Filed under New York · Print This Post
My greatest discovery the past couple of years is taking the Metro-North train to get out of the city from the 125th Street Harlem station. I’ve already picked cherries in Dutchess County this past summer and I just came back from a weekend hike in Beacon. During that hike, the leaves were already turning up in the mountains. I wanted to take my parents to see the same view, but on a much less grueling excursion.
The Metro-North’s 4th annual fall foliage trip was touted on subway billboards. I bought tickets for the three of us just in time for the season’s peak. Unfortunately, it rained the entire day, although a lot of people still showed up from three stops: Grand Central, 125th Street and Tarrytown. We all boarded a special train with a tour guide telling us about the towns and sights we were passing by. It was wet and gray outside, but the orange and red leaves were still showing through the haze.
Despite carrying our umbrellas to protect us from the rain, my parents were still good sports. We spent a few hours in the town of Cold Spring going in and out of antique stores and buying produce from the farmers’ market, with only a break to eat pizza for lunch on Chestnut Street. We took photos in the river front’s gazebo, at the park and on the church grounds. My mom was tickled by the 10-cent trolley ride up Main Street.
The rain let up an hour before we had to meet at the train station for our ride back to the city, but we were able to stop by the pumpkin carving event set up by Scenic Hudson, an environmental group focused on the Hudson River Valley. We didn’t carve any of the pumpkins, but it didn’t stop the organizers from giving my dad the discarded seeds and our own giant pumpkin to take home.
Related post/s:
Rainy Fall Foliage trip to Cold Spring photos on Flickr
Next stop up: Beacon
Further north is Dutchess County
Filed under Chicken · Print This Post
I could barely cut the carrots after my bootcamp workout, but I was determined to eat after preparing and cooking this dish for an hour.
I was looking through my archives and remembered how robust the rice mixture was in the Greek gemista, or stuffed tomatoes, recipe. I wanted that smell of herbs and raisins together, but I also wanted to eat, believe it or not, chicken. Cornish hens were on sale in my supermarket, so I ended up picking them instead. They’re smaller and takes less time to cook anyway. I called my mother to make sure there were still raisins in the cupboard. She also had walnuts handy, so I used them in lieu of almonds or pine nuts.
The great thing about stuffing is that you can use almost anything. If I found leftover bacon in the fridge–yeah, right–I would use them; same for chopped Chinese sausages or sautéed ground meat. I threw in arugula and baby carrots for more festive coloring. The result? Fragrant rice-stuffed Cornish hens a month before Thanksgiving.
Ingredients:
2 Cornish hens, washed thoroughly and dried with paper towels
2 cups cooked rice
1 small carrot, roughly chopped
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, crushed
2 handfuls of arugula
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsps pomegranate molasses
2 tbsps chili powder
salt, pepper, oil
1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a small bowl, mix some oil and chili powder with salt and pepper until pasty. Spread paste all over hens using a spatula. Let marinate while you prepare the rice mixture.
2. To prepare the rice mixture, sauté garlic and shallots in some hot oil. Add carrots and cook until tender. Add arugula and mix until wilted. Add the rice, raisins and walnuts. Mix well. Season with some salt, pepper and molasses. Toss for a few more minutes until all the flavors have penetrated the rice. Remove from heat.
3. Spoon some rice mixture a little at a time and stuff the inside of the hens. Use a spatula to make sure you get as much rice in the hens as possible, but without over-stuffing. Transfer stuffed hens to a baking dish and bake for 45 minutes, turning after 20, or until clear juice comes out of the thighs when pierced with a fork. Switch the oven to broil and brown the hens for 8 extra minutes.
Related post/s:
Gemista, or stuffed tomatoes Greek style
I do like my Cornish hens and pomegranate molasses
