Cornish Game Hens with Artichoke Hearts Vinaigrette

I have Mario Batali's, Italian Grill home from the library and I've really connected with it. This strikes me as a cookbook well worth owning. Since there have been nice artichokes in the supermarket I gave his Quail with Artichoke Hearts Vinaigrette a try only instead of quail, I made the recipe with Cornish game hens, my new favorite poultry for the grill. The hens marinated all day in a zip-lock bag the result was stunning. There they are on the grill looking like two plump sunbathers.

The artichoke's presented a bit of a challenge and I was thrown off by the photo of the recipe which seemed to show 4-5 leaves of thickness on the artichoke quarters. Those outer leaves were really to tough to eat and you had to cut them off to get to the 1-2 leaves that were tender. The heart and stem were tender and tasty nonetheless.

A little color was added to this monochromatic meal with a Cabbage and Beet Salad from Mark Bittman's, The Best Recipes in the World. This consisted of grated cabbage, carrots and raw beets mixed with a mustard vinaigrette. A burst of color and flavor.