Cornish Game Hens with Lemon, Sage and Mushrooms

Cornish Game Hens

With Mushrooms,

Pearl Onions, Sage, Bacon,

Garlic, lemon and White wine.

This has to be one of my Fall Favorites!

This recipe originally came from a wine bottle from a vintner called Turning Leaf. I can no longer find this recipe on their website. If anyone out there has it, please send me a copy!

2 Cornish Game Hens (or 4,6 ext. one per person)

1/2 C fresh sage, chopped reserving a sprig for garnish

1/2 C fresh rosemary, chopped, reserving a sprig for garnish

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 lb bacon, chopped

1/2 lb pearl onions, peeled

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 lb variety mushrooms any kind! chopped

1 lemon sliced

1 C white wine

1 C chicken stock, I like better than bullion and water

salt and pepper

Rub chickens with olive oil and salt and pepper

Sauté bacon in high heat until browned, add chickens and brown on all sides. Stir in onions, garlic, mushrooms, herbs, white wine, chicken stock and water. Add lemons to inside cavity, and reserve 2 slices for garnish. Put rest of lemons in pan. Finish off this dish in a hot 350 degree oven. Stir and baste chickens with juices from time to time! This will make a wonderful sauce. I like to cook wild rice and serve. You can also serve with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes or creamy romano rissotto!!! 

Beef Bourguignon

Beef Bourguignon

8 oz bacon roughly chopped

3 lbs well trimmed boneless beef chuck cut into 11/2 in cubes

1/3 c flour

1/14 lbs boiling onions peeled

3/4 pbs carrots chopped

12 cloves garlic peeled

1/2 C brandy

2 750ml bottles of red wine

11/4 lbs mushrooms chopped

1/3 c chopped fresh thyme

1 T tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 T better than bullion

1 C water

Preheat oven to 325. Saute bacon in heavy dutch oven high heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Season beef with salt and pepper, coat with flour. Working in batches brown beef in bacon fat over high heat. Transfer to bowl. Add onions and carrots, cook until light brown. Add garlic sautee 1 minute. Transfer to bowl with beef. Add brandy and bullion and water to pot to deglaze. Scraping up brown bits, about 8 minutes. Add meat and vegetables to pot, add wine, mushrooms, thyme and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Place pot in oven and cook for about 11/2 hours. Until beef is tender! This is one of my favorite hearty winter meals to make. Despite the name, it is very easy to prepare!

Happy Cooking!

Carmelized butternut squash ravioli with pine nuts and sage burre blanc

Carmelized Butternut Squash Ravioli

With Pine Nuts and sage Burre Blanc Sauce

1 package Won Ton wrappers

1 Butternut Squash 

2 sticks Butter

3/4 C Pine nuts

1/2 Cup chopped Sage and a few whole leaves for garnish

Salt and white pepper

dash of fresh grated nutmeg

1 C Romano cheese

Boiling salted water for cooking Ravioli

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Bake face down on cookie sheet with sides in about 1C water on 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. Check frequently so as not to burn. Turn squash over and roast under broiler for about 10 minutes, just to brown. Get that great carmel color going.

Melt  butter in small bowl. Scoop out squash, which should be soft and golden. Place in larger bowl, add 3 T chopped sage, 1/4 C pine nuts and 3 T melted butter and 1/4 C cheese. Salt and dash of nutmeg to taste.

Take one wrapper and brush with melted butter, add 1 t filling, place another wrapper brushed with butter on top and crimp to seal. Continue with all filling. Cook Ravioli in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes until tender.  Meanwhile, melt the rest of the butter, add sage and pine nuts.

Place drained ravioli on plates and serve with butter sauce. Sprinkle pine nuts, cheese, salt, white pepper and nutmeg on top.  Garnish with sage! Marvelous! Happy Cooking! Happy noshing! A great white wine for this one would be soft smooth chardonnay!

Potage de rouge vif d'etampes

Rouge Vif d'Etampes is a French heirloom pumpkin reminiscent of

Cinderellas Coach. In the 1800s Parisian Chefs favored it as a base for 

vegetable stocks. I find that it lends itself well to the following rich chowder, served in the french style-in the pumpkin!

This recipe cam from a book my Sister, Judy Nafus  gave me called Rosalind Creasys 

Recipes from the garden!

6 C cubed french bread

1 10 in pie pumpkin, or 4 smaller pumpkins!

3 T extra virgin olive oil

1 lb leeks, chopped

1 med bulb fennel chopped

6 cloves garlic chopped

1 t saffron

11/2 t thyme

2 T chopped tarragon

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/4 t ground red pepper

6 C veg or chicken stock

11/2 half and half

1/2 lb gruyere cheese, cubed

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread cubes for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet. Cut off top of pumpkin

scoop out seeds and stuff. Place on baking sheet. In a large sautee pan heat the oil and sauté the leeks, fennel and garlic until tender. Turn off heat and add saffron, thyme, tarragon, salt, peppers and bread cubes tossing to coat. Pour in broth and half and half. Stir gently and ladle into pumpkins. Add cheese and replace top of pumpkins. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, do not overcook. Pumpkins should be tender. You can serve in the pumpkins if they hold up, otherwise, scoop some pumpkin flesh into a serving bowl along with the soup! Serves 4. 
Thanks for your support! Happy Cooking! 

Huevos Tomates! (Eggs Tomatoes)

From Carolyns Kitchen

Eggs and Tomatoes New Mexican style!

This is a very colorful dish and very low carb!

You can make this for as little as one person or as many as you wish. This one will make breakfast for 6.

15 slices bacon

12 eggs

about 16-18 tomatoes Red, yellow and green, sliced

olive oil

shredded cheddar cheese about 3 cups

5 avocados

salt and pepper

Green chili sauce, red chili sauce, salsa verde, or salsa

Cook bacon in 350 degree oven, microwave, or on stove top until crispy.  Heat olive oil and fry green tomato slices until tender, about 1 min each side. Arrange tomato slices on plate alternating colors, fry 2 eggs over easy, and place on top of plate. Add salsa and eggs on top. Place avocado slices on top of that and the cheese. Heat in microwave just to melt cheese! Enjoy! Happy cooking! Happy Brunch! This is a super easy and fast brunch item! Use vegan cheeses and vegan sausages. Omit eggs for a great vegan treat! 

Green Tomato "BLT"

This is a wonderful Appetizer!

Adapted from Epicurious and Perryville Inn!
and Bon Appetit

2 C Basil Leaves

11/4 C Mayonnaise

3 T Fresh Lemon Juice

1 T Dijon Mustard

18 slices bacon or Panchetta

18 slices 1/4 in green tomatoes

1 C flour

1/2 C yellow cornmeal

3 large eggs

1 C olive oil

6 1/4 inch Red Tomatoes

6 1/4 slices Yellow Tomatoes

1 1/2 C Arugula

Puree Basil, 1/4 C Mayo, lemon juice and dijon in processor until smooth. Transfer to small bowl. Mix in remaining Mayo and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake bacon in 350 degree oven until crisp and golden brown. About 15 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Mix 1/2 C Flour and 1/2 C cornmeal together. Have the other 1/2 C flour ready in a different bowl. Beat eggs in a third bowl. Line a second baking sheet with paper towels. Heat oil in heavy skillet over med-high heat. Working in batches, dip one green tomato slice at a time in flour, egg, then cornmeal mixture,  fry until golden brown, sprinkle with salt and pepper, keep warm in oven. Layer on individual plates or in one large casserole dish, start with one green tomato, spread with mayo, then arugula,bacon, red tomato, green tomato, yellow and so on, more mayo, finish with crumbled bacon and serve! This is very colorful and super tasty! I like to make a design on the plates with 3 tomato slices on the bottom, the 3 red, 3 yellow, alternating with the arugula and bacon!  This could be a wonderful breakfast or even dinner by simply adding my red chili, or salsa verde sauce and a fried egg! Top off with shredded cheddar cheese.Yum! Enjoy! Happy Cooking! 

Green Tomato Pickles (Crisp)

This great cookbook

called treasured Alabama Recipes was

given to me by my friend Lisa Stifel!

This time of year, there are an abundance of green tomatoes

left on the vine. Oh what to do with all those extra green tomatoes?

I welcome your recipes please!

You can also cut this recipe in half!

7 lbs green tomatoes, sliced

3 cups lime

2 gallons of water

1 lb of sugar

4 pints vinegar

1 tsp salt, celery seed (ginger, cloves and allspice) are optional

Dissolve lime in water, add tomatoes and soak overnight. drain and re soak tomatoes in clean water for 4 hours, changing water each hour to remove lime. Drain.

Make a syrup of sugar, vinegar, spices and salt. Bring to a boil. Place tomatoes in jars and add syrup. seal with sealing lids and rims. Note you can also add fresh sliced onions to this, layering them with the

tomatoes. The original recipe calls for 4 lbs of sugar. I think this is way to much! Besides, I prefer my tomatoes on the vinegary side.