Holiday Hens

Beauregard is in my lap "Helping" me type -so please overlook any typos.  Around my house we are celebrating Thanksgiving early.  With it just being the two of us - even a turkey breast can be overwhelming - so our new dish is Cornish game hens.  After several off the cuff attempts, I finally consulted an expert and I think the results are solid - we loved them!!!  I served the hens with golden broccoli gratin & a classic cornbread dressing.

Knight's Holiday Hens 

2 1&1/2 to 2 lb Cornish Game Hens
Salt & Pepper
Zatarain's Seasoning
2 Lemons
2 Oranges
1 cup chicken broth
4 Tablespoons Orange marmalade
1/2 cup cranberries

Light half of your grill to medium high heat - allow it to warm for at least 20 minutes & let birds sit at room temperature for this time.  Peel one orange and segment half of it into small parts. Slice one lemon in half and cut into small slices.  Stuff cavity of hens with orange and lemon slices. Heavily season hens with salt, pepper & Zatarain's seasoning.  Place hens on the unlit side of the grill & roast indirectly for around an hour - continuously check to make sure hens are in indirect heat.  In the meantime place the other halves of the orange & lemon - roughly chopped in a sauce pan with cranberries, chicken broth & 2 tablespoons of marmalade - bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer ( I do this when the hens have been on the grill for 40 minutes - allowing 20 minutes of cooking time) add the other 2 tablespoons of marmalade and remove from heat.  Allow to cool slightly.  Turn grill to lowest setting and lather the hens in the sauce - you need to leave the hens on the grill for 15 minutes - basting them every 5 minutes with the sauce.  Slice the other orange and lemon and cover your serving platter - place hens directly on platter from the grill and allow them to rest, tented for 10 minutes & then enjoy!!!

From my family to yours - Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Simple Fettuccine Alfredo

I promise this will be my last pasta recipe for a while. I am sharing before I start our Thanksgiving dinner (which I will post tomorrow).  It is my husband's favorite dish and actually made for a simple weeknight meal on a rainy, dreary night.

Simple Fettuccine Alfredo
1 lb cooked fettuccine, keep warm
4 tablespoons butter, I use light Smart Balance with olive oil
1 cup 1/2 &1/2, I use fat free
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
Flat leaf Italian parsley, torn

Prepare pasta and keep warm.  Melt butter in large skillet, add 1/2 & 1/2, bring to a light simmer & remove from heat.  Add lemon juice, fresh black pepper, red pepper flakes, & whisk together.  Add pasta, cover with cheese & toss well.  Serve topped with a touch of cheese and parsley.

There are so many things you could add at this point, any type of meat, spinach, peas, tomatoes...

Seafood Casserole

This is my take on a traditional crab imperial as a pasta one pot supper. It is a very good casual entertaining dish.  I would serve it directly from the dutch oven on the dinner table.  Also please note - you need at least 2 hours to marinate the seafood.   

Lara's Seafood Casserole

1 lb shrimp, cooked & chopped
1/2 lb crab meat
1 onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup sherry
3 green onions, sliced
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup 1/2 & 1/2
4 tbs butter
1 cup cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper
Red pepper flakes
1 lb fettuccine
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of  Lemon juice

Combine shrimp and crab meat, add lemon juice & 2 tablespoons of sherry, toss and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Cook fettuccine and keep warm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a dutch oven, saute onion and mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter under tender. Add remaining sherry, butter & 1/2 &1/2, allow butter to melt, add seafood & mix.  Take off the heat, mix in fettuccine, sour cream, parmesean, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.  Bake uncovered for 30 - 40 minutes (until bubbly), remove from oven, top with the other 1/2 cup cheddar, & bake another 10 minutes or until cheese has completely melted.  Remove, top with green onions, cover and let sit about 10 minutes.  Serve with a crusty bread and nice chardonnay. Makes wonderful leftover!!!

Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux on French Fridays

This week's selection for the French Fridays with Dorie cooking club was the roast chicken for les paresseux (roasted chicken for lazy people).  It was a perfect Tuesday night supper.  The thing about this recipe is it is so simple, you prep the chicken (all of ten minutes) and then put it in the over for 90 minutes.  It is so simple that I felt weird. 

I did add a quartered lemon & some flat leaf parsley to the cavity.  The really unique thing about this dish is that the bird is roasted on top of slices of bread. I took half of a baguette & sliced it long ways.  I rested the breast portion over the thickest portion of the bread.  Oh wow - the bread really is the chef's treat.  Crunchy and delicious.  I even made it lazier and skipped adding the veggies to the pot and fixed fingerling potatoes with thyme & reheated our left over peas with pancetta.  

Peas with Pancetta & First French Friday with Dorie

I have joined the French Fridays with Dorie cooking group.  Every month four recipes from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table are chosen, you prep them, blog about your results on Friday (hopefully this is the only time I break the rules) and read the results of others.  One stipulation is that you can not post the recipe; however after going through this book several times I can honestly say buy a copy - it is amazing. This week I choose Dorie's potato gratin.  It is sinfully delicious!!!

Dorie's Potato Gratin with Swiss cheese & thyme crust

We enjoyed the gratin with grilled fillets, Bearnaise sauce and peas with pancetta.  The peas are inspired by Ina Garten's recipe from her new cookbook. I  took it in another direction - hope you enjoy.

Peas with Pancetta
1 pound snap peas or snow peas
1/4 pound pancetta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Champagne Vinegar
Pepper
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Slice pancetta and brown in saute pan with a tablespoon of water.  When done transfer to plate with paper towels to absorb grease, cool, crumble and set aside.  Remove the strings from the beans.  I used a mix of sugar snaps and Chinese snow.  Saute peas with oil and vinegar over medium low heat for about 25 minutes.  Taste for doneness (trust me you will know).  Add pancetta and pepper, toss well and allow pancetta to warm up.  Add Parmesan cheese and serve 
The peas will turn more of a brownie green, but they are delicious. My picky husband loved them & the gratin!  I think I am going to see what the gratin tastes like cold...