Happy Belated Thanksgiving to everyone and Merry Almost Christmas!!
I hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving, complete with a SWAG Thanksgiving feast! Thank you to all who voted on the entree, side, and dessert they wished to see me make on the Thanksgiving episode of SWAGourmet- it was quite special involving the viewers! I sincerely apologize for taking so long to post these recipes from the Thanksgiving episode- I've been studying hard for my final semester exams, and in fact I just took my last one today! So I'm definitely ready to bring you some more SWAG recipes! So here's one to start with...
Holiday Cornish Hens with Rice Stuffing
From SWAGourmet’s Thanksgiving Episode
This dish puts a swag spin on your typical holiday hen- I mean who doesn’t like mini chickens?
Ingredients:
4 Cornish game hens (you can find these in the poultry section of your local supermarket)
Spice rub:
Salt/ black pepper, to taste (you know, your basic “swag seasonings”)
4 tbsp. cinnamon powder
4 tsp. ground cardamom (you can find this spice in the spices aisle at your local supermarket)
Glaze:
2 cups orange juice (like the one you drink)
3 heaping tbsp. hoisin sauce (this is basically Asian barbecue sauce, and you can find it in the ethnic foods aisle at your local supermarket)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
Stuffing:
3 cups cooked white rice
½ cup diced red onion, soaked in water for 10 minutes
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
¼ cup chopped parsley
½ cup shredded carrots
1 apple, diced
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt/pepper/cayenne pepper, to taste
Directions:
1.) Buy and get to know your Cornish hens. They are your friends. They are just mini chickens, and you can help them taste very delicious. Once you have gotten to know your birds, proceed to the next step.
2.) Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
3.) Mix the spice rub ingredients in a small bowl, then rub-a-dub- the rub onto the skin of the Cornish hens. Be sure to then season the inside of the cavity with the spice rub.
4.) Refrigerate your spice rubbed- hens for at least two hours. In the mean time, let’s make our stuffing…
5.) In a large bowl, combine the stuffing ingredients, then let the stuffing chill in the fridge until you’re ready to stuff your birds. Yup, that’s it. So if you have some extra time while your hens are still in the fridge, perhaps go caroling or something… “Stuff the hens with lots of stuffing, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la”
6.) After two hours, remove your birds and your stuffing from the fridge. Stuff the cavities of the hens with the stuffing, then put the hens in a baking dish and place the dish in the oven. Set your timer for twenty minutes, because after twenty minutes, we will apply our first layer of glaze… Speaking of that glaze…
7.) To start our glaze, add the orange juice to a medium saucepan and add the pan to the stove over medium heat. Heat the orange juice for 1 minute, then whisk in the hoisin sauce and butter.
8.) Allow the sauce to cook, while whisking occasionally, on the stove until it has reduced by half (just eyeball it). Then remove it from the stove.
9.) Once the hens have been cooking for twenty minutes, remove them from the oven and hit them up with a layer of the glaze. If you have a basting brush, use that, but if not, then just use a spoon. After your have glazed the hens, return them to the oven.
10.) After ten minutes, baste the hens again with some more glaze.
11.) Repeat step 10 three more times, and then remove them from the oven after the third repetition (so the total cooking time for the Cornish hens is one hour). Be sure the hens reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
12.) Observe the golden-brown, crispy crusts that have developed on your hens, as you begin to salivate. Photograph your creation if you so desire, but I suggest you feast on the juicy chickens while they’re still hot!
Visit youtube.com/user/swagourmetcooking to watch me cook up this tasty dish and many more, and check back for the rest of the recipes from SWAGourmet's Thanksgiving Episode!
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