This week, I attended a class on recipes featuring Cornish hens or duck (mostly duck) at Las Cosas. We were a small class of five people. I worked on the Mole Verde Hen.
Class Description: Tired of the same old chicken dishes, year in and year out? Want to try a new recipe for your holiday dinners? Tonight we run completely afowl with a menu featuring the delicious flavors of duck and Cornish game hens. Our menu includes: Duck Fat French Fries, Tea Smoked Duck with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes, Hen Confit Salad with Cranberries, Quick Peking Duck with Scallion Pancakes, and Mole Verde Hen with Cilantro Rice. Quack, Quack. (Hands-On)
Mole Verde Hen
I worked on the mole verde which was a pumpkin seed (or pepita) mole. Per usual, the ingredients were measured out on a tray.
I shucked and quartered the tomatillos.
Then they simmered in a pot with chicken broth for five minutes.
I made a mistake here. I chopped the jalapeño and poblano pepper before reading that I was supposed to roast them whole. So they got roasted as cut up pieces. And then I had to peel the blackened parts off. It was much harder than it would have been if they had been roasted whole.
Next I sautéed the pepitas and shallots.
I put the tomatillos, shallots with oil, and pepitas into the blender.
Added the cumin and Mexican oregano.
And finally the cilantro leaves.
The recipe asked for chicken stock to be added to the blender which was confusing since it also said to discard the stock that the tomatillos were simmered in. We added chicken stock and I blended it until very smooth.
The Cornish hen was baked in the oven and I am unsure of what preparation was involved. We warmed up the mole and the chicken in a skillet.
Then we moved it over to a casserole dish and sprinkled some whole pepitas on top.
The Other Menu Items
Duck Fat French Fries – vegetable oil, potatoes, salt, duck fat oil spray, thyme.
Tea Smoked Duck with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
Tea Smoked Duck – duck, jasmine tea leaves, wood chips, sesame oil, honey, and soy sauce.
Wasabi Mashed Potatoes – potatoes, sour cream, unsalted butter, buttermilk, wasabi, salt, and white pepper.
Duck Confit Salad with Cranberries
Duck Confit – salt, garlic, shallot, thyme, black pepper, duck leg quarters, duck wings, and duck fat.
Warm Salad of Wilted Spinach and Apples – olive oil, bacon, shallots, baby spinach (or mixed greens), Dijon mustard, sherry vinegar, Granny Smith apples, black pepper, and dried cranberries.
Quick Peking Duck with Scallion Pancakes
Quick Peking Duck – whole duck, kosher salt, black pepper, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and plum wine or dry sherry.
Scallion Pancakes – all purpose flour, hot water, salt, scallions, and peanut oil.
Cilantro Rice – poblano chiles, white onion, parsley, cilantro, chicken broth, long grain white rice, vegetable oil, and salt.
If Only This Were Springfield 