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Grilled Cornish Hens With Garlic

Time1 hour 15 minutes
YieldsServes 8
Grilled Cornish Hens With Garlic
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This menu of grilled food is fun for summer entertaining because it puts you shoulder-to-shoulder with your guests--you don’t have to hide in the kitchen.

Start with pizza slices for appetizers. To grill them, set up an assembly line with the dough rounds and toppings. The grilled zucchini can be a cooperative venture as well.

For dinner, there’s grilled Cornish hens served with more grilled vegetables--red peppers, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, eggplant and fennel. The hens and vegetables can be served at room temperature; it’s not necessary to be standing over the grill for this course during the party.

No need to grill dessert, though. Just put out a platter of biscotti, a bowl of berries and glasses of chilled dessert wine.

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1

Place the hens in a large plastic food bag. Combine the oil, garlic, lemon juice, rosemary, Dijon, salt and pepper in a small bowl (do not use a processor as the marinade becomes too thick). Pour the marinade over the hens. Through the outside of the bag, work the marinade around the hens until they are coated. Marinate them several hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Let them rest at room temperature 1/2 hour before cooking.

2

When ready to cook, heat the oven to 400 degrees, line a large shallow roasting pan with heavy-duty foil. Remove the hens from the marinade; place the hens, skin side up, in a single layer in the pan. Roast the hens 30 minutes.

3

While they roast, oil the barbecue grill racks and prepare a fire.

4

Finish the hens on a grill over medium-hot heat until cooked as desired, about 15 minutes depending on the heat. First, grill the skin side, then the underside.

5

To serve, arrange the hens on a platter and garnish with rosemary and lemons. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Any small frying chicken will suffice here. The hens are first baked in the oven, then finished on the grill. This two-step process avoids the charring that often occurs when grilling chicken.