Recipe - Cornish Game Hens And Shallots With Dried Cranberry Gravy

6 tablespoon Unalted butter
1 One half Teapsoons crumbled dried
thyme
1 One half teaspoon Crumbled dried sage
2 teaspoon Freshly grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon Salt
4 11/2pound cornish hen;
rinsed and patted, dry
1 One half pound Shallots; trimmed and peeled
1 One half tablespoon Vegetable oil
One half cup Chicken broth
One half cup Red wine
One half cup Water
2 teaspoon Cornstarch dissolved in 2
tablespoons water
1/3 cup Dried cranberries
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

In a small bowl, blend together well 4 tablespoons of the butter with the
sage, thyme, zest and salt. Loosen the skin covering the breast meat on
each hen by slipping your fingers under the skin and sliding them between
the skin and the meat. Divide the butter mixtue bettween the hens,
inserting it under the skin of each hen and smoothing it evenly by rubbing
the outside of the skin, and season the hens with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a roasting pan large enough to hold
the cornish game hens, toss the shallots with the oil and salt and pepper
to taste and roast them in the middle of the oven, stirring occasionally,
for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden.

Arrange hens, breast side up, on top of the shallots. Roast in the middle
of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until juices run clear when fleshy
part of a thigh is pierced (or until a meat thermometer inserted in fleshy
part of thigh registers 175 degrees). Transfer the hens with the shallots
to a platter and let stand while making the gravy.

To the roasting pan add the broth, wine, water and simmer the mixture,
scraping up the brown bits, for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a
fine sieve set over a small saucepan, whisk the cornstarch mixture, and add
it to the saucepan with the cranberries, vinegar, and salt and pepper to
taste. Simmer the gravy, whisking, for 5 minutes. Serve the hens with
gravy.

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe by: Cooking Live Show #CL9002

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #905 by "Angele and Jon Freeman"
jfreeman@comteck.com on Nov 12, 1997