Recipe - Stuffed Cornish Hens

2 Cornish Hens
8 ounce Fresh mushrooms; perhaps a
mix of white and "wild"
3 ounce Pancetta; thinly cut or sliced up and
chopped
2 Cloves garlic; minced
4 Shallots not green onions;
chopped
2 Sprigs fresh rosemary;
chopped
One half cup Plus One fourth cup white wine
One half cup Chicken stock canned or
fresh (double strength if
you have it but not
bouillon cubes as your
sauce will be too salty!
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper

I like to stuff Cornish hens, roast them and serve them with a simply white
wine, chicken stock reduction. This is, as usual, off the top of my head
with approximate quantities.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (yes, 450!). Saute pancetta, shallots and
mushrooms in olive oil until the mushrooms are almost done, then add the
garlic and rosemary and continue to cook until the mushrooms are done. Add
One fourth white wine and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let
cool until you can handle it.

Stuff hens with mushroom mixture, truss and rub the hens with olive oil and
butter until well coated. Season the hens entirely with salt and freshly
ground black pepper.

Place the hens in a pan that can go in the oven and stovetop that is not
much larger than hens (a 1011 inch frying pan with a metal handle is
ideal) and roast at 450 until they are done (4555 minutes but keep an eye
on them). Remove hens from pan and tent with foil. Remove most of the clear
fat from the pan, making sure the caramelized bits and dark liquid stay in
the pan. Place pan on medium high heat and once the liquid begins to
bubble, deglaze with One half cup white wine. Add chicken stock and reduce by
One half over high heat. If there are any undissolved bits, strain your sauce.

Serve one hen per person, spooning sauce overtop. Avoid serving this with
anything that would soak up the sauce (like mashed potatoes) as there isn't
much sauce and you will want it with the bird.

This is nice with roasted potatoes and perhaps some green beans with
butter.

Posted to FOODWINE Digest by Romain Saha rsaha@CCMAIL.AIT.CA on Sep 9,
1997