Anticiplate

Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! I am having 10+ people this year to celebrate. Basically, it is just an excuse to cook all day and have the people I love all together. 

 

I have not planned my menu yet. I have been perusing through old Bon Appetit, and Food and Wine magazines from November months. Reading other people’s blogs, I see that most people are starting to get prepared. I have even been getting a tally of what my guests are making when they come to my house for Thanksgiving, so that I can check those items off the list. Why is everyone else so prepared?! 

 

This year I think I am going to bite the bullet, and spend the extra money on a Heritage Turkey. I just want to see what all the fuss is about. I am also going to dry-brine it, because wet brining to me is a hassle and I don’t have any extra space in my fridge for a garbage-can sized bucket of turkey juice. 

 

These cornish game hens are just a little taste of Thanksgiving before the big day. But I need to stop stalling and prepare my menu! 

 

Are you prepared yet for your Thanksgiving meal? 

 

 

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves 2 (but can easily be doubled)

*Adapted from Bon Appetit

 

Stuffing:

3 tbsp. salted butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 big golden delicious apple, cored and chopped

2 tsp. fresh sage, chopped

Kosher salt 

Cracked black pepper

3 c. cornbread (purchased), cubed into 1/2-inch pieces

1 egg, beaten

4 tbsp. fresh apple juice

 

Game Hens:

2 organic cornish game hens, rinsed and patted dry

Kosher salt

Black pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

 

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in onion and celery and saute until beginning to color about 5 minutes. Add in apples and saute for 3 minutes, or until beginning to soften. Mix in sage and season with salt and pepper. Take off heat and let cool for 10 minutes. 

 

Meanwhile, sprinkle cavity of each game hens with salt and pepper. Season the outside with salt and pepper generously. 

 

Mix cornbread into onion mixture and add egg. Toss to blend. Add apple cider by tablespoons until the mixture is moist, but not wet. 

 

Stuff each game hen with about a cup of stuffing. Skewer cavities closed with toothpicks and tie legs together. 

 

In a large, non stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the hens in the skillet until brown on all sides. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet breast side up (with any leftover stuffing in butter ramekins covered with tine foil) and bake for 45 minutes or until juices run clear when the thigh is pierced. 

 

Cut strings off hens and transfer them to plates. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with a side of your choice. I used corn maque choux from Bon Appetit.