The perfect holiday meal for two.
ingredients
directions
Truss the hens. Mix the oil with 1 tablespoon of the Cognac, salt and pepper. Rub well all over the hens in a dish, and set aside half an hour to marinate. Heat the oven to 450ºF/220ºC.
Heat a roasting pan on the stovetop, as if it were a frying pan, and brown the hens well on all sides. Pour off any excess oil from the bottom of the pan and transfer the hens to the oven to finish the cooking, approx. 40 minutes or until the juices run clear at the leg.
Transfer the hens to a deep warm serving platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the fat off the pan and discard. Deglaze the pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of Cognac and the flame from a matchstick. When the flames die out, add the stock and boil to reduce by about half. Add the grapes and cook three minutes to warm through and barely soften them. Uncover the hens, pour over the sauce with the grapes, and serve.
*The same quantities apply if you prefer to cook eight quails instead of four Cornish hens. Cooking time for quails, however, will be 25 minutes, rather than 40.