I have quite a bit of trouble reading the type in many posts. It's age, not the problem of the lovely bloggers I follow. However, if you hold down the Control key and press the key with the "=" and "plus" signs the type will get larger. I usually go two to three times with this. You can do less (or more if you are even more ancient than I am). I work on a laptop, so I don't know how this would work on a full keyboard with a separate "plus" key. Let me know if you discover anything about that.
The original version of this was to stuff a hen with prosciutto and layer the top of it with fatback. It was one of the earliest dinners Peter and I prepared together somewhere around 30 years ago. We were subletting an apartment in northwest DC. The oven smoked even more than we did in those days. But, by golly, that hen was good. I'm making a slightly more responsible version of it this time around. Some lemon, celery and onion inside seemed like a good idea. Bacon over the top. A 400 oven for about 30 minutes did the trick. Of course it is essential to brine the hen for a few hours, rinse and dry it well; after which you DO NOT add any more salt. All the pepper or other spices you want is great. It must also be at room temperature. Am I giving TMI? Maybe, but better thorough than sorry. Given my recent fixation with mortadella and/or bologna, maybe I should have used that as a stuffing. You want the stuffing to be somewhat loose. About ½ cup of each of the 3 ingredients should be plenty. I was out of tarragon, but made a special trip to Safeway to get some. I really like tarragon. Remove the bacon after the first 20 minutes. Use it to make some parsleyed potatoes to go along with the bird. Then you just need a green vegetable and you're golden.
10 comments:
haha i love the title. and from the sound of the recipe, this definitely is one hen with an attitude! yum.
lol.. you crack me up! Yes, you gave us way too much information!! lol
The hen sounds delicious... but I guess anything topped with bacon is going to be amazing!! Well, almost anything at least!
I just come from Pam's blog and of course had to check you out.I really don;t know about stuffing it with balogna and mozza; some in my family would think that a grat idea.
Rita
I love cooking with cornish hens. They don't get enough credit sometimes. They are fantastic for big gatherings or small family dinners. LOVELY!
wow...that looks just splendid....I hav never tried a whole hen be4....but now I know I can giv it a try :-)bookmarking it !
No, Stephen, I don't think you can give TMI in a recipe. Not if you want the recipe to turn out well for cooks at all stages of the game. I like the idea of removing the bacon after 20 minutes and using it to make the potatoes. Mmm ... golden.
fatback on a bird? I like the irresponsible Steven!
I have a tarragon plant in the front yard, feel free to pick when you need it;)
The ctrl + shortcut does work on all keyboards. My favorite short cuts are ctrl-c for copy and ctrl-v for paste. Comes in handy when copying recipes from online.
I always love cornish hens...so much tastier and tender.
Firstly have to tell you about the baloney - it's like an American version of sausage and mash - brilliant - it was a 3 out of 4 with the kids - in my book that's a winner. Cornish hens are the best - still like the idea of the bacon -
Mary x
Looks so delicious!
Nice finding you!
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