A REFLECTIVE MOMENT

Just a breather here before my next recipe. Yesterday we buried my Uncle Ted. He was 95 years old and had a complete, zestful life. (btw, attending the funeral was his older brother who is now 98!)
This sad day led me to reflect on some very happy times I had while growing up. Thinking back on those days, I can remember spending summers at his house with my cousins Bob & Dale who are 2 and 1 year older than me, respectively. I'm sure I didn't spend entire summers there but the memories are so strong that it certainly seems that way.
And then something hit me! I had two wonderful uncles who were great cooks! In the days when I grew up, the only cooking models were women. But I had two uncles who told me (albeit only through their example) that men could cook, should cook and could be good cooks! The fact that I was mentored in this way had never occurred to me before. Wow!


Uncle Ted



Uncle Ted, of course, loved grilling, making sausages and gardening fresh vegetables, to mention only a few of his "foodly" activities. His was such a powerful personality that he made me want to try something I had never even dreamed of eating before, especially when I was much younger.

Uncle Frank

My Uncle Frank was from Louisiana and had a very laid back personality. His wit was deep, sometimes requiring a long time for me to laugh out loud (the original lol), suddenly getting the point of some comment he made hours or days before. Every Sunday morning, after church, most of Uncle Frank's relatives would visit his house where there were two huge restaurant sized kettles of tomato sauce simmering away on his large stove. Uncle Frank's sauce was stupendous! Made only from his own tomatoes, canned from his large garden, and filled with everything from pork hocks to whole chickens! It was a flavor unlike anything I have ever eaten. I would eat two bowls of spaghetti at his house and then come home for my mother's, much more tame (although equally enjoyable), sauce. Noon at Uncle Frank's and then 3o'clock at our house. I'm surprised I was such a skinny kid!



Me, a few years ago



Below is a picture of Uncle Ted talking about food with my wife Sandy and me, back in 1985.

I just needed to get all that out of me before I could continue with recipes. I hope, in the months to come, I will be able to invent a recipe for each of these favorite uncles.

BRAISED GAME HEN PERNOD

Perhaps this appears to be a strange combination or a "no-no" for people who dislike the anise flavor of Pernod. Don't be put off by this. The Pernod ends up blending well with the other flavors and is so subtle you are left with a, "Mmmm... what is that ingredient?" reaction.

 You will need about 1 to 1½ cups of chicken broth. But the good news is that most fresh game hens come with giblets included. Sometimes the frozen ones don't, so you'll have to check. If you have no giblets then any chicken or vegetable broth will do, although commercial chicken broth is sometimes too "chickenee". If you have giblets, then make your own broth by adding about half a medium onion to 2 cups of water and the giblets. Let cook uncovered for 1 or 2 hours and it will reduce to 1 or 1½ cups.



Making Broth



Main Ingredients



Ingredients

1 Cornish Game Hen

1 Onion, diced

1 Celery stalk, diced

1 Carrot, diced

2 Carrots, halved

½ cup Rice

1-1½ cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth

¼ lb Pancetta, diced

¼ cup Pernod

1-1½ cups White Wine

1 Tbs Parsley, minced

cornstarch

salt & pepper

olive oil


Equipment

Dutch Oven just large enough to hold hen

small Fry Pan for Pancetta
2 or 3 Qt Sauce Pan for the gravy (Can be used to make broth, then rice, then gravy!)

Method

 Prepare vegetables. Diced veggies are for a bed in the Dutch Oven, so they can be chopped and added right away. Carrots halved will be added when the hen is, so set aside. Parsley can be minced and placed in a small bowl to await usage.

Bring 1 cup of the Broth to a boil. Add the Rice and stir with a fork. Then simmer with lid on constantly for 25 minutes*. Remove lid and fluff up rice with a fork. There still will be liquid in the pan. Turn off burner and let rice sit, covered, for 5 or more minutes until all liquid is absorbed. *While rice is cooking for the first 25 minutes, gently sauté the Pancetta in a small amount of olive oil. Stir often. When rice is finished, stir in the Pancetta, Salt and Pepper, and enough Parsley to make a colorful complement to the Pancetta. Add the rest of the Parsley to the veggie bed in the Dutch Oven.

Pancetta

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
While oven is preheating, rinse hen and pat dry. add the Pernod to the cavity and slosh around. Season cavity with Salt and Pepper. Use a little more salt than you think necessary.

 Stuff hen with rice mixture and tie up to seal. Retain the left over rice. Place hen on bed of vegetables and place carrot halves around it. Then pour in any unused Broth, White Wine and water, if necessary, to bring liquid just up to the bottom of the Hen. Place lid on Dutch Oven and bake at 350 for 1½ hours. After one hour, check on liquid level.

Ready for the Oven

Place left-over Rice mixture in a small ovenproof crock and place into the oven during to last 10 - 15 minutes to reheat.

When Hen is done, carefully remove it and Carrot halves to an ovenproof plate or pan and place back in oven. It will brown nicely while gravy is made. You might want to cover Carrots with a little foil, to keep them looking plump.
Strain braising liquid into sauce pan and correct seasonings. Make a gravy placing pan on medium heat and whisking, in a thin stream, a mixture of cornstarch dissolved in water. Bring to gentle boil whisking (and adding) until desired thickness is attained.
With a large knife or kitchen scissors, carefully cut the Hen in half by splitting the breastbone and backbone. Place the half Hen on Carrot halves, one Hen on each of two plates, add extra Rice around Hen and drizzle with a little of the gravy. Serve remaining gravy on the side.


Game Hen Pernod

Serve with a not-too-dry White Wine, Vouvray would be a good choice. Dave