I was asked to create a galley-prepared feast for Chesapeake Bay Magazine’s Holiday Issue, featuring cooking onboard. My go-to entree for galley ovens are Cornish hens. I’ve cooked whole roasted chickens, turkeys, even a duck in my little Force 10 oven. But not knowing what oven our readers use I try to play it safe, using the smallest of birds.

But this recipe is not about the birds. We have lots of Cornish hen recipes on this site. These were cleaned, trussed, seasoned and roasted for about an 1 1/2 hours. No real instructions needed. This recipe, however, is about the side dish; a wonderful Wild Rice Pilaf with pecans and dried cranberries, perfect for the holidays.

Since the recipe was created for publication rather than a website I don’t have any step-by-step visuals. But this is so easy you won’t need them.

You can see a Force 10 oven is perfect for roasting 4 Cornish hens at a time. They are such a fancy feast, your guests will be pleasantly surprised that these were all cooked on a sailboat.

PRINT RECIPE

Wild Rice Pilaf

The perfect holiday rice to go with Cornish hens, roast chicken or turkey

Author: GalleyPirate

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Butter
• 1 tbsp EVOO
• 1 Onion, medium size
• 2-3 Celery stalks
• 2 tsp Herbs of Provence
• 1 tsp Rubbed sage
• 1½ cups Wild rice blend, such as Lundberg
• ⅔ cup Minnesota wild rice
• ½ cup Pecan halves
• ½ cup Dried cranberries (Craisins)
• 3½ cups Water
• 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon, Roast Chicken, more or less to taste

Instructions

• Soak the Minnesota wild rice in water for ½-1 hour
• While the rice is soaking, chop the onion and celery. In a large fry pan, melt the butter and olive oil and sauté the onion and celery until soft.
• Once the vegetables are soft, add the Herbs of Provence and sage. Fold in the pecan halves and Craisins and set aside.
• Drain the Minnesota wild rice. In a large pot combine both the Wild Rice Blend and the Minnesota wild rice, the 3½ cups or water and the Better Than Bouillon, Roast Chicken. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low. Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 45 minutes or until tender.
• Take the rice off the heat and let set for 5-10 minutes
• Fold the onion, celery, pecan and Craisins mixture into the rice.
• Once it's combined, it's ready to served. It can be served warm or at room temperature.

Notes