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
Written cooking instructions as a concept can be found back into the distant past, certainly as far into history as pharonic Egypt, and maybe further still. Having said that, mostly, these ancient cook books were just simple hieroglyphic instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to historians are a few stone tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel blissful. Progressing into The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius assembled some documents describing recipes cooked by his fellow Romans. In his scrolls, Apicius tells us how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main course and dessert, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Additionally, he informs us how the early Romans made use of a good variety of spices and herbs, including many that are still in use today like thyme, fennel and asafoetida. As our culinary historical trip moves to more modern times there are a couple of interesting recipe books which were published in the 14th Century : one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these books are not about the indian food that is served today, but rather recipes for the types of food served to the rich and powerful of that time. In the 15th century, the Crusaders brought back many foods and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new foods and spices caused a torrent in recipe publications, the majority of which still exist in private collections. The arrival of TV brought us cooking programs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of the internet, permitting everybody to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Autumn Fruit Cornish Hens recipe.
