Tarragona, Catalonia. The sauce was made by fishermen and should be eaten with fish.
Our choice for a sweet ending was Stone Fruit Frangipane Tart. A frangipane is made with almonds or almond flavoring, butter, sugar and eggs. The combination of cherries and roasted apricots was delicious. Cardamon almonds, brown butter caramel, and rum toffee ice cream. What can I say? Awesome!!
I am looking at these photos and I am salivating. Summer 2019 has brought the local restaurants to bring the best of what they have. Just yummy!!
Check my FB page AboutMyBeaches and comment if you have made it already to The Station on Kings.
Until then, Relax, You are at The Beach.
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It was early evening and once in a while I get on the band wagon of writing about Meatless Monday. It is a global organization trying to get peopple to eat a little healthier even if it is one day per week.
Sadie, my Rescue, was sitting outside guarding. I had the ingredients to make Cabbage and Celery Casserole. I was not doing a thing. It is Monday, what can I say.
But a few times I make it my own recipe, adding a little bit or this or a little bit of that. The recipe really belonged to my late mother in law, Louise Merryman. She was a fabulous cook. Years ago she made a recipe book for the girls in the family called Recipes Begged, Borrowed and Stolen. And, every Christmas she gave us inserts.
This recipe is an old one she had for many years and even though she said it fed 6 to 8 people, if my late husband, John, was around that was not the case. John loved it.
Tonight I fixed the recipe just like she gave it to me. If you have a gluten allergy it would be very easy to convert.
I hope you like it. Here it goes:
2 cups sliced celery
6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
4 tblsps. butter
In a large frying pan, melt butter and saute celery over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then, add cabbage and saute for another 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Place in a fairly shallow bakig dish or casserole.
The baking dish I used was a Pyrex 9 x 13 inch one. You don’t want a deep dish.
Make the Cream Sauce:
4 tblsps. butter
3 tblsps. flour ( If you want to make it gluten free used a different flour)
2 cups milk ( I had non fat milk)
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of red pepper
1 small jar of chopped pimento
Dry Bread Crumbs are optional. I did use them. Again, if you want to make the dish gluten free you will have to adjust that.
Melt the butter in a pan, add flour and stir constantly for a minute or two over low heat to blend ingredients and take away the floury taste. You are, actually, making a roux. Then, gradually add milk, stirring and cook until mixture thickens but not too heavily thickened. Add salt, pepper, and pimento, including the liquid in the jar. Mix well and pour over the vegetable mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle with dry bread crumbs and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. If you want it a little more brown on top then just broil it for a bit. But, watch it.
The exact proportions of celery and cabbage is not important. Use what you have or prefer.
I decided I needed some color on my plate. So, local tomatoes and grilled asparus was another easy thing to add.
All I had to do is serve wine and sit outside.
Deliciously good and so satisfying.
I love the following saying: “Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.” How true.
Follow me on AboutMyBeaches on Face Book and Instagram.
Summer 2019 is flying by!!
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