Charoses-Stuffed Cornish Hens

This is what happens when I'm making Seder for just myself.  No worries about someone else not liking it.  I can try something weird that comes to me as I'm driving home from work.

I'm usually wary about stuffing poultry.  I would never stuff a turkey, and only loosely fill a chicken with aromatics like onion and celery.  But Cornish hens are so small, and I was not planning to pack the cavity tightly.  The goal was to cook the apples halfway and get everything to a safe temperature without drying out the meat.

This did help me to meet my goal of finishing the first box of matzoh before Passover started.  It's hard for one person to go through the five-pack.  I decided on a head start, while I could still break up the monotony with real bread.

4 Cornish hens (1 lb each)
1 Gala or Fuji apple, cored and finely diced (peeling optional)
*2 Tb chopped walnuts
cinnamon to taste
2 Tb sweet red wine or grape juice
1/4 C diced onion
*1/4 C diced celery
*1/2 sheet matzoh, crumbled
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried sage
olive oil

1.  In a medium bowl, combine diced apple, walnuts, onion, celery, and matzoh.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, and the sage.  Sprinkle wine over all of the stuffing and toss one more time.

2.  Unwrap hens and open the cavity.  I rinsed mine to make sure they were fully defrosted.  Set up a roasting pan with a rack in it, two pans if needed.  Start preheating the oven to 350º.

3.  Fill each bird's cavity with about 1/2 C of the filling, or whatever it will hold without packing in tightly.  I had guessed the amount wrong and ended up with side ramekins of stuffing.  That's a perfectly acceptable way to bake it if you don't want to stuff the birds, just add water or broth to the cups if you bake it separately.

4.  Truss the legs shut, and the wings too if you're concerned about them splaying.  Rub the outer skin with oil and place breast side up in the roasting pan.  Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, and additional cinnamon if you want an extra punch.  Roast for 1 hour, or until a thermometer reaches 165º.  I'll be honest, I didn't temp mine.  After an hour, we were starting the Seder, so I turned down the oven to 140º and let them hold for an hour.  They didn't dry out and I didn't get sick, so I'm calling it a success.  Remove ties before serving.

Difficulty rating  :)