Cornish Games Hen with Sauteed Kale and Spinach

We had cornish game hens at a dinner theater in Vegas on our honeymoon. Not expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised at their flavor. I imagined if a mass-produced dinner theatre hen could be that good, I could do it one better. For sure. Since I have kale and spinach out the ears, I paired this with a pretty simple saute. You could serve the saute over noodles, like my husband likes, or just plain on the side. I went on the light side for seasoning, you could pretty much add anything you want, or sub butter for the oil in either dish if you want a richer flavor.

This is a simple meal in terms of technique, but ends up looking elegant like you spent the whole day in the kitchen. I've noticed any time I pull a whole bird out of the oven people ooooh and ahhh. So if you've got an hour, you've got dinner!

For Hens:
2 (or more) cornish game hens
herb rub
olive oil
garlic cloves
rosemary, 1 long sprig, fresh

For Sautee:
kale (a few handfuls)
spinach (same)
onion
garlic, minced or chopped
olive oil
chicken bouillion cube or stock
salt
pepper

Remove the giblets from your hens, if they have them. You could use these to make gravy. I never bother.

Rinse the hens in cold water and pat dry, inside and out. Set aside.

Grab some garlic cloves and "bruise" them. Simply remove the paper, and crush them under the flat edge of your knife. I used 6 cloves in each chicken, you could use more or less.

Salt and pepper the inner cavity of the hen, and stuff with bruised garlic. Cut the rosemary sprig in four sections and stick two of each in there too.

Spray or rub the hens with olive oil. Place in a roasting pan, breasts down (I know, I know. But I have better luck with breasts down!) on a wire rack. If you don't have a wire rack, do what I did and rig up a tin foil ring to keep the bird off the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the herb rub on top of the chicken and massage in. You could put some under the skin too, if you want.

Roast in the oven with a foil tent for about 40 minutes. Remove the tent and roast another 20 minutes, or until meat is 175 degrees. Test the breast to get the right temp.

When you remove the foil tent, start making your sides.

Kale and Spinach

Boil some water for the noodles now.

In another saucepan (you don't need a big one), boil some water. I added a bouillion cube for extra flavor, but thats optional.

Once its boiling, throw the kale in and start cooking time for three minutes (don't wait for the water to boil before you count).

Remove kale from boiling water, and rinse with cold. Repeat the process with the spinach, only cook that for 1-2 minutes.

Squeeze some of the excess moisture out of the veggies.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Once its hot, sautee onion and garlic until onion is translucent.

Stir in the kale and spinach. Sautee a few minutes, until heated up and wilty.

Add salt and pepper and another spray of olive oil. Mix.

Serve the veggies over noodles, if you're having them.