Cornish Games Hens With Mustard Cream Mushrooms

This is an impressive dish to serve for a small dinner party or as a treat for the family. Sounds fancy but it's simple to make.

Remove giblets from hens and discard or reserve for another use.

Cut hens in half , removing the backbone.

Sprinkle halves with salt and pepper and place , skin side down , about an inch apart in a shallow roasting pan.

In a small bowl , combine butter and dry mustard , stirring until well blended.

Bake birds in a 400oven for 30 minutes , basting with mustard-butter mixture , using it all.

Turn hen halves skin side up and add mushrooms , turning them in the drippings.

Return birds to the oven and bake for 30-40 more minutes or until hen halves are golden brown and meat near thighbone is no longer pink when slashed.

Baste hen halves and mushrooms several times with pan drippings.

Arrange hen halves and mushrooms in a serving dish.

Keep warm.

Stir 1 / 2 cup of the milk into pan drippings , scraping browned bits free.

In a pan , blend flour with remaining 1 / 2 cup milk until smooth.

Gradually stir in pan drippings.

Cook over medium heat , stirring constantly , until mixtur.

rock cornish game hens, salt and pepper, butter, dry mustard, fresh large mushroom, milk, flour, dijon mustard