RecipeFrom A Past Edition Of
The New Orleans Menu Daily
By Tom Fitzmorris
Poussin Paradis

This is not named for the little town down on US 90, but for Paradise--which is what the sauce is supposed to suggest. When I first dined at Antoine's in the early 1970s, its menu had a dish called pigeonneaux sauce Paradis. Squab was out of vogue then, though, so shortly after that they moved the sauce onto chicken. Now that squab is available and liked by lots of people, it would be nice for the old dish to return.

I like the sauce with almost any bird. I suggest using poussins--very young chickens, under three pounds. Cornish game hens also work well. The recipe calls for pepper jelly, but taste it first: it shouldn't be lip-blistering hot. If very hot is all you have, substitute something like apple jelly for half of it.
  • 4 poussins or Cornish game hens
  • 1 apple, cut into eighths
  • 1 orange, cut into eighths
  • Creole seasoning
  • Salt
Sauce:
  • 1/4 cup finely-chopped sweet onions
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups intense duck, turkey, or chicken stock
  • 1 cup tawny port
  • 1 Tbs. pepper jelly (not too spicy!)
  • About 20 red seedless grapes, cut in half
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
1. Stuff the cavities of the birds with the apple and orange sections. Season with Creole seasoning and salt. Place on a roasting pan, breast side down, and put in the oven. Immediately lower the oven temperature to 350. Roast for 45 minutes, then turn up the heat to 425 for a final five minutes. The internal temperature should be about 175 on a meat thermometer shoved into the thigh.

2. While the birds are in the oven, make the sauce. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, saute the onions, stirring often, until they become light brown uniformly.

3. Add the butter and flour, and make a blond roux.

4. Whisk in the tawny port. Bring it to a boil and hold it there, whisking often, until the liquid is reduced by half.

5. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Dissolve the pepper jelly into the sauce, then strain.

6. Return the sauce to a very light simmer, and add the grapes. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed.

7. Place a whole roasted Cornish hen on each dinner plate, and serve the sauce around it.

Serves four.


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