The aroma as these hens roast is nearly as delicious as the birds themselves. Heavenly, buttery crisp skin, bathed in white wine and loaded with tarragon inside and out, with not much effort other than giving them a little spooned shower now and then. There's something fun about having a bird all to yourself, and there's no fighting over who gets the wishbone. The wine-spa treatment indulgently relaxes these little hens' sense of decorum enough that if you're serving them to guests you may wish to tie the legs together . As your your mom taught you, ladies cross their legs at their ankles, and these hens get so embarrassed when they appear on the table with legs immodestly splayed.
I love cooking with white Port, which was a very common table wine years ago but scarce as cassette tapes in the new millennium. Use your favorite white, but make an effort to locate some white Port first.... good luck with that, cuz I can't vouch for your choice of wine and I've bought up every stray bottle of white Port I stumble across.
Preheat oven to 400. In a small saucepan, melt 3/4 c margarine with 3/4 c. white Port or other white wine, adding 1 TB dried tarragon. In each of 6 thawed, rinsed, and dried Cornish hens, place 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp dried tarragon, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper. Sprinkle the outside liberally with garlic salt and rub.
Roast the hens in a large, flat, shallow pan, without a rack, for 1 hour or until well browned and a drumstick twists easily, basting often with the butter-wine mixture. Serve the hens with a little bit of drippings. And make a teeny-tiny wish with your very own teeny-tiny little wishbone.
