Cornish game hens are cheap and festive. You can serve a half hen or whole hen depending on how much else you’re eating. Kids and adults alike love getting their own whole bird to adventure. Works with pheasant and quail equally well.

Bird

Rinse and dry. Season inside and out with salt and pepper.

Stuffing (per bird)

• 1 cup prepared long grain/wild rice mix
• ¼ cup onions
• ¼ cup chopped dried fruit (apricots, cranberries, figs, etc.)

Thoroughly mix ingredients while cool. Stuff birds. Roast on raised poultry rack or on coils made from rolling and scrunching aluminum foil. ( it’s important to keep the bird raised so the juices run off to be crispy all the way round).

Bake ate 350 for about 1 ½ hours, or until 170 with thermometer. Let set for 5 to 10 minutes.

If serving halves, split the bird down the center, and carve out the back bone and throw into your stock stash.

Red Wine Fruit Sauce (for 4 birds)

• 1 cup raspberry preserves or orange marmalade
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 Tbs butter
• any pan drippings
• 1/8 cup shallots or finely diced onion
• salt/pepper

Melt butter and sautee shallots or onion. Add red wine and turn up heat. Add preserves, and stir until blended nicely, will stir like syrup. Season to taste. Ladle over a portion of the bird so that a puddle forms to one side.