Recipe - Game Hens In Chocolate Sauce

Stephen Ceideburg
4 Game hens
Salt, pepper to taste
Olive oil
4 Garlic cloves, finely
chopped
1 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
3 cup Chicken stock
One half cup Dry vermouth
2 White onions, coarsely
chopped
2 Nottooripe Bosc pears,
peeled, halved, cored
12 To 16 whole chestnuts
(prepared, from ajar)
2 ounce Bitter chocolate, grated
8 Triangles of fried bread
(see note)
Raisins, chopped parsley
for garnish

This recipe was inspired by one using partridges that appeared in "The
Taste of Spain," by Camilla Jessel.

Season hens with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of oil in a large heavy pan
and brown the birds in it on all sides. Add garlic to pan and stir until it
takes on a pale color. Add vinegar, 2 cups of the stock, the vermouth and
onions and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover tightly and cook gently until
birds are very tender, about 1 hour.

Heat remaining cup of stock in a pan large enough to hold the pear halves.
Add pears and poach until barely tender; remove with a slotted spoon and
keep warm. Add chestnuts to poaching liquid and simmer until heated
through; remove and keep warm.

Remove birds to a heated serving platter or plates. Strain cooking liquid,
return to heat and add grated chocolate, stirring until it is a good sauce
consistency. Pour over birds and garnish with pears, chestnuts, the fried
bread, a few raisins and some chopped parsley.

Note: To make fried bread, cut crusts from 4 slices of white bread, then
cut slices diagonally to make 8 triangles. Fry quickly in a little hot oil
until golden on both sides. Drain and keep warm.

PER SERVING: 1,090 calories, 86 g protein, 52 g carbohy drate, 58 g fat
(17 g saturated), 249 mg cholesterol, 367 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

Jayne Benet writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 3/18/92.

Posted by Stephen Ceideburg

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini