Apricot Glazed Cornish Hens For Two Food

APRICOT-GLAZED CORNISH HENS FOR TWO

Steps:

• Combine the salt and cayenne. Rub a third of the mixture inside hens. Brush 1 tablespoon butter over hens; sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture. Place on a rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the preserves, honey, onion, nutmeg and remaining butter. Cook and stir until preserves are melted. Brush over hens. Bake 35-40 minutes longer or until golden brown and a thermometer reads 180°. Cover and let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH APRICOT SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450. Using kitchen twine, tie hens legs together; tuck wing tips underneath. Rub hens with a total of 1 tablespoon oil and 3/4 teaspoon thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Place hens, breast side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil; let rest 5 to 10 minutes.
• While hens are roasting, make sauce: In a large skillet with a lid, heat remaining oil over medium; add onion and garlic, and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine, and simmer until reduced by half, 3 to 5 minutes. Add broth, cream, honey, lemon juice, and apricots; raise heat to high, and boil until mixture (including solids) is reduced to 2 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Return sauce to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Add remaining thyme, and season with salt and pepper; fluff with a fork. Halve hens; serve with couscous and sauce.

GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place hens, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes. , In a small bowl, combine spreadable fruit and orange juice. Spoon some of the apricot mixture over the hens. Bake until golden brown and juices run clear, 30-35 minutes, basting several times with remaining apricot mixture. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

GLAZED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH APRICOT PISTACHIO DRESSING

Steps:

• Brining the hens before roasting improves their flavor: Dissolve 2 cups of kosher salt in a clean bucket filled with 5 quarts of water. Add prepared hens and soak for 2 hours. Rinse thoroughly; pat dry.
• Adjust oven rack to upper middle position, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Heat oil in a large skillet. Saute onions until softened, about 7 minutes. Stir in apricots, then spread mixture onto a large (about 18-by-12-inch) lipped cookie sheet. Lay hens over the mixture. Mix jam and vinegar, and brush all but a few tablespoons over hens.
• Bake hens, brushing 2 or 3 times with remaining jam mixture and accumulated pan juices, until hens are golden brown and juices run clear, about 45 minutes. Turn heat from bake to broil, then cook until hens are spotty brown, watching carefully so they don't burn, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer hens to a large platter with tongs, then cut in half at the breastbone to create individual servings.
• Return apricot dressing to the oven and broil to evaporate some of the excess liquid, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in pistachios and parsley. Spoon in a mound next to hens.

APRICOT GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Rinse defrosted hens in cold running water.
• Drain, pat dry inside and out with paper towel.
• Combine preserves, vinegar and soy sauce.
• Divide sauce in half.
• Spray inside of rotisserie basket with nonstick vegetable coating spray; place on spit and fit unit on hub of drip tray.
• Center one hen on spit with wings downward; center second hen on spit with wings upward.
• Close rotisserie door.
• Plug in; be certain unit rotates freely.
• Cook until juices run clear and thermometer inserted in breast registers 185ºF(approximately 55 to 60 minutes).
• Brush hens with half of sauce during last 10 minutes of cooking.
• Remove hens to a warm platter to serve.
• Heat the reserved half of sauce and serve with hens.
• Refrigerate leftovers.

APRICOT GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• heat oven to 375*F.
• in a medium bowl mix together all stuffing ingredients (except preserves, butter and wine).
• in a 1 qt saucepan melt 1/2 cup apricot preserves and 1/4 cup butter, stir into stuffing, add 2 to 3 tablespoons wine to moisten stuffing.
• stuff hens with stuffing, secure opening with toothpicks.
• tuck wing under hen, place hens breast side up in roasting pan, bake for 1 hour.
• meanwhile in same saucepan combine all sauce ingredients.
• cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until melted (2 to 3 minutes).
• brush hens with half of sauce and continue baking uncovered for 40 to 50 minutes or until hens are fork tender.
• if hens browning to quickly cover them loosely with aluminum foil.
• Serve with remaining sauce.

APRICOT-GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a cookie sheet generously with cooking spray.
• Combine apricot preserves, Sriracha, Worcestershire, and butter in a small pot and melt over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent from sticking.
• Clean hens and pat dry with paper towels. Coat outsides and insides with oil. Season with mango-habanero seasoning; insert sprigs of basil inside of the hens.
• Place hens on the prepared cookie sheet and cover with foil.
• Cook in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and baste with apricot glaze. Put back in the oven and cook until no longer pink in the centers, about 15 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

APRICOT GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• Pat the hens dry. Season the cavity and the entire hens with salt and pepper to taste.
• Tie the legs together with kitchen string.
• Place seasoned hens in a baking dish and refridgerate at least 1 hour.
• When ready to roast, heat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a small saucepan, whisk together the five-spice powder, preserves, mustard, orange juice and chicken broth. Heat over medium until the preserves are melted and the mixture is almost smooth.
• Divide the sauce in half; set aside one half to serve with the cooked hens. Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray. Place the hens in the pan and drizzle with some of the reserved sauce.
• Place in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and drizzle the apricot sauce over the hens again. Continue roasting, basting occasionally until the hens are done, about 30 minutes more or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

BRAISED CORNISH HEN WITH APRICOTS AND DATES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Rehydrate the apricots by covering them with boiling water and steeping them for 10 minutes before draining and slicing into quarters. Pit and roughly chop the dates, mix them with the apricots, and set aside. Combine the sugar with all of the liquid ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes, then set aside.
• Season the Cornish Hens, inside and out, with salt and pepper. Place 1 bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme inside each bird and close the body cavity by tieing with twine or with a skewer or toothpicks so that the bird holds its shape.
• Brush the hens with olive oil, place them breast side down in a roasting pan, and roast for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, pour off any excess fat from the pan turn the birds breast side up and roast 20 minutes more. At the end of this 20 minute roasting period, add the apricots, dates, and the liquid to the roasting pan, and braise the contents of the pan together for another 25 minutes. Check the oven every so often to see that the liquid has not all evaporated. If it has, add enough water to keep the bottom third of the hens moist.
• At the end of the cooking time, allow the hens to rest 10 minutes before serving. Place one hen on each dish and pour some of the apricot and date sauce over the top.

JOYCE GOLDSTEIN'S CORNISH HENS WITH APRICOTS, TOMATOES AND SPICES

Steps:

• Heat 6 tablespoons schmaltz or peanut oil in a large saucepan. Sprinkle the hens with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and brown. In another saucepan heat the remaining chicken fat or peanut oil, add the onions and cook over low heat 5 minutes, or until the onions are transparent. Add the remaining 3 teaspoons cinnamon and cloves and cook for about 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add about 1/2 cup reserved tomato liquid. Puree half the soaked apricots in a food processor or blender, and coarsely chop the rest. Add the pureed apricots, the diced tomatoes and 1 cup chicken stock to the onion mixture. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Puree 2 cups of the onion mixture. Return to the pan, add the remaining apricots, brown sugar and chicken stock and add enough liquid to make a medium-thick sauce. In a large casserole place half the sauce. Add hens and cover with remaining sauce. Bake the poultry, covered, in a 350 degree preheated oven until done, about 30 to 40 minutes.

CORNISH GAME HENS WITH CURRY APRICOT GLAZE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400º.
• Rinse and dry game hen halves and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on foil lined baking sheet.
• Combine jam, chutney, and curry powder in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Once mixture comes to a boil brush two tablespoons over the game hens. Reserve the rest of the mixture for a sauce.
• Bake games in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden.
• Add chicken broth to the remaining mixture in the sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened.
• When ready to serve, place games hens on a plate of rice and top with lime juice, spoon sauce around the plate. Sprinkle with green onions and crushed peanuts.

GLAZED STUFFED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the croutons, water and butter. Loosely stuff into hens. Place breast side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan; tie drumsticks together., In a small saucepan, combine the glaze ingredients. Bring to a boil. Spoon half over hens. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 180° for hens and 165° for stuffing, basting occasionally with remaining glaze.

CORNISH HENS WITH APRICOTS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Melt six tablespoons of chicken fat or oil in a large pan or skillet. Sprinkle the hens with salt, pepper and one teaspoon of the cinnamon.
• In another large pan, add the remaining chicken fat or oil and the onions, and cook over low heat for five minutes or until the onions are transparent. Add the remaining three teaspoons of cinnamon and the cloves and cook for about three more minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Coarsely chop half of the soaked apricots and set aside. Add about one-half cup of reserved tomato liquid to the remaining half of the soaked apricots and puree in a processor or blender. Take the pureed apricots, the chopped tomatoes, one cup of the chicken stock and add them to the onion mixture. Simmer, uncovered, for five minutes.
• Puree two cups of the onion mixture. Return to pan, add the chopped apricots, brown sugar and chicken stock and enough liquid to make a medium-thick sauce.
• In a casserole large enough to hold the meat in one layer, place half the sauce. Add the hens and cover with the remaining sauce. Bake, covered, in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until done .

APRICOT GLAZED CORNISH GAME HENS WITH APRICOT RICE STUFFING

Steps:

• For glaze: Put 1/4 cup water, apricot preserve and cinnamon in a microwave safe bowl.
• Microwave on high about 20 seconds.
• Stir to blend.
• If not blending well, microwave another 10 seconds.
• Stir again till smooth.
• For rice: Sauté garlic, celery, onion, apricots in oil about 5 minutes.
• Add brown rice; sauté another 3 minutes.
• Add 2 cups chicken broth and 3-4 tablespoons of glaze sauce.
• Bring to a boil.
• Lower heat to a low simmer.
• Simmer covered 10-15 minutes.
• Add pilaf rice.
• Stir, cover and simmer 15-25 minutes or longer until liquid is absorbed.
• Allow to cool. (This could be done earlier in the day if you see fit).
• For Hens: Preheat oven to 400°F; line a 13 x 9 pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
• Wash hens, remove giblets and pat dry.
• Sprinkle with garlic powder in and out of hens.
• Stuff with rice mixture.
• Brush with glaze mixture.
• To prevent over browning make a foil tent.
• Crease a sheet of foil crosswise through the center to form a tent leave 1-2 inches between top of hens so heat can circulate crimp on sides.
• Bake 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and brush with glaze.
• Bake uncovered until hens are tender and juices run clear, about 40-45 minutes, basting about every 10-15 minutes until glaze is used up.
• 2-4 servings depending on appetite.

APRICOT-GLAZED CORNISH HENS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute celery and onion in butter until tender; remove from heat. Add the bread, mushrooms and seasonings. Toss with enough chicken broth just to moisten. , Stuff hens. Tie drumsticks together. Place on a rack in a large shallow baking pan. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. , Brush with preserves. Bake, uncovered, 30-45 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear, basting every 10-15 minutes. , If using green onions, first soften them in boiling water or the microwave for a few seconds, then tie over the string used to tie the drumsticks together. Garnish platter with rosemary if desired.