8 cornish game hens (each about 1 lb)
12 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely mi, nced
4 tbsp oregano, dried
1 salt (to taste)
1 pepper (to taste)
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup prunes, pitted
1 cup apricots, dried
1 cup green olives, pitted
1/2 cup capers (plus a bit of the juice)
8 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine, dry
4 tbsp italian parsley (chopped)
Directions
Clean hens well under cold water. Pat dry.
In a large bowl, combine hens, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper,
vinegar, oil, prunes, apricots, olives, capers (with juice) and bay
leaves. Cover and refrigerate overnight to marinate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange game hens in 1 or 2 shallow
roasting pans. Spoon all the marinade over the hens. Sprinkle evenly
with brown sugar and pour wine around them. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4
hours, basting frequently, until golden. Juice should look clear when
thigh is pricked with a fork. Transfer hens, fruit, olives and capers
to a serving platter. Moisten with pan juices and sprinkle with
parsley. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauce boat.
NOTES:
* Cornish game hens stewed in fruit and sugar -- I originally got
this recipe from the Sunday magazine of the local paper. I served it
last year for Christmas dinner, and it's very good. What's more, this
recipe is easy: you just put everything in a bowl, marinate
overnight, then bake until done!
: Difficulty: easy.
: Time: 5 minutes preparation, overnight marinating, 1 hour cooking.
: Precision: approximate measurement OK.
: Nancy Mintz
: UNIX System Development Lab, AT&T-IS, Summit, NJ
: ihnp4!attunix!nlm
: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust
Servings: 8 servings
Autumn Fruit Cornish Hens Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Fruit; Poultry
The History of Recipes
Transcribed cooking instructions as an idea can be traced back into distant history, in fact as far as ancient Egypt, and quite possibly further than that. Interesting though that maybe, sadly, these ancient recipes were just very simple pictorial instructions for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to academics are some clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel exhilarated and blissful. During the time of the Romans a man called Apicius compiled some documents showing how to cook the recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, Apicius recounts how the meals were separated into appetizers, main meal and afters, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. He also recounts how the chefs of Roman times used many different aromatic flavours, including some familiar names such as basil, rue and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we have two books which appeared in the fourteenth century ; a cookery book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another entitled `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these two books are unconnected to the curry that is served today, but instead recipes for the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the rich people of those days. In the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from Arab countries, including basil and coriander. These new spices and herbs led to an eruption in manuscripts on food, some of which are now in private libraries. Over the next few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe strove to lay on the most exotic meals, and as a consequence, the best cooks and their recipe collections were at a premium. Even so, it was during the 19th century that formal cookery and recipe publications rose to prominence. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, dedicated their lives to collating, trying out, and writing down popular recipes of the day. When we get to the 1900s, recipe books were starting to become popular mostly as a result of more people being able to read, more leisure time and having more disposable income. The arrival of TV brought us celebrity TV chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to search through thousands of recipes like those on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Autumn Fruit Cornish Hens recipe.
