Plum-Glazed Hens

Plum-Glazed Hens

Serves 4

Published in: Baton Rouge Advocate

3 Cornish hens (or 2)
1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
3/4 cup plum jam
1 packages dried onion soup mix (1.25-oz.)
2 kiwis -- peeled and sliced

Put hens in slow cooker. Sprinkle
with pepper flakes. Mix jam and soup
mix together. Glaze hens with mixture,
reserving ø cup in refrigerator
for later glazing. Cook on Low for
7 hours. Re-glaze hens with
refrigerated jam mixture. Continue
cooking on Low for one more hour.
Garnish with sliced kiwis.

People often overlook Cornish hens
when it comes to slow cooking. They
shouldn't because the small-size whole
hens cook beautifully in a slow
cooker. You can typically fit three
in one of the oval-shaped 4-quart
cookers, which is enough to feed a
family. I like to experiment with
combining various fruits with the tiny
hens as they cook. A good quality
plum jam and slices of kiwi are good
choices. Apricot halves also work
well. Don't put the frozen hens in the
slow cooker. Defrost hens in the
refrigerator overnight before slow
cooking the next day and remember to
re-glaze with a bit of the reserved
onion/plum mixture about one hour
before serving.