I made this with a whole chicken since the only Cornish Hens I could find were already seasoned - and the package didn't indicate what seasonings! The recipe worked just fine with a chicken and it was good, but we didn't like the flavor combination of chicken with the Black Olive Tapenade. I've never liked black olives in cooked pasta sauces and I found with this dish that I don't like them with chicken, either. I think I'd personally prefer this recipe much more if it was made with a green olive tapenade.
One of my very favorite recipes is Chicken With Green Olives (Every Night Italian by Giuliano Hazan) and the ingredients are similar to Olive-Olive Cornish Hens. I am definitely going to try this recipe again since it was so easy, but I'll substitute green olive tapenade the next time.
The Black Olive Tapenade I used was from AMFT and it was terrific by itself - my usual tapenade recipe is the same as this one but without the herbs. I prefer Dorie's version now so I'm glad I made it!
I also made Lemon Spinach from AMFT...super-easy! I made it even easier by mixing all the ingredients in an 8-quart pot and just cooking it all over medium-low heat - no steamer. This is the second time I've made this and it is really delicious. Also, the potatoes I made were sauteed in duck fat and garlic so, of course, they were really good!
