So, here's the situation, guys. I'm a little embarrassed to say it. Maybe everyone has their nightmare dinner party/get together story, but here's mine -- I've baked cornish hens probably 983092384 times and the ONE time I messed it up, I had two of my wonderful friends, Matt and Sarah, over for a nice dinner. I don't even know what happened! It was a complete disaster. I took the chicken out of the oven when I thought it was done and it was hard as a rock. I thought I hadn't cooked it long enough (it had been about an hour or so), so I stuck it back in to cook for another 20-30 minutes. To my shock and dismay, I took the chicken out of the oven, only to find it even harder and drier! I mean, I could have thrown that thing at the wall and it might have smashed into pieces, it was so tough and gamey. This was my fail-safe tandoori chicken recipe, too. What a disappointment! Anyway, I have vowed to them many times that I'd make it up to them. I still have yet to have them over for a "redo" chicken dinner, but I have a perfect new recipe to try with them; for fun, I'm going to call it the "Finger-Lickin' Good Cornish Hen." This creation was actually inspired by a link I saw for the "Engagement Chicken" recipe. You know that saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach"? Well, apparently this recipe is so spectacular that your beau will fall down on one knee and propose to you in a heartbeat. Ok, so I saw this and immediately rolled my eyes. I practically gagged when I scrolled to the bottom and saw the bit about the "Marry me juice" at the bottom of the pan. Trust me, guys. I'm not out to make food for my partner every night to impress him. Heck, I made a cornish hen last week so I COULD HAVE IT ALL TO MYSELF, darn it. I really did! I mean, I'm all about making people happy with food, but pu-lease!
Regardless, I glanced through the list of ingredients for this recipe, then quickly decided to take my own route. I was, however, inspired by the recipe's use of lemon to season the chicken. But, as you all probably know by now, I'm terrible at following recipes, which is why the only thing I have ever been able to bake is a batch of Victoria's famous pumpkin muffins (no improvements necessary - it's too good!). So, I of course improvised and added some shallots, a handful of chopped rosemary, a tablespoon of melted butter, and plenty of sea salt. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but the final product -- pure awesomeness. It was juicy. It was moist. It was a party in. my. mouth. The key was, in my opinion, baking the chicken while covered. This allowed the chicken juices to collect in the pan and marry with the other seasonings. The roasted fingerling potatoes, which were lightly seasoned with some olive oil, salt, and chopped garlic, was a perfect side to the chicken. If I had to change one thing, though, I would probably bake the cornish hens over a bed of the potatoes so they absorb the flavors from the all of the chicken juices. Stuffing the chicken with some potatoes sounds delicious, too, but cornish hens are so tiny that this might be a difficult feat to pull off. Below is the recipe -- enjoy!!
FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD CORNISH HENS
Ingredients (Note: I only made 1 cornish hen, but the recipe below is for 2):
-2 cornish hens
-1 whole lime (I personally like the flavor of lime over lemon; just personal preference, though)
-4 shallots
-salt to taste
-2 tablespoons butter
-2 fistfuls of rosemary
Preparation:
-Thaw the cornish hens and WASH THOROUGHLY.
-Chop the shallots and rosemary finely.
-Melt butter in the microwave.
-Salt each cornish hen generously.
-Cut the lime into fourths. Rub the squeeze of 1 lime wedge around and inside 1 cornish hen (2 wedges for both). REALLY rub the wedge into the skin of the chicken and the inside cavity.
-Carefully insert 1 (unsqueezed) lime wedge into the cavity of each of the cornish hens.
-Pour 1 tablespoon of butter on each of the cornish hens and rub the chopped shallots and rosemary all over the hens (both inside and out).
-As a public health student and practitioner, I do NOT advocate eating raw meat products. However, I say you can never tell how good your meat will be unless you taste the seasoning. :) I like to just rub one of my index fingers on the chicken and lick; if I think something is off, I adjust the flavors. Mind you, I don't do this like 50 times. Only once or twice, and only to get the balance just right.
-Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 45 minutes (about 20-25 minutes on each side). Make sure the chicken is covered with a piece of foil.
-After 45 minutes, remove the foil covering the chicken and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.
-Note: The amount of time you need to bake the chicken depends on how much meat you have; I believe the general rule is to bake each pound of chicken for 15-20 minutes?
ROASTED GARLICKY FINGERLING POTATOES
Ingredients:
-A bowl full of potatoes (I don't know! I'm bad at amounts, sorry)
-5ish cloves of garlic
-Salt
-2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
-Finely slice the potatoes and place on a baking pan.
-Combine finely chopped garlic, salt, and olive oil with the potatoes and mix well with hands.
-Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
-Enjoy!
Regardless, I glanced through the list of ingredients for this recipe, then quickly decided to take my own route. I was, however, inspired by the recipe's use of lemon to season the chicken. But, as you all probably know by now, I'm terrible at following recipes, which is why the only thing I have ever been able to bake is a batch of Victoria's famous pumpkin muffins (no improvements necessary - it's too good!). So, I of course improvised and added some shallots, a handful of chopped rosemary, a tablespoon of melted butter, and plenty of sea salt. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but the final product -- pure awesomeness. It was juicy. It was moist. It was a party in. my. mouth. The key was, in my opinion, baking the chicken while covered. This allowed the chicken juices to collect in the pan and marry with the other seasonings. The roasted fingerling potatoes, which were lightly seasoned with some olive oil, salt, and chopped garlic, was a perfect side to the chicken. If I had to change one thing, though, I would probably bake the cornish hens over a bed of the potatoes so they absorb the flavors from the all of the chicken juices. Stuffing the chicken with some potatoes sounds delicious, too, but cornish hens are so tiny that this might be a difficult feat to pull off. Below is the recipe -- enjoy!!
 |
| Finger-lickin' good cornish hen with a side of roasted fingerling potatoes and fresh, sweet blood oranges. Absolutely delightful!! |
FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD CORNISH HENS
Ingredients (Note: I only made 1 cornish hen, but the recipe below is for 2):
-2 cornish hens
-1 whole lime (I personally like the flavor of lime over lemon; just personal preference, though)
-4 shallots
-salt to taste
-2 tablespoons butter
-2 fistfuls of rosemary
Preparation:
-Thaw the cornish hens and WASH THOROUGHLY.
-Chop the shallots and rosemary finely.
-Melt butter in the microwave.
-Salt each cornish hen generously.
-Cut the lime into fourths. Rub the squeeze of 1 lime wedge around and inside 1 cornish hen (2 wedges for both). REALLY rub the wedge into the skin of the chicken and the inside cavity.
-Carefully insert 1 (unsqueezed) lime wedge into the cavity of each of the cornish hens.
-Pour 1 tablespoon of butter on each of the cornish hens and rub the chopped shallots and rosemary all over the hens (both inside and out).
-As a public health student and practitioner, I do NOT advocate eating raw meat products. However, I say you can never tell how good your meat will be unless you taste the seasoning. :) I like to just rub one of my index fingers on the chicken and lick; if I think something is off, I adjust the flavors. Mind you, I don't do this like 50 times. Only once or twice, and only to get the balance just right.
-Bake in a 375 degree pre-heated oven for 45 minutes (about 20-25 minutes on each side). Make sure the chicken is covered with a piece of foil.
-After 45 minutes, remove the foil covering the chicken and bake uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.
-Note: The amount of time you need to bake the chicken depends on how much meat you have; I believe the general rule is to bake each pound of chicken for 15-20 minutes?
ROASTED GARLICKY FINGERLING POTATOES
Ingredients:
-A bowl full of potatoes (I don't know! I'm bad at amounts, sorry)
-5ish cloves of garlic
-Salt
-2 tablespoons olive oil
Preparation:
-Finely slice the potatoes and place on a baking pan.
-Combine finely chopped garlic, salt, and olive oil with the potatoes and mix well with hands.
-Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
-Enjoy!
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