Oven Roasted Stuffed Quails

Ingredients

12 boneless quail
1 cup Zinfandel red wine
One-half cup raisins
2 whole cloves
One and one-half cups cooked white rice
1 teaspoon fresh chopped ginger
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 tablespoon melted butter
Two-thirds cups chopped pecans
One-half cup melted butter
One-half cup orange juice
One-half cup cognac or brandy
1 cup seedless grapes, cut into halves
1 cup toasted pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the birds under cold water, then dry with paper towels. In a saucepan, combine the Zinfandel, raisins and cloves and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes. Strain mixture and discard the cloves, reserving the wine and raisins. In a mixing bowl, combine the raisins, rice, ginger, orange peel, pecans and one tablespoon of the butter. Mix well and use the mixture to stuff each quail. Place the quail in a shallow roasting pan and brush with some of the remaining melted butter and bake for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the butter, orange juice and Zinfandel, reduce the heat to 300 and bake for another 25 minutes, basting frequently. Remove from the oven and keep the quail warm.

Add the seedless grapes to the pan gravy, spoon over the quail, top with toasted pine nuts. Just before serving, carefully heat the cognac/brandy in a ladle, pour over the birds and ignite. Serve at once with wild rice or pasta.

Makes 6 servings