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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Food serves as a way for people to come together. That is exactly what happened on this past Saturday, November 16th, when 12 strangers, all foodies with three goals in mind….cooking, wining, and dining. We met at Paul’s Kitchen & Cullen-ary Company located at 32882 Cedar Grove Rd., Lewes, DE. Tel. 302-228-9772. Website? http://www.paulcullen.rocks
If you are a resident of Southern Delaware, at some point or another you would have heard of Paul Cullen. Better yet, you would have heard him playing his guitar and singing at different venues, private homes, charity concerts. He has worn many hats in his life and continues to evolve. He will be the first one to tell you this.
Paul’s Kitchen & Cullen-ary Company is on Facebook. You might want to check it out and Like it. He will have the Chef’s Table Demos and Dinners posted as they come available. You will be pleasantly surprised how nice an evening like this one can turn out.
His kitchen is cozy and accessible. He is a great host who will show you around and is open to any questions. Nina will be there, as well, since she oversees that everything runs in a timely manner.
The guests arrived promptly and introductions were extended. Wine and hor’ordeuvres were already set up.
Coming out of the Paul’s Kitchen was the Bruschette alla Robiola, pere e noci. Translation? Cheese and pear crostini. Warm and delicious.
The Chef’s Table was so nicely presented. By now we were all friends.
Crema di Cannellini or White Bean Soup. Perfectly seasoned and paired with wine with an explanation of what we were about to taste from Paul. He was animated and throughout the evening you could see how engaging he was with his guests.
“The measure of a good dish is that it makes you want to take another bite.” This quote from Chef Paul Prudhomme was perfect because after having the soup we really wanted not just to take another bite, it was already gone, but wanted to see what else was in stored for us foodies.
The main entree was the Risotto Ai Porrie Salsicia or as we would say in plain English, Sausage and Leek Risotto. The sausage was homemade and complimented the risotto very well. Those grapes were amazing.
A sweet ending was a Torta di Nocciole or Hazelnut Cake and it was paired with such a good dessert wine. Contact Paul for the wines, please.
Laughter throughout the evening continued with stories from some of the guests. How they got here, how they got together and so on. A few were turning 60 now.
An invitation by Paul to listen to him play was the icing on the cake. Finishing a great dinner with new friends with music was priceless!
Our evening came to an end. One more thing though On Sundays from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. stop by Paul Cullen-ary Company for music, food and to shop for cheeses, nuts and other goodies that could be for yourself or someone on your list.
Until next time have a Happy Thanksgiving. Check AboutMyBeaches on Facebook.
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I have a friend that every time I put a recipe for “Meatless Monday” she always comments on my Facebook Page “I rather eat a hamburger.” She rarely comments, but on that day she does. This recipe is for her because Stuffed Pork is what’s for dinner.
On this recipe I measured everything with 1/4 cup. As usual, you can make your recipes your own…..add a little bit of this or a little bit of that.
YUMMY STUFFED PORK
1 1/2 lbs. pork loin (This one was already seasoned…that’s does not matter with this recipe. That’s all the grocery store had that day.)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried figs
1/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained with juice reserved
pepper to taste
1 tsp. rosemary
1/4 cup whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup of fig preserves
1/4 cup 100% Pomegranate Juice
Kitchen twine
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
The pork loin had a meat thermometer so I took it out and proceeded to make a slit on top not all the way to the bottom and not all the way (almost) to the sides. This is done to create a pocket for the filling.
In a bowl, mix the cranberries, raisins, figs, pepper, rosemary, and crushed pineapple. This is your filling…packed that loin up. Your fingers are the best tool for this.
Cut the twine in order to wrap the pork loin so that the filling stays put while cooking. Place in a baking dish. I inserted the meat thermometer on the side.
Bake for about 20 minutes. While it is cooking, make the sauce.
In a bowl mix the Pomegranate juice, the cranberry sauce, fig preserves, and reserved pineapple juice. Take the pork loin out of the oven and spoon the sauce on. Put back in the oven for another 25 minutes or so or until the meat thermomether pops.
Take it out and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing and taking the twine and thermometer out.
Slice and enjoy. This dish can go well with mashers, corn pudding or corn bread, green beans, a salad….Leftovers? Sandwich would be my suggestion…with some mustard, as well.
Note: When slicing just do it carefully. You might have to arrange it a bit if filling falls off somewhat. If you want more sauce just mix the ingredients on a small saucepan, heat and pour over.
Have a great day….gorgeous out there!!
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