Lemon Rosemary Cornish Game Hens

We don't know if you heard, but it was a pretty bad winter this year. Yet somehow, the rosemary bush in our garden survived. Since it's the only green thing we've seen in months, we felt it was just begging to be used in tonight's dinner. The best thing about this dinner is how easy it is to prepare. About five minutes of hands-on work and 45 minutes in the oven is all it takes to make this elegant-looking, herbacious, tasty meal. When we finished eating, we threw the bones into a pot with some old vegetables (a couple of rubbery carrots, an onion, and a leek), covered them with water, and proceeded to make our own chicken stock that is destined for some culinary creation that is in our near future.

Ingredients:

2 Cornish game hens

2 lemons, quartered

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon herbs de Provence

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 450. Stuff each game hen with four lemon quarters and one sprig of rosemary and place them in a baking pan. Melt the butter in a small bowl. Finely chop the remaining rosemary and stir it into the melted butter along with salt and pepper to taste. Cover each game hen all over with the butter mixture, then sprinkle each game hen with half of the herbs de Provence. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, pour the white wine into the bottom of the roasting pan and swirl it around. Continue to cook the game hens for another 15 minutes, basting the hens with this wine 2-3 times during those 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

It's not easy being green. In CT. After the winter we had!

About to be placed into the hot oven

A second plating style

The remains become homemade chicken stock