Merry Christmas!
Me and the hubby did another round of big cooking, but this time, sans extra people. At first, I thought that I would be weird to cook so much food for just the two of us, but I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it was. We had Christmas music blaring on the radio and me and the hubby were chatting and joking around the entire time. It felt nice and festive even though it was just the two of us. :)
Let me tell you, it was still a lot of work. We were in the kitchen for nearly four hours to create our Christmas feast! In the end though, It was totally worth it. We had some whiskey brown ham, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, creamed corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a couple of game hens in lieu of turkey.
For the game hens, I decided to try out a recipe that called for pomegranate molasses. When I was back in San Diego, I picked up some Mid-Eastern essentials and a bottle of pomegranate molasses happened to be one of them. Since then, it's been sitting in the back of my pantry, waiting to be used.
When I made this recipe, I made the mistake of marinating this for just one hour. DON'T DO THAT. In order for this to be successful, it really needs to sit overnight. Otherwise, you'll get a nice tasting skin, but no flavor on the actual poultry itself. Also, I did a rookie mistake of not adding enough salt and pepper. So, again, season well people.
Other than that, this turned out well, I thought. If I had properly marinated them, this dish would've been kick ass! The sweet tartness of the molasses really worked with the cinnamon and allspice to make a really tasty flavor combination. And the honey made a beautiful glaze that makes it finger-lickin' good. Next time, I'm trying this on a whole turkey!
Roasted Game Hen with Pomegranate, Honey, and Cinnamon
(slightly adapted from One Girl in the Kitchen)
2 game hens, butterflied and ribs removed
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
2 cloves garlic, minced
cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, olive oil to taste
3 to 4 tbsp honey
Rinse the game hens and pat them dry them thoroughly on the inside as well. Mix the molasses with plenty of cinnamon, allspice, cayenne pepper and minced garlic. Pour the marinade over the hens and rub them so that the flavor gets everywhere. Let them rest in the refrigerator, covered with plastic, for at least 8 hours, turning them occasionally.
After this time, drain the hens from the marinade, sprinkle each one with salt and pepper, and tie their legs with kitchen twine. Arrange them chest side up on an greased baking pan, and bake at about 375 for approximately 35 to 40 minutes. At the end, brush them with the honey and bake 5 more minutes or until internal temp reads at 155F degrees. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes in order to reach a safe eating internal temperature of 165F degrees.
Serve each hen on a individual plate and garnish with fresh thyme sprigs and pomegranate seeds.
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