AUTUMN FRUIT CORNISH HENS

Servings: 8
Ingredients:

8    Cornish game hens                   1 C  Prunes, pitted
-(each about 1 lb)                  1 C  Apricots, dried
12 lg Garlic cloves, peeled               1 C  Green olives, pitted
-and finely minced                1/2 C  Capers (plus a bit
4 T  Oregano, dried                           -of the juice)
Salt (to taste)                     8    Bay leaves
Pepper (to taste)                   1 C  Brown sugar
1 C  Red wine vinegar                    1 C  White wine, dry
1/2 C  Olive oil                           4 T  Italian parsley (chopped)

Clean hens well under cold water. Pat dry.

In a large bowl, combine hens, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, oil,
prunes, apricots, olives, capers (with juice) and bay leaves. Cover and
refrigerate overnight to marinate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange game hens in 1 or 2 shallow
roasting pans. Spoon all the marinade over the hens. Sprinkle evenly with
brown sugar and pour wine around them. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, basting
frequently, until golden. Juice should look clear when thigh is pricked
with a fork. Transfer hens, fruit, olives and capers to a serving platter.
Moisten with pan juices and sprinkle with parsley. Pass remaining pan
juices in a sauce boat.

NOTES:

* Cornish game hens stewed in fruit and sugar — I originally got this
recipe from the Sunday magazine of the local paper. I served it last year
for Christmas dinner, and it’s very good. What’s more, this recipe is easy:
you just put everything in a bowl, marinate overnight, then bake until
done!

: Difficulty: easy.
: Time: 5 minutes preparation, overnight marinating, 1 hour cooking.
: Precision: approximate measurement OK.

: Nancy Mintz
: UNIX System Development Lab, ATandT-IS, Summit, NJ
: ihnp4!attunix!nlm

: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust

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