For a vegetarian, I wind up cooking an awful lot of meat I wish I could still eat meat, but my digestive system hates it. Take the bird, rinse it, make sure the body cavity is empty. Chop: 1 large shallot 6 big cloves garlic 1 jalapeno pepper (or habanero if you can handle it) 1 chili pepper OR mix in 2 T chili seeds 1 bunch fresh Tarragon 1 bunch fresh Rosemary 1 bunch fresh Oregano (can use dried if you must, just mix 1 T of each in with a little water and oil about an hour before you put it in the bird) Stuff the resulting mix into the bird. If you're brave enough to try spicy stuffing, shove breadcrumbs in to fill the cavity. Otherwise, plug the hole with half an onion or apple. Mix: Salt Pepper Cayenne pepper Paprika Rubbed Sage together in a bowl in equal amounts and then rub over the skin of the bird. Soak some toothpicks in water for about an hour. Cut more garlic - or use slices of shallots or onion - and shove under the skin, between the skin and meat, and hold in place with the picks. Put bird in roasting pan, cover with foil. Bake at 350 according to poundage weight for the bird. (Game hens cook in about 1 hour, 15 mins, normal size chickens about 2 hours, pheasants and duck for some reason take about 2.5-3 hours even if they're smaller than the chicken. YMMV - when in doubt, stab the meat with a sharp knife and make sure the fluid is clear. If it's anything but completely clear, recover and cook longer.) Remove the foil and let brown about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, re-cover and let sit at least 10 minutes before cutting. I serve with cheesy mashed potatoes and steamed green beans. This is the recipe I use whenever I'm stuck buying a frozen non-free-range bird at the store. They just don't smell right when they're cooking if I don't dress 'em up. -Spooky
