Creating Our Own Thanksgiving Traditions

So often during the Holidays, we celebrate far away from home with relatives. While I enjoy visiting extended family, I do miss developing special holiday traditions of our own. This year, we'll celebrate our family Thanksgiving on Friday the day after the holiday. Instead of making the traditional turkey dinner, I'll prepare a more simple meal. Roasted game hens seasoned with a mixture of savory and sweet Moroccan spices will serve as the main course. Keeping with the Middle Eastern theme, couscous is served on the side spruced up for Thanksgiving with dried cranberries. Steamed carrots, a green salad, and store bought pumpkin pie make this a memorable meal without a lot fuss in the kitchen.

To set this meal apart, we'll get dressed up in our Sunday clothes, we'll set the table with our good china, we'll use our best table manners, we'll light the candles and we'll count our blessings.

Moroccan Game Hens
Time to table: 35 minutes
Serves 2 adults and 2-4 children

Canola oil
1 teaspoon dried orange peel or freshly grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom or cloves
2 Cornish game hens

GROWN-UPS
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Set oven temperature to 450 degrees. Oil a large baking dish and place in the oven to preheat. Mix the orange peel, garlic powder, coriander, cinnamon, salt, allspice, and cardamom together. Rinse the game hens and discard the giblets or save for another use. Cut the hens in half with a sturdy knife. Trim away excess fat and discard. Lightly season the children's portion with the spice mixture or just salt according to their tastes. Add the white pepper and cayenne to the mixture and season the adult portions. Lift the skin from the breast area and push the seasonings underneath.

Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Place the hens in the dish. The baking dish will be very hot and the hens will sizzle. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.

Calories without skin 240; Calories from fat 80; Total fat 9g; Saturated fat 2.5g; Cholesterol 110mg; Sodium 540mg; Carbohydrate 0g; Dietary fiber 0g; Sugars 0g; Protein 36g

Orange Cranberry Couscous
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 2 adults and 2 children

1-1/3 cup orange juice
1/8 teaspoon ground Spanish saffron
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

GROWN-UPS
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Mix the orange juice, saffron and salt together in a micro-safe dish. Microwave for 2-3 minutes until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in the cranberries and pine nuts. Transfer the children's portions to their plates. Stir in the green onions and cilantro to the remaining portion.

Calories 250; Calories from fat 20; Total fat 2.5g; Saturated fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 150mg; Carbohydrate 48g; Dietary fiber 3g; Sugars 14g; Protein 7g

Kristene Fortier, author of The Whole Family Cookbook lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Send questions or tips to pickykids@aol.com and while online visit www.healthykitchen.com.

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