Cornish hen with mustard cream sauce is long on style and short on work. Roast the hens. Maybe baste them once along the way. Whip up a quick reduction sauce and you’re done. It pairs beautifully with potatoes of any sort. Mashed, roasted, or along side a potato galette .
I am a fan of the cornish hen. We don’t get poussin where I live so cornish hen is my go to stand-in. One bird is enough for two moderate portions so even a dinner for eight isn’t that hard to do.
Dijon mustard and cream work well together. There’s a trick to make them come together though. Add a bit of stock or water to the mustard to thin it. Stir it up before you add it to the sauce. That way you won’t get clumps of mustard floating around in your sauce. Unless you like clumps of mustard, I guess.
cornish hen with mustard cream sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens or small chickens
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup whipping cream 35%
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Place a roasting pan in the oven to heat.
- Rub the cornish hens with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast the hens for 20 minutes, then baste with the rendered fat in the roasting pan.
- Roast the hens to an internal temperature of 165F in the breast, another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove roasting pan from the oven. Place the hens on a cutting board.
- Spoon the fat from the pan, leaving any browned bits.
- Place the pan over medium heat.
- Deglaze with the white wine then reduce to a syrupy glaze - about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the stock and reduce by half.
- While the stock reduces, mix the mustard with a couple teaspoons of additional stock or water.
- Add the mustard mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce slightly.
- Adjust seasoning.
- Quarter the cornish hens. Add any accumulated juices to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Serve 1/2 hen per person.
cornish hen with mustard cream sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens or small chickens
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup whipping cream 35%
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. Place a roasting pan in the oven to heat.
- Rub the cornish hens with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast the hens for 20 minutes, then baste with the rendered fat in the roasting pan.
- Roast the hens to an internal temperature of 165F in the breast, another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove roasting pan from the oven. Place the hens on a cutting board.
- Spoon the fat from the pan, leaving any browned bits.
- Place the pan over medium heat.
- Deglaze with the white wine then reduce to a syrupy glaze - about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the stock and reduce by half.
- While the stock reduces, mix the mustard with a couple teaspoons of additional stock or water.
- Add the mustard mixture and stir to combine.
- Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce slightly.
- Adjust seasoning.
- Quarter the cornish hens. Add any accumulated juices to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Serve 1/2 hen per person.
Turkey noodle soup from scratch is about the best thing you can do with your leftover turkey. Deep turkey flavour, tender noodles and incredible mouthfeel make this version special.
There is something wonderful about turkey noodle soup. Childhood comfort food. Feel good food. Magical almost. Puts a smile on your face. And you cannot beat homemade. No way around it.
There’s no single killer recipe. No rock your world – this is the best thing ever. I’ve looked. It’s all pretty much the same. Variations on a theme.
I have my own variation on the theme. Mine is about mouthfeel. The difference between a watery broth and unctuous, oh my god this is amazing broth. That small tweak is what makes this version a great one.
It’s not hard to make really good turkey noodle soup either. Takes a bit of time to make the stock. Simmer the soup. But it’s all unattended. Almost set and forget.
This recipe is a guideline. There’s lots of room to improvise. Don’t have leeks? No big deal. Try onion. Want to add peas? OK, that works. Celery? A bit of an overpowering flavour in my mind but why not?
There are only three things I think are important in this recipe. Turkey stock, dried thyme and cornstarch. Yes, cornstarch. It’s all about incredible mouthfeel.
