Cornish Game Hen with Garlic & Rosemary

As promised, here are my Christmas meal pictures! We made Cornish Hens for the first time. These pictures were taken by Jason's sister, Kate Redfern. I'm so glad she was in the kitchen to snap theses. Cooking and taking pictures is a messy combination and there's no way I would have taken such great photos. 

 

(Ready to go into the oven)

 

(Coming out halfway through to get basted)

 

(All lined up and ready to eat... so cute!)

 Cornish Game Hen with Garlic & Rosemary

Ingredients
4 Cornish game hens
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, quartered
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil
24 cloves garlic
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.

Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange on plates. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve. 

CHEF JASON'S NOTES: Our hens were a little larger than the standard Cornish Hens as they took closer to 2 hours to fully cook. Jason says cook these birds until the juices run clear!

MY REVIEW: These were so pretty to look at and tasted great. We had made 1 per person but there was so much meat on each bird that we all struggled to eat just half of one! Next time we will cook only 2 for 4 people. 

Thanks for the pictures Kate!