Cornish Hen In Port Wine And Fig Preserves Recipes

CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Place hens on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Combine the apple juice, soy sauce and browning sauce if desired; pour over hens. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°, basting occasionally with pan juices.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH PORT CHERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Rinse hens thoroughly and cut in half along the breastbone. Place halves, skin side up, in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray. Season with salt, pepper and dried thyme.
• Place in oven and roast for approximately 40 minutes to an hour, until skin is nicely browned. For extra color, brush with melted better during last 15 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, combine port, chicken broth, cornstarch mixture, raspberry preserves, and dried cherries.
• When hens are done cooking, remove from oven and let them rest on counter. Add pan drippings to the port mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer until desired consistency is reached. Add more preserves if the sauce is too tart. (The sauce can actually be made/reduced ahead of time - just reheat when pan drippings are added). Add more water or chicken broth if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve with sauce spooned over hens.

STUFFED CORNISH HENS WITH PORT SAUCE

Steps:

• Make stuffing:
• In a fine sieve rinse rice well. In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan bring 2 cups water to a boil with rice and salt and simmer, covered, 45 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender. Drain rice in sieve.
• While rice is simmering, separately chop fine onion, tomatoes, shallot, and parsley. Remove and discard casings from sausages and in a 12-inch non-stick skillet cook sausages in oil over moderate heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink. Add onion, tomatoes, and shallot and cook, stirring, until onion is softened. Stir in rice and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Cool stuffing completely. (Stuffing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.)
• Preheat oven to 350° F and butter a 1-quart baking dish.
• Rinse Cornish hens inside and out and pat dry. Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper and fill cavities with some of stuffing. Tie ends of drumsticks of each hen together with kitchen string and transfer remaining stuffing to baking dish.
• In cleaned non-stick skillet heat butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and brown hens on all sides. Arrange hens on a rack set in a flameproof roasting pan and add 3/4 cup each of Port and broth. Roast hens in upper third of oven, basting every 15 minutes, 50 to 55 minutes total, or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh (be careful not to touch bone) registers 170° F.
• During last 30 minutes of roasting hens, add 1/4 cup broth to stuffing in dish and bake, covered, in lower third of oven 30 minutes.
• Transfer hens to a cutting board and let stand 15 minutes. Remove rack from pan and add remaining 1/4 cup Port. On top of stove deglaze pan over moderately high heat, scraping up brown bits, and transfer liquid to a 1-quart saucepan. Boil liquid until reduced to a glaze and add remaining cup broth. Bring broth to a simmer.
• In a small bowl stir together arrowroot and 2 tablespoons water and whisk into broth. Reduce heat to low and cook, whisking, until slightly thickened (do not let boil). Season with salt and pepper. Discard string from hens and with a sharp knife halve hens lengthwise.
• Arrange 1 hen half and some baked stuffing from dish on each of 4 plates and drizzle with sauce.

CORNISH HENS PROVENCAL STYLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy skillet large enough to hold the pieces of Cornish hen in one layer. Sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper. When the oil becomes hot, add the pieces, skin side down. Cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook 5 minutes more.
• Add the onions, leeks and garlic, and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, olives, thyme, wine, chicken broth, bay leaf, saffron, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Stir and scrape the bottom of the skillet to dissolve any brown particles on the bottom. Cover closely, and simmer 10 minutes.
• Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. If there is too much liquid, reduce the sauce a bit. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

FIG-RUBY PORT PRESERVES

Steps:

• Bring 1 pound chopped fresh figs, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean and a pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar melts. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until a drop of the mixture sets on a chilled plate, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon each lemon juice and ruby port, and a pinch of pepper. Fill sterilized jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace, then seal and process (see Cook's Note) for 15 minutes. Serve this with goat cheese, prosciutto and crackers.