UUMMMM, GRILLED CORNISH HEN BY CHEFS KEN AND FAYE

Sun. Jun 05 – This article is dedicated to Mitch and Barb, Keith and Marie, and Joe and Pam, the best RV Chefs we know!! It is also for everyone else who wants to prepare an elegant, delicious entrée on the grill– and it’s soooo easy!!!

I know our favorite RV Chefs mentioned above have probably prepared Cornish Hen many times, but Ken and I have never even thought about it, believing Cornish Hen was beyond our skill level! One day in WINCO, we saw frozen Cornish Hen, and we thought the price was right – we should give it a try! The plan was to have them for Easter Dinner, but something else came up.

We finally prepared the Hens this Sunday afternoon. This is the recipe we used. I got it from Cooks.com. It was wonderful!!!

Grilled Cornish Game Hens

Quote on the website: “I love grilled game hens. In fact, I won't cook them any other way. In this recipe you split the game hens in half which makes them easier and quicker to grill. Splitting the game hens is easy, just cut through the breast then flip it over the cut down one side of the backbone. It is really easy if you use a pair of kitchen shears.”

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 65 minutes

Yield: Serves 2

GRILLED CORNISH HEN RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 2 Cornish game hens (1 to 1 -1/2 pounds each)
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Remove giblets and reserve. Split game hens in half lengthwise. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. In a small bowl combine lemon juice, pepper salt and olive oil. Place hens in a shallow baking dish and pour marinade over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Preheat grill and prepare for indirect grilling. Remove hens from marinade and place on grill, skin side up away from the direct heat. Baste with remaining marinade during while cooking. Hens should take about 45 minutes. Test for doneness before removing from grill.

Note: We used gallon Ziploc bags to marinade the hens, The recipe did not call for flipping on the grill but Ken flipped the hens for the last 15 minutes of grill time.

This is a picture after we had eaten our fill!! I didn’t think of taking a picture until too late.

We were quite impressed with our own success!! Give it a try – you’ll like it, too!!

FALLING SKIES – NEW TV SERIES BY SPEILBERG AND NIKI!!

“Falling Skies” is a new TV Series by Steven Speilberg. The premier is on Sunday, June 19^th on TNT. Ken’s granddaughter, Niki, works with the Spielberg Studio and was involved in the creation of the series. Neat, Niki!!

“Falling Skies” appears to be a SciFi, Futuristic series. We will definitely watch the Premier on Sunday the 19^th but it may not be our “cup of tea”! Although, we do sometimes watch SciFi -- “The Event” and “V”, and Ken is waiting for the return of “The Walking Dead” – all SciFi.

Don't forget -- Sunday the 19th on TNT -- "Falling Skies"!!

BEAUTIFUL RED ROCKS IN SEDONA, AZ

Jun 03 – We’ve been at TT Verde Valley since the middle of April, and this is the first time we have driven into Sedona, a very popular tourist Mecca because of the beautiful Red Rocks and because Sedona is believed by many to be a vortex meditation site, places of power in the red rocks that enhance prayer, contemplation, and reflection.

We drove in for a few hours today and would like to share some of the beauty.

Here we are up on Airport Road Overlook. We've been to Sedona many times but never have been up here. We met a nice Hispanic family. We took their picture, and they took ours. Then they wanted to use their camera to take a picture of their kids with us!!! Amazing!!!

A NEW GROUP OF NEW PICKLEBALL FRIENDS, TT VERDE VALLEY

May 27 - June 1 - We returned to TT Verde Valley on Wednesday, June 25, after our week out in Payson, AZ. On Thursday morning we had an appointment in Cottonwood, and did not get over to the Pickleball courts. On Friday the 27th, when we arrived at the courts, there was a whole new group of new Pickleball players. Five rigs are traveling the country together and had arrived at TT Verde Valley while were were away. They knew about the game of Pickleball but none of them had ever tried to play. They decided now was the time to try -- and they LOVE it!!

The group invited us, and other players we already knew, to join them at a Happy Hour later Friday afternoon. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

The Men:

Front Row, Left to Right: Ed, Paul, Alan, Ken Second Row: Greg, Carl, Jack, Big Ed standing Third Row: Don, Keith, Larry

The Women:

Front Row, Left to Right: Diane, Jeannie, Faye, Sue our hostess, Trudy Second Row: Linda, Roberta, Elaine, Leona Standing: Sandy

The group is very fortunate that Keith is at Verde Valley and gladly shared his Pickleball knowledge. On Saturday morning, he had lessons for some of the new players.

Larry, Linda, Keith, Elaine

Keith and Elaine. This time I'm not in the Kitchen!!!

Larry lunges for a ball while Linda watches.

Another foursome played on the other court. Here is Don and Jeannie.

And Jack and Sue.

Great game. That was fun!

Other action during the week. Carl and Leona.

Greg and Linda.

The guys had a foursome. Ken, Carl, Don and Ed.

And the girls had a game. Diane, Faye, Leona, and Don agreed to be a girlie girl.

You'll notice all the new players are using Spike's new ZZT Sports paddles. That is what they sell at the TT Verde Valley Store. The name ZZT stands for the first score called in every Pickleball match -- Zero, Zero, Two.

Carl and Leona are leaving on Thursday, so they decided to have a Happy Hour on Wednesday. In an earlier discussion, the group had decided to share "wacky" sandwiches. We had peanut butter with Miracle Whip and bananas; peanut butter with mustard and mayo; peanut butter and pickles, peanut butter and sugar; radish sandwiches, and I don't know what all. We brought "Flaming Hots" and Wasabi Peas to heat things up.

During the Happy Hour, Sue presented the group with Pickleball name paddles that she had gotten from Trudy and Alan.

After that we conducted a Pickle Penning Ceremony in recognition of the new players' enjoyment of Pickleball! They are facing the Pickleball courts and pledging to play, enjoy, and promote the game of Pickleball at every opportunity!

It's been great meeting you guys!! See you on the courts!!!