Roasted Cornish Hens with Jasmine Rice, Cherries and Pepitas

Crispy skin, juicy meat, fragrant aromatic stuffing... what more could you want?

Roasted Cornish Hens with Jasmine Rice, Cherries and Pepitas

2 Cornish hens, trimmed of excess fat and rinsed
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup pepitas or pumpkin seeds
1 tsp vanilla
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 cups of COOKED jasmine rice
4 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Season hens with salt and pepper and place 2 bay leaves into the cavity of each hen. Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove hens from oven and let cool slightly. Drain off the liquid from the hens and RESERVE about ¼-1/2 cup.

Meanwhile combine the cooked rice, cherries, pumpkin seeds, vanilla nd cinnamon stick with ¼ cup of the roasted hen juices.

Fill each bird with the rice mixture after the hen’s have cooled enough to handle. Put the remaining rice into the baking dish, with the stuffed hens on top.

Return to the oven and bake at 400 degrees another 20-30 minutes.

Fresh Mozzarella and Sun-dried Tomato “Fondue”

This dip-style-dish hit the pinnacle of flavor maybe 4 hours after it was composed. OK, well, really it was good after about 30 minutes after the garlic had a chance to soften, but it really held up well over time and got progressively gooey over time.

All of the ingredients, including a ton of black pepper and really good quality evoo went into a pot which melded together on “low” and eventually “warm.” After 4 hours we had a “fondue” of sorts, perfect for scooping with crusty sliced ciabatta bread.

Don’t get me wrong; prior to the six hour mark, it was a WONDERFUL appetizer with soft, gooey mozzarella balls infused with tons of flavor from the sun dried tomatoes, garlic, and thyme.

This is one dish where the quality of your ingredients will have an impact on the outcome of the dish. It would be just as good in one of those mini-crock pots too.

Fresh Mozzarella and Sun-dried Tomato “Fondue”

¼ cup oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, julienned
6 cloves of garlic, cut into thirds
2 Tbsp fresh thyme
2 cups fresh mozzarella balls (small) or cut large balls into 1-2” pieces
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except the cheese in a medium sauce pan. Heat over medium-high heat until oil begins to simmer. Reduce heat to “low” or “warm” and add the cheese. Allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes prior to serving. The longer it cooks the “gooier” the cheese will become.

Smoked Turkey

Sexy huh? Yeah you know you want it. This was super easy too. The hardest parts were watching the grill to make sure we didn't have flare-ups, and waiting for my mom to show up for dinner so we could tear into this bad bird.

This was a two part process. In part one, the day before we brined the turkey in a large pot. I combined 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of salt, 1 head of garlic cut in half, a handfull of black pepper, and several sprigs of fresh tyme in a pot on the stove. Heated that up to combine the flavors, then dumped it in a huge pot that I have follwed by tons of ice to cool it down. Once it was cold, I submerged my whole, washed turkey, breast down (or head first) into the pot and set THAT into a cooler and set the whole shebang outside b/c it's freezing (literally out there). If you don't have a pot that big, you can use your cooler to brine. Just make sure it goes into a cool place (not necessarily freezing, but definitely not like 80 degrees and full sun, you know what I mean?).

That was about 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Around 11 a.m. on Thursday we fired up the grill with equal parts charcoal briquettes (to keep the fire burning) and hickory wood pieces soaked in water for about 10 minutes. The bird came out of the brine, was split in half and went skin side down onto the grill. We closed the top (but kept the air holes open) and if the fire got too hot, added more wet hickory, and if the fire got too cold, opened up the lid and let the fire breathe. We did this for about four hours and then pulled the bird off of the grill and let it sit... and sit... and sit some more unitil Mom showed up and then we got our serious grub on!

The turkey was outstanding. Smokey and delicious. And one thing about smoked meat is that it keeps well for a long time. So there's no shortage of smoked turkey and smoked turkey parts for greens, sandwiches and fritattas in the days to follow.

Peach-Cherry Crumble Pie

I've combined two of my favorite parts of dessert, the crumble and the crust and put them together in a low sugar dessert featuring ripe frozen fruits. This is the easiest dessert on the planet and it's bolstered by heart-healthy oats to boot.

Peach Cherry Crumble Pie1 pound frozen peaches

1/2 pound frozen cherries
3/4 cups 5 minute oats
2 frozen pie shells
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. ground ginger
1 Tsp. ground allspice
2 Tbsp. unbleached sugar, honey or agave nectar
pinch salt(optional)
butter (optional)

Combine peaches, cherries and oats in a bowl while they thaw.

Meanwhile heat oven to 350 degrees. Prick the bottom of one pie shell with a fork and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes. While that's par-baking, cut the other pie shell into strips or chunks to cover the top of the other pie (the more hodge-podgey it is, the more it looks homemade).

Remove pie shell from the oven and let it cool slightly. Meanwhile, add the spices and sweetener to the fruit mixture and combine well. Pour fruit into the par-baked pie shell, top with the other pie shell strips and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and dot with butter if desired. Allow to set for 10 minutes before slicing.