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1
Remove giblets and necks from Rock Cornish Hens; refrigerate to use in soup another day.
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2
Rinse hens with running cold water; pat dry with paper towels.
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3
Sprinkle inside body cavity with salt and pepper.
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4
Fold neck skin to back; lift wings toward neck, then fold them under back of hen so they stay in place.
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5
With string, tie legs and tail of each hen together.
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6
Place hens, breast-side up, on rack in roasting pan.
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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.
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8
Roast hens in 350F (180C) oven about 1 1/4 hours, brushing hens occasionally with drippings in pan.
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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.
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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.
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11
Add 1/2 cup water; over high heat, heat to boiling.
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12
Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook 5 to 10 minutes until vegetables are tender-crisp, stirring occasionally; keep warm.
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13
When hens are done, discard strings.
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14
Place hens on warm large platter; keep warm.
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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.
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16
Skim 2 tablespoon fat from drippings into 3-quart saucepan; skim and discard any remeining fat.
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17
In saucepan over high heat, in hot fat, cook mushrooms until tender and golden, stirring occasionally.
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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.
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19
Add 1/2 cup water to roasting pan; stir to loosen brown bits from bottom of pan.
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20
Pour water and brown bits into mushrooms in saucepan.
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21
Add meat-juice mixture; cook over high heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens slightly; boil 1 minute.
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22
To serve, arrange vegetables on platter with Cornish hens.
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23
Garnish with parsley sprigs.
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24
Serve with mushroom gravy.
