First Day of Christmas

Anne's 12 Days of Christmas Recipes

 On the first day of Christmas, for my true love, I cooked...

~ A Partridge in a Pear Tree ~

 Anne presents...

Roasted Cornish Hens in a Caramelized Sage-Pear Sauce

and

Shakespeare's Saffron Warden Pear Pie

A little history to start....

The twelve days of Christmas span from Christmas day (Dec 25th) to the Epiphany (Jan 6).  The Twelfth Night is the night before the Epiphany, observed as a time of merrymaking.  The "Twelve Days of Christmas" was first published in the children's book "Mirth Without Mischief" in England in 1780 as a fun memory game played on the Twelfth Night, in which a leader recited a verse, each of the players repeated the verse, the leader added another verse, and so on until one of the players made a mistake, with the player who erred having to pay a penalty, such as offering up a kiss or a sweet.

It is considered an English carol, but the song is older than its printed version, and there are French versions that are said to be older.  It is possible that the origin is actually French, not English, especially since the red-legged partridge (from France) perches in trees more frequently than the grey partridge common in England at the time. 

Wisconsin History!

The song was imported to the United States in 1910 by Emily Brown, of the Downer Teacher's College in Milwaukee, WI, who had encountered the song in an English music store sometime before. She needed the song for the school Christmas pageant, an annual extravaganza that she was known for organizing

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Anne's Fun Facts:

Cost of Partridge in a Pear Tree (2010 Christmas Price Index) = $162
Cost of 2 Cornish Hens at Pick N Save Grocery Store = $6

A folklore claims a young maiden should walk backwards around a pear tree three times on Christmas morning.  When she gazes into the branches, she'll see the image of her future husband.

Anne's Dishes:

I knew I wasn't going to cook up a partridge or anything in the pigeon family, but I figured a small cornish hen in a pear sauce (instead of a tree) would do the trick.  I never cooked a cornish hen before, but it turned out to be the easiest part of the dish.  The pear sauce really took the majority of time and effort.  My presentation could have been prettier, but I have to say, that pear sauce tasted sublime!  I really loved it.

I really wanted to highlight the pear for the First Day of Christmas, so I took the old English history of the song and made a pear pie popular in Elizabethan England (even though Shakespeare was a couple centuries prior to the first written version).  In William Shakespeare's play A Winter’s Tale, Clown, son of the Old Shepherd who was the adoptive father of the play’s heroine Perdita, says: “I must have saffron to colour the warden pies.”   Warden is a type of pear. Saffron gives a golden-yellowish color. The saffron was likely used in the pastry of the pie, and I found a recipe that did just that.  Unfortunately, it was an actual English recipe which meant some of the measurements were in ounces which threw me off.  So I got out my electronic scale to measure.  Instead of making a large pie, I halved the recipe and baked it 20 minutes in two custard cups for two small pies.  That little pie was pretty darn good. 

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Recipes:

Roasted Cornish Hens in a Caramelized Sage-Pear Sauce
(recipe taken from internet contributor Sean Dunne)

Ingredients:
2 Cornish Hens
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pint heavy cream
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 package fresh sage (7-10 stalks)
3 Asian pears, cored and cut into pieces, tossed in juice of lemon
Juice of 1 lemon (for pears)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Bird Rub:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons gorgonzola (optional)

Directions:
Rinse hens inside and out with cold water, then pat dry.  Make the Bird Rub.  Coat the birds with vegetable oil and season heavily inside and out with the Bird Rub.  Place the hens, breast side up in a 9x13" baking dish.  Cover and cook the birds at 325º for 1 hour, 15 minutes; then turn up the heat to 500º and cook for 15 more minutes, with the birds uncovered to brown the skins.    Internal temp of birds should be 165-170º.  Take birds out of oven and let rest, covered with foil, for about 7 minutes.

As soon as the birds go in the oven, start preparing the pear sauce.

Melt the butter in a large stock pot on medium high heat so that it simmers, but doesn't burn.  Add the sage (including stalks) to the butter and simmer for about 8 minutes or until all the color is gone from the sage.   Remove all the sage and stalks.

Add the pears, stirring to coat, and cook on medium-high heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Next, stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Cover the pot and continue to cook for 50 minutes to soften the pears, stirring every 10 minutes.

Add heavy cream to the pear mixture, stirring constantly until cream starts to simmer.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend flavors.  Add salt and white pepper to the mixture and stir.   Remove pear mixture from heat and transfer to a food processor.  Puree mixture on high speed until sauce is a smooth consistency. 

Plate the birds, and ladle the pear sauce over the top.   If desired, sprinkle some Gorgonzola cheese over the birds to melt into the sauce.

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William Shakespeare's Warden Pear Pie with Saffron
(recipe taken from Internet contributor Elaine Findlay)

Ingredients:
8 oz flour
5 oz butter
2 tablespoons icing sugar
1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
4 large pears (or 8 small Warden pears)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
pinch of ground cloves

Directions:
Gently crush the strands of saffron into a cup.  Pour the warm water over the saffron, stir, and leave to steep until the water is cool.  Sift the flour and sugar together into a large bowl.  Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Put the egg yolks into a small bowl and add the cooled saffron water and beat well.  Add the egg-saffron mixture to the flour and mix well until a nice dough is formed.  Cover and leave to settle in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Peel and core the pears, and thinly slice.  Put the pears in a sauce pan, covered with water' bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until softened.  Drain and allow to cool.

Roll the saffron pastry out and use about 2/3 of it to line a greased 9" pie dish.  When the pears have cooled, spread them around the pie base and sprinkle with the brown sugar and spices.  Roll out the remaining 1/3 saffron pastry and top the pie with it, sealing the edges with a bit of water.  Sprinkle a little sugar over the top if desired.  Cut a slit in the middle of the pie crust to allow steam to escape.  Bake at 375º for 45 minutes until pastry is nicely golden and cooked through.

Note: I made only half the recipe and then divided the ingredients between two custard cups. I baked them for 20 minutes which seemed to be perfect. 

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Anne's 12 Days of Christmas Recipes  

1st Day: Partridge in Pear Tree             7th Day: Seven Swans a-Swimming
2nd Day: Two Turtledoves                    8th Day: Eight Maids a-Milking
3rd Day: Three French Hens                 9th Day: Nine Ladies Dancing
4th Day: Four Calling Birds                  10th Day: Ten Lords a-Leaping
5th Day: Five Gold Rings                     11th Day: Eleven Pipers Piping
6th Day: Six Geese a-Laying                12th Day: Twelve Drummers Drumming