Game Hens in Chocolate Sauce

Categories: Game | Poultry

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Stephen Ceideburg
4 Game hens
Salt, pepper to taste
Olive oil
4 Garlic cloves, finely
-chopped
1 tb Red wine vinegar
3 c Chicken stock
1/2 c Dry vermouth
2 White onions, coarsely
-chopped
2 Not-too-ripe Bosc pears,
-peeled, halved, cored
12 To 16 whole chestnuts
-(prepared, from ajar)
2 oz Bitter chocolate, grated
8 Triangles of fried bread
-(see note)
Raisins, chopped parsley
-for garnish

Instructions:
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

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