I’m so happy that I have Sunny’s Thanksgiving Dinner for Two recipe. I mentioned on social media that out of an abundance of caution, I’ve decided not to go home for Thanksgiving. Given the extreme rise in Coronavirus cases, I thought not traveling would be safer for me & my family. It will definitely be sad not spending the holiday with my family, but I’m okay with that if it means not putting myself & my loved ones at risk. And there are so many Americans who have had to make that same difficult decision during this pandemic.
But not traveling doesn’t mean that we have to miss out on Thanksgiving dinner. So I decided to reach out to my friend Sunny Anderson from the Food Network to see if she had any dinner for one or two recipes for Thanksgiving. Turns out, she did!
Ironically, the photo above of Sunny and me in New York City years ago showed up in my Facebook memories today. Ironic because I reached out to Sunny for recipe advice today. I wanted the kind of recipe that would make me feel like I was having Thanksgiving dinner, but without having a ton of leftovers since I’m just cooking for myself. So when Sunny shared her recipe for Grilled Cornish Hens and Veggies, I thought it was perfect. The recipe feeds two and doesn’t require a ton of ingredients or time. So I decided that this would be my Thanksgiving dinner. Sunny also suggested that I grab a pie at a bakery for dessert…That way, I would be supporting a small business and spending less time in the kitchen. I asked Sunny if I could share her recipe with you and she gave me full permission. Keep scrolling down for the recipe, the list of ingredients and cooking instructions.
Sunny’s Grilled Cornish Hens & Veggies recipe is easy to execute and only requires 1 hour and 5 minutes cooking and resting time. Here’s what you’ll need:
-nonstick aluminum foil
-1 cup baby carrots, sliced in halved lengthwise
-2 tablespoons honey
-2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
-1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
-10 to 12 ounces Brussels sprouts, frozen and thawed or fresh, quartered
-8 Red Bliss potatoes, halved
-Zest and juice of 1 lemon
-Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
-Two 1- to 2-pound Cornish hens, at room temperature, patted dry
-Hungarian paprika, for dusting
-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
-4 sprigs fresh thyme
Here are the cooking directions…
(1) Preheat the oven or grill for cooking on indirect heat at 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.
(2) Combine the baby carrots, honey, olive oil, Italian seasoning, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, lemon zest, salt, pepper and juice of 1/2 lemon in a large bowl. Toss to coat and distribute evenly around the edges of the lined baking sheet.
(3) Place the hens in the middle of the baking sheet. Brush each hen with olive oil all over, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and Hungarian paprika to taste. Stuff each hen with the rosemary and thyme.
(4) Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven or above the indirect heat of the grill. Roast until the hens reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees F and the veggies are caramelized, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the grill or oven and allow the hens to rest until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 5 minutes. Spritz with juice from the remaining lemon half before serving.
Thanks again to Sunny Anderson for graciously sharing this Thanksgiving recipe with us. Be sure to head to the Food Network’s site for more of Sunny’s yummy recipes. Listen…We could focus on how sad it is not to spend Thanksgiving with the family, or we could focus on the fact that we are blessed to have our good health during these uncertain times. So let’s focus on our blessings–including the fact that we have food to eat–and celebrate Thanksgiving by cooking this meal & FaceTiming or Zooming with our family on Thanksgiving. As always, I love you for stopping by. Be sure, to follow me across social media & subscribe to my podcast at the links below…
-Find my Facebook fan page, All The Rage With Shelley Wade, and like it!
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