Harvest Cornish Hens

Directions

1. 1
   Remove giblets and necks from Rock Cornish Hens; refrigerate to use in soup another day.
2. 2
   Rinse hens with running cold water; pat dry with paper towels.
3. 3
   Sprinkle inside body cavity with salt and pepper.
4. 4
   Fold neck skin to back; lift wings toward neck, then fold them under back of hen so they stay in place.
5. 5
   With string, tie legs and tail of each hen together.
6. 6
   Place hens, breast-side up, on rack in roasting pan.
7. 7
   In a cup, mix olive or salad oil, dried parsley flakes, dried thyme leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; brush hens with oil mixture.
8. 8
   Roast hens in 350F (180C) oven about 1 1/4 hours, brushing hens occasionally with drippings in pan.
9. 9
   Hens are done when legs can be moved up and down easily or when fork is inserted between leg and body cavity and juices that escape are not pink.
10. 10
    Toward the end of roasting hens, in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, in hot margarine, cook carrots, Brussel sprouts and 1/2 teaspoon salt until golden.
11. 11
    Add 1/2 cup water; over high heat, heat to boiling.
12. 12
    Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp, stirring occasionally; keep warm.
13. 13
    When hens are done, discard strings.
14. 14
    Place hens on warm large platter; keep warm.
15. 15
    For gravy, remove rack from roasting pan; pour pan drippings into 1-cup measure; let drippings stand a few seconds until fat deparates from meat juice.
16. 16
    Skim 2 tablespoon fat from drippings into 3-quart saucepan; skim and discard any remeining fat.
17. 17
    In saucepan over high heat, in hot fat, cook mushrooms until tender and golden, stirring occasionally.
18. 18
    Stir enough milk into meat juice to measuring to equal 1 cup; stir in flour, chicken bouillon and 1/2 teaspoon salt until blended.
19. 19
    Add 1/2 cup water to roasting pan; stir to loosen brown bits from bottom of pan.
20. 20
    Pour water and brown bits into mushrooms in saucepan.
21. 21
    Add meat-juice mixture; cook over high heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens slightly; boil 1 minute.
22. 22
    To serve, arrange vegetables on platter with Cornish hens.
23. 23
    Garnish with parsley sprigs.
24. 24
    Serve with mushroom gravy.