It's hard to believe that it is another French Friday with Dorie and that we have been cooking together together for over a year now! I have learned so much this past year of cooking through Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. There have been so many good recipes and meals this past year that have brought me and my family so much pleasure and have certainly helped me hone my culinary skills. I don't often fix a whole chicken or bird and even though I have seen the technique, I have never fixed a bird en crapaudine, or spatchcocked, but it is a wonderful way of cooking the bird evenly.
For this recipe, you make the olive tapenade. I used California black olives and even used half of an anchovy, a little rosemary and thyme. Added a pinch of cayenne pepper, some lemon juice, and extra-virgin olive oil. You put the tapenade under the breast skin of the cornish hen after you have removed its backbone and flattened it to put in the pan.
Twenty-five minutes later, you have a perfectly cooked cornish hen. Even though I served it rustic-style, it made a delicious and elegant dinner.
I served it with some roasted vegetables and green lentils (recipe from the October issue of Whole Living) which went perfectly with the cornish hen and olive tapenade. One bird was just enough for the two of us and John thought it was a great meal. This is definitely something I will make again. I can't wait to read what the other FFwDorie members thought about this week's recipe. You can check out their olive-olive cornish hens by visiting the French Friday with Dorie link.
That does look very tasty. We roast a chicken almost every week. Do you think this would work with chicken? The DH does not like game hen.
ReplyDeleteHi, Ronda! Yes, absolutely it would work beautifully with chicken. I think you and DH would enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI must say that all of your little recipe upgrades sounded quite tasty. I thought that this was a great method for cooking chicken (loved all that crispy skin) and one that I will definitely use again.
ReplyDeleteLove your photo of the skillet - beautiful presentation!
ReplyDeleteSO beautiful in the cast iron skillet! Yes, it's hard to believe we've been cooking together for over a year...and so many recipes to go! Have a great weekend~
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of roasting the hen in a cast iron skillet. It looks great that way!
ReplyDeleteYour hen looks perfect, love the skillet too.
ReplyDeleteYour hen looks delicious. I love the picture of it in the cast iron pan!
ReplyDeleteWow - Doristas for an entire year! That is hard to believe - but, I agree, we seem to all have grown as chefs, bakers, and bloggers! Your hens look great. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful job! I love your photos.
ReplyDeleteAll the herbs and tapenade and side dishes make the hen look even more delicious! Great post!
ReplyDeleteYour meal looks yummy, I love olive tapenade and herbs so I think this will be a recipe I will try;-)
ReplyDeleteThis does sound and look incredibly delicious. I have never tried chicken or similar birds with tapenade, not yet anyway!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty cast iron skillet! I'll bet its perfectly seasoned :-)
ReplyDeleteI did find that I liked the tapenade addition to the chicken. I may not do a lot more "spatchcocking", but the flavor combo is sure to pop up again.
The cast iron skillet looks perfect for one game hen! Instant presentation, too. I loved the flavour of this dish. The tapenade was the perfect seasoning.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe it's been one year! I'm so glad I joined French Fridays - reading everyone's posts has been the best part.
Your side dish looks delicious, and I love the skillet. I wish I had thought of that!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the learning process. I have been cooking for almost 60 years now, and have enjoyed the last year so much. You are never to old to learn. Tricia and I enjoyed our trip very much, but we always have fun whatever we are doing, and we also enjoyed this recipe. I will definitely make it again.
ReplyDelete:) The last time I cooked a game hen was in Seattle... years ago. This looks fabulous! I'm so glad you are stretching the culinary skills - what a delight to see! That cast iron pan filled-game hen looks so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking bird! I loved this one.
ReplyDeletethis dish is so delicious that I am going to make this for my coming pot bless :) yours look delish too :)
ReplyDeleteWe liked this one too, but in the end the tapenade was overpowering for both of us and we could do without it next time. I loved the crispy skin though, did you? The lemon on it made it over the top amazing.... I even tried to steal some crispy skin from my husbands bird but he caught me. LOL!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was kidsitting with my grandsons I did make this one but have not posted it yet. We really enjoyed it, I cheated and bought a jar of tapenade....kudos for making your own. I have never used this technique before but was very pleased with the way the hens cooked. Your dinner looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteCooking a chicken in a cast iron skillet is great, I love to do that! I bet the green lentils were great with this. Yum.
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine, I could have sworn that I commented on this post earlier. I'm planning to make the roasted vegetables with lentils for dinner tonight. Can you eat the skin on the acorn squash or do you just cut it off when you eat the final dish? Hope you're having a lovely weekend. The sun is shining here. Thanks!
ReplyDelete