Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Beautiful Simplicity of Fall

As we get deeper into fall, the food gets easier to cook as we all just want something filling, warm and savory to make us feel better. I love that really all it ever takes is a few ingredients and time. So with five ingredients and 45 minutes, I've put together a meal that recalls many of the things I love about this season -- crispy and savory skin on a moist bird, hints of heavy flavors with the herbs and the sweetness found in corn, oh and butter.

Have a go at this recipe.

Stuff
2 1 1/2-pound Cornish hens, rinsed and patted dry
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp crumbled dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups sweet corn


Preparation

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons of the butter with two tablespoons of sage and the salt. This is made far easier by letting the butter come to room temperature first. Resist the urge to pop the butter in the microwave or put it on the stove top. Believe me on this. The mixture should still have some resistance to it.

Loosen the skin covering the breast meat on each hen by slipping your fingers under the skin and sliding them between the skin and the meat. It'll feel a bit weird to be lifting the skin up but its' all worth it once you get in there. Be careful when you're doing this because you don't want to tear the skin.

Once you create some loose space under the skin of the hens, break up the butter mixture into equal portions and begin filling in the space underneath. Be sure to spread the butter out underneath the skin and get in as many spaces as you can. Afterwards season the hens with salt and pepper. If you'd like you can tie each hen's legs together with kitchen string. I don't find this step needed but some cooks really enjoy this presentation piece.

There are two options at this point.

If you have a large enough ovenproof skillet, you can heat the remaining butter and and sage sear the hens with the breast side up for one to two minutes and then place the skillet in the oven.

If you do not, heat butter and sage in a skillet and brown the hens one at a time (depending on space restraints) for one minute and then transfer hens to roasting pans with all of the juices.

Once the birds are in the oven, cook for 45 minutes. You should baste the hens in their juices every ten minutes. Continue to monitor the temperature until it reaches 180 degrees at the inner portion of the thigh.

I prefer using a steamer to prepare vegetables. Just keeps everything moist and it's just easier. Pop that corn into a steamer and cook for 12 minutes. Once done, place on plate and cover in some of the juices from the hens. The sage butter will really boost the flavor of the corn.




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