When I have guests coming for dinner, I often like to have the food come directly to the table as soon as it is cooked. The problem with this is that often the guests are having a wonderful time talking together and I am chained to the oven or the cooktop finishing off dinner. This recipe handles that problem in spades. I season and stuff the hens ahead of time and place them in the roasting pan on a metal frame to keep them off the bottom of the pan. I pour into the pan about 1/2 cup of water to cover the bottom of the pan so there is moisture as the birds cook. The oven gets preheated to 450 degrees empty. I am free to socialize with the guests as they arrive. When the last guest arrives I excuse myself to the kitchen and put the roasting pan (with the lid on) into the oven and go back and enjoy the conversation. In 20 minutes I return to the kitchen, put the hens onto the plates or a platter, and announce dinner. If I happen to think about it I will return to the kitchen early to remove the lid from the roaster for the last 2 or 3 minutes of baking time to let the birds brown up a bit.

Along with the hens, I usually pre-set a vegetable that can be microwaved or steamed in 10 to 15 minutes. The other dish can be a rice casserole that is re-heated easily or I will use pre-baked potatoes that are put back into the oven to reheat with the hens or finished in the microwave. The bottom line: I may run in and out of the kitchen 2 or 3 times, but I am not in the kitchen stirring and watching everything while others party.

NOTE: You can use 4, 6 or even 8 hens for this recipe. With 8 hens extend the baking time 5 or 10 minutes longer.