Monday, May 11, 2009

Cornish Game Hens




These were the first Cornish hens I've made in a good twenty years. It is difficult to find hens that are not from Tyson (which I will not buy) but last weekend, I finally found something that would meet my ethical standards.

When my mother would make them, she used a stuffing of curried rice with fried onions. It was one of the best things she made, and I was tempted to give them the same treatment. After thinking about it, I looked around "the Internets" a bit and found THIS recipe which I used instead. I made a few small changes in the cous cous recipe, and I used preserved lemons because I had them, but otherwise I treated the hens pretty much as the recipe indicated.

They came out lovely. I know you are looking at that picture and thinking the interior looks a bit pink, but it was just perfectly cooked.

One point though-the recipe is for four hens, and I did not get enough drippings to make the sauce at the end as printed. I deglazed the pan with wine instead and then proceeded with the reduction. It was excellent.

6 comments:

Raymond said...

OMG that sounds really good, esp the seasoned couscous stuffing. And of course it's tasty.. i looked at the recipe and its Nutritional Info:

Per serving (about 18oz/520g-wt.): 1010 calories (520 from fat), 58g total fat, 16g saturated fat, 290mg cholesterol, 660mg sodium, 60g total carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 58g protein

Good God!! over 1000 calories and 58 grams of fat! OMG!! (but aaahhhhh... no wonder its tasty)

Goody said...

I try never to look at nutritional information ;)

Seriously though, balanced against a diet of beans, tofu and the like-occasional splurges won't kill you. It would if you ate a steady diet of fast food, processed meals, etc.

I suspect a Big Mac has similar nutritional information.

Raymond said...

Well, it freaks me out right now becuz lately I'm trying to eat very few total calories and I'm resultingly down about 30 lbs. (Ten more to go!)

Goody said...

I can't imagine you needing to lose that much weight unless you got really heavy in the last ten years.

Congratulations though-that's a pretty major accomplishment.

Raymond said...

Was up to about 225. Which I think I was in Boston too. Thereabouts.

I held steady at 183 for years and year and years.. then up to 190. Then 200. And so on. Got back down to ~183 in appx 2002.. then on back up to 225 or slightly more. ENUF! I still eat lotsa crap, but overall much less of everything. That's my trick. Just keep my mouth shut! Im about 195 right now.

Goody said...

That's L's problem too. He'll eat a normal balanced dinner and then after I go to bed he's up eating sandwiches and sometimes another meal-just too much food. But I'm not his mother and I'm not going to monitor every bite that goes in his mouth.

If you were 225, you certainly never looked it.