Steamed Squabs Stuffed With Birds Nest Recipes

STEAMED SQUASH

Steps:

• Combine sliced squash & chopped onion in a wire steamer basket, place over gently boiling water. Cover, & let steam.
• 10-12 minutes, until squash is fork-tender. Remove squash and onion to a large serving dish.
• Immediately stir in margarine, pepper, and sugar. Serve hot.

ROASTED SQUAB STUFFED WITH SHIITAKES AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Pre-heat an oven to 550 degrees (the highest it will go). Rub oil on the skin and season both the inside and outside with salt and pepper. In a hot skillet coat with the olive oil and sautee the shallots and shiitakes until soft, about 3 minutes. Season and set aside to cool. Mix with lemons, scallions, thyme and stuff the birds. Place birds on sheet tray and roast in the oven until crispy brown, about 8 to10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 and roast another 5 to10 minutes, depending on desired doneness, (I prefer medium rare, 7 minutes).
• Wine Recommendation: Olmos Reward, Frankland Estate, Aus

BIRD'S NEST BREAKFAST CUPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups.
• Mix hash brown potatoes, salt, black pepper, olive oil, and 2/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese in a bowl. Divide mixture between prepared muffin cups and use your fingers to shape potato mixture into nests with hollows in the middle.
• Bake in the preheated oven until hash browns are browned on the edges and cheese has melted, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove hash brown nests.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk eggs and water in a bowl until thoroughly combined; season with salt and black pepper. Pour equal amount of egg mixture into each nest; sprinkle with bacon crumbles and 1 teaspoon Cheddar cheese.
• Bake in the oven until eggs are set, 13 to 16 minutes. Let cool in pans and remove by sliding a knife between potato crust and muffin cup.

STEAMED SQUABS STUFFED WITH BIRD'S NEST

Steps:

• 1. Soak bird's nest. 2. Bone squabs, leaving their shape and skin intact (see HOW-TO, _Chicken: To bone). Rub birds, inside and out, with salt. 3. Stuff squabs with soaked bird's nest and sew up securely or skewer. Place in a heatproof bowl pour stock over. 4. Steam over low heat until squabs are tender (about 2 hours). See HOW-TO, _Steaming. 5. Mince smoked ham sprinkle over the top. Serve squabs in their steaming bowl with stock. VARIATIONS: * For the whole bird's nest, substitute 1/2 cup dried bird's-nest chips. Instead of boning squabs, score them along the backbone, but do not cut through bone. Steam birds cut-side up. Serve cut-side down.The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

POTTED STUFFED SQUAB

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.
• Arrange bread in 1 layer in a shallow dish and pour milk over it. Soak bread, turning once, just until it has absorbed most of milk, about 2 minutes. Squeeze excess milk from each slice, then tear bread into bite-size pieces, dropping them into a bowl. Discard milk.
• Melt 1/2 stick butter and add to bread along with livers, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring to combine.
• Rinse squabs and pat dry. Chop off necks and wing tips and scatter in a large shallow baking pan. Divide stuffing among cavities of squabs, then close openings with wooden picks. Tie legs of each squab together with string and secure wings to sides with wooden picks.
• Stir together 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and rub all over squabs.
• Arrange squabs in baking pan (with necks and wing tips), without crowding, then cut remaining stick butter into 8 pieces and put 2 pieces on top of each bird.
• Roast, basting with butter from pan every 8 to 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh (do not touch bone) registers 160°F, about 1 hour.
• Transfer squabs to a platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, while making sauce. Discard necks and wing tips and pour pan juices into fat separator. Let stand 1 minute to allow fat to separate from juices. Add water (1/2 cup) to pan and deglaze by boiling, stirring and scraping up brown bits, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small saucepan along with pan juices and 1/4 cup fat from separator and simmer, whisking, until emulsified, about 1 minute. Serve squabs with sauce on the side.

SAUTEED STUFFED VEAL BIRDS

Steps:

• Cut scaloppines in half diagonally so you have 12 pieces.
• To prepare filling, toss together all ingredients except 3 tablespoons olive oil, wine, butter and lemon juice.
• Place generous teaspoonful of stuffing on wide end of each scaloppine and roll tightly, securing with toothpick or kitchen thread.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil and 3 tablespoons butter in 10-inch frying pan and when bubbling subsides, brown veal birds on all sides slowly. Add 1 cup wine and 1/2 cup stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes; check to see if more moisture is needed in pan, in which case add water or stock.
• Remove veal to heated platter. Skim fat from pan juices. Add remaining butter and about 1 tablespoon lemon juice to pan and bring to boil over high heat, stirring in coagulated meat juices. Pour over veal and serve with steamed rice.

RICE-STUFFED SQUAB

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute celery and onion in butter until tender. Add the rice, mushrooms, raisins, 3 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, parsley, 3/4 teaspoon salt and marjoram. Sprinkle cavities of squab lightly with remaining salt; stuff with rice mixture. , Place on a rack in a roasting pan. Combine oil and remaining orange juice concentrate; drizzle over squab. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 1 hour or until meat juices run clear and a thermometer inserted into the stuffing reads 165°, basting frequently.

STEAMED CHICKEN STUFFED WITH BIRD'S NEST

Steps:

• 1. Soak bird's nest. 2. Mince smoked ham and water chestnuts. Blend well with sherry, salt and soaked bird's nest. 3. Wipe chicken with a damp cloth. Make an incision along its backbone, but do not cut through bone. Stuff chicken with bird's nest mixture and sew up securely or skewer. 4. Place bird in a large heatproof bowl and pour stock over. Steam over low heat until tender (2 to 3 hours). See HOW-TO, _Steaming. NOTE: A rich clear stock should be used for this dish. Bird's nest soup may be made in advance, refrigerated and reheated. The stock should be clear and rich with no trace of fat. A concentrated stock can be prepared by cooking a 3-pound chicken in 8 cups of water. (The bird may be served as white cut chicken at the same meal.) The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

STEAMED KABOCHA SQUASH

Steps:

• Bring 8-quart pot of water to boil. Add squash and boil, uncovered, 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip squash over, then boil 2 1/2 minutes more. Drain and let cool.
• When squash is cool enough to handle, cut off top and bottom and remove skin with paring knife. Cut squash in half crosswise, scoop out seeds, and cut flesh into 1-inch chunks.
• In medium bowl, stir together squash, olive oil, honey, ginger, and salt. Transfer to steamer set over boiling water and steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon onto large plate and serve.

SQUASH STUFFED WITH VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Using a small sharp paring knife, cut around the center of each chestnut, cutting through the shell. Drop the whole chestnuts into a saucepan of boiling water to cover and cook about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain. When cool enough to handle remove the shell and inner brown skin from each chestnut. Set the kernels aside.
• Cut the carrots into 1-inch lengths. Cut the turnips into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Cut the slices into 1/2-inch-thick batons. Cut the batons in half. Trim the carrot and turnip pieces into olive shapes. There should be about 24 carrot pieces and the same number of turnip pieces. Set aside.
• Trim the brussels sprouts of tough stems and outer leaves. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Cut each squash crosswise in half. For a more sophisticated look, insert a knife tip and carve up and down at a slight angle in a saw-tooth pattern. Pull the halves apart. Scrape out and discard the seeds and fibers from each half. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each half so that the halves will sit upright.
• Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan and add the honey and brown sugar. Stir until thoroughly blended.
• Spoon an equal portion of the honey and butter mixture into each squash half. Arrange the squash halves in one layer in a baking dish and pour 2 cups of the chicken broth around them. Cover closely with aluminum foil. Place the dish in the oven and bake about 45 minutes or until the flesh is tender.
• Meanwhile, bring about 2 quarts of water to the boil and add salt to taste. Add the carrots and cook 5 minutes. Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon and put them in cold water to chill. Drain and put them in a mixing bowl.
• Add the turnips to the boiling water and cook about 4 1/2 minutes. Remove the turnips with a slotted spoon and chill in cold water. Drain and add them to the carrots.
• Add the brussels sprouts to the boiling water and cook 11 minutes or until tender. Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in cold water to chill. Drain and cut each sprout in half lengthwise. Add them to the vegetables.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy saucepan large enough to hold the chestnuts in one layer. Add the chestnuts and stir so that they brown lightly on all sides. Add the remaining 1/2 cup broth and cover closely. Bring to the boil and cook until the broth is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the cooked squash from the oven and carefully pour off the liquid from the cavities into a skillet. There should be about Z cup. Add the cooked vegetable mixture, including the chestnuts, to the sauce. Add salt and pepper and cook, stirring gently, about 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened and the vegetables are glazed. Spoon an equal portion of the mixture into each squash half and serve.