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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Split Cornish hens roasted on top of stuffing

November 11, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

Turkey chili, cornbread, fennel salad, and mushroom leftovers.This dinner was so good and literally used up a bunch of leftovers. So I really can’t give you a specific recipe, but I can tell you what I did.

First, on the subway ride to work last Wednesday, I read the Dining section from The Times. Wednesday is my all-time favorite day!

They had an article about how dressing or stuffing has lost its allure, except for around Thanksgiving. Well I took it to heart. And while I am nothing like my Mother, (who I dearly loved), I am my Mother’s daughter and cannot waste a thing. She grew up in the Great Depression and her father owned a grocery store. He was the butcher. They never wasted anything and she could scrape a bowl squeaky clean. And, she raised six kids, five of them boys and if any of you out there have boys, you understand the difference between feeding boys and feeding girls.

I can’t waste a thing either. David Waltuck, of Chanterelle fame, says that good cooks never do and I admit I am the same.

So last weekend, at our country house, my brother and sister-in-law came to visit. They insisted on bringing Saturday lunch which was a delicious turkey chili, cornbread and fennel salad. Everything was great and eaten, except for some of the cornbread. Then I had a baguette to make the bread and chocolate (for three nights, mind you) so I had about 1/3 of a baguette left too, plus five leftover grilled mushrooms, one grilled scallion and leftover French dry sausage. I added fresh chopped sage leaves, one raw egg, ½ cup of chicken broth, and one minced shallot sautéed olive oil. Salt and pepper were added, mixing well and turned into an ovenproof casserole. I split two Cornish hens in half, shoved a small sprig of fresh rosemary under the skin on each, plus salt and pepper. I then made a sauce of 3 TBS grainy mustard and 1/3 cup of leftover dry white wine to brush on top of the birds. I threw the whole thing in the oven, at 375 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes. Tested it with a thermometer – you should reach 155 – 160 degrees on the thickest parts of the hens. Then broil the dish for 1-2 minutes to brown the birds. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Cornish hens with fresh rosemary, sage leaves, chicken broth, and minced shallot sautéed olive oil

Ready to go into the oven

This was so delicious and did not take long – a little bit over an hour from start to finish. I served it with the carrot and parsnip puree and truly, this could be a company dinner. Different and really delicious. The dressing was moist under the chicken and crispy in the exposed areas.

And I got to use up all of those leftovers!Cornish hens with fresh rosemary, sage leaves, chicken broth, minced shallot sautéed olive oil, carrot and parsnip puree.

Cornish hens with fresh rosemary, sage leaves, chicken broth, minced shallot sautéed olive oil, carrot and parsnip puree leftovers.

It was very yummy!

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: baguette, cornbread, Cornish hens, dressing, French sausage, fresh sage, grainy mustard, grilled mushrooms, grilled scallions, leftovers, shallots, stuffing, white wine

My favorite Thanksgiving stuffing

November 18, 2011 by Mary Frances 14 Comments

Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. I love the weather, fires in the fireplace, the family is all together and no pressure with gifts. In full disclosure, it is also around my birthday – Nov. 26th – but these days I could do without remembering that!

I have been making this stuffing for more than 20 years now, tweaking it until I think it’s just right. Every once in a while I have veered off and done a chorizo dressing or something with chestnuts and this one is the one we always go back to and is requested by everyone in my family. I forgot that I shared this with some of my friends years ago, only to discover recently that yes, they are still using it too. The basis of it comes from the very first Silver Palate cookbook. I used that cookbook so much in the 80’s, that my cover fell off. I think my good friend, Deb, cooked every recipe in there. We used to tease each other, we were both making our way through it! Good stuff!

Now some people and the government think you shouldn’t stuff the bird. I say nonsense! If your bird is really fresh, you’ve washed and dried it very well, let the dressing cool completely before stuffing, you will be fine. At the table, remove the dressing into a covered casserole before you carve the bird and start passing it. Then when the feast is over, totally clean out the cavity of all the stuffing and carve all of the meat off of the bird (makes it easier for leftovers the next day) and make stock with the carcass or throw it away. This way, you will have no problems and everything will be tastier.

I hope this will become your go-to favorite stuffing recipe as well!

IMG_3976

CORNBREAD SAUSAGE STUFFING WITH APPLES & PECANS
Serves 12-14 people or more than enough stuffing for a 20 lb. bird

1 ½ sticks of sweet butter (12 tbs.)
2 3/4 cups of finely chopped yellow onions (use your food processor for this)
3 tart apples, cored and chunked, not peeled (Jonathan are good)
1 lb. lightly seasoned bulk sausage (I use breakfast sausage with sage)
3 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread (bake a Jiffy cornbread mix for this)
3 heaping cups of crustless, cubed, day old whole-wheat bread
3 heaping cups of crustless, cubed, day-old white bread (I prepare and cut my breads the night before so they can dry out a little.)
2 rounded tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¾ cup chopped Italian parsley
1 ½ cups shelled pecan halves
1 raw egg
Chicken broth to moisten

Melt half of the butter in a skillet. Add chopped onions and cook over medium – medium/low heat, partially covered, until tender and lightly colored, about 25 minutes. Scrape onions and butter into a very large bowl. The biggest you’ve got!

Melt remaining butter in the same skillet. Add apple chunks and sauté over high heat until lightly colored but not mushy. Transfer the apples and all of the butter to the same mixing bowl with the onions.

Squeeze the sausage out of the casing if necessary. Crumble it into the skillet and sauté over medium heat, continuing to break up the sausage into small pieces, stirring until no pink remains and it’s lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the mixing bowl and throw away the fat.

Add all remaining ingredients to your large bowl and fold together with a large spatula, gently combining everything. Beat an egg in a separate small bowl and fold that in as well. Moisten with homemade or low sodium chicken broth. Salt and pepper to taste. Cool completely before stuffing the bird.

With leftover stuffing, or if you choose not to stuff your bird, spoon stuffing into a casserole, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and set in a large, deeper pan. Pour hot water around the casserole to come halfway up the sides. Bake for 30 – 45 minutes at 325 degrees. You will LOVE it!

Filed Under: Dinner, Poultry Tagged With: apples, cornbread, delicious, dressing, favorite, pecans, sausage, Shiela Lukins, Silver Palate cookbook, stuffing, Thanksgiving, white bread, whole wheat bread

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Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

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