Week 5: Vanilla - Cornish Hens with Vanilla Sage Sauce [Cooking]

Intro from Cooking Challenge: Vanilla, which is usually in reference to something being boring or plain, is most definitely not! Where chocolate is rich and heavy, vanilla is it's lighter counterpart, although you could use both in a recipe! Vanilla can be found most often as an extract, or as beans. While extract can be less expensive, I encourage you to splurge on the beans when possible, as they have a great depth of flavor. Some ideas to get you started. The best kind of Vanilla?

I grabbed these cornish hens from Costco recently when I couldn't stop giggling about how they were like tiny chickens.  We decided to make a whole teeny tiny dinner party out of it with baby carrots, baby potatoes, couscous (baby rice?), and bite-sized cupcakes for dessert!

The sauce was surprisingly really nice and not overly sweet.  The milk, sage, and lemon help to temper down the vanilla flavor.  I poured it over my couscous too and that, mixed with the hen juices, was hands down the most delicious thing on the plate.

Recipe for the hens and recipe for the vanilla sage sauce.