Honey Lacquered Game hens with bok choy stir fry.

When my ex-girl friend and I split several years ago on mutual agreement, she asked for some of my recipes which I gladly copied for her. A few days later my son, then about 11, told me when he got home from school his basketball goal and my BBQ smoker were loaded in the back of a pick-up truck and the two guys told him as they were driving away that they were getting these for the ex.  A few days later I discovered one of my son's favorite recipes missing from my hand written cookbook. She must have taken that too. It was before computers and subsequent searches in food sites brought up nothing.  Then last week, I found that Parade digitalized their magazines and I found it in a 1993 issue. It was Honey Lacquered Game Hens. We had it today.  We decided I had changed the recipe and now need to experiment some more but I am very glad to have the original again. We remembered that I used Cointreau in the recipe and that was not part of it originally.

I bought a new rice cooker today too. It is a Tiger made in Japan.  Our old one - same brand and same size- is about 30 years old and still works but is wearing out and missing a part or two. Along with the chicken and rice, I grilled baby bok choy and stir fried Chinese eggplant with sugar peas, mushrooms and a few other vegetables and tossed in a dressing with pecans, peanut oil, tangerine vinegar, orange zest and honey.

Honey Lacquered Game Hens Recipe

Yield: 6 whole hens  Parade Magazine March 27, 1994

6 Cornish game hens, about 3/4 to 1 pound each (see note)

4 Garlic cloves, peeled

1 1" piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 c Soy sauce

1/2 c Light honey

2 tb Peanut oil

2 tb Fresh orange juice

1 tb Finely minced orange zest

Here's a new and exciting dish that's easily prepared. It's especially delicious served with sesame noodles or your favorite rice pilaf. For an ideal meal without much effort, simply steam up some fresh snow peas to serve on the side. 

1. Rinse game hens and pat dry. Place in a bowl. Trim off wing tips, necks and any excess fat from the neck cavities. 

2. Place garlic and ginger in the bowl of a food processor; process until nearly smooth. Reserve. 

3. In another bowl, combine soy sauce, honey, peanut oil, orange juice and orange zest. Add the reserved garlic and ginger. Pour mixture over game hens to coat well. 

4. Let rest at room temperature for 4 hours, or refrigerate overnight, turning game hens in marinade 3 or 4 times. 

5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place game hens in a shallow roasting pan to fit. Pour marinade on top. 

6. Bake game hens 1 hour or until cooked through, basting every 15 minutes. 

7. Remove hens to a serving platter. Pour cooking juices into a small, heavy saucepan and boil over high heat for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly. Pour over the hens just before serving. 

NOTE: These birds can be served whole or, for smaller portions, are lovely split in half. Just be sure to remove the backbones and wing tips before preparing. 

Per serving: 185 calories, 7 grams fat, 12 milligrams cholesterol.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy  as told by Ross in Ventura
Adapted from Gourmet via Food Network

4 heads baby bok choy, halved lengthwise and cleaned
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chili paste
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
lime wedges, for garnish

In a large bowl, combine vinegar and chili paste and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in oil. Stir in scallions and sesame seeds. Add the bok choy and toss to coat. Chill for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the grill. Lay the bok choy halves on hot grill, cut sides down. Grill 2 to 5 minutes until crisp tender. Serve with additional sesame seeds and lime wedges.

Chinese eggplant

• 2 Chinese eggplants , 
• 4 portobello mushroom
• 1 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 garlic clove , minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 cup sugar snap peas 
• 
  
• Dressing
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans 
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tsp grated orange rind
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1/2 tsp liquid honey
• Show fewer

Citrus Marinated Chicken

Citrus Marinated Roasted Chicken

Author: Adapted from Fine Cooking                         Serves: 6­-8

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. olive oil

4 lbs. chicken parts (breasts with rib bones, leg ­thigh pieces)

2 large lemons

1 large orange

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. dried oregano

1½ Tbsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. honey

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

kosher salt and black pepper

Instructions

1. Pour the olive oil into a heavy roasting pan that is large enough to accommodate the
chicken parts in one layer. Arrange the chicken in the pan (if using mixed parts, breasts in the middle
 and legs/wing around the edge).

 2. Cut one lemon into six wedges. Juice and zest the other lemon into a small bowl. Cut the orange in 
half. Slice one half into wedges. Zest and juice the other half and add this to the lemon
juice/zest.  Scatter the lemon and orange wedges around the chicken in the pan. Do not place them on
 top of the chicken, but nestle them down in, so that they don't interfere with the browning
when you bake  it up.

3. Stir the oregano, garlic, honey, soy sauce, and pepper flakes into the lemon/orange juice mixture.
Pour the marinade evenly over the chicken. Cover and refrigerate, turning the chicken occasionally,
for at least 6  hours and up to 12.

4.  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425*.

5. Turn the chicken pieces in the pan so they are all skin side up. Sprinkle with kosher salt and  pepper. Roast the chicken for 20 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375*. Continue to roast until
chicken is golden  brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Bean Sprouts

1 lb Mung bean sprouts

1 1/2 Tbls salt

1 Tbls Sesame oil

1 tsp Shoyu

1 tsp (or more to taste) Rice vinegar

Couple drops Chili oil (optional)

1/8 C Chopped green onions (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

In a medium pot, add 1.5 Tbls salt to water. Bring to a boil. Add sprouts and boil for 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook! Drain sprouts. Toss will sesame oil, shoyu, rice vinegar, chili oil, and chopped green onions. Chill and serve.

Braised bok choy with chestnuts: Boiled chestnuts, peeled, sliced, steamed, and stir-fried. Baby bok choy stir-fried until tender, quickly braised with the chestnuts and chicken stock, and then finished with potato flour slurry and sesame oil.

Corned Beef in March Dinner

Home made Corned Beef, Carrots, Rutabagas, Cabbage with Balsamic reduction, Soda Bread and new potatoes boiled, mashed, buttered, seasoned and roasted.

CORNED BEEF

FOR THE BRINE

2 quarts water

1 cup coarse salt (Canning and Pickling or Kosher)

1 tablespoon Tenderquick

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon mustard seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed

1 cinnamon stick, crushed

4 dried bay leaves, crushed

8 whole cloves

1. Make the brine: Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add salts, sugar, and spices; remove from heat, and stir until salts and sugar dissolve. Let cool.

2. Make the corned beef: Place brisket in a nonreactive container just large enough to hold it. Pour cooled brine over meat. Place 2 small plates on top to keep meat submerged; cover, and refrigerate for 2 weeks.

Cooking Corned Beef 

Serves 6-8

3 1/2 lb  or so Corned Beef Brisket from above

1/2 to 1 bottle beer

Water to cover, approx 2 cups

10 black peppercorns

1 whole allspice

1 bay leaves

12 sprigs fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

2 whole leeks, green trimmed to fit pot, slice white part to clean

1 medium onion, peeled, quartered

Simmer brisket about 3 hours

Add 

7 or 8 whole carrots, cleaned

2 large rutabagas, trimmed and quartered

Simmer 1/2 additional hour

Cabbage begin before adding vegetables about  30 minutes before

simmer

1 C. Balsamic vinegar 

2 Tablespoons sugar 

until reduced by half 

trim leafy outer leaves and cut in 8 wedges. Attach tooth picks to help hold them together..  Lighty oil skillet and brown cabbage then add the top of the brisket liquid to steam with the other vegetables about 20 minutes   Remove with spatula to serving platter, remove toothpicks, Sprinkle with salt and vinegar reduction.

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Sugar (optional)

Crash Hot Potatoes

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 6

Ingredients

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

 Kosher Salt To Taste

 Black Pepper To Taste

 Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

This year I used King Arthur Irish Soda Bread recipe. It said to add 1 1/2 C. buttermilk. It was too much. I had to add some flour to make it easier to handle. Cooked according to package direction in cake pan.