Cornish Hen

Serve with: Baby red potatoes (tossed in olive oil and roasted alongside the hen) and buttered green beans. Dessert: A Key lime pie from the bakery.

The fragrant roasted birds are served with a pan sauce containing whole garlic cloves. Accompany the hens with a crusty garlic bread to mop up the sauce, and pour a light Chianti throughout the meal.

Garlic mashed potatoes and green beans sprinkled with toasted almonds are perfect with this dish.

Remove the skin from the game hens before roasting them to make this delicious main course lower in fat. Uncork a bottle of Chardonnay, and offer steamed yellow and green zucchini alongside.

Robust ingredients and an elegant presentation: This dish captures all the romance of winter fireside dining. Break out a bottle of good Chianti to pour with supper.

Jason Gareffa of Los Angeles, California, writes: "Pursuing a career in acting keeps me tremendously busy. Between my improv comedy classes, performances, auditions for film and television roles, and gigs as a DJ for weddings, I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands. But good food is important to me, especially since I need a lot of energy to stay on the go. So over the years, I've started experimenting in the kitchen. Now the other members of my improv group even like to come to my 'wrap parties' to taste my creations." Serve basmati rice (or regular white rice) on the side to complement the Indian flavors.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Small Cornish hens (about 1 1/4 pounds each) make a fine substitute for poussins.

Mashed sweet potatoes and sautéed green beans make colorful companions. Key lime pie is a refreshing way to wrap up.

Poussin à la Confiture d'Oignons Cornish game hens are a delicious and more readily available substitute for the guinea hens that the chef at Restaurant Hiély-Lucullus uses to prepare this. (Have the butcher quarter the hens and remove their backbones.) When in season, peaches are caramelized and served with this dish at the restaurant.

In this recipe, based on a dish from the Republic of Georgia called tabaka, small chickens are flattened and weighted so they cook evenly and quickly. We call for poussins or Cornish game hens, but the same technique works well with a frying chicken.

"My husband and I often visit the Frenchglen Hotel at the base of Steens Mountain in southeastern Oregon," writes Janis Gavin of Albion, California. "We go there for the bird-watching, the stunning views and the fabulous dinners— one of which was the inspiration for this dish." These game hens would be delicious served with mashed potatoes and sautéed greens.

A delicious entrée that's easy enough for a weekday dinner, yet pretty enough for a dinner party. Serve with: Stir-fried summer squash and red peppers, couscous salad, and seeded Italian bread.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This elegant but easy recipe is the perfect entrée for a romantic dinner. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.