le blog de tranny

There’s something about the combination of late summer/fall produce and Paul’s hunger that really inspires to me cook. Last week I made ratatouille and butternut squash mac ‘n cheese; this week I made eggplant and zucchini parmesan. But it takes another very important ingredient to push me to make the leap from these simple one dish meals to a full-blown fall-themed feast: the collaboration of friends. On Sunday (Halloween), our house and Matt & Jane’s house joined forces and cooked up an autumn supper for 8. The menu, which C, J and I had been discussing here and there throughout the week prior, made good use of the autumn gourds and tree fruits:

~ Romaine stuffed with arugula, persimmon, apple, walnuts and stilton, balsamic vinaigrette
~ Butternut squash risotto with spinach and sage
~ Roasted cornish game hen with thyme and prosciutto, shallot and fig compote
~ Pumpkin creme brulee

To be honest, I almost missed out on helping cook this meal! Paul and I had been at a rave til 7.00am the night before and by the time I woke up on Sunday, at the ripe hour of 3.00pm, Caroline had already gone grocery shopping, made the creme brulee (minus the hard caramel top) and finalized the concept for the salad. Jane and Matt had the risotto under control — the cream-free type with roasted butternut squash flavored with cumin, copious amounts of fresh parmesan, and fresh sage. (Did you know that if you cook risotto *correctly* you shouldn’t need to add cream at the end because the starch coming off the rice will give the risotto a creamy texture anyway?) The only task left that was not completely claimed was preparing the hens! After a bloody mary or two and some Giants v. Rangers to take the evening edge off, I frantically bought some very overpriced candy at New Star El (you know, for the children; my shithead friends ended up eating most of it anyway) and soared home to find Caro halving the hens, after which I took over because I was eager to contribute and Caro had friends to entertain, a mango lassi house guest for one. (When it comes to meat I usually man the stovetop while she mans the grill in any case.)

Cook’s Notes (mostly for my benefit).

Halve the hens. (Half a hen per person did us just fine). Fry the chopped prosciutto (or bacon or pancetta) in a drizzle of oil, remove and set aside. Using the frying-grease pan, melt a few tablespoons of butter. Brown the hens, seasoning with s&p, on both sides, for about 3-4 minutes per side. After browning each batch, remove the hens to a bowl or plate off to the side, and scrape up the brown bits in the
pan. Once all the hens have been browned, arrange them on a baking sheet in one layer and sprinkle a good amount of fresh thyme over the top, perhaps even seasoning with s&p one last time. Spoon juices that have collected from the browned hens in that bowl or plate over the hens. Bake at 450-500 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the fig compote. Melt half a stick of butter in a heavy bottomed pan and then saute some chopped shallot, over medium-low heat, until soft. Add 3-4ish (small) palmfuls of sugar and 8-10 figs (halved and thickly sliced). Cook on medium-low to low heat, adding red wine from your own glass intermittently (I used 2/3 to 3/4 a cup total maybe? for a total cooking time of like 15 minutes – does that make it a “quick” compote?). Adding more wine or using more figs might’ve been smart — the distribution of compote over the 8 hens was a bit sparse.

When the hens are done, remove them from the oven, top each one with prosciutto and then pour some of the compote over the top.

I got a few burns but you know what? EVERYTHING TASTED GREAT. It’s so nice to have best friends who are reliably excellent cooks. Adult Halloween > Little Kid Halloween. I cannot wait for friend Thanksgiving this year!

Next our on list of kitchen gadgets to buy: a blowtorch.