Chef B's Roasted Cornish Game Hens and Sweet Potato Cakes with Carrot Sauce

Beautiful view from the top of Looking Glass

After a breathtaking (literally) hike on the Look Glass trial, Chef B and I visited a good friend's home in Brevard, NC where we spent three hours making a fabulous feast.  It was all worth it.  What could be a better solution than some sweat and a home-cooked meal to relieve some stress and embrace the beautiful spring weather.  

Bon Appetite!

Roasted Cornish Hens

Ingredients:

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

Rosemary

Thyme

Sage

Paprika

Honey

Lemon zest

2 Cornish Game Hens about 1 1/2 pounds each 

2 onion

2 shallot

2 garlic cloves

1 diced pear

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Rub the hens with honey.  Using medium-high heat, pan sear the hens in butter for 3 minutes on each side.  Spray olive oil on the bottom of a baking pan before placing the hens in the pan.  Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each one with chopped rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon zest, salt, pepper, garlic power and a tiny bit of paprika.  Stuff garlic gloves, shallots, and diced pear inside of each hen.  Fill the space between the hens with slightly boiled brussel sprouts or veggies of choice seasoned with garlic power, pepper and salt.  Then place the pan in the preheated oven for about 1 hour until the thermometer registers 190 degrees F internal temperature in the thigh of the hen.  Voilà!

Sweet Potato Cakes

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes

Salt

Brown sugar

Chopped Parsley

Garlic power

Corn starch

Instructions:

Peel all the sweet potatoes and then boil them in a pot.  Drain and mash the sweet potatoes in the pot with salt, brown sugar, garlic power, chopped parsley and a little bit of corn starch.  Get a handful of mashed sweet potato and hold it into a ball.  Spread butter on your electrical skillet, smash and fry each ball into a cake.  Put the finished cakes on a baking pan and stick them in the oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Carrot Sauce

Ingredients:

2 carrots

1/2 onion

4 cloves of garlic

Reduced sodium chicken stock

Thyme

Parsley

Salt 

Pepper

Half & half

Instructions:

Cook chopped carrots, onion and garlic in a pot with olive oil and chicken stock.  When the carrots are soft, put in chooped thyme, parsley, salt and pepper.  Let the liquid simmer for 10 minutes and then put it into a blender with a half cup of cream.  Pour the liquid back into the pot and resume the simmering until serving.

Cauliflower and my newly discovered favorite: brussel sprouts