There was something appealing about a mini bird at the grocery store tonight.  I didn’t want to fuss with carving up and packaging leftovers from a regularly sized bird.  I didn’t feel much like navigating through my cabinets to dig out the roasting pan.  And I had a new dish that was just begging to be stuffed with sautéed brussels sprouts and topped with a roasted cornish game hen.  So mini bird, it was.

I followed the same chicken roasting basics that I’m accustomed to: dry off, place fat {coconut oil or ghee} above and beneath skin, place chopped herbs {thyme, rosemary, or both} beneath skin, stuff cavity with lemon and some more herbs, and roast at 375 degrees until the meat thermometer reads 165 degrees {about 45 minutes}.  Tonight roasting happened with a cast iron grill pan rather than the deeply buried roasting pan.

While the hen was doing its thing in the oven, I whipped up some super simple brussels sprouts with shallots that were… okay.  I focused on the flawless hen and made a mental note to be better at brussels sprouts the next time around.