Stuffed Quail with Sweet Potato Casserole (Thanksgiving for one)

In Finland we don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I've always wanted to arrange a proper American style Thanksgiving dinner party for my friends. I was so sure that I would've this year but even this year I realised it too late.
On the same day I still felt tempted to make a Thanksgiving dinner even if I was celebrating it all alone and thought I'd had to skip it since in no way was I going to roast a whole turkey just to be eaten by myself. However I couldn't't get the idea out of my head and came up with the perfect thanksgiving dinner for one :D

Why should I have to roast a whole turkey when I could just stuff a small quail :) Besides, I even prefer quail to turkey.

This stuffed quail is perfect for a dinner alone or two or why not give all your guests their own little bird to carve into. So much more sophisticated and I think it's a fun idea.

This doesn't have to be only made at Thanksgiving....I for sure know I'll have to let my friends try this dish one day :)

You will need:

1 quail (or as many as you like)

butter, herbs, salt

Stuffing (makes enough for 1-2 birds) :

1 slice of bacon (25g)
1 small Apple (30g)
1/2 schallot (20g)
1 clove garlic
stale bread (20g)
1 tbsp dried lingonberries or cranberries
15g walnuts
rosemary
sage
lemon zest / clementine
chicken stock

1)Rinse the bird to remove any excess blood.
2)Using your finger you can make a small pouch under the skin of the bird on the breast making it easy to fill the space with some herbs and butter
3)Chop all the ingredients for the stuffing, remember the bird is really tiny to fit in too big chunks....so for the sake of the bird keep them tiny.
4)Roast the bread and chopped walnuts in a pan
5)Sautee the bacon, onion and garlic in a pan. Add chopped herbs.
6)Mix all the ingredients together and grate some lemon or clementine.
7) Season to taste
8)Time to stuff the bird...You'll be surprised how much stuffing can fit in
9) tie the bird with string to keep the legs and wings close to the body keeping it's shape

How to cook the bird:
Heat up the pan and roast the Bird in butter on all sides until nice and golden. You can lower the heat once the skin has gone nice and crisp and golden. Quail doesn't take too long to cook. Since it is a whole bird it will take a bit longer than a spatchcocked bird (I almost wrote satchquatch :D sounds the same but that would be a bit funny :D).
You can either leave it on the pan on low temp or put it in the oven for a few minutes on low heat. I roasted my bird on high heat approximately 5 mins and lowered the temp. I kept it on the pan for a total of 10 min maximum and put it in foil to rest. It's difficult to say an exact time since every bird is a bit different and so is the stove in every kitchen. You could even finish it off in the oven.  Quail however can be left a bit pink inside unlike chicken. Just please make sure not to dry out this beautiful tasty bird.

Sweetpotato casserole

240g sweet potato
30g butter
1dl cream or milk (I used 10%cream)
a small dollop of  vanilla bean paste
pinch of salt

1) preheat the oven to 225°C
2) Peel, Slice and dice the sweet potato and place into a casserole/oven form
3) add the cream and butter
4) add vanilla and salt
5)Place the sweetpotato in the oven. As soon as they are soft and a bit roasted on the top mash them with a fork and place pecans on top
6) sprinkle with a bit of muscovado sugar
7) put back in the oven unitil the sugar has melted.

I served my quail with the sweet potato casserole and some Kale.
I also made a quick gravy using the burnt goodness in the pan from roasting the bird by adding chickenstock and flour. I also added a bit of clementine juice to it.

Hope you enjoy!