Cornish Game Hens are cute and elegant to serve, especially when company comes, and the meat is so sweet. All it takes is two ingredients to make a delicious glaze.
4 Cornish game hens
3 tablespoons grainy brown mustard
2 tablespoons cherry (or other) jelly (not jam)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the hens in a roasting pan, and generously salt and pepper the skin. That's all you do. Roast in the oven about an hour, uncovered (the salt will make the skin crispy). Hint: If there's not enough natural juice in the bottom of the pan, pour in a little cheap, white wine.
Just before they're done, make glaze: In a small saucepan, heat together grainy brown mustard and jelly - hot pepper jelly is also good and you can even do mint jelly. Spoon over birds before serving. Serves 4.
This is good with oven-roasted zucchini and small red potatoes (toss in olive oil, dried rosemary, minced garlic)...and a decadent chocolate dessert!