A Perfect Autumn Dinner!

So, cooking cornish game hens might be in my top 5 favorite things to make now! They're so small and fun to prepare! Being such a small sized bird also made them super tender, and the meat literally fell off the bone! I started with making some fresh from the garden, rosemary-herb butter.



Then, after letting the hens thaw and come up to room temperature,I separated the skin from the meat and spread the herb butter on the hens and under the skin, which really infused the meat with great rosemary flavor. If you aren't a rosemary fan, you could use any herb really, but my mom's garden is overflowing with fragrant rosemary, so I chose that! I also smashed some cloves of garlic and just placed them around the birds in the pan, along with a splash of chicken stock and quartered onions.



And just to show you how tiny they were, I took a picture with my hand in it for some comparison :)



To go along with the hens I made stuffing (that I cooked separately) and corn on the cob. After the hens are prepared with salt, pepper, paprika and the herb butter I broiled them on high to give the skin a head start to crisp up, I just did that until the skin bubbled, then flipped the birds and broiled the other side (I started with the birds breast down so I only had to flip once, to get them back to the roasting position)..after they have broiled for a few minutes, decrease the heat to 375 and roast for about an hour, or until juices run clear when pierced. I also basted the birds every ten minutes with the juices that accumulated in the baking pan.





Enjoy!