I know that I'm cooking dressing and black-eye peas on Christmas(for hubby), but what else would go with that?!
Answers: Looking for ideas for the meat. Don't like turkey and we had a ham Thanksgving. Also looking for some desert ideas, something a little healthy.
What about cornish hens, you can find them in the frozen food section...they tast similar to chicken/duck....1 hen per person..they are usually sold by 2's
Baked Cornish Hens
4 Cornish hens
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried thyme or dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, crushed
white wine or dry sherry (not cooking sherry)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Rub hens with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Combine the remaining butter and other ingredients and use to baste hens liberally. Use all the butter mixture.
Bake at 350°F degrees for 1 hour, basting with the butter mixture every 15 minutes.
OR TRY....
3 Cornish hens, about 1-1/2 pounds each
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 lemon, cut into 6 pieces
Fresh whole sage leaves, or dried rubbed sage
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
Preheat oven to 400° F. Use your fingers to gently loosen the skin of the birds from the meat. Place a whole sage leaf under the skin on each breast half (or rub in the dried sage). Stuff each hen with 2 cloves of garlic, 2 lemon pieces and a little more sage. Rub olive oil all over the skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a small, shallow roasting pan and roast, basting occasionally, about 50 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a fork. Remove from pan and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the roasting pan over high heat. Add the broth and wine. Cook until reduced by about one-half, scraping any browned bits from the bottom. Remove the lemon and garlic from the hen cavities. Cut each into halves lengthwise. Serve immediately, spooning a little sauce on each. You can figure 1 hen per person
Note: If the hens contain the gizzards and necks, remove them and cook in about 2 cups water seasoned with salt and pepper until done, about 45 minutes. Use that instead of the chicken broth.
You could make cornbread, have some type of greens for a vegetable.
For dessert try..
Coffee Liqueur Clouds - serves 5
3/4 cup part- skim ricotta cheese
2 tbsp Mock Whipped Cream
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp coffee liqueur
3 tbsp confectioners sugar
1 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
Garnish:
ground cinnamon
In a blender or the workbowl of a food proccesor fitted with a metal blande, thoroughly mix ricotta cheese, Mock Whipped Cream, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, confectioners sugar and coffee liqueur.
Blend until smooth. Set aside.
Divide mandarin oranges evenly into five dessert dishes, and top each with 1/2 cup of cheese mixture.
Garnish with ground cinnamon. Serve chilled.
Ham would be good, but if you're tired of that, how about chicken?
Fried chicken is delicious, but if you don't want that, then Google "chicken recipes." There are hundreds of different ways to make chicken.
My mother-in-law always roasted a goose at Christmas, but I must warn you, it is greasy. How about a nice standing rib roast, also known as prime rib. I love prime rib. For a healthy dessert, fix a nice fresh fruit compote (mixed fruit, peeled and pared) with just a dab of whipped cream on top. If you can't find fresh, rinse the syrup off some canned or frozen fruit.