What's for Dinner? Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing

I had a couple of Cornish hens left in my freezer,

left from Christmas dinner when I roasted the

other hens for the non-red meat eaters in my family. 

 

In my continuing effort to cook through Ina Garten's cookbooks,
she has this recipe for Cornish Hens with Cornbread

Stuffing in her Barefoot Contessa At Home cookbook. 

I baked the cornbread earlier in the day
to be used later in the evening when preparing dinner.

The cornbread stuffing is first made stove top

and the Cornish hens are prepped and set on

top of sliced yellow onions. 

The Cornish hens are then stuffed with the cornbread

stuffing, tied, and roasted.  Additional stuffing is

placed in a baking dish and baked separately. 

 After roasting for 50 minutes, they come out

juicy and tender - just as very young hens should.

The stuffing inside had just enough of the

juices to not be too soggy.  Delicious!

 

Here is the recipe taken from Ina's cookbook:

 

Cornish Hens with Cornbread Stuffing

Serves 6

 

For the stuffing

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 1/2 cups medium-diced celery (3 stalks)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

5 cups (13 ounces) coarsely crumbled cornbread

1/2 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade

 

For the hens

6 fresh Cornish hens (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 - pounds)

2 cups sliced yellow onions (2 onions)

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

   For the stuffing, melt the butter in a medium sauté pan, add the onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes, until translucent. Off the heat, add the celery, parsley, cornbread, and chicken stock and mix well. Set aside.

   For the hens, rinse them inside and out, removing any pin feathers, and pat the outsides dry. In a roasting pan that's just large enough to hold the hens loosely, first toss in the onions and then place the hens on top, breast side up. Sprinkle the insides of the hens with salt and pepper and loosely fill the cavities with the stuffing. (If there is stuffing left over, bake it in a separate pan until heated through.) Tie the legs of each hen together and tuck the wings under the bodies. brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 50 to 60 minutes, until the skin is browned and the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve a whole hen per person.

 

 What are you having for dinner tonight?

This week I will be joining
 



 

Thank you for dropping by.

 

Fondly,

~Karen