Yesterday I made Four Winds Le Petite Poussin using a Cornish Game Hen Tom had purchased (because our chickens were all too big) and our own pork sausage. I started the wild rice around 4:00 PM while I was new beagle sitting and Tom was working. I cooked the bird in the oven on broiler setting at 400 degrees around 30 minutes while I made the stuffing. The bird did not seem quite done but in reading about chicken steeping I thought it would be OK. I place the bird in the casserole and placed the hot rice stuffing over it with some wine and let it steep 10 minutes. Here it is in the casserole:
After this it still was not done. My thermometer said 190 degrees, but it was hard to tell where I was stabbing it under all the rice. When we cut it open it was still red. So I cooked it another 30 minutes in the covered casserole in the oven at 350 degrees. Still not done. Then cooked it another 30 minutes and it was perfect. The meat was so tender and the stuffing very flavorful. Here it is on the plate:
This was by far the best dish from this book for me so far. Tom still likes the steak and potato meal better. We ate it while watching Monday Night Football, and I went back for seconds. I will definitely make this again.
The story of the Four Winds restaurant is the saddest so far. Read about it at http://www.evergreenfleet.com/mvballard.html and at http://pauldorpat.com/seattle-now-and-then/seattle-now-then-the-four-winds/, especially the part where “its piano floated around the cocktail lounge”.
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